Within the past year, the publishing industry has gone through many changes. The recession and the introduction of e-book readers have caused tidal waves within the structure and organization of all houses. For recent college graduates pursuing their dreams of an illustrious career within publishing, the realization that doors which may have once been open are now closed can be a harsh, disconcerting reality. In the face of all this, however, Alex Colon, editorial assistant at Harlequin, has arisen as one of the future leaders of Hispanics in publishing.
As a sort of “gatekeeper” for the manuscripts sent to Harlequin, Colon peruses the submissions sent to him for either one of the two imprints he works for: Non-fiction and Kimani Press. After he has decided that a submission should be looked at further, he then sends it to the editor. Colon’s goal for the next five to ten years is to eventually become an editor himself, “I think eventually I would like to kind up work my way up to become something along the line of an editor.”
The advice this young man gives to the hopeful Hispanic youth is simple in its wisdom, “Work as hard as you can and read everything. As you go along, talk to your teachers personally outside of class. Just take every possible experience that there is, take a hold of it.”