diff --git a/app/components/BookBuilder/BookBuilder.jsx b/app/components/BookBuilder/BookBuilder.jsx
index e15c7de8e95a01ec2ebcc9b3a2c81040646359b8..47eb319782066da90dfc4c6ae94cd3bc202d6d68 100644
--- a/app/components/BookBuilder/BookBuilder.jsx
+++ b/app/components/BookBuilder/BookBuilder.jsx
@@ -72,6 +72,9 @@ export class BookBuilder extends React.Component {
     let patch
 
     if (_.isEmpty(productionEditors)) {
+      // production editor is already set to null
+      if (book.productionEditor === null) return
+
       patch = {
         id: book.id,
         productionEditor: null