When I was a small child, regularly getting things on my report cards like, ‘Alexandra needs to get her nose out of books and socialise more’, (because if I did ever talk to anyone, then it was probably about the Famous Five, or some of my other literary chums), who’d have thought that one day I’d be able to say, ‘Yeah, I worked on the campaign for the fastest-selling non-fiction book since records began’?

Yup, that’s right, I’ve been working on Delia Smith’s How To Cheat At Cooking, which has even managed to keep Jordan/Katie Price and her third autobiography off the top spot. (I love having Delia and Jordan as the nation’s favourite warring women of words – it pretty much sums up Britain today – sensible vs celebrity, useful vs ‘what does she do?’ Although Germaine Greer’s probably spinning in her grey jersey dress at the mere idea that modern womanhood can be categorised so cleanly, Random House is darn chuffed with the pair of ’em).

More surprising than the fact I’m working on a book by someone my mum’s actually heard of (she called me to say she’d seen a piece on Delia in the Telegraph, bless her) is the fact that I’m working on non-fiction at all. I’ve been obsessed with novels ever since I learned to read. I was the original child that books built. I spent years working on them once I realised you could make a living out of books and get free ones while you were at it. Oh happy day! I invented the term ‘chick fic’ one day at work (that’s genuinely true – it still irritates me when people call it ‘chick lit’, because the point of it was that it was a play on ‘chick flicks’). I worked on everything from SF (science fiction for those not in the know) to proper literary stuff. And loved it. Facts? Facts were for Jeremy Vine and people who did maths.

But now I’m happily ensconced in the world of non-fiction, and I love it, mainly because you get to meet all manner of people. Just this year, I’ve met two psychics (neither of whom, disappointingly, took the opportunity to tell me they had a message from the other side for me during the meeting); Len Goodman, the lovely head judge on Strictly Come Dancing (even the male editor in the meeting went a bit wibbly); the Director of Friends of the Earth; the brand managers of Top Gear and Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles. I’ve had meetings with Dave Gorman and Danny Wallace and I’ve had a chat with Delia on the phone.

And that’s not to mention the pitches I’ve been involved with…

But I suspect I’ve reached the pinnacle of my publishing career (like talking to Delia and having a chat with the legend that is Sir David Attenborough at our conference last year wasn’t enough). Yes, I’m going to be working on former Heat editor Mark Frith’s book! I’ve been a Heat obsessive for I don’t know how long (a subscription to said mag formed the basis of my leaving present when I left a previous job; they knew nothing else would suffice) and every week I steal it from the PR department at lunchtime on Tuesday. Surely, if there were a marketing person to work on this book, I was it?

We found out a few weeks ago that we’d got it, at which point I shrieked with glee and thought, ‘in your face, poncey intellectual author who told me a while back I should “read some proper books, like War and Peace”. (I refrained from telling him I had an English degree and had spent 3 years solid reading ‘proper books’, and actually, I still do; I just hadn’t read his). I always knew that keeping abreast of Britney, Lindsay and the like would serve me well one day, and now I’ve been proved right. Ha!

Because the thing about Ebury is that our list means you do have to know about celebrities, and telly, and films, and music, and comedy, as well as history, pop science, relationships, diets, current affairs and cookery. In our acquisitions meetings, we’ll switch between the Dalai Lama and Doctor Who, then go from dieting to Darfur and end up with darts. Through working here, I know a bit about boxing, have actually played a game of darts, and am becoming conversant with all manner of footballing stars from a variety of eras. I’m not going to be a team captain on Question of Sport anytime soon, but I’ve found myself reading Observer Sport Monthly without wincing, and even actively enjoying bits of it.

So for everyone who’s yet to dip their toe into non-fiction (whether working on it, or even just reading it, as I did for years), all I can say is check out our 2008 catalogue, and get stuck in – there really is something for everyone. And because of all this new-found knowledge, you’re likely to become a much-requested pub quiz team member while you’re at it!

