The Pragmatic Bookshelf has been publishing award-winning books on software development and engineering management for nearly 20 years. We work with many of the top authors in the tech sector, and our catalog contains some of the best-selling technical books of all time.

We are seeking developmental editors with a love of excellent writing and technology to join our team.

As a developmental editor with the Bookshelf, you’ll be your authors’ primary reader, advocate, and guide. You’ll be a sounding board and the voice of expertise. Together, you and your authors will create 50- to 350+-page books across various programming and engineering management topics.

Because each book and author are unique, your responsibilities will vary from project to project. But, in general, you’ll be expected to:

• Help authors navigate pacing, audience, and narrative issues as you produce content that’s favorable to learning.

• Motivate and support authors dealing with writer’s block, self-doubt, and other common writing hurdles.

• Help authors write consistently with the PragProg voice and style.

• Guide authors through our editorial process.

• Be your author’s advocate and front-line resource for all issues throughout the project.

If it sounds like a tall order, don’t worry—you won’t be in it alone.

You’ll have a lot of support from our Pragmatic Author’s Guide and wikis to our Google groups, managing editor, author relations coordinator, production team, and the rest of the staff.

You don’t have to be a programmer yourself for this role, but having a strong background in developing non-fiction content is necessary. In addition, any experience with technical content and instructional materials will significantly help.

Likewise, while we prefer candidates who have experience developing books, a portfolio of journal-length articles will also be plenty to showcase your abilities.

This position is 100% remote and is open to applicants from anywhere in the United States. Compensation for this role is determined on a per-project basis and pays either $45-$60 per hour or a standard royalty rate.

As a series expert with the Bookshelf, you'll have a direct hand in shaping not only the next generation of authors we work with but also the topics we cover and the materials we publish. You'll take part in guiding the global conversation on some of today's most important issues and trends in software development.

We are currently looking for series experts on:

• Data Science

• DevOps

• Machine Learning

• Networking

• Python

• Security

(If you’re an expert in an area not included on this list, and you think we should be publishing more in your area, we’d also like to hear from you.)

Working hand-in-hand with our acquisitions team, series experts help to:

• Spot popular trends in their respective subject areas;

• Identify people with considerable breadth of knowledge on a particular topic;

• Contact potential authors to determine whether they’d be willing and able to create the type of content we’re looking for;

• Provide potential authors with information about the types of books we publish, the general terms of our publishing agreements, and what we expect will be included as part of a book proposal;

• Introduce and hand off qualified potential candidates to our acquisitions team for the purpose of pursuing a publishing contract with us.

If it sounds like a tall order, don’t worry—you won’t be in it alone.

From our documentation and dedicated discussion group for series experts to coaching and support from our acquisitions team, you’ll have all the tools you need for success.

For this role you’ll need to demonstrate a deep understanding of and professional experience with the technologies at the heart of the series you’re applying for, and you’ll also need an established history of participating in at least some of the community’s most significant outlets (i.e. forums, user groups, steering committees, social media platforms, etc.).

And while writing experience isn’t required for this role, please be sure to include links to your own public writing (i.e. blog posts, online tutorials, online classes, books, etc.) if you have them.

This position is 100% remote, pays up to $750 USD per lead you bring us that results in a signed contract, and is open to applicants from around the globe.