Associate Editor, Tor

Tor Publishing Group is seeking an associate editor to join the Tor Books team. Working closely with a Senior Editor, this role will acquire or co-acquire and edit primarily science fiction and fantasy titles for the Tor list. Key responsibilities include acquisitions, editorial development of manuscripts, maintaining strong relationships with authors and agents, and working with production, design, marketing, publicity, and other departments to shepherd titles to publication.

What you'll do:

• Build and maintain relationships with literary agents to solicit submissions, read and evaluate manuscripts, and meet with prospective authors to discuss editorial and strategic vision
• Present books for potential acquisition to editorial directors and acquisition board, along with analysis of competitive or comparable titles, projected sales figures, and profit and loss statements
• Negotiate major terms for potential acquisitions with agents and rights contacts, including advance, delivery dates, payout schedule, territories, subsidiary rights, and option language
• Develop a successful and profitable list of titles, with primary responsibility for about 5-8 titles per year
• Assist Senior Editor with select acquired or co-acquired titles, taking responsibility for editorial feedback and coordinating transmittal and production process; oversee certain backlist titles, reissues, and reprints
• Write copy for tip and launch sheets, catalog, online retail feeds, and book jackets/covers  that effectively positions each title for internal sales, marketing, and publicity teams as well as consumers
• Present titles at internal meetings such as launch three times a year
• Prepare cover memos and discuss cover strategy with art department and editorial leadership; communicate jacket directions to author and agent and negotiate feedback between author/agent and art/publisher teams
• Solicit advance quotes from other authors, booksellers, and tastemakers to help position books and enhance sales potential
• Respond in timely fashion to author and agent queries and help facilitate communication and collaboration between author and internal teams

What you'll bring:

• Strong communication skills and ability to handle external-facing professional relationships with tact and diplomacy
• Ability to work with other publishing departments—including sales, marketing, publicity, rights teams, finance, production, and art—and an understanding of what they need to do their jobs effectively
• Strong writing skills for internal- and external-facing materials and copy to help position and convey the selling points of a given book
• Effective presentation skills for both smaller team meetings and large seasonal meetings
• Independent time management and organizational acumen
• Ability to scout and evaluate competitive books in the marketplace, market awareness within science fiction and fantasy genre spaces, and strategic sensibility for making acquisitions and positioning decisions to help each book reach its sales potential

Ideal Experience:

• 3+ years of experience in editorial, including some acquisition experience
• Experience with line and developmental editing, project managing frontlist fiction, and working closely with authors/agents with an eye to author care
• Background knowledge of the publishing industry, including an understanding of the timelines and deliverables needed to publish books successfully
• Bachelor’s degree in any area OR equivalent work experience in a relevant field

This role will have an annual salary of $60,000-$65,000.

This position is classified as remote but is tied to our New York, NY office located at 120 Broadway. Employment is subject to New York State tax withholding under applicable regulations. 

Macmillan Publishers is the U.S. trade company that is part of the Holtzbrinck Publishing Group, a large family-owned group of media companies headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. Holtzbrinck Publishing Group's publishing companies include prominent imprints around the world that publish a broad range of award-winning books for children and adults in all categories and formats.

U.S. publishers include Celadon Books, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Flatiron Books, Henry Holt & Company, Macmillan Audio, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, The St. Martin's Publishing Group, and Tor Publishing Group. In the UK, Australia, India, and South Africa, companies in the Holtzbrinck Publishing Group publish under the Pan Macmillan name. The German publishing company, Holtzbrinck Deutsche Buchverlage, includes among its imprints S. Fischer, Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Rowohlt, and Droemer Knaur.

Macmillan is proud to be an equal opportunity employer consistently striving to foster a culture where everyone belongs. We welcome applicants of all backgrounds and identities. Qualified applicants are evaluated without regard to race, color, religion, age, ethnicity, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability status, physical ability, neurodiversity, genetic information, protected veteran status, family and economic status and background or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. We prohibit discrimination of any kind and will provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities in accordance with applicable law.