How to Get a Job in Publishing: A Guide to Careers in the Booktrade, Magazines and Communications [2 ed.] 1032226285, 9781032226286

Table of contents :
Cover
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Foreword: On Books
Foreword: On Publishing Education
Foreword: On Magazines
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Why Is the Publishing Industry a Compelling Place to Work?
How Can You Spot the Role of the Publisher?
The Publisher’s Role as Central Within Society
The Metamorphosis Achieved By Publishing
The Community Is Appealing
What Does this Book Cover?
Who Are We to Comment?
Note
1 Why Publishing and Why You?
Why this Book Got Written
What this Book Is Not
Ten Great Things About Working in Publishing
1. You Get to Work With Products You Like
2. You Work On Products That Really Matter to the World
3. You Get to Participate in Your Culture
4. You’re Making Something You’re Proud of – and Can Hold
5. The People Are Really Interesting
6. You Work With Great People
7. You Get a Flexible, Long-Term Career
8. People Think What You Do Is Glamorous and Exciting
9. You’re Not Looked Down On as ‘Just in It for the Money’
10. You Get Your Reading Cheap!
What Kind of Person Does Best in Publishing?
Are You Insatiably Curious?
Are You Excited By the New?
Note
2 This Publishing Business
How Can We Improve Diversity and Inclusion Within Publishing?
What Impact Has the Pandemic Had On Publishing?
Do We Still Need Publishers?
Is Print Dead?
Will the Consolidation of Publishing Organisations Continue? Where Will It End?
What Is the Future for Independent Publishing?
What Is the Role of Profit Within Publishing?
How Involved Should the Author Be in the Marketing of Their Work?
Who Owns Content?
The Identification and Pursuit of Niches
What Is the Future of Publishing for University Students? Do We Need Textbooks?
How Can We Better Communicate the Value of Books?
Will Bookshops Survive? How Will We Buy What Publishers Have to Sell in Future?
Should We Judge a Book By Its Cover?
What Is the Future of Marketing Within Publishing?
3 Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging in Publishing
Before We Start, It’s Important to Be Clear About What We Are Talking About
About Publishing and Belonging
So What’s the Problem With an Undiverse Publishing Industry Anyway?
Why Diversity Is Not Enough
What’s It Like to Work in Publishing?
Applying for Jobs and Managing Your Career
Find the Right Employer (And Red Flags to watch For)
Research!
How to Be Well at Work
Keep a Work Diary Or Email Folder About You
Be Cheerful and Upbeat; Provide Solutions
How to Raise Difficult Topics
Don’t Be Pigeonholed; Protect Your Boundaries
Ways to Thrive
Notes
4 About Book Publishing
Trade Publishing
What’s Going On?
Who Is the Customer?
The Other Customer
What Does It Take for You to Succeed in Trade Publishing?
Educational Publishing (For Schools, Colleges and Universities)
What’s Going On?
Who’s the Customer?
What Does It Take to Succeed in Educational Publishing?
If You’re Interested in Educational Publishing, Also Consider
Academic and Professional Publishing
What’s Going On?
Who’s the Customer?
What Does It Take to Succeed in Academic and Professional Publishing?
If You’re Interested in Academic and Professional Publishing, Also Consider
5 About Journal Publishing
What’s Going On in Journal Publishing?
New Models in Journal Publishing
Who Is the Customer?
What Does It Take to Succeed in Journal Publishing?
If You’re Interested in Journal Publishing, Also Consider
Notes
6 About Magazine Publishing
Five Kinds of Magazine – and Who Is the Customer?
What’s Going On in Magazine Publishing?
It’s All About the Money, Money, Money
It’s Great Fun
It’s Fast-Moving
Magazines Are Like Family
What Does It Take to Succeed in Magazines?
Editorial
Editorial Production
Design
Sales
If You’re Interested in Magazines, Also Consider
Notes
7 About Digital Publishing
What’s Going On?
It’s Never Been Easier…
… And It’s Never Been Harder
Definition of Term and Brief History
Individual V Big Media
Content Is King
Who Is the Customer?
What Does It Take to Succeed?
So What Are the Opportunities for You?
What Does It Take to Succeed in Digital Publishing?
Who Are the Key Players?
All Love and No Money/love, Plus a Little Money
Love, Plus Real Money
It’s All About the Money
If You’re Interested in Digital Publishing, Also Consider
Notes
8 Where Will Your Skill Set Take You?
The Relationship Between Publishers and Journalists
Caveats
Mutual Reliance
Where Else Would Your Skill Set Be Useful?
The Wider Media World, Including Journalism
Market Information and Statistics
Politics and Government
Museums and Galleries
Corporate Communications
Literacy Initiatives
Widening Participation Initiatives
Note
9 What Job Is Right for You?
1. Sales
2. Marketing
3. Editorial
4. Production
Other Departments in Publishing and the Booktrade
Politics Between the Various Departments
10 Study, Training and Lifelong Learning
Publishers Need to Know Stuff
Studying
College, Further Education and Vocational Qualifications
University and Higher Education
Postgraduate Degrees in Publishing
Lifelong Learning
Notes
11 Internships, Placements and Work Experience
How Internships Work
What Will You Be Doing?
Finding Your Internship
Making Your Internship Work
Make Sure the Company Respects You and Your Skills
How Good Interns Behave
Your Side Hustle
Using Your Work Experience to Benefit Your Job Hunt
Part-time Jobs Count – So Build Experience in a Publishing Adjacent Area
Get Involved in Publishing/communications as Early as You Can
You Are Learning and Building Evidence of What a Great Worker You Are With Every Job.
How to Talk About Your Work Experience in Your Job Applications
Working for ‘Exposure’
Notes
12 How to Create a Compelling CV
What Does It Look Like?
Key Guidelines for Your CV
Building Your CV
Typeface, Layout and Appearance
Formatting
Employment History
July to October 2023: Sensibility Magazines
Education
Personal Data
Referees
Troubleshooting
Ideas for Managing CV Gaps
Ideas for Listing Multiple Part-Time Or Freelance Jobs
Well Done! Now You Have a First Draft of Your CV. We’re Not Finished, Though.
Getting Feedback
Should You Pay for CV Building?
Your LinkedIn Profile
Sample CV
Note
13 How to Put Together Your Job Application
How Do You Decide Whether to Apply?
1. Are Your Background and Attributes a Match for What’s in the Job Ad?
2. Cultural and Personal Fit
3. Career Fit
4. Practical Things
5. Red Flags
Your Cover Letter and Why It Matters
Checklist for Your Cover Letter
About Selection Criteria
How to Respond to Selection Criteria
Situation/Task/Action/Result
SAO: Situation/Action/Outcome
Video Applications Or One-Way Interviews
Organising Your Applications
Submitting Your Application
After You Apply
14 Networking and Your Personal Brand
Do I Really Have to Do It?
The Secret: Givers Gain
Spotting and Developing Your Personal Brand
Why Are You Interested in Publishing?
What Do You Want People to Remember About You?
Networking Online
Three Steps to LinkedIn Success
Three Steps to Twitter Success
Private Messaging
Networking in Person
1. Commit
2. Make a List of Everyone You Know Who Could Possibly Help
3. Having Made a List, Expand What You Know About Them
4. Build Connections
5. Remember Names
6. Accept Invitations
7. Carry a CV Or a Card
8. Keep Your Promises
9. The Informational Interview
Is All this Insincere?
Note
15 Advertised and Non-Advertised Opportunities
Widening Your Search for Advertised Roles
Spend Time On Job Websites
Read Job Ads in Newspapers, Magazines and Journals
Looking for Roles That Are Not Advertised at All
Publishing Roles That Are Not Within ‘Publishing’
Types of Organisations That Need Publishing Services
16 Recruitment Agencies
Why Do Organisations Use Recruitment Agencies?
What Are the Benefits for Candidates?
How to Work With a Recruitment Agency
How to Behave With a Recruitment Agency
Five Things to Remember When Working With a Recruitment Agent
1. They Are Paid By the Organisation Doing the Recruiting, Not the Person Being Recruited
2. Why the Speed?
3. Beware of Agencies Trawling for Information That Benefits Them, Not You
4. Give Them Helpful Details About You; Build Your Narrative
5. Working for a Recruitment Agency May Be a Great Place to Learn More About the Industry
Note
17 How to Give a Great Job Interview
Before the Interview
Phone Screening
Logistics and Prep
Research and Practice
Practice, Practice, Practice
Research, Research, Research
Dress to Impress
At the Interview
Video Interviews
Getting There
Giving a Great Interview
Listen
Build Rapport With the Interviewer
Be Positive About Yourself
Keep the Focus, and Keep It Professional
Be Yourself
Some Common Questions You May Be Asked
When It Goes Wrong
Show Me the Money
Interview Wrap and After
Second Interviews
Tests and Tasks
Other Types of Interviews
Bad Behaviour By the Interviewers
What Happens Now?
What If You Don’t Get the Job?
Note
18 Referees, Job Offers and Negotiation
Referees and Reference Checks
Responding to a Job Offer
Negotiation – Salary and Benefits
When NOT to Negotiate
What You Can Negotiate On
How to Negotiate
What Happens Next?
Before You Start
19 Working Internationally
1. Seek Jobs That Include a Good Amount of Travel (But Based On Where You Live Now)
2. Work for a Multinational and Apply to Work in an Overseas Office
3. Move to Where You Want to Live and Look for a Job When You Get There
20 Your Future in Publishing
Five Things We Really Wish We’d Known
1. Yes, You Can Do It
2. Find Your Mentor
3. Make Friends and Build Your Network
4. Take Your Career Seriously
5. Have a Plan
When Things Go Wrong
Working With Someone You Hate
Nervous, Anxious Or Struggling With Mental Health
Undervalued, Underpaid, Under Stress
Wrong Job/wrong Workplace
Stuck?
Who Do You Want to Be?
Conclusion: Have the Time of Your Life
Notes
Useful Organisations and Websites
UK
Australia
Global
Salary and Employment Surveys
Bibliography
Glossary of Key Publishing Terms
Index

Citation preview

HOW TO GET A JOB IN PUBLISHING

So you’ve always dreamed of a career in publishing… but you don’t know where to start or how? You’re holding the key in your hands! Using insider information, How to Get A Job in Publishing is the newly revised edition of the classic text for you if you are keen to work in publishing or associated industries –​or if you are already in publishing and want to go further. Packed with real-​life quotes, case studies and practical advice from publishing veterans, and more recent arrivals, the authors differentiate types of publishing and explain how roles and departments work together. They discuss the pros and cons of internships and further study as well as training and lifelong learning, working internationally, networking and building your personal brand. The book includes vital guidelines for applying for publishing roles, including sample CVs and cover letters and a glossary of industry terms, to make sure you stand out from the crowd when you apply for jobs. This thoroughly updated edition covers: • • •

The post-​pandemic publishing world, changes and current controversies, the rise of e-​books, Amazon, self-​publishing and indie publishing. The growth in tertiary courses in Publishing Studies and internships –​are they really the best way in? How to create your CV and a compelling cover letter that gets you noticed.

A new chapter addresses equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging, reflecting on the current state of the publishing industry, how to evaluate potential employers and how to look after yourself and others at work. Whether you are a new or soon-​to-​be graduate of Media and Publishing, or are just interested in a career in publishing or the creative industries, How to Get A Job in Publishing is an essential resource.

Alison Baverstock worked in book publishing for many years and then played a pivotal role in establishing the academic field of Publishing Studies. She is now Professor of Publishing at Kingston University and the author of both many books and much significant research. She has founded and led award-​winning initiatives to widen involvement in higher education and inclusion in reading, including the Kingston University Big Read and www.readi​ngfo​rce.org.uk. She is a priest in the Church of England and a keen singer. Susannah Bowen worked in educational and academic publishing for many years, including at Cengage Australia and Open University Press, McGraw-​Hill, UK, and is now with Campion Education, one of Australia’s largest booksellers/​school suppliers. She’s the Industry Associate, Publishing Program, School of Culture and Communication at the University of Melbourne, and Joint Principal Researcher for the Australian Publishing Industry Workforce Survey on Diversity and Inclusion. She’s a cake baker and rides a blue Vespa. Steve Carey worked for Future Publishing, UK, launching nine magazines including Edge and PC Gamer. In Australia he was Publishing Director for Australian Consolidated Press looking after titles including Wheels and MOTOR. He has a doctorate on James Joyce from Jesus College, Oxford and has lectured in publishing for Monash and Melbourne Universities. He recently wrote his first screenplay, Love’s Bitter Mystery. He is now a clinical hypnotherapist and podcaster.

