People behind the press: meet our Managing Editor

In a semi-regular blog series, we’ll introduce you to the people behind the press.  Today we’re shining the spotlight on Jaimee Biggins, who is our Managing Editor.

What is your role and what does it involve?

In my role as Managing Editor at UCL Press, I’m responsible for guiding books and journals through production from manuscript to publication.

I coordinate all production activities including briefing suppliers and freelancers, managing schedules and budgets, quality checking content throughout the process and leading author communication.

On a day-to-day level, I’m tracking progress of my titles, monitoring key dates and problem-solving as issues arise. I ensure that UCL Press content is ready for print and online publication.

As well as producing print copies of all our books, we also do epub/Kindle versions and enhanced digital versions of some of our books, so my role is increasingly digitally focused and involves making sure that the final file is ready for all the various outputs.

As an Open Access publisher, we also upload a downloadable PDF of all our books on UCL Discovery and disseminate the PDF to various Open Access platforms – so the process doesn’t just end at final file stage.

How long have you been at UCL and what was your previous role?

I joined UCL Press two years ago. My previous role was Team Leader at Oxford University Press. I supervised a team of production editors working on academic and trade books.

What working achievement or initiative are you most proud of?

In my previous job, I spent five weeks in India as a short-term project manager. I visited several of our core suppliers as we rolled out important production initiatives.

It was great to be on the ground, shadowing my counterparts and learning about workflows at our suppliers. It was also a fantastic experience to be immersed in a different culture too.

Tell us about a project you are working on now which is top of you to-do list?

At the moment, I’m focusing on our autumn books and journals. We have a varied list and I’m busy making sure we achieve our planned publication dates.

What is your favourite album, film and novel?

Album: Madonna: Greatest Hits

Film: It’s a Wonderful Life

Novel: The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields

What is your favourite joke (pre-watershed)?

I’m afraid I’m terrible with jokes!

Who would be your dream dinner guests?

Emily Dickinson

W. B. Yeats

Joan Didion

Sheryl Sandberg

Iris Murdoch

What advice would you give your younger self?

What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?

What would it surprise people to know about you?

I lived in New York for five years.

What is your favourite place?

Galway in the west coast of Ireland – I love the rugged coastline and the wild beauty of the landscape. As well as the stunning scenery, the people are friendly and welcoming and there are plenty of cosy pubs to hide in and escape the rain!

– See more at: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/staff/staff-news/0216/10022016-spotlight-on-jaimee-biggins#sthash.MBnGjDQ3.dpuf