Speaking from Experience: Caroline Knight

Caroline Knight has been editing for more than 20 years. She was trained at Penguin Books and has worked at Weidenfeld & Nicolson Illustrated, William Heinemann and latterly Atlantic Books, where she was Managing Editorial Director. She has been a tutor at The Publishing Training Centre since 1996 and a freelancer since 2010.

Caroline teaches the Editorial Project Management, Copy-Editing Skills and Proofreading for Editors courses at The Publishing Training Centre.

How did you get started in publishing?

I took a temporary typing job at a small business press. I worked hard, asked lots of questions and was right there when a vacancy came up for a permanent job. That gave me a good springboard into trade publishing at Penguin a couple of years later (where I had done work experience as a student).

What is the biggest lesson you have learnt?

No single lesson but rather an attitude of mind: communicate accurately and promptly, build relationships and work hard at editing because it is deeply satisfying but requires absolute concentration.

What project are you most proud of?

I can’t choose a favourite child, but there are two that are really close to my heart, both made with Ravi Mirchandani. The first is That Sweet Enemy, by Robert and Isabelle Tombs, a wonderful history of the intense relationship between the British and the French, which is not only a fascinating text but also has maps, plate sections and so forth, so was challenging and satisfying to make. And the second is Jazz by the exceptional photographer Herman Leonard, who so sadly died shortly before publication and whom I visited in LA to choose the pictures. We had a fantastic week of laughter and hard work, and the book stands as a tribute to his unique contribution both to photography and to the capturing of a pivotal moment in music.

Why do you think tutoring for the PTC is important?

Because meeting delegates is fascinating and sharing knowledge and good practice is a good thing. The PTC has long stood for high standards and in the digital age those standards need all the advocates they can get.

Your biggest prediction for the industry this year:

Watch out for interesting small houses developing. In many ways the barriers to entry are lower than they were thanks to our digital times and so, as the big get bigger, entrepreneurs with flair may choose increasingly to do their own thing on a small scale.