HOW TO GET A JOB IN PUBLISHING A Guide to Careers in the Booktrade, Magazines and Communications

Second edition Alison Baverstock, Susannah Bowen and Steve Carey

Designed cover image: Getty Images Second edition published 2023 by Routledge 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN and by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2023 Alison Baverstock, Susannah Bowen and Steve Carey The right of Alison Baverstock, Susannah Bowen and Steve Carey to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. First edition published by A & C Black Publishers Ltd 2008 British Library Cataloguing-​in-​Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-​in-​Publication Data Names: Baverstock, Alison, author. | Bowen, Susannah, author. | Carey, Steve, Dr., author. Title: How to get a job in publishing : a guide to careers in the booktrade, magazines and communications / Alison Baverstock, Susannah Bowen and Steve Carey. Description: Second edition. | Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2023. | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Identifiers: LCCN 2022045752 (print) | LCCN 2022045753 (ebook) | ISBN 9781032226262 (hardback) | ISBN 9781032226286 (paperback) | ISBN 9781003273424 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Publishers and publishing–Vocational guidance. Classification: LCC Z278 .B37 2023 (print) | LCC Z278 (ebook) | DDC 070.5023–dc23/eng/20220927 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022045752 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/20220457 ISBN: 978-​1-​032-​22626-​2 (hbk) ISBN: 978-​1-​032-​22628-​6 (pbk) ISBN: 978-​1-​003-​27342-​4 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/​9781003273424 Typeset in Bembo by Newgen Publishing UK

CONTENTS

Foreword: On Books  Kate Wilson Foreword: On Publishing Education  Professor Claire Squires Foreword: On Magazines  Steve Prentice Acknowledgements 

vii x xii xv

Introduction 

1

1 Why Publishing and Why You? 

5

2 This Publishing Business 

15

3 Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging in Publishing 

27

4 About Book Publishing 

39

5 About Journal Publishing 

51

6 About Magazine Publishing 

57

7 About Digital Publishing 

67

8 Where Will Your Skill Set Take You? 

75

vi Contents

9 What Job Is Right for You? 

82

10 Study, Training and Lifelong Learning 

98

11 Internships, Placements and Work Experience 

109

12 How to Create a Compelling CV 

121

13 How to Put Together Your Job Application 

137

14 Networking and Your Personal Brand 

151

15 Advertised and Non-​advertised Opportunities 

163

16 Recruitment Agencies 

168

17 How to Give a Great Job Interview 

174

18 Referees, Job Offers and Negotiation 

189

19 Working Internationally 

195

20 Your Future in Publishing 

198

Useful Organisations and Websites  Bibliography  Glossary of Key Publishing Terms  Index 

208 210 211 216

FOREWORD: ON BOOKS Kate Wilson, Managing Director, Nosy Crow

I wanted a job in publishing. It was a truth held to be self-​evident that it wasn’t possible to get a job in publishing. I didn’t know anyone who had anything whatsoever to do with publishing, but I wanted to work with books. I loved books, always had done. As a keen childhood member of the Puffin Club, I had noticed that legendary Puffin editor, Kaye Webb, had the same initials as me, and, frankly, I felt it was a sign that I too could work in publishing. After university, jobless, I spent a few months at my local further education college learning to touch-​type on an unforgiving electric typewriter with the letters on the keys whited out with Tippex as I had never before used a keyboard (I know), learning shorthand (never, ever used), learning audio typing (where you typed letters dictated by someone else from the words on a mini cassette tape played on a machine operated with foot pedals) and learning basic computing on a computer with green letters and numbers on a black screen. I spent hours in my local library, researching publishers, by which I mean looking at the spines of books, and then looking up the publishers in the Writer’s and Artist’s Yearbook to find their postal address. Now, with this wise and information-​packed book in your hand, and so much up-​to-​date information available on the Internet, your job of finding a role in publishing is considerably easier. I wrote letters to scores of them. Really, scores. Lots of my letters were ignored. I received a lot of letters of rejection. But I got some interviews, and I would go down on the overnight coach from Edinburgh to London and wander round London until the time of the interview, eking out coffees in pre-​coffee-​shop-​chain cafés, eating foil-​ wrapped sandwiches from home, and then rocking up at the interview to mess up the typing test before getting back on the overnight coach and arriving home at pretty much the same time as the posted rejection letter from the publisher. My typing was inadequate –​I was slow and inaccurate. I didn’t get the jobs.

viii  Foreword: On Books

Finally, after several months of living with my parents and working café shifts to fund the coach trips, I was interviewed at Faber, and, after the interview itself, which went really well, I was asked to do the typing test, but I said (and I can’t quite believe that I got away with it), that I would come back in a couple of weeks to do the test. When I got off the coach in Edinburgh the following morning, I began a 14-​day marathon of copy-​typing Vera Brittain’s Testament of Youth for ten hours or more a day. A fortnight later, I was able to give Faber the good news that I’d doubled my typing speed since I’d last seen them… and the bad news that I’d lied to them about my typing speed when I’d first met them. They gave me the job. Yes, I was persistent and, yes, I worked hard to develop the skills that publishers then required, and, yes, I was honest and I made them laugh… but I am also aware of my privilege then and now: I am white, and middle-​class and Oxbridge-​ educated and a cis-​gendered woman. I know that I looked like the kind of person who should get a starter job in publishing in the mid-​eighties. What, if anything, is to be learned from this ancient history? Maybe that some things are the same: persistence plus relevant skills –​some of which may need to be polished –​are key. Standing out, perhaps through honesty and humour but perhaps in some other way, in an interview is helpful: if you’ve interviewed as many people as I have, you’re looking for something distinctive that makes an impression. But I hope that some things are different. I think that the candidates we look for is changing. We want people with a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives. For example, we know that over a third of children in UK primary schools are not white children, and we want people to help us to create books that provide authentic mirrors for those children, and authentic windows into those children’s experience for white children.We want people whose sexuality and gender identity make them sensitive to assumptions some of us might bring to family structures.We want people who will help us respectfully and accurately represent children with disabilities. In short, we want a range of opinions and perspectives to enable us to make new kinds of books and engage with new audiences. My first job in publishing was basically audio-​typing and photocopying, neither of them skills with much relevance to my own work today, or to the work of people starting at Nosy Crow. But I had to learn new skills with every new job, and within every new job. I had to be flexible and open right from the start: like lots of people, I wanted to be an editor, but the job I got was in the rights department. What I learned there –​from the way that the value of a publisher is essentially based on the copyright it controls, through the differences between markets around the world and how to negotiate, to how to ‘decode’ organisations and their politics –​is the basis of everything I do now. I didn’t want a job in rights, but I was open to it, and rights work is the spine that runs through my career. And the learning and flexibility never stops: I would say that I learnt more through the pandemic –​how to run a company when everyone was working from home, how to manage my own anxieties and those of others, how to publish when bookshops are closed and there are no international book fairs –​than at any point in the previous three decades.

Foreword: On Books  ix

Publishing, and the processes in publishing, have changed hugely during my decades working in it, and each year, it seems to me, change is accelerating. Communication by letter becomes communication by telex becomes communication by fax becomes communication by email becomes communication by Zoom. Xeroxing becomes photocopying becomes PDFs sent digitally. Facebook becomes Twitter becomes Instagram becomes TikTok. And in the middle of this constant roil of communication change, it has seemed that the book, the printed book, might become, exclusively, the e-​book, or the audiobook, or the app… except that, so far, hasn’t. The brilliant engaging book apps that we, among other publishers made for half a decade didn’t work financially, and e-​books, audio and print books have achieved a sort of equilibrium. In the world of children’s books in particular, the resilience of the print book is remarkable. When I was fired from a big job in publishing more than a decade ago, I considered, for a moment, finding a job outside the industry. But publishing has become such a huge part of my life that the pull back was too strong to resist, and, because I thought no-​one would give me a job, I made one for myself by founding a publishing company. The unique blend of the commercial and the creative that I find in publishing inspires me daily. Every book is a risk and an adventure –​the making of it, the marketing of it and the selling of it. I also feel that what I do, what we do as a business, is worthwhile. I believe that the books we publish for children are deeply imbued with important social and ethical values –​about caring for the world and caring for each other –​whether they’re stories or non-​fiction.The books that I read as a child have shaped my mind, and I recognise that it is a privilege to be allowed, through parents and carers and librarians and teachers, the power to shape children’s minds. As I write this, Dame Sharon White, chair of the John Lewis partnership, has said that over-​fifties opting out of working post-​pandemic is fuelling wage,1 and therefore general, inflation (though it means there’s more room for you…) and I think of my friends –​lawyers, consultants, teachers, TV executives and civil servants –​who are the same age as me and who have made the decision to stop work. I nod, when they tell me that they are sick of the work they do, but I don’t understand that feeling. I feel sad for them that they didn’t find a world as challenging and amusing and friendly and fulfilling as publishing in which to spend decades of their life. I did. I was lucky. I hope you will be too. Kate Wilson, Nosy Crow nosycrow.com

Note 1 John Lewis boss: Over-​50s quitting the workforce fuels inflation, BBC 9 August 2022.

FOREWORD: ON PUBLISHING EDUCATION Professor Claire Squires, Director of the Stirling Centre for International Publishing and Communication, University of Stirling and Chair, Association for Publishing Education

Publishing is one of those industries about which many myths exist. Perhaps this makes sense, as one of publishing’s key outputs is storytelling; the intellectual property that underpins other creative economy sectors, including film, TV and theatre. Publishing has a certain cachet, a sense of glamour, and an abiding pull to work in roles which lead to the production of books, magazines, journals and related digital products. But when individuals try to get into that industry, those myths –​and the perpetuation of them in reality –​can lead to exploitation, and create barriers for full and equal access to publishing careers. Unpaid work experience is one example; another is informal routes into industry, which both create and exacerbate the publishing work force’s skewed demographics, which for too long have remained overwhelmingly white and privileged. Books such as this one, then, make important interventions in debunking myths and clarifying access routes to industry. Through comprehensible explanations of market sectors, publishing is laid out in this volume as a complex but vibrant industry, which offers distinct types of job roles, entry points and experiences. ‘How to Get a Job in Publishing’ is broken down in simple ways that demystify the industry, while still retaining a sense of excitement about the potential for what it can offer its workers: satisfying and intellectually stimulating careers, multi-​faceted and team-​based challenges, and the opportunity to work with that all important intellectual property, be it the latest Booker-​prize winner, world-​saving research into vaccines or content created around a TikTok sensation –​and a host of other possibilities. My own publishing-​adjacent sector –​university courses which offer professionally oriented publishing education as a career route –​forms part of How to Get a Job in Publishing’s overview, and sets out to perform a similar function as the book. This function is to give real insight into the varying aspects of the industry, to offer guidance, and to develop skills, knowledge and capabilities. Part of this function is

Foreword: On Publishing Education  xi

also –​as far as I’m concerned –​to encourage a critical reflection on the industry and your potential place within it. Debunking myths is one thing, but what should we collectively be doing to make publishing a fairer, more equitable, more environmentally sustainable place –​at the same time as understanding and working within its economic constraints? I no longer work directly within the publishing industry myself, but educating future publishers makes this an ongoing question for me, and also means that researching aspects of the functions of the publishing industry –​and its associated book cultures –​is similarly imperative an undertaking. As well as the publishing industry itself, what are the broader impacts and affordances of cultures created around it and by it? I’ve got big faith in new entrants to the industry –​those of you picking up and reading this book –​in responding to these questions while you find your own career path, and even making the future pathways of those who follow behind you well signposted. For publishing can be a bit of an establishment industry, and –​as with the authors of this book and their informative, helpful advice –​I’m concerned that we open it out and make publishing welcoming and available to all. As part of that, it’s important that we recognise that even once you’ve made your way into the industry, inequities can continue. As one of the industry workers who contributed quotations to this volume comments, ‘join a union if there is one.’ I’d add, work together with colleagues if not to establish one. My words might seem a slightly negative start to a book which sets out to help you get a job in publishing. But as the multiple quotations from individuals working in publishing collected within this book evidence, publishers share an infectious enthusiasm for the industry and its products. And it’s actually for this reason that I emphasise some of the socio-​political challenges confronting publishing –​it’s a vital industry, still very much at the heart of knowledge creation, information, culture and entertainment –​and it’s therefore crucial that potential entrants to it are encouraged, helped and offered pathways to successful and fulfilling careers within it. How to Get a Job in Publishing contributes substantially to this career guidance –​ read it with attention. Professor Claire Squires, Stirling Centre for International Publishing and Communication, publishing.stir.ac.uk

FOREWORD: ON MAGAZINES Steve Prentice, Group Managing Director, Special Interest Group, Bauer Media

My first job in publishing was aged 19, after achieving a couple of very humdrum A-​level results, as a trainee reporter on the Peterborough Evening Standard. Salary: £4,800 per year, straight in at the deep end learning how to be a journalist by covering police calls, births, marriages and deaths, livestock prices and everything in between. After about six months following a qualified journalist around, I was finally allowed to write something for the free weekly paper (published every Thursday). Plus, I got to drive to jobs in a white Mini pool-​car with the newspaper’s name emblazoned on the sides of the car… not so great when covering Fourth Division away games at Hartlepool, Rochdale and Burnley, believe me. But what a job! While my friends were bored senseless working in banks, insurers and engineering firms I was having a ball. The excitement of working to deadlines, the variety of the stories, the playing a part in making something every week as I filed my stories to be sub-​edited, headlines written, the words turned into real printed letters stuck to a camera-​ready page with melted wax (yes really) and then sent to the printing press (owned by the same newspaper company).The smell of the ink, the sound of the machinery, the anticipation of pulling an early copy off the press, basking in seeing your name in print. And starting with a completely blank page the next issue. I’m now a group managing director for Bauer –​the ‘monster’ publisher mentioned in Chapter 6. I have worked on evening newspapers, national newspapers, magazines and websites, as an editor and publisher for three of the largest UK publishers: Emap,Time Inc and Bauer, from titles like Classic Cars to Country Life to Horse & Hound to Today’s Golfer to cyclingweekly.com. And through all those years, navigating all those roles, from journalist to ‘senior management,’ I can honestly say it’s still a blast and a great career choice.

