Day in the Life (In-Office): Ashley Fields
Editorial Assistant, Disney Publishing Worldwide
Day: Tuesday, May 10, 2022
7:00 AM: Good morning! Since it’s Tuesday, I’ll be working in the office today. I typically ignore my alarm at least two times before actually getting out of bed. It takes a cup of tea and light background music for me to start the day. Since my commute to the Upper West Side is about an hour, give or take MTA traffic, I try leave my Brooklyn apartment around 8:15. Taking the train is great for inspiration, so I usually jot down ideas in my notes app, or I’ll read some submissions and respond to a few emails while I have time.
9:30 AM: I’m at the office now! It’s pretty empty today, but at least one of my fellow Editorial Assistants is here and we can keep one another company. The first thing I do (after grabbing coffee on my way to my cubicle) is set my to-do list for the day. I support an Editorial Director and a Senior Editor on our team, so I have a color-coded system to prioritize the tasks they give me and keep track of our active titles. Sometimes I straighten up open areas of the office and I check for physical mail that’s been delivered, open boxes of book copies, and sort through fan-mail for various authors on our roster.
11:00 AM: I have a one-on-one Zoom with a Senior Editor, and during this meeting, I give her updates on submissions I’ve read through, and we discuss important tasks for our working titles. The meeting is fairly quick, but I continue to build the rest of my to-do list. Today, there are a few administrative duties I have to take care of such as ordering books for authors, and requesting payments. Looking forward to an easy day!
12:00 PM: Time for an Editorial Meeting! Prior to these meetings, members of the editorial team would send out submissions they’re seeking approvals to acquire. It also moves quickly since we only have two titles on our agenda, and my feedback consists of “THIS IS AMAZING!” and “WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THIS IS *inserts positivity here*.”
12:30 PM: I attack my to-do list and push through work with the power of Beyonce in my ears, and I hyperfocus until I realize I’m hungry around 2:00. I brought leftovers from home so my colleague and I often eat with one another in the Conference Room. We like to people-watch from the windows and discuss the latest Tiktok trends before we realize it’s time to get back to productivity.
3:00 PM: After getting through smaller tasks, I spend the final hours of the workday picking up where I left off in a manuscript I am line-editing. If I finish a huge chunk early, I’ll read more submissions unless I am needed for assistance.
5:30 PM: And I am done for the day! Time to take a quick walk to Central Park and write some more with some friends before heading home.
