Status and competence transformations of the modern editor

Abstract

This article reviews the key status and competence transformations of the modern editor role, which determine the specifics of his/her professional activity with the content of the book at preliminary publishing, publishing and post-publishing stages. Due to ascertaining of the editor status and his/her field of responsibility transformations, as well as observation of current global trends, it outlines the key challenges and opportunities of the modern editor, requiring updating the established concepts of editorial and publishing processes within which editor develops activities, refinement of editor's professional knowledge and skills related to the book promotion using various media tools and different media platforms. Moreover, it highlights advantages of the project approach in engagement with the author and the content of the book, emphasizes the risks associated with author's unconstructive behaviour in collaboration with the editor, exposes various aspects of marketing forecasting of future edition perception by the target audience. The article raises the problem of professional editor's self-instruction, affecting not only his status in the professional environment, but also determining the degree of ambition and attractiveness of the publishing project he creates for other book agents to a certain extent. It reveals a contemporary need for the editor to navigate among the media trends and features of media consumption for developing communications with book agents and readers. The article outlines editor's field of activity and responsibility in the promotion of publishing projects, developing a value field, which is of the highest importance for them, as well as the importance of professional and business authority of the editor in setting media image of the publishing house and its activities. Furthermore, attention is paid to the differences of the professional status of editor between Ukrainian and foreign publishers, the existing tendential gap among the attention paid to them not only within the professional audience but also from the reader's perspective.