Foreword: On Magazines  xiii

I still get a buzz seeing the latest issues arrive and love the almost instant data-​ driven reaction when a piece of digital content hits the spot. As I write this I can see a huddle of three videographers, not long out of university, putting together the latest video road test for the MotorCycle News website… publishing has come a long way from starting a career on free newspapers. As an industry we are going through an intense period of change as digital consumption through our phones and tablets becomes ubiquitous and magazine sales inevitably diminish. The global pandemic and the rise in energy prices means we have to change even faster. But with this change comes opportunity.The communities our once print-​only titles serve are still in rude health. Film lovers still want to know about the latest movies, golfers still want to shoot lower scores and equestrians still want the inside line on three-​day eventing. Investment in technology means we can now serve these communities on digital platforms, consuming our content however, wherever and whenever they like. Specialist teams of journalists are brilliantly placed to give readers behind-​the-​ scenes access to events such as the Open Golf Championship, British Fashion Week and the Oscars; during the pandemic we saw an explosion in demand for craft, gardening and walking content. Consumers remain willing to subscribe to high-​quality content; advertisers, crucially, continue to see value in accessing those readers. This does not relate solely to special interest brands and audiences –​technology is bringing together readers and advertisers across the board and publishers who do this brilliantly are thriving in news, mass-​market, premium and business-​to-​ business sectors. As an industry we are developing engaging new products which are generating revenue from content, playing a key role in recommending the best products for consumers to buy, launching events, streams of video and TV content, paid-​for newsletters and becoming major players in new territories such as the United States. The multi-​channel publishing world is more complex than ever, driven by technology platforms and the digitisation of content. The huge hype surrounding Wordle, and its subsequent acquisition by the New York Times, was a brilliant example of how technology is fully integrated into the publishing world. In turn this activity has created new opportunities. We are hiring! We’re hiring affiliate content writers, developers, project managers, sales leads, business analysts, platform experts, product managers, proposition managers, email marketing executives, digital publishers, paywall experts, videographers, PPC executives, data scientists, audience development execs… The routes into publishing are more varied than ever before. So, I hear you ask (after all, you did buy this book) how can you land a role in the exciting new world of publishing? This book will help you enormously, as will your qualifications, and here’s some key advice: this industry loves a doer. Are you prepared to roll up your sleeves and make things happen? Can you cut through problems and provide solutions? And crucially, how can you evidence of this at CV and interview stage?

xiv  Foreword: On Magazines

If you’re a writer, where’s your portfolio? Where have you worked over the summer? You want to be a social media marketer? Show us your Instagram feed! Better still, show us the Instagram feed you created for the charity you worked at last summer! What did you do over and above your degree course that shows your versatility? Playing roles in university societies, groups, the content and subject of your sixth-​form EPQ, and your volunteering history are all great things to show your willingness to get stuck in. This will always trump a candidate with the best degree at the best university but no real-​world experience. Qualifications get you through the door, but the winning interview is the one where you can show what steps you have already taken. The world of publishing is no doubt challenging. There are easier industries to join (although after recent world events that is arguable) and it (probably) won’t make you rich. But it’s fascinating, vibrant and highly creative, and perhaps one of the few industries where communication, creativity and business come together on an industrial scale. It’s come a long way from covering Peterborough United v Rochdale on a freezing Monday night. And I still love every single minute of it. Steve Prentice, Bauer Media UK bauermedia.co.uk

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Alison would like to thank her family, students and colleagues at Kingston University and many publishing friends. Above all, she is appreciative of having worked in a really fascinating and utterly worthwhile industry for most of her life. Susannah thanks her dear family –​Rik, Leo, Max and Isolda.You have been beside me while I worked on this book, providing endless cups of tea and encouragement. Steve thanks his darling wife Helen, who puts up with him going missing for hours on end: sometimes this is what he has been doing.: As a team we think we have embodied many of the good practices outlined within this book. We have worked as a team, mentored each other through individual professional and personal blockages (the value of mentoring is not just for the young) and combined our experience. Somehow, and as with our first edition, working in different time-​zones has provided an added spur to making the most of our online meetings –​and getting things done by the next one.

General Thanks It’s an honour to introduce this amazing industry to those thinking about where they might like to start their career, both through this book and through our teaching. Our thanks to students from Kingston University and the University of Melbourne –​we love seeing how you are thriving as publishers, marketers, writers, editors, artists, bloggers and more. We thank friends we’ve worked with near and far, mentors and colleagues, and those who have contributed comments and ideas including: Alex (where there’s no surname the contributor has asked for it not to be used), Alicia Cohen, Alison Lawson, Allison McMullin, Amanda Cheung, Amy Flower, Andy Jones, Anna, Anna O’Brien, Anthony Forbes Watson, Averill Chase, Beth Driscoll, Camha Pham, Caroline

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xvi Acknowledgements

Prodger, Charles Nettleton, Christie Davies, Claire Squires, Clare Somerville, Clint, Dave Atkinson, David Taylor, Deborah Wyatt, Emma Smith, Emma Tait, Fiona Hammond, the FNPOC Network, Grace Lucas-​Pennington, Greg Ingham, Hannah McKeating, Heather Benn, Helen Fraser, Helen O’Dare, Hella Ibrahim, Ian Evenden, Jack Baverstock, Jackie Harbor, Jackie Wise, Jan Goodey, Jessica, John Peacock, Julia Moffat, Kate, Kate Fleming, Kate Wilson, Keiran Rogers, Kirsty Hine, Laura Summers, Lisa Coley, Lucy Bingle, Malcolm Neil, Mark Barratt, Mark Davis, Mark Seebeck, Martin Neild, Michael Cahill, Michael Hanrahan, Michiel Kolman, Nick Hemburrow, Paul Watt, Rachael McDiarmid, Radhiah Chowdhury, Rich Pelley, Ruth Jelley, Rob Pegley, Robert McKay, Sarah Cassie, Sarah Porter, Simon Bradley, Sophie Langer, Starr Jamieson, Stefanie Di Trocchio, Stephanie Carey, Steve King, Stuart Jones, Suzie Dooré, Tim Coronel and Travis Godfredson.

INTRODUCTION

When you first tell people you want to work in publishing, magazines or the booktrade, you’re virtually guaranteed to hear this: get real. It’s practically impossible to get into, and you’ve got no chance. Or perhaps, more politely, Oh! Um. Good luck. Often you’re told that, in any case, even if you could, there’s no point: computers are taking over and the book is dead. Are they right? Well, yes, jobs in publishing are highly sought after. And yes, the industry is changing. What they don’t know is this: you have this book. We know publishing. We know how the industry works, and when you’ve read this book, you’ll have a vastly better idea too, giving you a keen edge over those who don’t. We know what employers look for, what various roles involve, what it takes to succeed. The future of publishing belongs to you and to people like you: young, born digital, not soaked in decades of assumptions about how things should be done and what people want. So despite this avalanche of negativity, we maintain if you really, really want to, you can make it, and that it’s worth the effort to find a place within the world of publishing.

Why is the publishing industry a compelling place to work? Publishing is a fascinating area of employment –​with a life-​long relevance. The skills you develop as a publisher will prove useful to you in all aspects of your future development, from how to lay out a programme for an important event to the random general knowledge you acquire while involved in the industry. As a publisher you are dealing with what interests people, or what they need to know; the information they find personally or professionally useful. This places publishers at the forefront of ideas and developing areas of understanding. What DOI: 10.4324/9781003273424-1

2 Introduction

they commission may take many different forms –​with both current models and new options to come. Publishers look for experts who can distil thinking around a new topic that needs to be understood; they commission material that resonates for children, their parents and carers; they seek spot writers whose work nails an issue within today’s society –​and may become emblematic of widespread empathy. This is important work.

How can you spot the role of the publisher? One of the reasons publishing is hard to understand as a career is that it can be difficult to locate. A well-​managed book or publication can appear both self-​standing and self-​contained, as if it always had to be that way –​belying the careful attention that has gone into its presentation. Yet the more you understand about how information is presented, the more you appreciate that a publisher’s role is a precious thing, offering an intersection between user and content, a means of accessing and absorbing content that is so ingrained, we cease to notice it: That interface has evolved, but in some ways it has remained remarkably consistent. I quote Martial in the 1st century of the Christian era, saying how books were more convenient than scrolls because you could hold them with one hand. ...The basic technology hasn’t changed in 2,000 years.There’s been a lot of discussion about e-​books and how they would either kill off the book or develop into fascinating multimedia objects, but actually neither of these things have happened. Kindles are like books in format and size and in what they want to do. They haven’t revolutionised the interface. They want to be books. Emma Smith, Professor of Shakespeare Studies, Oxford University1

The publisher’s role as central within society Predictions of the end of the book, and so presumably the end of the role of the publisher, are premature. Publishers are creating an end product that has a value to people; that others will respond to and want to own, borrow, steal, absorb –​and often display. During the lockdowns that were the international consequence of the pandemic, people turned to reading, and many publishers had their best ever year. E-​book sales boomed but so did physical books, a time-​filler that kept people connected, prompted links with wider society –​and fuelled happiness levels through the receipt of parcels. This was also a time of immense political change, with the ongoing need for reports, publications and campaigns that sought to present ideas and convince others. Here too, publishing was of central importance. Every legislative change

Introduction  3

proposed needed accompanying documentation, reports, correspondence –​and often challenge, and the role of the publisher was central to the process.

The metamorphosis achieved by publishing The power of the publisher lies in taking the raw materials of thought and shaping them into formats that others can access. The raw materials of the publisher are often abstract: ideas and interests made concrete through their translation into words and images on which further development can be built. But it is the publishers who do the assembling; building starting points into formats that others recognise and which can be sold through mechanisms that exist –​or can be created. It follows that the sheer plasticity of the role of publisher needs isolating and understanding. When material becomes famous, and everyone assumes it was ever so, then archives offer important access to the process by which it met its wider world. The lyrics to a famous song scribbled on the back of a birthday card; the first draft of a text that shows the author’s first idea was really close (or not) to what finally appeared in print. The role of the publisher is to take what is circulating, whether in the format of conversations, ideas or stories, and turn this (maybe with the addition or more material) into a format that can be shared.This is a dynamic and fascinating process. And this role is changing. As society seeks to become more inclusive and to reach all, the need for understanding across different interests and societal groups, and their wider representation, often falls to the publisher. The industry is at the forefront of recording what matters to society –​and reflecting these values back through delivering relevant content.

The community is appealing Book people tend to be pleasant people, those who can get excited by an idea and sufficiently generous to work in teams towards its delivery. We all love books. We can all –​even scared kids from the country –​find our family, and I think that is what brings us together. We find people who get us. Find people who get excited about the written world. Share your passion. Helen O’Dare, author and publishing maven, Australia

What does this book cover? We started out thinking about publishing –​books, journals and magazines. All of those are mixed media; print and digital, digital and print. We look at online and digital-​first publishing, trade, educational and professional publishing, journal publishers and aggregators, and touch on communications, journalism and the

4 Introduction

wider booktrade including booksellers, both traditional and those reaching markets through other retail channels and new routes to market.

Who are we to comment? So, a word of introduction to your team of authors. Each of us is a hugely experienced practitioner; we have been senior managers in publishing and the booktrade, media/​journalism and researchers and commentators on the industry –​as well as the wider creative economy.We are actively involved in teaching publishing to new generations. When asked to talk about these industries we found we were constantly asked about the practicalities of approaching the employment market. How can people get a job –​particularly new starters and those early in their careers? The first edition of this book was our response. We continue to see massive changes in the environment of work and education. Training and development are now largely devolved to the responsibility of the individual, rather than being the responsibility of the employer once you have that job. Individuals wanting to consider publishing feel pressure to study for master’s degrees and to undertake industry placements and internships at their own expense, before making job applications. The search for staff is also becoming more varied and the value of a diverse workforce is more widely understood. There is less of an assumption that an individual from the ‘right’ college or school automatically makes the best future employee. But employers need help in being guided towards those whose life experience has been different, and who offer comparable, diverse or superior perspectives that would make them useful employees, with guidance on the transferability of that experience. It follows that nurturing your career is vital. You are both your own project and your own best advocate, and you need to resource yourself with a sufficient understanding of the market and the individuals you are asking to invest in you to make the right impression. We hope this second edition of our established classic text will help you do just that. In conclusion, there has never been a better time to become –​and remain –​a publisher. We hope to continue to show you how.

Note 1 Books do extraordinary work, but we can overstate their importance, Guardian 30 April 2022.

1 WHY PUBLISHING AND WHY YOU?

Why this book got written Luck and chance and happenstance play an enormous part in creating life’s opportunities, whether professional or social. So open your life and give yourself every chance for opportunities to develop... you just never know. John Peacock, former Group Production Director, Macmillan, UK Remember that publishing is normally a commercial endeavour, involving producing and selling for money. It is not an academic or lifestyle extension. Robert McKay, Director, Dunedin Academic Press, UK Keep going! If you are sure you want to get into publishing and you think you can do it, it might take you months and months and months.You might be on the dole, living in your parents’ house. It might take luck, and you may need help from family and friends with connections or other ways to help. It may take hundreds of applications. Stephanie Carey, Associate Commissioning Editor Joffe Books (London) We wrote this book to do two things: to help you decide whether you want to work in publishing; and if you do, to help you get a job. There are three of us: Alison based in the United Kingdom, Susannah (Australia then United Kingdom then Australia) and Steve (previously United Kingdom, now Australia) –​three guides for the price of one (you’re welcome). We all love this industry, have enjoyed working within it for many years, and want to demonstrate why publishing can offer such an enjoyable career. Between us we’ve worked in every kind of publishing houses in many different countries, and numerous published products, from magazines, books and newspapers to blogs and websites; and as we’ve researched this book we have consulted hundreds of people. So what DOI: 10.4324/9781003273424-2

6  Why Publishing and Why You?

you’re about to read is broad –​and internationally based, and applies across different types of publishing and cultural settings.

What this book is not It may not be wise to hold out too long for your dream job. Be prepared to get into the industry through other routes and be open to considering sectors or roles which aren’t your first choice. Much of your experience is transferable, so you can bank some skills whilst you wait for other opportunities to come up. You may even find, as I did, that your aptitudes and interests align in unexpected ways –​I didn’t think I’d stay in educational publishing but it proved to be a great fit for me. Caroline Prodger, Freelance Publisher, UK Buying this book doesn’t guarantee you a job in publishing. Even if it did, however well you prepare, however often you read it from cover to cover, you just won’t enjoy working in it unless you’re inspired and excited by ideas, able to take leaps of imagination and think about doing things differently. Publishing is an entrepreneurial profession; it needs people interested in ideas and willing to think about what excites consumers, why and how –​and to keep on doing so. Having made this key point, let’s give you ten good reasons to work in publishing. Read them and see whether this is the industry for you.

Ten great things about working in publishing 1.  You get to work with products you like Book people love books. Later we explain why it’s not a good idea to say you love books in an interview (really!), but for now, just between ourselves, we feel free to say that a genuine passion for the medium of books or words, reading and content and a love of browsing bookshops –​is a great starting point for any potential employee. In the world of magazines it may be the subject matter that draws you in. But whether you are working on books, magazines or digital content, you must be prepared to be interested in whatever you are allocated to. I can remember the format of almost every book I have enjoyed; I like their feel, their smell and heaviness –​and I feel slightly panicky if I suddenly realise that I have time available, and nothing to read. I can still remember spending my first book token, and using it for a boxed set of Paddington Bear books. I read Hardy’s Tess of the D’Urbervilles as a homesick sixteen-​year old, exiled to France on an exchange, and was utterly engrossed. I never throw my books away, but regard them as the most important kind of decoration –​indeed the first thing I do on going into a new home is to look at the books on display. Alison

Why Publishing and Why You?  7

Reading has always been my thing, and I’m thrilled to have built a career and a life around words –​as a reader, a writer, a podcaster, a marketer, a publishing professional. Books were my first friends and I expect them to be my last companions. Susannah Reading was just about all I used to do as a young teenager (it still is). I worked in my dad’s fruit and veg shop, and he used to find a shop full of unserved customers, with me engrossed in reading the newspaper we used to wrap stuff in. Steve To each of us, it’s a huge bonus to be able to work with a product we value and respect so much, and all of us feel proud to say what we do when asked.

