One of the many people a publishing house has on staff is the acquisitions editor (AE). You may already have been contacted by an AE at some point in your career or have just heard the term and wondered what one does. Although the goal of an AE in simple terms is to acquire new books for his or her publisher, you’ll discover that the AE has three main roles in that process:

Connector: The AE is often the first contact between a potential author and a publishing house. It’s his or her job to make new connections via such actions as attending conferences or networking with the assistance of editorial boards and established authors. An AE might reach out to you as a potential author and ask you to meet at a conference or have a short phone call to discuss your research, the benefits of publishing with his or her publishing house, and how to go about completing and submitting your book proposal if you’re interested in taking that step. Once you’ve decided you’re going to write a book and have chosen the publisher(s) to which you want to submit your book proposal, you’ll begin working closely with an AE.

Communicator: The AE will be your main contact person at the publisher’s office once you’re a potential author. You’ll submit your proposal, hear back from the AE that he or she is sending it out for review, and then you’ll get more email when the reviewers have completed their work and the AE sends you their anonymous comments. While the review process is under way, you might also communicate with the AE to clarify how the publisher handles issues such as copy editing and marketing so you’re prepared for the next steps should you be offered a publishing contract for your book.

Champion: Assuming the reviewers have indicated enthusiasm for your book proposal, your AE will be the key person to champion the book to the powers that be. The AE will present your proposal and the reviews to this group of decisionmakers to encourage them to select the book for publication. The result of your combined efforts with your AE will hopefully be an offer of a publishing contract.

If a contract is offered, your AE will once again don the cap of the communicator and negotiate with you such details as royalty percentages and manuscript deadlines.

The next (or first) time you get an email or phone call from an acquisitions editor, consider taking him or her up on the offer of discussing whether your work would warrant a book project and, if so, whether it would be a good fit for the publisher the AE represents. You just might find a mutually beneficial relationship that can result in sharing your valuable research with a new or expanded audience.