Alex – Marketing Manager

After reading my initial post about what defines ‘publishing people’, a colleague recently told me that he disagreed entirely and said that, if he interviewed anyone for a job and they claimed to be ‘passionate’ about books, he’d immediately go right off them. He even preferred to avoid that old chestnut of publishing interviews – what book are you reading at the moment? – and quizzed people on their telly preferences instead, as he felt that was far more revelatory (and in this era of TV tie-ins, rather apropos).

Now, while I freely admit to playing it safe and donning a pair of rose-tinted spectacles to examine the common denominators of this industry (it may have been coming on a bit too strong, I felt, to accuse us all of latent OCD tendencies in the first ever post on the Ebury blog) and I agree with him entirely about the ‘what are you reading?’ question often being an utterly useless way to get to grips with someone’s character, I was somewhat surprised by his reaction and it got me thinking: is being ‘passionate’ about books counterproductive in this industry? Does it cloud your judgement? And, if you follow that thought to its logical conclusion, is selling books maybe no different to selling cans of olive oil, say, or loo roll? Is profit everything?

Well, firstly, profit is, of course, incredibly bloody important and anyone who says it isn’t is a snob, an idiot or a liar (or all three). This isn’t a charity but a business and we’re here to make money first and foremost – the cash for those fabled ’six figure advances’ you read about in the papers has to come from somewhere, after all. There are salaries to pay, overheads to cover and shareholders to recompense, so publishing a book that might be utterly wonderful but which won’t sell a single copy would be an act of utter folly verging on irresponsibility. You can win all the Booker, Costa and Orange Prizes in the world but can a book truly be considered a success and worth all the time and effort spent on it if it doesn’t make a penny?

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Thanks to everyone who sent in photos of their reading spaces, but we have now randomly selected our winner!

Congratulations to reader Sam Kelly! I wouldn’t have picked the floor as the most comfortable place to read, but I’m loving your book collection. I hope you enjoy choosing your 15 free books.

And in other good news, my **amazingly put together** flat-packed furniture finally arrived from Argos. It might not be a comfy sofa to read on, but at least I have somewhere to actually put my books at night…

Katie - Digital Marketing Exec

My dad visited from the States last year, and over lunch he asked me this:

‘So what exactly does an editor do?’

Now, let’s ignore the fact that it’s my dad asking this question when I’ve been working in publishing almost 15 years. It’s still something I get asked quite a lot. And once I started telling him, I realized it’s actually a very good question.

It seems the title ‘editor’, like ‘producer’, is at best unclear and at worst a misnomer. Sure, my job involves working with authors on manuscripts and editing them so they can become the best books possible. (And, hopefully, books that will sell lots of copies for a long, long time.)

But of course, that’s only part of it. Depending on the publisher, editors will not only pitch the books at editorial and acquisition meetings, but also write up advance information sheets and copy for the jacket; brief designers for the look of that jacket, keeping in mind other successful titles that it should resemble (but not too much!); present that book at a sales conference so the reps have a clear idea of what it is and how it’s unique; and a lot more. It involves much more work outside the manuscript than in it.

And the point of all that work? To create enthusiasm. Without that sense of excitement at every stage of the process, the book will suffer. So editors are constantly singing the praises of their books to whoever will listen.

Once I finished explaining all of this to my dad, it struck me that ‘editor’ really isn’t the best title for what I do. So how about new one: Book Champion. The cards would look fab, don’t you think?

Now, can anyone tell me what a film producer does?

Albert - Senior Commissioning Editor

I have to admit, I am not a big reader of erotic novels. Having an aunt who writes for Mills and Boon means that I am quite familiar with the soft-core stories of Italian mistresses and billionaires’ wives, but my first real introduction to the less softly lit world of erotica was when I took my first Ann Summers book home from work – True Stories as Told to Madame B.

