When Simon & Schuster publisher Sean Manning first applied for an editor position at the flagship imprint in 2016, then-publisher Jonathan Karp told him he was the least qualified candidate, The Cut reports. Manning had never worked in books, just magazines. But according to Manning, Karp meant it as a compliment. “His feeling was, if we bring somebody who’s maybe seeing things differently, what could that potentially lead to?” he said. Publishing is often thought of as an apprenticeship industry, but Manning is one publishing professional who entered in the middle of their career, without having started as an assistant …