2.  You work on products that really matter to the world Books stand for something. Most aspiring politicians (and, incidentally, eventual dictators) at some stage package their ideas between two covers rather than rely on dissemination through articles in the press or media interviews. Books displayed within the home or office have a representational value. My father’s tatty collection of 1950s Penguins and Pelicans was a statement of his interest in ideas and a rejection of the burgeoning consumerism around him; to him they represented a more idealistic world, and ambition. I can remember clearly how as a first-​year university student I self-​consciously lay about the house reading Erica Jong’s Fear of Flying during a claustrophobic family Christmas. –​ Alison The immediacy of publishing still grabs me. In particular, the power of the printed word is still glamorous and magical.You put a magazine together, and then a couple of weeks later you go into the local newsagent and there it is on the shelf –​wow! And the thrill of seeing your own words in a book (this is getting a bit meta, isn’t it?) has never worn off. Steve

3.  You get to participate in your culture There is always more material seeking a publisher than there is the capacity to manage, store or sell. It follows that what finally does get published has made it through rounds of analysis and meetings. So what appears tends to be the most interesting, most researched, most innovative, the most quoted or the product of the hottest trends. This is fascinating. Publishers tend to know who are the key figures within society, the disruptors and the motivators –​in business, government,

8  Why Publishing and Why You?

the charitable sector and the media; whose star is rising and whose falling, and that is interesting information. Feeling ‘current’ is a satisfying reason in itself for being in publishing.

4.  You’re making something you’re proud of –​and can hold In the beginning, knowing what you want to do is a big challenge. I encourage everyone to learn a little about everything and a lot about one thing that really engages you. Over time you continue to build the knowledge, skills, and network that can help you change a job into a long and enjoyable career. On a practical side, the nature of work in publishing is changing, with freelance and consultative work becoming ever more the norm. Navigating those challenges, or rather developing the skills, as well as the confidence in navigating the changing nature of publishing will become ever more important. Michael Cahill, Senior Regional Director, National Geographic Learning,Taiwan People love books and magazines –​the written word on paper. Just about every book is now available as an e-​book, and in addition to e-​book readers you can read on your phone or tablet or laptop, but people still buy print books –​for reading in bed, in the bath, at the beach –​or to fully own something initially read as an e-​book. Think about the concept of the ‘eternal format’; a product that achieves a basic shape which is then tweaked and experimented with, but stays basically the same forever. The sandwich, the flush lavatory and the Post-​It note are examples. The basic codex is another. New publishing formats come and go all the time, but they all approximate the look and feel of the basic codex, and indeed are judged by how well they perform compared to the versatile functionality of print books. Like many of us I get anxious when I don’t have something to read. Smartphones help of course –​news, longform articles and social media all at my fingertips. And e-​book readers are brilliant, particularly for travel –​lots of panic downloading at the airport. I buy print books for myself whenever I can and there’s no better gift than a book. I don’t believe that people are either print readers OR digital readers –​I am happily both, and why not? Susannah

5.  The people are really interesting There is no other career where you can pick up a little knowledge on so many different things, and meet people from pop stars to politicians, from poets to princesses. Martin Neild, former Managing Director, Hodder and Stoughton, UK

Why Publishing and Why You?  9

Publishing offers the opportunity to meet interesting people –​and this is not just confined to those working within the world of celebrity publishing. Publishing offers you the chance to meet people making a difference in the world, whatever they write about. One of Alison’s early jobs was with Macmillan’s medical, scientific and technical division, and here she came across a group of doctors whose hospital received the United Kingdom’s first AIDS patients, and hence were involved from the start in firstly trying to identify, and later treat, the condition. Similarly, she worked with researchers at the Royal Marsden Hospital who have since completed pioneering work in cancer treatment. Publishing offers endless opportunities to meet interesting people –​and the general knowledge you pick up along the way builds your general knowledge!

6.  You work with great people A frequent comment by those who leave the publishing industry is that they miss the people. A television producer Alison met recently, through involvement in a series about books, commented afterwards on how nice publishing people are. As with any industry ruthlessness, naked ambition and internal politics are in evidence, and there are inevitable fallings in and out, but in general publishers are co-​ operators; eager to do a good job and get the product out on time and on budget. Alison’s theory is that because publishing people work in teams on products that carry someone else’s name, they are generous and collaborative. For most it’s a congenial world to work in. Although I no longer work full time in publishing because I have family commitments and am also now developing a second career as a writer, I can honestly say that the ten years I spent in the industry as an employee were wonderful.The money isn’t fantastic, but for me editing particularly was an enormously enjoyable and satisfying job, and one which I still miss. The friends I made in that time have become friends for life. As long as you are realistic about your aims and prepared to work hard, it is a brilliant industry to be in. Julia Moffat, freelance editor and writer Publishing is often mistakenly thought of a sinecure for those with a Literature or Arts degree, but we need publishers in every area of life for which there is a need for finalised content. In her experience, Alison comments that Linguistics graduates make good publishers, because they are focussed on thinking about how to get a message across, and what way of communicating is most effective. Sometimes those with a Literature degree can be over-​convinced of the need to persuade others of the merits of their favourite author.

10  Why Publishing and Why You?

Some take this a stage further. There are many publishing romances and relationships.And management issues of how partners working for rival organisations share information at home have in general been handled in a civilised fashion, without –​as far as we are aware –​any high-​profile legal cases. There is a wider point here: you should be careful what you say; relationships are widely spread, and sympathies endure long after they are over. People within the industry tend to job-​hop within publishing, rather than industry-​hop, and you never know whom you are talking to.

7.  You get a flexible, long-​term career Publishing makes a good choice for those who want a flexible career, and perhaps not to be office-​based all their lives. Publishing companies are often run on the basis of slight understaffing, and there is a tradition of relying on external services and opinions (cheaper than employing them in-​house, full time). It follows that you can carry on feeling useful long after you officially leave. There are various roles that combine well with having a family, or living an itinerant lifestyle, and the industry is not as obsessed with youth as others. There is a wide understanding that you get better at publishing as more happens to you –​as you have more empathy with a wider group of markets. Other industries tend to assume a much greater ‘cult of presentness’ which means that if you are not there you can’t be part of it. What is more, the skills and competencies you acquire during a career in publishing are useful in a wide variety of voluntary and paid employments such as writing and editing newsletters, publicity and public relations, and managing other sorts of publications.Your experience also gives you a less socially acceptable legacy –​a life-​long obsession with detail: you can’t read a menu in a restaurant or programme at an event without spotting typographical errors or examining the production standards or choice of typeface. I had a number of brilliant roles and would recommend the industry as a vibrant, modern and challenging place to work. I was able to move from one sector to another without being pigeon holed, which was great –​I worked in education, STM, fiction, religion and academic and professional. The skillset I acquired meant I could freelance alongside my day job so I built up a great network of contacts and worked on a huge variety of texts, ranging from academic work about fisheries management to erotic fiction. Alison Lawson, Head of Discipline of Marketing and Operations, Derby Business School, University of Derby, UK

8.  People think what you do is glamorous and exciting Here’s an interesting party game. How do different professions get greeted when they say what they do on social occasions?

Why Publishing and Why You?  11

If you’re a dentist and mention that fact at a party, people tend to respond by telling you they don’t like dentists. Doctors get pestered by people who want an instant diagnosis for a pain in the knee that has been troubling them. Teachers get told they have long holidays; ministers of religion that it must be good to only have to work one day of the week. Tell someone at a party that you work in publishing, and they will not wait for you to explain that it’s selling high-​priced monographs to academics in Japan –​they immediately conjure up a mental image of you lunching with Margaret Atwood and scanning news websites for potential bestsellers. ‘That must be fascinating’ is the inevitable first response. Then they tell you all about the book they have in them!

9.  You’re not looked down on as ‘just in it for the money’ Publishing has become vastly more professional in recent years, and salaries have risen in line with improved efficiency. Even so, it is still an uncertain way to make your fortune. Profit margins are slim, and salaries in publishing tend to be lower than might be secured by your talents and inclinations in other professions. If you sincerely want to be rich, become a merchant banker or a lawyer. Sadly, most creative industries (journalism, arts marketing, visual arts) generally pay in the lower salary brackets. However many think the interesting work and congenial colleagues make up for it.

10.  You get your reading cheap! Working within publishing or for book retailers generally offers you the chance to buy products from other publishers at trade discount (usually at least a third off), and reading the trade press each week gives you many more ideas of what to read than you may have had before.You will probably find yourself reading more. This can have its downside. Family and friends are often quick to find out if you can get a discount for them too. An awareness of your special buying status does tend to mean that any books you give as presents are assumed to be discounted items, even if –​as often happens to us –​you pay full price through bookshops because you’re not well organised enough to get them ahead of time through the trade!

What kind of person does best in publishing? Later sections of this book talk about the particular mental –​and sometimes physical –​attributes you need to succeed in specific parts of publishing. For now, let’s talk about the two main attributes: you need to be insatiably curious, and excited by new ideas. The first gives you the material to work with, the second gives you the passion to do something with that material.

12  Why Publishing and Why You?

Are you insatiably curious? To succeed in publishing you need to be curious. Nosy might be a better word –​or, even better, the Australian term: you need to be a stickybeak. You are fascinated by new markets, and how and why customers buy and use their product, and why those who don’t buy from them have not been tempted. You can spot trends and get excited by new marketing methods, production facilities and selling locations.You can imagine yourself subjecting your friends and family to all kinds of product ideas, and you can listen rather than just impose your own ideas or solutions. A good graphic designer is constantly absorbing trends and fashions; a good journalist or editor is able to see a story where the rest of us see none. A new magazine idea can come from anywhere, and from anyone. All it takes is someone who is passionate about something and believes there are others who share that passion.

Are you excited by the new? To succeed in publishing, in any medium, you’re going to have to excel at distinguishing between passing trends (which may still be profitable publishing opportunities, if you move quickly); lasting trends (more profitable, because they are enduring); and ‘busted flushes’ (over and no longer worth investing in). You have to be able to spot leads; good ideas buried within unpromising submissions and be guided by your instincts to look further. You need to combine enthusiasm with realism, able to persuade others to follow you, but open minded enough to listen to negative feedback and make the right decision. Be full of curiosity: Nietzsche said: ‘I like the future to be uncertain’. That’s what drives me on –​ the fact that nothing is written, that anything can happen, that life is full of surprises. I wake up every morning thinking that maybe I will meet someone wonderful, read an incredible text, go to a party that will end at dawn.–​ Leila Slimani, novelist1 Publishing is fascinated with ‘the ones that got away,’ ideas that were presented to a number of publishing houses but whose merits were only spotted by one house, and relatively late in the day. Harry Potter, for instance, was turned down by many other more famous houses before being taken on by Bloomsbury. Stephen King was repeatedly turned down by publishers; Lord of the Flies, Life of Pi and Twilight are all on the list of bestsellers initially rejected. Based on this, there is a large, and growing, strand of publishing that copies what already exists. Many houses bring out their own versions of good sellers, or package their books to look like what has already been successful; witness the stream of Sally Rooney look-​alikes, or the different genres of fiction that can be judged on cover appearance without needing to read the blurb.

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Copying can yield profits, and all creative industries work like this –​artists copy each other, and journalists are more likely to believe each other (what they see in other media) than their publicity contacts. But really good publishers can spot a good idea that is fresh and turn it into something others want to own, read or access. Once an idea is up and running it can look like it was always appealing; an effective publisher can spot something in unpromising material. For example, Piatkus Books spotted a story on the slush pile from someone who had felt she had lived before. They engaged a ghost writer, retold the story, and the book is now the best documented example of a previous life. In other words, they were able to look beyond the poorly drafted first manuscript to spot an idea that others would be interested in hearing more about. And Charles Monteith, a junior editor at Faber, noticed that the first chapter of the manuscript of Lord of the Flies was yellow and worn, but the rest of it was untouched. He started with Chapter 2 –​ and discovered a classic.The book was published in 1954, minus the off-​putting first chapter, and has gone on to sell millions. So if you are a stickybeak and can smell what’s in the air before others do, what other qualities do you need? You need to be: •

•

•

•

•

Current.You need to be well informed and up-​to-​date. Certainly, around your subject matter you know everything that’s going on. You also need to know what other publishers are producing, by scanning the industry press and regularly browsing bookshops. Well-​organised. You need attention to detail, and a good memory for names, faces and previous examples.You also need to be good at storing information, so it can later be retrieved. Tactful. You’ll be working with creatives –​indeed, you may be one yourself. Any creative worth their salt is passionate, and often that means neurotic and paranoid, about their own product, and they don’t care about commercial constraints. Some writers are easy to deal with; some are not. Can you encourage the genius but work around the associated difficult personality? Good under pressure. Publishing has an insatiable appetite for new products. So while juggling lots of new ideas is stimulating, you’ll find you don’t have nearly enough time or resources, and for what you’re doing to be profitable it has to be out before it’s anything like as good as you want it to be. If you are a perfectionist, who hates compromise, and feels bitter disappointment if something is anything less than 100% perfect, publishing could be a difficult place to find satisfaction. Thick-​skinned. Everyone you know will want to be published. If you’re writing for a magazine they’ll tell you exactly what needs to be done better and differently, including scathing criticism of your own work. If you have the power to commission you’ll be besieged by people who won’t take no for an answer. If you’re in marketing, you’ll slave away for hours on a brochure, proofread it endlessly, proudly receive ten boxes of printed copies, only to have ten people point out a typo on page 8.

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•

Not overly sensitive. You’ll do work for which you don’t get the credit. Think about how that might feel. Imagine, for example, you work for a magazine company and come up with a great idea for a new magazine. But the publisher decides you don’t have the experience to edit it, and you see your vision distorted. Or perhaps, even worse, your vision is taken on by someone else and turned into a glorious success, for which you get minimal credit. It can happen, and if such an experience would turn you bitter and twisted –​rather than inspiring you to come up with another idea, and another, until you get to be in that chair –​then think hard about potentially exposing yourself to such treatment. There are a few things to be aware of that could otherwise take a while to work out: a) Publishing, and general publishing in particular, is tribal and inward-​looking, so either be happy to play the game or work out how you can turn your lack of these attributes to your advantage. b) The book’s been around for a long time and growth is sluggish which means that you have to combine geniality with high levels of competitiveness with your colleagues, to flourish. c) Publishing is about people, not books. d) Change jobs every 3-​ 5 years without fail. e) Seek out the visionaries and make the effort to work for the best people. Anthony Forbes Watson, former Managing director of Penguin UK

In conclusion, how does publishing sound to you now? We hope we’ve tested some of your assumptions and perhaps made you think about how well suited you are to it as a career.

