by Glenn Brittany

Created on: May 29, 2008

The title of this article presumes that women have "a lack of control" in the publishing industry. This assertion could not be further from the truth. As a former editor for both trade and newsstand magazines, I can tell you that women occupied the "publisher/editor-in-chief" role at both places of employment and all of the editors working for the magazine were women.

Where did this misguided belief in women's "lack of control" in the publishing industry come from? I can only speak from my own experience. Currently I am a freelance writer, and all the freelance writers I know are women except for one man. That's a ratio of 8:1. And the one freelance writer who is a male lives in Florida, not Dallas (where I live).

Some of the most famous editors-in-chief have been women: Diana Vreeland, Katherine Graham, Helen Gurley Brown... the list goes on.

Helen Gurley Brown is perhaps the most recent example of how a woman can rise to the top with hard work and a good idea. Today, Brown is international editor in chief for "Cosmopolitan" magazine; formerly she served as editor in chief. Brown became well-known with the debut of her gutsy book, "Sex and the Single Girl," published in 1962. Although shocking to many at the time, the book became a national best-seller. Brown had hit a nerve. An American market was born. Within years, Brown rose to the top as editor in chief for "Cosmopolitan" magazine.

Here are some more facts: "Inc." magazine's top editor slot goes to... Jane Berentson; "Entrepreneur" magazine's senior VP (the one at the top of the masthead) is Rieva Lesonsky; and "Fast Company" magazine's publisher is Christine Osekoski. And let's not forget about all those women's magazines ("Lucky," "In Style," "Marie Claire," "Glamour," "Elle," "Redbook" and so on)-most if not all have female editors in chief.

In fact, publishing is so dominated by women, you have to wonder why. I'll venture a guess. It takes a lot of different skills to be an editor. You need to be able to use both sides of your brain. You need to be both analytical and creative; strategic and flexible; able to see the big picture as well as the minute details; you need to be able to work well under pressure and patient; you need to be quick to respond and slow to anger; you need to have an eye for design but an ear for words; you need to be able to write and edit, and you need to know the difference between the two; you need to be an excellent researcher and yet outgoing enough to interview shy sources.

Perhaps it is this "whole-brain" aspect that makes women especially suited for publishing professions.

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