Behind the scenes with 2007 Publishing Executive Hall of Fame Inductee Michael Weinstein.

Mentoring a Mentor

Weinstein says that he has been fortunate to have had people who he either has learned from, or who gave him opportunities to advance. The following are some of people on his list and what he believes they have done for his career.

While at Random House:

Della Mancuso—gave me so much production and printing knowledge, as well as knowledge about relationships with vendors, and how best to apply it all to the business.

While at HarperCollins:

Mike Britton—taught me to think large, be brave, push the limits, how best to bring about change in an organization and how not to bring about change in an organization.

Susan Katz—gave me incredible opportunities at crucial times, taught me so much about how production/manufacturing needs to function within the business and has remained supportive throughout my career.

Bob Carlton—taught me how to better listen to, and try to inspire, the people around me.

While at Prentice Hall:

Sandy Steiner—has been incredibly supportive and advised me on my career.

While at Pitman Publishing:

Bill Roberts—trusted me to help get his company off the ground and became a great friend.

By Jim Calder

Michael Weinstein’s 31-year work history reads like a list of top publishing companies: Macmillan, Pitman Publishing, Addison Wesley, Random House, McGraw-Hill, HarperCollins and Pearson Education, among others. Currently, Weinstein is vice president, EDP (editing, design and production) and manufacturing, at Oxford University Press.
After decades working at some of the most notable companies in the industry and after many professional accomplishments, Weinstein’s career achievements now are being recognized. Weinstein is being inducted into the Publishing Executive Hall of Fame, an honor bestowed on the leading publishing executives in book, magazine and advertising production. And, he is only the second executive from a university press to receive this prestigious award in the Hall of Fame’s 17-year history.
Introduction to Publishing 101

Weinstein attended Lehman College, a branch of the City University of New York.
His first foray into publishing was on staff—and eventually as editor—of the college magazine. “We knew nothing about production, but did it all ourselves,” he says. “It was the blind leading the blind, but those all-night re-write, typing, paste-up sessions hooked me.”

In 1977, Weinstein got his first professional job in publishing at Human Sciences Press in New York. In that position, Weinstein oversaw production of six quarterly journals; bought services like composition (including hot metal) and printing; hired and managed freelance copy editors and proofreaders; designed a journal; designed a book cover; and more.

The Value of Experience

Since then, Weinstein has been employed by 12 different publishing houses. Today, he is putting all that he has learned to use to oversee production, manufacturing and more for Oxford University Press projects produced in the United States—approximately 900 titles per year—including academic, trade, medical, reference, legal titles and Bibles.

“I oversee a staff of approximately 50 people in two locations (New York and Cary, N.C.),” he says. “We’re responsible for [the entire process from] manuscript through [getting the books to the] warehouse—including editing, proofreading, design, production and manufacturing. We’re also responsible for production of companion Web sites.”

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Weinstein’s Wisdom