Cole applied for the role of Project Editor of Sci-Fi Titles as he was a fan of the programme, and was successful.
Worn down by the grind of commissioning and editing 22 80,000 word novels per year as well as producing nonfiction titles, audiobooks and videos, Cole shifted roles in the Children's department to become Special Development Editor in 1999, commissioning and writing children's books tying into series such as Walking With Dinosaurs and Microsoap.
He retained responsibility for certain of the Doctor Who novels on a freelance basis before passing them to the care of author-editor Justin Richards.
Leaving BBC Worldwide in October 1999 Cole moved to be Managing Editor for Ladybird Books.
Cole's first original fiction was a series called The Wereling,[6] a trilogy of young adult horror books published by Bloomsbury.