I’m going to skim over my reading of the book itself – that would probably give too much of an insight into my private life - but as you can see from the covers, they’re pretty hardcore. They’re the kind of book that you would happily pick up in an Ann Summers shop or online, but might be less comfortable browsing in a Borders. If I had any bedroom furniture, I might keep one in a drawer near my bed. But I don’t (see Room to Read), and I’m not about to leave it lying around for friends to find when they come over.

So while I was perfectly happy to read it at home (although my boyfriend was less encouraged), I took it back to work as soon as I was done, and I can’t really see myself reading it on the tube, in a restaurant, in the park… in any public place, for that matter. And I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in this. Hands up anyone who fancies reading Down and Dirty while a sweaty city worker peers over your shoulder?

It seemed like a completely natural next step, therefore, when someone suggested that we produce audio versions of the book. What a great idea! Download the short stories on to your MP3 player and you can be titillated in public without anyone being the wiser. You can sit on the bus and listen to seductive tales of anonymity, toys, even food, if that’s your thing. All the x-rated action, none of the embarrassment (although there might still be some of the blushing).

Katie - Digital Marketing Exec

V-Day. Officially the darkest day in the Singleton’s calendar (and yes, we all turn into Bridget this time of year, there’s no point denying it). Every lady who works in publishing gets tarred with the Bridget brush sooner or later. Just be thankful, you 20-somethings, that you weren’t in publishing when the book originally came out. I’ve just checked when that was, and it was 1996! Jesus, I’ve been using the phrase ‘Smug Married’ for 12 years! And telling people that no, I’m not shagging my boss, because all my bosses (bar about 2) have been ladies and the 2 that weren’t were most emphatically NOT Daniel Cleaver clones.

Anyway, V-Day’s when we all publish our dating books, so that Singletons hiding at home rather than being humiliated by Smugs can feel that little bit worse about ourselves by reading man-uals.

These are either written by women, with helpful and hopeful tips like: ‘Be yourself!’ (Yes, that’s what I’ve been trying. It’s clearly not working so well for me. Who else’s self should I try being?) Or by men, who offer tips like ‘Wear a short skirt! Smile at him to show you’re interested! Always wear make-up – men are visual creatures!’ (Thanks, I know that too – I’ve seen Maxim, and it’s terrifying. Seemingly the best ruse is to hang about in your bra and pants, with your thumbs stuck down the latter, pouting wildly. If you provide your own beer, so much the better.)

Now, my job involves reading a lot of dating manuals (no, really, it does – people on the Tube must think I’m a right old freak; or someone who just cannot put advice into practise with any degree of success).  I’ve read most of them, so you don’t have to. Here’s what to avoid and what to take home and have a guilty flick through because it might just work…

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We are one week in to the Room to Read competition, and so far we have had some interesting (and some very unusual) entrants. Does a football match count as a reading space? Apparently so, claims one of our entrants – the standard of football was so rubbish at the last match he went to that he got his book out and got comfy in the stadium. And can a garden really count as a reading space when it is so cold outside? Yes! One of our entrants sits in the garden by the river where it is quiet and peaceful, even in the winter months.

Because no one is judging this competition on the merits of the photos involved, I don’t have any qualms about revealing my favourite photo to date. I actually thought that it was a library or bookshop, rather than the inside of someone’s home. But no – it is the reading room of prolific book blogger DoveGreyReader. What a beautiful space to read in! If I had a much (MUCH) bigger flat, I would be very tempted to e-mail for the blueprints and copy it shelf for shelf. Look at the number of books she has! Look at the fun lighting! Look at all the postcards and cards and miscellaneous artwork! And is that a Dewey Decimal card filing cabinet? What organisation! I am very impressed.

There is still another week to go until the competition draws to an end, so if you haven’t submitted your photo yet, do it now! The e-mail address to send it to is eburyblog@eburypublishing.co.uk. And if you want some home inspiration of your own, check out the amazing MyDeco website just launched by Brent Hoberman of fame. I’ve had to instantly ban myself from looking at it at work – I can see hours of planning and designing sucking away at my free time in the very near future…

Katie - Digital Marketing Exec