why publishing? our new editorial director gives his top 5 reasons for jumping in

Photo by Fred Rosenberg

If you know any “artsy types” – then you probably know creative people who have bounced around a lot. Actors waiting tables. Authors tutoring undergrads. Artists walking dogs. It’s not that they can’t keep a job; it’s just that there are so many things they want to do, and their chosen career doesn’t pay much.

Meet the poster boy (person) for the winding road that is often an artist’s path –
Seth Rosenberg, the new Editorial Director of Bacon Press Books.

As a visual artist, his metal sculptures have been featured in galleries in Soho and restaurants in San Juan.  As a chef, he’s worked in top restaurants in New York City and Washington, DC. And then he spent a few years as a private chef on yachts cruising the Bahamas and the South Pacific. He started a successful handyman business in NYC and transferred that to DC.

So I had to ask – Why publishing? It’s not the easiest business to get into.

Here are his top 5 reasons:

1 – Do What You Love
The unifying thread throughout my entire career has been working in fields I love. Reading has been a constant in my life, and I grew up in a literary household. Writing is a lot like other creative fields; it takes a lot more discipline and effort than people imagine, and a good book is a team effort. I like being on that team; there is a tremendous satisfaction to holding and reading a finished work.
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​2 – Fascinated by Stories
Our stories are our history. Reading is the closest thing we have to sharing a thought—it’s easy to forget just how incredible that is. Ideas and experiences can be preserved and relived, transporting readers to any place and allowing them to live as anyone. Writing is where people take the time to hone their words into the narratives they want to tell. Good stories can become great reading.
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​3 – Staying Hopeful
One of my favorite aspects of working with writers is that it’s always forward-facing, even when the topic is the past. Books allow us to understand other ways of thinking and different cultures. They can also provide a sense of community and support from like-minded individuals. Reading about the past reminds us that we’ve been through challenges before, making the future feel more hopeful.

4 – Creative Work
I’ve spent my life working in creative fields, and we creatives operate differently. Many of us feel like we don’t have a choice if we want to stay sane; we need to process our thoughts through our art. There’s a unique language and vocabulary among creatives when discussing their work, which might not make sense to everyone, but it’s how we support each other and develop ideas. I believe spending an afternoon figuring out the exact wording to describe the scent of an apricot is time well spent. I love working with people who understand that.
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​5 -The Personal Connection
Writing is incredibly difficult and deeply personal. Ultimately, it’s the author’s name on the work, and whether it’s fact or fiction, there’s vulnerability in sharing ideas. Working with people on their stories is a privilege I think about all the time. It’s not like any other kind of work. Reading stories and helping shape them into finished books is a dream job.