abstract:In book publishing, a commissioning editor is essentially a buyer. It is the job of the commissioning editor to advise the publishing house on which books to publish.
LucasandexecutiveeditorJ.W. Rinzler corralled artists steeped in a wide variety ofstylescommissioning them to produce the Star Wars–inspired worksshowcasedin the new book.
What about newspaper editor William Randolph Hearst commissioning himself as a foreign correspondent and sailing to Cuba on his own steamer, complete with two weeks' worth of champagne?