Note 1 The Questionnaire: Leïla Slimani, FT Magazine, 6–​7 August 2022.

2 THIS PUBLISHING BUSINESS

In this chapter we introduce you to the publishing industry and the issues it faces. You need to understand the business of publishing –​and it is, above all, a business. You also need to have an understanding of, and to form your own views on, trends and challenges. Having an enthusiasm for books and/​or magazines is a good place to start, and we assume throughout that you have that. But it’s not nearly enough: it is what philosophers like to call a ‘necessary but not sufficient condition.’ To impress someone considering you for a job, you need them to know that you understand that this is a business, not just a nice place to work or somewhere to indulge your love of reading at someone else’s expense. Feedback from those who have had recent interviews for publishing jobs is that a common question is this: ‘Tell me about some of the challenges facing the publishing industry.’ Never say ‘I want to be in publishing because I love books’. Of course that is important but you need to make it clear that you understand that publishing is a profit-​oriented business like any other, but that its appeal is that it is a unique blend of the cultural and the commercial. Martin Neild, former Managing Director, Hodder and Stoughton, UK This chapter considers trends and issues that those who work within publishing are dealing with. If they’re not interesting enough for you to want to devote your life to them, then publishing is not for you. And it’s a good thing you find that out now, rather than fighting to get into an industry that, honestly, you won’t enjoy. Conversely, it’s a good sign if you have things to say about these trends, anecdotes that relate to them, and bring your personal experience. Even better if you furiously disagree with us on any of what follows. Good! That shows you’re thinking independently and have strong views. And, if you need it, just to get you started on DOI: 10.4324/9781003273424-3

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the process, we present here questions with which you can challenge yourself –​and which can serve as practice for interviews. Having a view that you can articulate and support is far more important in an interview than being right –​and after all, if these questions had simple, clear, correct answers you wouldn’t get them thrown at you in your interview.They don’t tend to ask the easy ones, except to help you relax.

How can we improve diversity and inclusion within publishing? Publishing is difficult to get into, and dominated by white people from privileged backgrounds. Many of its entry points are invisible unless you know where to look: informal processes, nepotism and long-​term unpaid placements mean limiting opportunities to those with the right connections who can afford to take them.The industry has also long been based in major urban centres, expensive to live in and travel to, particularly if a placement is unpaid. This is unfair, but it’s also bad for business: restrictive recruitment practices limit a publisher’s understanding of the market. If those making choices about what gets published come from a tiny sliver of society, and all agree with each others’ tastes and preferences, the choices they make won’t reflect the full extent of market opportunities. And this may lead to a general failure to reach sectors of society that may have an active interest in buying your published products –​or even the identification of opportunities for the development of new products for markets as yet unreached or unknown. There are initiatives to widen participation within publishing, and the situation is changing, albeit gradually. Everyone has to start somewhere! Publishing is as a whole a friendly industry –​ most people are willing to engage and help junior staff. It is becoming more inclusive and diverse, and definitely isn’t as nepotistic as it once was. Sarah Porter, Key Account Manager, publishing, UK Questions: How varied is your own reading? How do your choices indicate that you have a heart for understanding issues of diversity and inclusivity –​and backgrounds other than your own? What titles/​publications have you read recently because you need to know what others are talking about? Whose voice do you still need to hear? See also Chapter 3, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging in Publishing.

What impact has the pandemic had on publishing? What part should disaster planning, for all kinds of unplanned events, play in long-​ term forecasting? The publishing industry is part of the business economy and must respond to local, national and international trends as they arise. Some they can seek to influence (e.g. making customers aware of how environmental friendly their products are), others are entirely beyond their control (e.g. weather, wars and infections).

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Publishing had a good pandemic. Books sell well during economic difficulties. They are perceived as a treat, are relatively low in price and excellent value for money (how many hours’ pleasure will you get from a good book versus a good movie?), and throughout history, low-​ cost treats have done well during major conflicts and other cataclysmic events. Many people had more time to read during the pandemic and enjoyed the experience. As a result, publishers who could manage delivery, regularly reported best ever financial results during the peak of the pandemic. But this has brought other significant long-​term difficulties. Retail outlets have had a tough time, and bookshops that were not able to offer delivery as part of their service have found their businesses, and customer relationships, under immense pressure. We could take education as an example. Many schools were closed during the pandemic, and education was largely online and home-​based. This led to the identification of some major social inequalities; those without online access and room to learn at home were seriously disadvantaged. Some educational publishers sought to fill the gap and provide free resources to schools without the means to purchase, but then found they reaped a longer-​term benefit, when schools opened again and teachers had money to spend. Resources for sale to parents at home who could afford them did well –​and in the first weeks of lockdown, some of the bestselling titles were those bought by home-​educators. But this advantaged children whose parents were able to order online, or had books at home already. As a direct consequence, in the United Kingdom the National Literacy Trust encouraged publishers to donate books, which could be added to the food/​supply parcels being circulated to those without means. Presenting books as life essentials in this way may positively affect how they are perceived longer term. Publishing is necessarily optimistic –​you’re throwing books out there and hoping people catch them and develop an appetite for more. And that’s all the more reason to spend time considering what happens when things go wrong. Disasters can create opportunities, so that, for example, you might be able to re-​market a backlist title suddenly made relevant due to a particular situation in society –​or just the enduring truths of the human condition described. Question: Give an example of a book you have read, or are aware of, that gave you insight into a political or societal situation that subsequently really happened.

Do we still need publishers? What implications does the rise of self-​publishing have for the traditional industry? Long dismissed rather snootily as the last resort of the untalented, self-​publishing has risen significantly over the last few years. Now more usually referred to as independent (or indy) publishing, it has empowered many authors and writing communities to develop projects of personal or particularly local significance, enabled

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traditional publishers to spot trends or products with a track record and hence worthy of future investment –​paranormal romance and fantasy are two notable ­examples –​and created business opportunities to sell services. It has taken time, but finally the traditional industry, at first highly resistant to the concept and likely value of self-​publishing, has come to realise that authors with the gumption to self-​publish may be demonstrating the kind of proactivity publishers can use. At the same time, anyone who has gone down the self-​publishing route, and the easy availability of services to support it, has gained a newfound respect for the role of the editor, up to now largely invisible! Question: Update yourself on current trends in independent publishing. Can you name some well-​known self-​published authors or titles that have impacted on the industry?

Is print dead? Forget publishing, so goes the common wisdom: print is dead. Tosh. The term ‘publishing’ itself comes from making public: publishers develop information and entertainment (‘content’) into whatever format people find it attractive to purchase, use and share. And there are so many ways content can be shared now: books, in a variety of formats; print magazines; websites; television and film; blogs and social media, podcasts, bite-​sized video snippets… This is the ‘Age of also’: there’s no one way to present anything. The most useful attitude for you to approach all this is flexible curiosity. One of the first decisions a publisher must make is the format in which to present material. But print is no longer the only, or even necessarily the best, first option. Instead, a publisher must think first of the customers and readers, and then work backwards to understand what medium or, more likely, media best serves that market –​and therefore makes most money for the publisher, so you can build on the success and either develop more for the same market and fund other options. As a consequence of this research, you may decide to publish an e-​book first, to build your audience; then a paperback if interest builds. Or maybe an online newsletter becomes a seasonal limited edition hardback. And here’s a question: what is reading anyway? Have you ‘read’ a book if you heard it as an audiobook? What counts as reading a magazine, when hardly anyone ever ploughs through it from front cover to back? Does it count as reading a newspaper if you access a tiny fraction of it online? Publishing has always thrived on innovation and new technology, yet our basic concepts and terminology remain remarkably stable. Questions: Have you ever ‘read’ a book again, in a different format (e.g. as an audiobook or seen an adaptation on stage)? What was the significance of your second or subsequent experience? Did you see the story in a new way?

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Will the consolidation of publishing organisations continue? Where will it end? Consolidation is most definitely A Thing, not only for publishers but for retailers, information providers and, arguably, even for authors. Big firms buy up smaller ones to achieve economies of scale –​not only because the cost of books and magazines are stable (or falling) and customers have other options on which to spend their money, but also because companies are under incessant pressure from shareholders to increase profits. If you can’t satisfy shareholders with organic growth –​and in a flat market that’s really tough –​then another way to grow is to purchase other publishers. This may not be profitable in the long term –​melding business approaches and staff is notoriously difficult –​but it’ll keep your shareholders off your back. It shows you’re taking action, likely increase turnover and, more positively, it may well introduce fresh thinking and new ideas. And just as publishers are consolidating into fewer and bigger players, so there’s consolidation among information providers. Firms such as Meta or Alphabet (Google) want to be a single port of call for customers and for whatever they need or can be persuaded to want. Even authors are being consolidated. Books are increasingly marketed as a particular type of publication –​recognisable by the lettering on the front (raised/​foil/​ matt laminate), the size and format, and the cover and design. Authors are also routinely now forming teams and writing in partnership, so they are able to respond to their readers’ desire for faster delivery or in-​person events, particularly within popular series. Questions: If you could buy one imprint, or publishing house, which would it be and why?

What is the future for independent publishing? On the one hand there is consolidation; on the other, the rise of the independent publisher. It’s not impossible to be creative and innovative if you’re a publishing giant, but it’s harder. Arteries thicken, decisions take longer and longer, and creativity ends up playing second fiddle to bureaucracy. A friend knew it was time to leave his large corporation when he was asked to yet another meeting to discuss… how they might have fewer meetings! Creative people (‘creatives’) find all this infuriating, and given that the industry has always attracted people who are both optimistic and free-​thinking, there is no shortage of independent publishing firms,or those setting up to become independents. Within these firms ideas develop, new talent grows –​and new publishing trends flourish. In fact, the big fish know this, and often use the independents as market research, swiping ideas, writers and talent. (Mind you, you may feel less outraged by the injustice of all this when it’s you they come headhunting.)

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Where is the best place to work? With a big firm comes the satisfaction of a name others recognise, better pay and more job security (well, until the next management restructure). On the other hand, you can find yourself siloed in the particular function for which you were recruited, and isolated from understanding the greater industry.You can become a small fish in a big pond. Working for a small publisher you get the chance to learn about everything, to be intimately involved in all the successes and failures –​and maybe the chance to work on your own personal passion. Seriously consider a placement or work experience with a small company, where you are exposed to all aspects of the industry. A small firm relies on all hands on deck, and you can feel pleasingly needed. As a compromise, advice that is often offered to those starting out, is to try to work for a large organisation before taking that thinking to a smaller one, or starting an enterprise yourself. Question: An experience of working for a high street retailer made one of us think they wanted to work for a small organisation, where there was less standardisation and more reliance on individual initiative. Have you had a similar experience, and how has this affected your thinking? Where do you sit on the line between preferring large or small organisations?

What is the role of profit within publishing? Publishing is proud of its contribution to culture, and this is of course important. But publishing must be profitable, too, otherwise it ceases to exist. Shareholders, individual or institutional, invest in a commercial organisation because they believe they will make more money than banking it. Their ambitions, either for their own income or on behalf of their clients, drive an organisation’s priorities and deadlines. This may mean that the firm is pushed beyond just producing more and better versions of what it’s already doing. More often a more aggressive approach is required, which can mean only one of three things: more revenue, reduced costs –​or both. Buying up competitors may drive revenues. But other routes to this may include cutting standards in quality or getting more from staff on fewer resources. A common example is reducing editorial standards by offering freelance (not in-​ house) editors a sum for the job as a whole, rather than an hourly rate. Alternatively you could make the author commit to bearing the cost of the index or to buying a certain number. Improved margins may come from books to which you are uncommitted –​celebrities or politicians whose values you do not share, for example. This pathway may lead to working difficulties and a reduced income for you. Longer term, there may be reputational damage for the organisation. Publishers are known for the ideas with which they associate, and, as an employee, you are tarred with the same brush.

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The pay within the publishing industry has often been its downfall.You have to love the industry, warts and all. Do the time, develop and grow your skills, be interested and engaging with what you do, and be patient. Your salary increases as you move up -​assuming you want a career path? The difficult thing these days is when people leave, often their roles aren’t replaced and restructures take place regularly to cover the work. Are you prepared to take on multiple roles for incremental pay increases? Rachael McDiarmid, Director, RM Marketing Services, Australia Question: Think now, how much does money and what it can bring (security, lifestyle) matter to you?

How involved should the author be in the marketing of their work? The role of the author is rapidly evolving. Thirty years ago, the author typically wrote the book, and then left it to the publishing house to handle the marketing. They were distanced from their readers because bookshops handled the sales. Today the author must take part in the promotion of the book, not just its writing, and often the extent of their involvement is specified in their contract. Some authors hate this, blaming the rise of celebrity publishing and a media more interested in gossip than good writing. There is a suspicion among writers that an author’s marketability (including their general attractiveness and online connectedness) has a disproportionate influence over whether or not they get published. Of course, it may seem obvious that a publishing house might choose an author who is well connected and compliant; geniuses can be socially awkward and aloof. For authors who do get involved with their readers and the marketing of their work, public interest can bring a whole new sense of both empowerment, and perhaps a recognition that they hold more cards in the publisher–​author relationship than they realised. Many move from merely contributing to the publicity process when asked, to playing a role in shaping how the public see them –​and perhaps employing (or asking their publishing house to employ on their behalf) their own publicist. As the hugely popular Jodi Picoult, largely ignored by reviewers and yet regularly at the top of bestseller lists, observes: ‘You can’t just be an author.You have to be your own cheerleader.’ Questions: How much do you want to know about the author of books you love? How do you feel about authors who write long introductions to their own work? Does the text belong to us all, and therefore we make our own interpretation, or do you find this helpful? Editors are conscious that the ‘intrusive author’ is not always appreciated within a text. Does this make sense to you?

