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Tips of the Month: May 2019 | May 20, 2019

Contributed by Jessica Anderson, Associate Editor at Macmillan Children's Books (ECC Committee Member)

  • Inbox Etiquette: I find it helpful to keep emails in your inbox until you’ve accomplished the task included therein, or responded adequately to any questions directed your way. This way, there’s a visual incentive to promptly completing short-term tasks and communications.
  • Calendar-Secured Communication: If your manager(s) is very busy—and not always available to respond to questions—it will be life-altering to implement a 10-15-minute daily check-in for you both to ensure everything is on track. This more frequent structured communication will help you both move forward with all of your shared goals and maximize efficiency on both ends. A good time for this check-in is first thing in the morning.
  • Protecting Your Headspace: Publishing offers a wonderful community of smart, passionate, funny, irresistible people. It is easy to be immersed in friendships that originated at/around work and spend much of your free time within that network. Do your best to reserve time in your life for people and hobbies completely unconnected to publishing. This will help you keep a balanced perspective on your personal vs. professional identities. 
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