Books are my business: Commissioning editor with Merrion Press Síne Quinn

A cousin working in publishing was the catalyst for Síne's career choice: 'it was like a lightbulb moment for me and I knew it was what I wanted to do'

Síne Quinn: 'If you think an idea is good, you never really forget it, you often end up coming back and revisiting it.'

Síne Quinn is a commissioning editor with Merrion Press. She also works as a creative writing facilitator with the Bookmarks writing programme for primary school pupils at Trinity College, Dublin and as a book doctor for Children’s Books Ireland. 

Her book The Faerie Isle: Tales and Traditions of Ireland’s Forgotten Folklore, illustrated by Dermot Flynn, will be published next month by Walker Books.

How did you get into publishing?

I left college and went to New York in 1995 because at the time there were no jobs in Ireland.

My cousin was working for Attic Press in Dublin and I always loved hearing about her job. When she told me about what the editors did, it was like a lightbulb moment for me and I knew it was what I wanted to do.

In New York, I got a job as a publicity and editorial assistant for a company that did beautiful photography books and art books. They also did children’s books, and I knew that was where my interests lay. 

When I was there, someone said that if I really wanted to get into editing, I should work for a literary agency, where submissions would need to be edited before they went to a publisher. 

It was a really exciting time to be in publishing in New York.

With the Celtic Tiger, jobs became available in Ireland and I came back and worked for a variety of publishers. 

I worked for the O’Brien Press before freelancing for a number of years when my kids were small. 

In 2011, I did an MPhil in Children’s Literature in Trinity. I loved it, it was the inaugural year of the course and there was a cohort of 13 women and we all got on really well, we are still in touch and really supportive of one another.

Then I got a job with Cubicle 7, a gaming company, as an editor on role-playing games. I became commissioning editor there and even did some writing which was really enjoyable. 

A job then came up at Veritas as managing commissioning editor and I moved there to work on a new imprint for lifestyle and children’s books. 

I was there for over two years before they made the decision to close, then the job at Merrion Press came up and I was fortunate to get it.

What does your role involve?

I would often come up with an idea and pitch it to the right person. I also commission titles from people I have worked with. 

If you think an idea is good, you never really forget it, you often end up coming back and revisiting it. 

I also do some structural editing as well, before we send a manuscript out to copy editors and proofreaders. 

Sometimes I work on a cover design brief or ideas for book titles, as well as blurb writing. Merrion Press is a supportive company and we all help each other out.

What do you like most about it?

Thinking of ideas and also hearing authors pitch ideas to me. When you work really well with an author and you get a book on track together, it is like a jigsaw puzzle, you know all the elements are there, you just have to put it together. 

Also, a lot of what you do as an editor is author care, especially giving someone confidence to get their message to the reader. I am just a vehicle to help them get it out there.

What do you like least about it?

Having to say no to someone is always hard. Sending a book to print is always quite stressful, you are never going to be completely relaxed about it.

Three desert island books

My first choice would be Avid Reader: A Life by Robert Gottlieb, which I got as a present from an author I worked with. Gottlieb was a famous editor and the book is about his work; it is fascinating on publishing history.

I love short stories so my second pick would be The Granta Book of the Irish Short Story, edited by Anne Enright. It has a fantastic range of authors and stories and you can dip in and out.

My third choice would be a book which was one of my first introductions to Irish fairytales — More Irish Fairy Tales by Sinéad de Valera. What I love about it is that the stories are of these wonderful encounters where ordinary children are put into extraordinary situations.

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