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Who owns content? Discussions around who owns what is published have got more complicated. Not all published products begin with an author having an idea. Some may start with the publishing house, which then looks to commission content from someone who can write, or whose name can be associated with the content they create. In such cases, the publisher may pay a one-​off fee for the writing and take all the profits. This debate is particularly relevant within large corporations, where ideas that are created by those working for the organisation belong to that organisation. For example, in the early 1950s chemists Stewart Adams and John Nicholson worked for Boots. They developed ibuprofen, but because they were employees, the drug they developed belonged to Boots and not to them. In publishing, you can see this debate taking place in universities, which have established copyright departments and business development parks (often termed ‘business incubators’) to manage the intellectual property (‘IP’) created by those working for them. Academics argue they should own it themselves. Along similar lines, university marketing departments may be keen to highlight media-​friendly research that attracts newspaper coverage and promotes the university as a whole, which academics may fear is either dumbing down their institutional reputation or restricting intellectual freedom to develop more complex and less media-​friendly research Other authors are finding self-​publishing a much more appealing way of making their material available than working with traditional publishers. Self-​ publishing has lost its reputation as a poor second cousin and become a badge of proactivity for identifying useful authors. Authors who have self-​published may be useful collaborators because they know their market and can offer proof of concept before a publisher commits. While they may appreciate publisher support with a book cover that appeals more to retailers (covers are often the Achilles heel of self-​published titles), they may decide to retain particular rights, which they are well suited to serve effectively (e.g. merchandising) and bring sharp negotiating skills to discussions that publishers previously tended to dominate. The key issue here is disintermediation, a fundamental change in the delivery process that raises crucial questions. Will authors exploit this development for their own agenda? Will they, for example, dictate the number of languages their material must be available in at the time of publication, or perhaps insist on the production of a low-​price edition for markets too poor to buy? The impact on publisher costs, and income, could be huge. The future publisher needs to be vigilant, and clear about the role they play in shaping a product for a market –​and in particular to dispel the myth, often heard among authors (who say it with an airy wave of the hand), that all they do is ‘to press a few buttons.’ Question: Who should have the final say in how a book is presented?

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The identification and pursuit of niches A strong trend in recent years has been the identification and pursuit of niches –​ groups of customers with similar needs, wants and desires who can be profitably approached through marketing. This applies within book publishing and increasingly within magazine publishing; a content provider can, by using the right vocabulary and commissioning appropriate content, become the key provider within an interest-​based group, and this can be profitable. Publishers need to appreciate and identify rising trends and spot those who could usefully be drawn into content creation. Question: Can you identify examples of niches that are either newly identified and exploited, or as yet undiscovered? What unusual interests do you have, or know of others having, and how well served are they by published information and associated stories?

What is the future of publishing for university students? Do we need textbooks? The boom in the number of students –​the massification of higher education –​has led to changes in how education is delivered. Vastly increased numbers of students reduce the intimacy of the teaching experience (it’s impossible to know everyone’s name now) and means that the teacher’s insistence on a particular textbook counts for less. And since students now are more likely to be self-​funding, and see themselves as consumers rather than merely absorbers of what is on offer, they’re getting ever more demanding, and less likely to buy a textbook unless they’re convinced it’s necessary. The plethora of freely available learning content through Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs),YouTube, Khan Academy and so on means increasingly students believe materials should be available at no charge, and begrudge paying at all for learning resources. One direction that is picking up momentum is the creation of a web-​based course-​specific resource, rather than expecting students to find what they need themselves. So, for some courses the book price or course entry price now includes an accompanying ‘learning cartridge’ of resources, and often from a variety of different sources, and the whole thing attractively packaged and integrated into the learning platform. Publishers are having to be flexible about business models for the resources they create that match their students’ needs, preferences and budgets. Question: As a student (at any stage, from school to university) what formats were your learning materials delivered in? What worked best for you in accessibility and learning?

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How can we better communicate the value of books? Ever since media producers cottoned onto the idea that books and authors make for popular –​and cheap –​airtime, there’s been a boom in book talk on the air.This doesn’t just make interesting media: it drives sales. TV is not the half of it. Book podcasts and book social media are booming. Literary festivals are increasingly popular and there are many initiatives to get whole communities talking about books. Chicago aimed to get the whole city reading To Kill a Mockingbird, and there are widespread schemes for freshmen at US universities to read the same book and discuss it as part of the initiation process –​Alison set up her own at Kingston University (The KU Big Read). In Australia the Books Alive! project goes from strength to strength. All these create opportunities for promoting reading and selling books, and publishers have to be up to date with what’s going on –​and push hard to make sure it’s their titles that get included. But it remains true that lots of people don’t read and don’t want to, and literacy levels can remain both low and gendered. The life-​changing impact of book ownership and reading needs better communication. Question: What book would you recommend that everyone read? Which book had the biggest impact on you?

Will bookshops survive? How will we buy what publishers have to sell in future? Most people working in publishers were big readers as kids and grew up loving bookshops. But the pandemic converted many consumers to buying online, taking business away from traditional bookshops. It’s worth thinking about how purchasing patterns have changed. The modern consumer is intolerant, short of time and knows their rights. They want access to products they choose wherever they find it convenient to buy, and whenever that feeling strikes. Publishers need to think about how to make this happen, and a reliance on advertising or even featuring on the book review pages in the Sunday supplements and bookshop stocking guides is not enough. If you’re a publisher, there are more ways than ever for you to reach your potential customers, such as by making content available online but limiting access by a paywall or pay-​per-​view; through streaming; through blogs and newsletters which build an audience before offering a product that brings the previous content together; via social media; through networking; through cross-​promotions with magazines and TV and so on. As tomorrow’s publisher, you need to know how to exploit these opportunities to make your next sale. And tomorrow’s new way of reaching the consumer hasn’t yet been invented.

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Questions: Where/​how have you bought a book recently and what inspired your purchase? How quickly were you able to get your hands on what you wanted, and did this influence where you made your purchase?

Should we judge a book by its cover? It’s tempting to think that what really matters is what is between the covers, but instant decisions to buy or discard are based on how something looks and feels. As Oscar Wilde so wisely observed more than a century ago, you should always judge a book by its cover. In fact, you already do. As a consumer you consider hundreds, perhaps thousands, of invitations to buy every single day. In a single trip to a bookshop or a website you evaluate dozens of potential purchases in the blink of an eye. How can you make these judgements so fast? By how they look –​and this usually involves making an assessment of their cover. And publishers are often not even lucky enough to be appealing directly to their potential customers. For those selling through a market, for example to children or through academics to students, the game is to appeal to a parent or academic who can be quick to dismiss presentation as ‘patronising’ or ‘not for them.’ One of the hardest things is to develop an eye that is not your own, so that you just know something will work for the market, even if you don’t personally find it attractive.You don’t have to like something to have a view that it will appeal to its potential readers. Questions:What book covers do you admire? What trends do you see in book cover design?

What is the future of marketing within publishing? When we began working, commissioning editors (or ‘publishers’ as they were called) ruled. Publishers who found authors, publishers commissioned titles they wanted and publishers told their colleagues what they had decided. Today most firms are driven by marketing and sales people: what sells drives what is commissioned. Whether we like it or not, publishers do play a cultural gatekeeper role and everyone working in the industry therefore has a responsibility to think critically about how we publish and how we could do it better. Anon, publishing, Australia Does this mean the quality of what is being produced is lowered, and poorer titles are commissioned because ‘that’s what the market wants’? Do ‘better books’ get less profile, and marketing spend, than they deserve? This is an issue everyone within the company you work for has a strong view on: approach with caution.You also need to work out your own position. How vital

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is it to work on titles you believe in and feel proud of? Can you sleep at night if you’re contributing to the lowering of standards in publishing? Or do all products have a market, and does offering reading material in a format that resembles other publications spark a reading habit in people otherwise untempted? Perhaps readers should make up their own mind, and if they want what you’re offering, then that’s up to them? Questions: Whose book would you refuse to be associated with? And isn’t that suppressing free speech? In summary, if you have confident answers to these questions, then we’ve done a poor job of explaining the issues, because these are all issues that publishers the world over are wrestling with. They don’t have answers, so why should you? But at least knowing that there are questions, and knowing the variety of views on each, gives you a head start (and perhaps also a headache).

3 EQUITY, DIVERSITY, INCLUSION AND BELONGING IN PUBLISHING

In this chapter we ask you to reflect on what equity, diversity and inclusion mean to you, however you identify and whatever experiences you have had. Maybe you identify as LGBTIQ+​or as a person of colour, or live with a disability or difference, or maybe you don’t but are looking to find out more about how to be the best ally you can be, or maybe you’re not sure what all this talk about diversity means and don’t see how it can ever be relevant to you. Whatever your situation, this chapter is for you.

Before we start, it’s important to be clear about what we are talking about We talk here about equity rather than the other term sometimes used, equality. Equality involves treating people equally, including making sure they have the same opportunities, access and rates of remuneration. Equity is different, and involves recognising that people don’t have an equal chance to take advantage of opportunity, and ensuring that everyone has a real chance to succeed.1 Diversity is the mix of people in a society or workplace –​particularly in how they identify in relation to specified attributes such as gender, sexuality, cultural identity. Inclusion is about getting the mix of people to flourish, to feel safe, to achieve their best. Belonging is making sure that that mix of people all get a voice, and that their insights and contributions are valued. Media creatives Liz and Mollie put it this way: ‘Diversity is having a seat at the table, inclusion is having a voice, and belonging is having that voice be heard.’2 In publishing, equity, diversity and inclusion (often referred to as EDI) initiatives support people and help create a richer, fairer workplace. Diversity of thought creates better business decision-​making and opens opportunities that would not be obvious within a monocultural workplace. And critically, in our society, publishing DOI: 10.4324/9781003273424-4

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is a gatekeeper for ideas and information. Enabling diversity in publishing creates better representation and widens access to books, education and information.

About publishing and belonging The publishing industry is an amazing place to work, and there are wonderful initiatives happening worldwide to improve diversity and inclusion. Globally, there are increased opportunities for people from marginalised backgrounds to access roles in publishing, including lists and publications such as Cocoa Girl and Cocoa Boy magazines –​the United Kingdom’s first publications aimed at representing Black children; internships, awards and support, such as HarperCollins’ Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) traineeship and Hachette’s practical support (office space and warehousing) for Jacaranda Books Art Music. The UK Publishers’ Association maintains a list of diversity initiatives on their website.3 Some people live this daily. Those of us who identify as people of colour, live with disability, identity as LGBTIQ+​, speak English as a second language, are neurodivergent, have non-​traditional career paths, are women or non-​binary or trans, stand out because we are older or younger or shorter or taller or are in any other of a multitude of ways ‘different,’ know that we operate within the working world –​-​making compromises, pretending not to notice, deciding whether or not to point out what we see, processing microaggressions, performing to be something we are not. As for those of us who don’t personally consider that we might encounter issues of difference? We have the privilege to be able to be strong allies in our publishing careers, supporting and advocating for fairness and equity of opportunity. Do you think these issues do not apply to you? At some point in our lives, each one of us will be the one who feels different, who is trying to fit in. Or we will watch someone we care about struggle with structures of privilege and prejudice. By thinking about these issues and committing to be the best allies we can be, we contribute to supporting others –​and our future selves. Publishing is not as diverse as other industries, but being on a publishing advisory board at a UK institution has given me insight into how courses are changing and attracting students from more diverse backgrounds, which is positive to see, and aligning this with the Publishing Association’s efforts in inclusivity and diversity. Amanda Cheung, marketing, publishing, UK

So what’s the problem with an undiverse publishing industry anyway? Publishing as an industry is regularly presented in the popular media as a glamorous profession –​think Sandra Bullock in The Proposal, the Manhattan location of Last Days of Disco, Renee Zellwegger in Bridget Jones, the TV series Younger, movies as

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far back as Noel Coward in The Scoundrel, as well as novels and podcasts. The idea of spending a professional life perusing incoming mail for possible book ideas and working with authors is undoubtedly attractive. But those on screen and in fiction shown taking part in this activity have routinely been presented as privileged, conventionally well-​spoken and monocultural. The argument for greater diversity of staffing within publishing is usually made on the basis of fairness and equity; that people of all backgrounds and ethnicities should be welcome within the publishing industry.While of course this is true, there are also powerful business and economic reasons, too. More diverse organisations make better business decisions. Monocultural organisations, where staff identify with and endorse each others’ opinions, can miss important trends of which they are unaware. Research has repeatedly shown, over many years, that diverse workplaces benefit both employees and organisations. • •

Organisations with diverse workforces are 35% more likely to benefit from better financial returns4 Organisations with greater diversity are 70% more likely to capture more markets5

More diverse organisations tend to understand markets that are not their immediate hinterland, spot business chances and improve their risk management. They are more aware of the wider business environment, more open to viewpoints other than their own –​and hence more likely to spot potential risks, threats and opportunities. Set in a publishing context, a wider diversity of staff means openness to new markets that may otherwise not be visible, new trends and new ideas.

Why diversity is not enough Widening the recruitment base for staff is not enough. Organisations need to ensure that those recruited feel able to fully contribute, to bring their experiences and wide perspectives. Here the issue is not only changing recruitment patterns, but ensuring that those arriving feel safe and included. It is evident that while most organisations have spotted the need for wider diversity of recruitment, not all operate effective policies of inclusion. Organisations that feature staff from a diversity of backgrounds on their website may still be difficult places to navigate for those who arrive, and challenging places in which to secure credit or promotion. Taking a situation outside your immediate confines is always a good way to improve objectivity, and it may be helpful to look at this in another context to get the point. More than half a century ago, US educationalists Bowles and Gintis examined the educational environment for silent structures that teach compliance and ensure existing social stratifications are kept in place. In their now classic analysis, they describe the US education system not as being meritocratic, but rather

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replicating the workplace and maintaining a rigid hierarchy that supports existing social structures. Their Hidden Curriculum (Bowles and Gintis, 1970) offers a grid of behaviours that serve to keep the status quo in place. There are useful parallels with any organisation that seeks to keep things as they are. For example: • • • • • •

Corridor and online group conversations: who talks with whom? Lunches and informal meetings during working hours: who is invited? Decisions: are they made in formal structures or in hidden networks? How are things said? Is language inclusive or only understood by those ‘in the know’? What is the oral culture? How do people approach and acknowledge each other? How is the history of the organisation described? Who is credited and celebrated?

The stratification affirmed by structures of this kind works against effective publishing, because previous knowledge or commonly accepted understanding of ‘how things have always been done’ can block developments. There are many examples of books being turned down by publishing houses because what authors offered was not understood or appreciated.

