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EDITORIAL CHALLENGES AND BLESSINGS
DUBRAVKA DRAGOVIĆ ŠEHOVIĆ, EDITOR AT LAGUNA
Irealised that I wanted to deal with literature very early on. And that led to the decision to dedicate myself to studying Serbian language and literature. My studies brought me a lot of new knowledge and helped me to advance my stance when it comes to evaluating the quality of certain works. I was very fortunate that, during my actual studies, I did casual work and collaborated with wonderful editors of newspapers, magazines, radio and television, as well as publishing houses, which I learned from easily and in a way prepared myself to do this great work independently. I’ve been navigating editorial waters successfully for more than 15 years and am very satisfied with what I’ve achieved in the publishing houses where I’ve worked, while there have been challenges aplenty. It has been a pleasure to work with wonderful translators and foreign writers whose works have been crowned with major international awards. But I’m still particularly proud of the domestic authors who took their first literary steps with my editorial assistance and who are today highly renowned, highly
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From the instant I mastered the skill of reading, books became a kind of obsession of mine. And the topics and contents that interested me and I read about changed in accordance with my age
read authors who’ve been awarded for their literary work. The logical advancement of my career development came with my arrival at Laguna, the largest and most influential publishing company in these lands. Laguna has great social responsibility because it
has a great influence on the shaping of the literary tastes of the entire nation. That’s also why, among other things, it has brought together the highest quality writers, but also the highest quality personnel who work there. Thanks precisely to the excellent atmosphere, dedication, professionalism and collegiality that reign at Laguna, my work is even more beautiful and inspiring. It is wonderful when you do a job that you love, which fulfils you absolutely and ensures that you also look forward to coming to work immensely. That is priceless.
As the editor of domestic editions, I come across a multitude of offered manuscripts every day. I have the freedom to choose, and I always select the ones that I consider the best quality, and I try to help the writers polish their works and convert them into real literary gems. I also have the privilege of working with our best and most recognised writers, but also helping those at the very beginning of their writing careers by providing advice, comments and suggestions. That work with authors is an irreplaceable experience, and the energy and trust that develop between us represent something very specific and completely authentic. It is especially dear to me that all my creativity, desire and effort to dedicate myself completely to insufficiently tailored texts are well received, and the books that I’ve worked on as an editor have thousands of readers and receive significant literary awards.
Publishing is one of the most important segments when it comes to developing and nurturing the culture and identity of a nation. That which is published reaches a broad section of the population, which is why the selection and quality of works, both by foreign and domestic authors, must be at the best possible level. There is no turning a blind eye in this business; a book is either of good quality or it isn’t, and if it isn’t then it shouldn’t be published. Editors have the great responsibility to separate the wheat from the chaff and to recognise which manuscripts are worth publishing. Such literary works should enlighten readers, enrich their vocabulary, bring them new knowledge, ennoble their souls and fire up their empathy, but also simultaneously entertain and intrigue them, encouraging them to continue reading and build their own literary taste.
