To: Dr.

Christa Teston and students enrolled in English 4150

From: Michael Wallace, Mark Frantz, David Perfect
Date: September 22, 2017
Re: Acquisitions Editing at OSU Press

In this memo, we will explain the process, parameters, and insights regarding the position of Acquisitions
Editor at The Ohio State University Press. These details will be useful for those who are interested in working
within this specific career.

We asked Ms. Tara Cyphers several questions to gain an understanding of the cultural and composing practices
of the Acquisitions Editor role within a University Press. The summarized responses to our questions include:

Primary Duties and Daily Responsibilities

 90% of the work consists of writing emails and talking on the phone
 The primary role of the acquisitions editor is to seek out authors who want to publish
 After finding an author, the Acquisitions Editor must then find qualified scholars who work
within a similar field and who are willing to peer review the project
 The editor must mediate the line of communication between author and reviewer(s)
 If approved, the author’s piece is then sent down the line to the editorial board

The Selection Process of Manuscripts

An Acquisitions Editor will have one or two fields that they focus on; for Cyphers, those fields are
rhetoric & communication as well as gender & sexuality studies. Potential authors/projects can be found
at conferences, meetings, or even from another Acquisitions Editor who thinks a project fits better
within someone else’s field. The most desirable projects produce a new enough contribution to current
scholarly discussions.

Main Obstacles in the Workplace and Industry

Cyphers noted that one of the biggest hurdles her workplace faces is low funding. The Ohio State
University dictates the distribution of these funds which are sometimes allocated towards
offices/projects that they deem more important. If the workplace is not producing enough important
material, then they will not get more funding to expand their operation. The result of this is that many
people within the office must hold several different positions to supplement the lack of employed
persons. If their department wants to grow from a smaller publishing department to a larger one, then
they need to produce more revenue by publishing more projects.

What Potential Employees Need to Consider:

Being an Acquisitions Editor of a university press publishing firm is not for everyone. This position requires a
personable demeanor due to the mostly communications-based workload. Because of this, an applicant needs to
be prepared to maintain many contacts to organize peer reviews and find authors. An acquisitions editor needs
to be incredibly motivated, due to the constant search for new projects, the need to find them quickly to acquire
funding, and the various duties one needs to perform because of this workplace’s small staff. All in all, taking
on the role of this position requires a person who is willing to be active in their work environment; without that
drive, the job will never get finished.