What’s it like to work in publishing? You have to be prepared for rejection and for your skill set to be misunderstood. Recruiters are about trying to find exactly the same peg for exactly the same hole, while ignoring the potential and benefits people from other industries can bring. Malcolm Neil, Principal and CEO MNCD digital consulting, Australia Historically, publishing in the United Kingdom was seen as a classy gentleman’s club.Then for many years it felt like career starters tended to be women, and senior ranks were more often men. The UK Publishing Association’s Diversity Survey of the Publishing Workforce 2021 shows that: • • •

63% of respondents across the industry are women, and more than half of executives and senior manager respondents are women LGBT+​representation is increasing Those with ‘middle class’ socio-​economic backgrounds are significantly over-​ represented, and 15% of respondents had family or friends in publishing before joining the industry

Reading through this survey6 is truly a fascinating experience if you are interested in data and representation. In Australia, Radhiah Chowdhury’s groundbreaking report It’s hard to be what you can’t see: Diversity Within Australian Publishing7 (Beatrice Davis Editorial Fellowship/​

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Australian Publishers’ Association, 2020) discussed experiences and perspectives of editors and authors. Chowdhury said: The report is difficult and challenging reading by design. I invite readers to work at decentring themselves and actively listen to the observations and experiences discussed within it.The information may contradict your own experiences, but they reflect a reality lived by people of colour, and I urge you to strive against any defensive instinct towards what-​aboutism or dismissiveness while reading. In 2022 Australian Publishing Industry Workforce Survey on Diversity and Inclusion, the first diversity survey researching the Australian publishing workforce, reported lower ethnic and cultural diversity than Australian population (fewer than 1% of Australian publishing industry professionals identify as First Nations; 8.5% nominate an Asian cultural identity, compared with 17% of the Australian workforce); and higher representation of those identify as LGBTQ+​(21% of publishing respondents, compared to estimates of 11% in the Australian population).8 In the United States, We Need Diverse Books9 is a grassroots movement to widen the type of literature available to young people. Lived experiences are of course personal. I started my career publishing in part because I felt it would be a safe place to work. I had a hazy idea that it was an industry where people would be kind and the way I look might not attract the comments and assumptions that I encounter in other spheres. And to some degree that’s been true. However, despite a successful career, I do feel that my working experience has been positive despite the way I look and the background I come from, not because of it. I default to grateful when people allow me access and give me credit for my work. Obviously, this is not ideal, and I’m working on it. I’ve been in situations where I have seen marginalised people struggle for access and fail to find allies to support them; and with some of the many amazing people I’ve worked with, I’ve had conversations about privilege, belonging and despair and heard about their experiences. Recently I worked on a project where I felt valued for who I am –​for the experiences I bring to the table -​I feel seen -​and that’s a great feeling! I’m a product of my time in many ways. I hope that career starters in publishing and every industry now can feel more confident and optimistic about how they fit in the world. Susannah I entered an industry with absolutely no personal connections, and –​it seemed significant –​without a surname that beamed down from the spines that graced every publisher’s reception area I ever went into. The publishing world I joined seemed to be full of well brought up young ladies who rather fancied working on books, and were curiously unambitious. I always felt my lack of prior credentials gave me a fresher outlook and was not deterred,

32  Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging in Publishing

particularly as I wanted to work in marketing and not editorial, which was the most hallowed of all the publishing temples.-​Alison It was many, many years before I began to understand that as an articulate middle class tertiary-​educated neurotypical cis white man with extrovert tendencies I enjoyed advantages in my publishing career others did not. Advantage blindness is a thing. Steve Michiel Kolman told us about his views on diversity and inclusion: I always had publishing in mind as a career: liked working with texts, liked networking, liked the commercial aspects. About a decade ago I pushed for Elsevier to join Workplace Pride, an organisation supporting LGBTIQ+​workplace inclusion (I am co-​chair of Workplace Pride). I also launched Elsevier Pride, an employee resource group, which now has 15 chapters around the world. I put D&I on the agenda when I was International Publishers Association president and became presidential envoy for D&I in the publishing industry after my presidency. I was very encouraged that the IPA itself has become a more diverse organization with leaders which are Asian, female, openly gay or from the Middle East –​all pretty new for an organization with typically white, male leaders from the Global North in the past. As publishers, we can build a more equitable and inclusive world. First we should get our own house in order and have a diverse workforce, in inclusive working environments. Next we can contribute to a more diverse and inclusive world through what we publish. Of course the two (internal and external) are connected: it’s difficult to publish ethnically diverse books when the staff are far from ethnically mixed. As an industry we have reliable D&I data in a handful of countries such as the UK and the US. Here we see clear progress, for instance gender parity at the top in the UK. Also the LGBTIQ+​community seems well represented in our industry, but not everyone is out, or only out to their immediate colleagues and not their manager: an indication that the work environment does not feel safe to gay, lesbian, trans colleagues. On race and ethnicity there is a real challenge: while most publishers are located in very racially diverse cities, we do not see that reflected in the composition of the workforce. Also internships for racial minorities are struggling (difficult to attract and retain minority talent), so much work to do there. Michiel Kolman, Co-Chair Workplace Pride, Chair Inclusive Publishing IPA

Applying for jobs and managing your career So how do you give yourself the best shot at a good job and career progression, feeling safe and valued for who you are and also being the best ally you can be and supporting others struggling with inclusion and belonging? Here are practical tips for all of us:

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Find the right employer (and red flags to watch for) The best workplace (for all of us) is one where we are heard and seen for the unique perspectives we bring. In real life this might look like this: •

• • • •

At senior management level and throughout the organisation there are people of colour or who openly identify as LGBTQI+​or are transparent about disabilities or mental health challenges When someone makes a racist ‘joke,’ co-​workers feel safe to say, ‘Hey, that’s not appropriate’ Recruitment practices consciously balance the attributes and backgrounds of existing staff and new hires Conscious efforts to equalise pay and benefits for all employees Participation in initiatives to demonstrate values. For example, company-​ sponsored rainbow cupcakes for Pride, Mardi Gras or IDAHOBIT celebrations

To gauge whether this is the right workplace for you when you’re looking from the outside, here are some tips for asking and red flags to look for. Questions to ask: • • • • •

Does this workplace value diversity? In what ways can that be seen? Do you have employee groups, or commitments to increase representation in certain roles, or great policies, or all of the above? Tell me about your training and fundraising policies? How do you support mental health in the workplace? What makes a successful hire in this business? (Listen for signs that success is defined by being like everyone else on the team, having a certain type of background, or displaying specific behaviours. These are clues that diversity and inclusion are not a priority.)

Research! • •

• • •

•

Read the company website Check out the leadership team on the company website and LinkedIn –​what do they look like? What are their backgrounds? What are their interests and the groups they follow? Read job descriptions really carefully with an eye to language If you go to the workplace in person, look at the people Search on LinkedIn for companies/​people –​you will get a bunch of current and previous employees. Do you see a mix of people and attributes? Who is successful, and who has left after short stints? Check reviews from past employees and do a general media search for reports of problems If you can network, ask past or current employees how diversity was treated

34  Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging in Publishing

Red flags to watch for: • • • •

•

When hiring managers are enthusiastic about diversity, inclusion and belonging, but cannot identify any practical or actual ways they are addressed The people you meet and see working for the company look extraordinarily monocultural You note a number of people have started and left quickly, and online reviews of the company are consistently poor You are asked concerning questions at interview that you can’t imagine being asked of a white person/​a man/​a straight or cis presenting person/​a neurotypical person/​a non-​disabled person You have an uneasy gut feeling. Pay particular attention to this

How to be well at work Data says that those of us from marginalised groups don’t get recognised, it’s harder to get promoted and we may not be paid the same. Here are some tips for making the most of your career.

Keep a work diary or email folder about you Take notes of the excellent work you are doing and when your good work is acknowledged and praised. This makes it easier to have conversations about promotions and raises and also to job hunt –​otherwise it’s hard to remember the great thing you did six months ago.

Be cheerful and upbeat; provide solutions The best way to point out problems is to be cheerful, matter of fact… and suggest how it can be fixed. If you just point out a problem, all you’ve done is transfer it and make it your boss’s problem. Even if she’s well-​intentioned, she’s stressed and stretched and has quite enough problems, thank you. If you point out a problem and offer a solution, you’ve given your boss a hand. Imagine you were the boss. Which of these would you rather hear? I noticed the new application form asks for ‘Christian name’. That’s pretty old fashioned terminology these days or I noticed the new application form asks for ‘Christian name’. Might it be time to update that? We could change it to ‘First Name’?

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How to raise difficult topics Pointing out racism and discrimination often triggers white fragility. People get defensive when the microaggressions or incidental racism they inflict are called out. Then you have a workplace fight on your hands. There is usually an alternative, which if you wish you can choose instead. It’s up to you entirely, of course: you may choose to be direct, on the basis that you’re in the right and calling it out is the way to bring change. But if you’re keen on getting a solution rather than just raising an issue, a gentle approach can make it more likely that you’ll achieve your aims. So rather than this: I can’t believe every one of our publishers here are white men! I think they’re all straight and neurotypical too. We may as well call them the normies. We have got to get some change in there. What are you going to do about it? Something like this may get a better response: I’ve got thoughts on our publishing program. Our publishers do an amazing job. I can see we are making moves towards a more diverse publishing program. I’ve got some ideas that might work for us, and I’d like to present them to you. Similarly, when assumptions are made about your role or status on the basis of the speaker’s previous experience, or pure prejudice, it can be annoying. People routinely assume ‘Professor Baverstock’ is Alison’s husband; she finds ‘That’s me. I’ve been teaching at Kingston University for quite a while now –​have you heard about our famous MA Publishing course?’ rather than a stern look tends to work better. I’m sorry and if that’s OK with you dilute your message and make it an apology. Calm and non-​emotional can be your friend here; with a dash of friendly or informative, if you choose. Again –​this is your choice and will depend on the context. For repeat offenders or behaviour designed to offend or marginalise, or just when you want to, dialing up from calm and non-​emotional to direct and showing your frustration is entirely called for and feels much more satisfactory.

Don’t be pigeonholed; protect your boundaries We know that some struggle to see seniority, professionalism and strength in marginalised groups such as women, people of colour and people living with disabilities. One way to combat this can be to present as polished and professional at all times. It would be nice to not have to think about this –​maybe you are lucky enough to be in a workplace where genuinely you are not seen as less competent because of your attributes. But maybe you aren’t.

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On the other hand, and apparently contradicting the advice in the previous paragraph, it can be a shrewd move not to be overly helpful, especially with administrative work. Feel free to help out making the lunch booking once or twice, but if you suspect it’s falling to you because of who you are, rather than because it’s actually your job, speak up. Let’s make a roster for who books lunch. That will make sure it doesn’t get forgotten; or indeed, a calm, Is there a reason you often ask me to make the lunch booking? can work. And there’s the option to say Stop giving me the lunch booking to do rather than the other people who are in the exact same job as me, it’s obvious you’ve picked me because I’m a black woman and they are all white men! If you want to –​go right ahead. Just be aware that you will trigger defensive denials and ill-​feeling, so if it’s somewhere you fancy having a long career, you are probably better dial it down. If that sort of thing happens a lot, make sure you get support –​it’s exhausting. When things go wrong Discrimination in hiring is hard to prove. We know people who have anglicised their name to get the interview, as their CV wasn’t getting picked up with their real name. (Research supports this anecdotal evidence.10) We know people who have hidden the fact they have a health condition while they go through the first few months of employment probation, for fear of discrimination. It’s sad and infuriating that people have to do this, but it does still happen. Yes, there is legislation in just about every country intended to protect you against discrimination and bullying. But sometimes it happens regardless. So if things are going really wrong, hopefully you have a supportive manager of the HR team who can help. If not, don’t be afraid to have a legal consultation. What are more common than overt discrimination are microaggressions. The time you realise you’ve been the one asked to make the lunch booking for six weeks in a row –​and admin isn’t in your role.When someone asks where you come from and isn’t satisfied with the answer ‘Cheltenham’ because they want to know where you really come from. Or when they are surprised you went to a top university because of your disability (but how did you manage the travel?). The best way to manage this is probably a mix of calling it out in a cheerful, non-​judgemental way; and having a bit of a shout to sympathetic friends. All of this is going to seem quite full on. But publishing is really a good place to work, filled with people who care about ideas, books, literature and progress towards making the environment fairer and more inclusive really is taking place.

Ways to thrive Publishing is a business full of people of diverse backgrounds, points of view, and unique experiences. Everyone has a story to tell. Be interested in others’ stories. Ask lots of questions. Ask for advice. Be humble and learn to tell your own story with authenticity and a sense of joy. Remember the Oscar Wilde quote, ‘Be yourself, everyone else is taken.’ Cannot repeat this enough. It’s not

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what you know, it’s who knows what you know. Tell your story. Share your success. Share your failures. Share your learnings. Michael Cahill, Senior Regional Director, National Geographic Learning,Taiwan Understanding how to navigate working culture can be challenging for all career starters, and more when you know you are different. It’s important that you represent yourself in a way that gives you safety. You can attempt to pass as straight or cis or as fitting in with the dominant culture, and keep your real self under wraps. If this is the choice you need to make to keep your job, to feel safe, to survive, then we wish you all the best. You can be matter of fact about who you are, while not crusading. You can mention your same-​sex partner or touch on the impact of your disability; you can acknowledge your ethnic background without dwelling on it. You can ask to be included in a conversation from your wheelchair rather than all comments being directed to the person pushing it. You can gently remind others that difference is everywhere. You can be a fighter. You can point out heteronormative language that needs updating or changes your workplace can make.You can start an informal group to discuss these issues. To paraphrase Eleanor Roosevelt, you can be the change you want to see.You can strongly and firmly remind others that difference is everywhere. You can be an ally. You can establish mentoring with someone who needs it, and speak up when someone’s voice needs to be amplified.You can reflect on your privilege and ask for feedback.You can do what’s in your power to make sure that working conditions are fair, that people from all backgrounds are offered equal opportunities, you can support and share and be open about your challenges to be the best ally you can be. You can be all of these things, at once or at different times. If you are part of a minority group, you don’t owe anyone anything. You don’t have a responsibility to change the culture; that’s on the leaders and executives. If you feel confident and safe to speak, to self-​identify or to let people know when they’ve discriminated against you –​then do it. But if you don’t feel safe, or just don’t want to, it’s fine to keep your head down and focus on doing the best job you can and making friends. You don’t have to be a warrior, not all the time. Not any of the time if you don’t want to. If you have privilege though, you do have a responsibility. When you can, speak out! Why? Well, because you can, for a start. And also because it’s the right thing to do, to help just a little to even things up a bit. Because in doing so, you’re helping the business you work for get sharper and smarter. Because you have benefited from your privilege, and now it’s time to pay it (both back and forward). To conclude; this is a new chapter for this edition and we are aware that it may read as controversial.You may very well feel we have gone too far; or you may very well know we’ve not gone far enough. We’ve attempted to unpick an area that many are uncomfortable discussing, other than in the most general terms.

