We’re offering readers a behind the scenes glimpse into the bookmaking process—the people behind the books and the products we create! Through our “Behind the Book” blog series, discover who plays a role in creating a book, what daily life looks like at Norton, and what being part of an independent and employee-owned company means.

Amla Sanghvi joined Norton as a photo editor in February 2020, just three weeks before the pandemic lockdown, and now works fully remotely. She previously worked as a photo editor with other publishers in New York.

What is your current role, and what part do you play in the book publishing process?

My role as a photo editor is to find the right images for books and media and make sure we have all the necessary permissions in place, within budget. I enjoy finding images from sources that give us the best prices, or public domain sources, to reduce the photo costs without compromising on the quality that is such a hallmark of W. W. Norton & Company.

For your current role, what does an average day look like?

My responsibilities as a photo editor include:

• Creating a budget for the book’s photos during the pink sheet—or early financial planning—phase of the publishing process.
• Once I receive the art log, which is the list of images the author(s) and editor(s) would like to use in the book, working with a freelance photo researcher to scour sources and find those images. 
• Presenting images to the author(s) and editor(s) so they can select final choices from the options we found.
• Obtaining the necessary permissions and processing the high-resolution files. Our department billing specialist requests and processes all the invoices.
• And finally, entering all the pertinent photo information into the Norton photo department Filemaker database for posterity and subsequent editions.

The fun part of the job for me is making sure we have the right images, which can mean researching and reaching out to sources all over the world—agencies, historical societies, museums, photographers, and so on, in addition to the vendors we regularly work with. It can feel a little like the thrill of detective work, chasing down the right sources and making sure we have all the right permission paperwork.

What skills do you need to succeed in your job? Did any previous work or life experience help you in your role?

A photo editor needs to be most careful about the details of the permissions that are needed for the use of each image, so it is important to understand the rights and permissions process. This is very detail-oriented work, especially as some Norton books can include hundreds of images, and each vendor will grant particular rights.

What have been some of your favorite projects?

History is an exciting subject for me because, as David Shi, author of the America family of textbooks, eloquently says, it can “shape the future by remembering the past.”  For example, in one instance, we wanted to find a photo of Private Wakeman, a woman who disguised herself as a man to fight in the American Civil War.  We couldn’t find the image from any vendors or even the local library, so we (the photo researcher and me, working together) finally tracked down the family, and they were kind enough to go through their boxes in the attic to find a photo of her, which made it into the book just in time for press!

How has your current job/role changed while you’ve worked at Norton?

I got hired three weeks before the pandemic started and was just becoming familiar with the basic systems of the Norton Photo Department and meeting my colleagues. I recall my supervisor saying that next week she would introduce me to others on the book teams. Famous last words—I still have not met everyone face to face, but I learned to use Microsoft Teams for meetings. Remote work was unfamiliar to me, as to many of us then; fortunately, I was very familiar with the photo world. I am grateful to Norton IT, my supervisor, and colleagues for helping guide me through this big change. We are now a fully remote department; however, I was going into the office a few times a month, to complete the legacy paper project I took on. The added benefit of being in the office is connecting with Nortonians from other divisions, who I would not meet even on Teams, so I continue to go in from time to time.

What does Norton being independent and employee-owned mean to you and your work?

Having worked with a few companies prior to Norton, I can say that being employee-owned makes for a more pleasant working situation. There is a common purpose and structure that helps generate good teamwork.

What advice would you give someone just starting out in publishing?

A love of books—the words and images that are brought together—is the magic that keeps us working at it.

Have you participated in any extracurricular programs at Norton?

This year, Norton employees who visited Polly’s Place, our company’s cafeteria area and connecting terrace overlooking the New York Public Library and nearby Bryant Park, enjoyed spring and summer blooms! As chair of the newly formed Plant and Garden Subcommittee of the MOOF (Make Our Own Fun) Committee, I shepherded the initiative to work with Damon Williams (Norton’s office manager) and New York Roofscapes, Inc., to make sure the boxes on the terrace had flowers. I also corralled a few people who like plants to water the greenery inside Polly’s Place weekly. (Thank you, Plant and Garden watering group.) 

We recently hosted a Teams session where Nortonians who had gardens shared pictures and stories for others to enjoy. We are in the process of initiating a seed exchange among Norton gardeners! I love meeting other Nortonians that I might not have met without being a part of MOOF, and being involved in creating and participating in the activities we generate for the company.

Lastly, what do you like to do outside of work? Any fun hobbies or recent reads you would recommend?

I love plants and gardening, and since I don’t have garden space, I enjoy visiting gardens and helping the plant life at Norton! I like cooking, especially together with friends and neighbors. Thanks to Norton’s company-wide haiku digest, which was emailed during the pandemic, I now enjoy writing haiku regularly! I am also part of a couple of book clubs, one at Norton and one with my neighbors. A book I highly recommend: Breath by James Nestor.

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