FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

For all my books published by Marshall Cavendish Benchmark, the editor hires a photo researcher. This person reads my manuscript, then looks for artwork or photographs that would make good illustrations for what I've written. She usually gets these pictures from various art agencies or photo archives, but sometimes they come from museums or other organizations. The photo researcher sends a selection of images to the book's editor, and the editor chooses the ones that she thinks will work best. After that, the editor sends me copies of the pictures, and I write captions for them.

It was a matter of luck, really--that is, I was in a position to take advantage of opportunity when it appeared. I had always done a lot of writing, of various kinds, and was able to put my skills to good use as an editorial assistant at a New York publishing company. While there, I also learned to copy edit and proofread. When I left the publishing house after the birth of my son, one of my co-workers asked if I'd like to work from home and do freelance proofreading and copy editing. This began my career as a freelancer (or mercenary, as my son now says!), which gave me the chance to work with and get to know a number of editors. After two or three years, one of those editors called me up and told me that her publishing company was starting a new series of books, Cultures of the Past. She remembered that I was extremely interested in a number of ancient and medieval cultures. Would I be interested in trying my hand at writing a book or two for her? And the rest, as they say, is history.