38  Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging in Publishing

Many organisations, and the industry as a whole, talk about the need to be more diverse –​the rhetoric is entirely familiar. But how a new situation can be worked towards, on a practical basis; in the process inconveniencing those who are happy with the way things are and see no reason for change, is much harder. In the long run, while progress may be needed in multiple areas, and the strongest argument for change may be to be fair to all, it may be most effective to pick the issues on which you will seek to make progress, and to push forward related initiatives on the basis of better business outcomes resulting. In other words, be strategic in challenging issues that are long overdue for reform, but are not even noticed by those they currently benefit. We wish you persistence (which tends to drive effectiveness), good luck, and supportive family and friends.

Notes 1 We like this explanation: Equity vs. Equality: What’s the Difference?, County of Marin Department of Health and Human Services, marinhhs.org/​sites/​default/​files/​boards/​ general/​equality_​v._​equity_​04_​05_​2021.pdf. 2 Speaking, Liz +​Mollie, lizandmollie.com/​workshops. 3 Diversity and Inclusion, Publishers Association, publishers.org.uk/​about-​publishing/​ diversity-​inclusion/​. 4 Why Diversity Matters, McKinsey & Company, www.mckin​sey.com/​busin​ess-​functi​ons/​ peo​ple-​and-​org​aniz​atio​nal-​perf​orma​nce/​our-​insig​hts/​why-​divers​ity-​matt​ers. 5 How Diversity Can Drive Innovation, HBR, hbr.org/​2013/​12/​how-​diversity-​can-​drive-​ innovation. 6 Diversity Survey of the Publishing Workforce 2021, Publishers Association, www.pub​lish​ers. org.uk/​publi​cati​ons/​divers​ity-​sur​vey-​of-​the-​pub​lish​ing-​workfo​rce-​2021/​. 7 It’s hard to be what you can’t see: Diversity Within Australian Publishing, Radhiah Chowdhury, 2020, Australian Publishers Association. 8 Australian Publishing Industry Workforce Survey on Diversity and Inclusion, Bowen and Driscoll, 2022, Australian Publishers Association, publishers.asn.au/​ Web/​ Member-​ Resources/​ResearchReports/​Workforce_​Survey_​2022. 9 We Need Diverse Books, diversebooks.org/​. 10 Have a Foreign-​Sounding Name? Change it to Get a Job, Forbes, 13 June 2014, forbes.com/​ sites/​ruchikatulshyan/​2014/​06/​13/​have-​a-​foreign-​sounding-​name-​change-​it-​to-​get-​a-​ job/​?sh=​87c9d0953161.

4 ABOUT BOOK PUBLISHING

We wrote this book to help you get a job in publishing. And that innocent term ‘publishing’ covers widely different types of products –​books, journals, magazines, online and digital content –​for different buyers in different markets looking for different things. This chapter examines the key areas of book publishing, loosely categorised into Trade, Education and Academic & Professional. There are many sub-​sectors within these broad categories; read this chapter and you’ll have a good overview of how it works and a feeling for which area most interests you. In each case we look at: • • •

What’s going on in this sector? Who is the customer? (this is more complicated than you’d think) What it takes for you to succeed in this area My first ‘grown-​up’ publishing job was at Lonely Planet. I started as an editor, within a year was Commissioning Editor and then, after a couple of years, Associate Publisher. I loved it. I loved the people, the building, the kooky names of our meeting rooms, Wednesday yoga, our CEO, my job, my colleagues, fruit time, gin time, the Mad Dog cafe, the view of the city from Footscray, books, the process of making books, publication-​day drinks, looking for my name in the back of travel guides (I still do this in second-​ hand bookshops!), commissioning travel guides, negotiating contracts with authors, selecting images for the colour pages, re-​engineering our briefing process, meeting authors, travelling with authors, working in the London office for two years, socialising with my colleagues, the London book walk... honestly, there are just too many things to mention. Stefanie Di Trocchio, Independent Brand Publisher, Australia DOI: 10.4324/9781003273424-5

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Starting at a small company where you get to understand the whole process more is great fun and also valuable experience. Michael Hanrahan, Director of Publishing, Publish Central, Australia Read widely; pay attention to current events, critical debates, pop culture, ideas...; join a union if there is one; choose jobs based on your values if you can –​what kinds of books do you want to be working on, and who is publishing them? Anon

Trade publishing A general term for products sold through bookshops, the trade in trade publishing refers to the outlet through which titles reach the buying public, it be bricks and mortar bookshops, discount department stores, online shops or any other storefront. You might also sometimes see it referred to as consumer publishing, book publishing, or simply… publishing. You may be offended by the term product, with its implication that books are like widgets or any other manufactured item. And that’s the point: they are. To be in publishing you must drop (or at least be careful about) the sentimentality and the romantic attitude to what publishers produce: this is business, and if you get it wrong you lose money for the company you’re working for –​and there is a risk that you soon find yourself looking for a new job.

What’s going on? Trade publishing covers a huge range of different types of products, from mass market to literary fiction, from biographies and ‘how to’ books, to children’s titles for reading on their own, to picture books for babies, cookbooks and travel and everything in between. It’s every book a consumer or general reader might buy. Trade sales are the highest profile in publishing, as well as the foundation of the industry. Publishers balance their portfolios, forecasting bigger sales with well-​ known, reliable authors and products, while taking occasional gambles with investment in writers who are just starting out (relatively cheap), luring an author to their list from a competitor (costly), setting up of a new imprint to signal a new direction (even more costly), or buying up another publisher (eye-​wateringly costly). As markets tighten, publisher investments in new authors become harder to justify. It’s vital to keep the industry healthy –​today’s new author is tomorrow’s staple. But it’s easier and less risky to make the numbers work on established, popular authors, and much lower risk to publish well-​known celebs or prominent people with large numbers of followers –​because the market is already identified and reachable.

About Book Publishing  41

Trade books are offered in print, but there is a large additional market of e-​ book versions in different formats, sometimes with accompanying apps or websites. Broadly speaking however, the sector is more traditional and less technical/​digital than other areas of publishing. Certain areas of publishing are cliquey and the industry itself is conservative when it comes to digital technologies, workplace design, and working methods. Malcolm Neil, Principal and CEO, MNCD digital consulting, Australia

Who is the customer? The most important customer is not the end consumer, but the gatekeeper; the book retailer or buyer.Without them, you’ll never get in front of a consumer: buyers are crucial in deciding what to stock. They’re uninterested in plot or literary merit; all they care about is this: will it sell? And they make a decision on the book’s commercial worth, based on both publisher information and available data from their own systems and third parties. So they pay attention to author sales history, author profile, success of the genre, marketing and publicity that generates demand. And take their advice on the cover –​they can tell instantly whether or not what you present will sell in their outlet. In both traditional booksellers and big online sellers, booksellers have limited space and budget, and are expert at spotting a cover with high market-​appeal, crunching data about what has sold to their customers in the past, and forecasting what will move. Publishers get frustrated when booksellers won’t take a risk and stock more of their carefully crafted and promoted titles. But booksellers operate on extremely tight margins (after all costs, perhaps just a couple of per cent profitability), and their livelihoods depends upon avoiding risk. Even more frustrating for publishers, only top titles from the big publishers ever get reviewed by a human (buyer) and selected to be stocked in the independent bookshop or in the warehouse of the big online seller, ready for quick despatch. Most titles never stocked at all. Instead, their details are included in data feeds that populate bookselling sites and make them discoverable on search. The bookseller acts as a third party; when a purchase is made, they order from the publisher and despatch to the customer. Our advice: be the customer. Get into ten traditional (physical) bookshops and see what sells. Spend time on the online booksellers –​not just Amazon and Book Depository (owned by Amazon) –​and analyse their online merchandising. Scrutinise the bestseller lists avidly. Observe the emergence of new subjects as they eat up more and more space in shops and new categories as they appear on online stores –​the emergence, for example, of ‘Mindfulness’ and ‘Parenting’ as subsections within bookshops (previously under ‘Health’) and ‘Creative Writing/​Writing’ (previously ‘General Reference’). There’s money on bandwagons, which is where you find profitable publishers: there’s even more spotting a trend first.

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The other customer And so to the consumer –​the person who actually pays. Publishers have always relied on regular book buyers –​most books are sold to frequent buyers, people who buy whenever and wherever they get the chance (traditional bookshops, online, discount department stores, supermarkets and the rest). On the back of this (or perhaps because of it) comes the accusation that publishers are happier commissioning titles they themselves like reading, for sale to their friends, which they can then discuss together. But as workplace and leisure options increase, reading habits evolve: those who bought paperbacks may now listen to an audiobook or podcast in the gym, or use their phone to access an online news website or a digital magazine, at the expense of the printed novel. So the hunt continues for readers who can be persuaded to buy, and to widen the generational appeal of titles. Trade publishers are not just trying to sell the latest batch of wares, but also promoting the habit of reading and book buying –​to maintain the health of the industry. The other complication for trade publishers is the difficulty –​some might say the impossibility –​of predicting the tastes of book buyers, media coverage, what goes viral and what sinks. Despite increasingly detailed data and sophisticated forecasting systems, and canny decision-​making by experienced publishers, the mysterious whims of the public means we are still surprised by bestsellers –​part of the fun of the business. I kind of fell into publishing but I’ve made it my home. Mostly I still do it because I’m passionate about the subject matter. That way it’s normally fun. I think the biggest challenge is to keep relating the joy of something to new people, even when it’s the fifth iPhone you’ve covered, or the tenth set of Titleist irons, or the sixth Trek Madone, or whatever. it’s easy to get jaded, but new readers want to be excited. Dave Atkinson, Director, Farrelly Atkinson, UK

What does it take for you to succeed in trade publishing? In a word: curiosity. You are that unusual person who spots trends and fashions way before anyone else.You have a keen nose for the Zeitgeist. What do you notice people reading on the train, in the bath and by the swimming pool on holiday? This is harder now with many reading in digital format (but you can always ask them if the opportunity arises). Watch how people behave in bookshops. Which titles get picked up –​and then put back down again? What trends and influencers are all over the media? What are people talking about? For children’s titles, watch what they choose themselves, given a choice. Allowing them some money to spend at a school book fair is also interesting, as this shows what they choose when their friends are watching –​and this has been the basis of some significant commissioning by publishers.

About Book Publishing  43

Sometimes the motivation to purchase comes from an attractive cover or book blurb, sometimes copy displayed on the web or in the publisher’s catalogue, sometimes a review, sometimes personal recommendation from a friend, sometimes a bit of all of those, purchase being the cumulative response to having had information or recommendation from lots of different places. An effective trade publisher needs to be constantly curious about why people make particular choices, and what they are interested in. Also important is an eye for detail. If you have a love of using data to solve puzzles, patience and a pleasant way of dealing with people, you might be destined for a successful career in trade publishing. How to develop these faculties? Try the following: 1. When did you last log on to an online bookshop, or go into a traditional bookshop, or look through the books at a supermarket or department store –​not to search for something, but just to see what’s new? Good trade publishers are open. A willingness to listen to what other people are interested in and hence might want to read/​read about rather than an assumption that everyone should read books you enjoy/​consider life-​changing 2. Do you listen to talk radio, commercial/​popular stations and podcasts to find out what people are talking about? Can you spot tomorrow’s movers and shakers? Publishers often have to find not only the idea, but the author –​someone who may never have imagined writing a book. Ideas for people to commission may come from almost anywhere: you might meet someone at a party, hear a guest on a podcast or spot a social media thread with an astounding story behind it and high engagement 3. What about news media –​do you read a wide range or stick to those that confirm your own opinions? Can you be someone who questions everything –​and asks open-​ended questions (the kind that encourage the other party to talk to you rather than just listen) 4. When people make really different decisions to you, are you fascinated at how their thought processes work, or do you find them odd and/​or annoying? This is an area where empathy is invaluable. If you don’t have it already, can you work on developing a genuine interest in other people and a corresponding ability to relate to them? 5. Are you a secret nerd with a strong interest in using evidence to map trends and managing data –​or do you just like to read? You need sharp research skills and a head for data –​to explore and explain the trends you spot and the hunches you develop, and to be super organised. A strong ability to remember names and contact details is useful If you’re interested in trade publishing, also consider •

Trade bookselling –​the rise of the giant online retailer, led of course by Amazon and its subsidiary The Book Depository, has transformed bookselling.

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•

There are small chains, specialists and independents too, and discount department stores and supermarkets that carry books. All need staff and you can have a very satisfying career as a buyer, marketing manager, operations or digital manager within online or physical retailing The wider arts economy –​particularly events and cultural experiences

Educational publishing (for schools, colleges and universities) The education sector hides a massive, ready-​made market for textbooks and learning materials. During significant disruption and change from massive growth in educational technology and open resources, education remains a huge and healthy area of publishing. I wish I’d realised sooner that publishing is far more than the glamorous trade/​ fiction sector; that there are a host of interesting roles across the industry. I think academic and educational publishing turned out to be a great fit for me. I came to realise that it allows you to collaborate with people who are enthusiastic about their subject and that you have a role in shaping and curating material that helps learners to learn. Caroline Prodger, Freelance Publisher, UK

What’s going on? Educational publishers produce resources for schools and teachers, lecturers and students: • • • • •

Textbooks Edtech –​online learning modules and complete online courses Assessment and diagnostic materials Revision materials for home use Training materials for teachers

Unlike trade publishing, where publishers need to make decisions about what they think people might be interested in, educational publishing is curriculum-​focused –​ topics and approaches are often predefined, and there is much less variation between competing books. As a result, this sector is brutally competitive.

Who’s the customer? Just as with trade publishing you have to convince not only the end user but the buyer, so too with educational publishing you have to consider not only the students who’ll be using the materials, but their teachers, educational institution management, and sometimes parents and authoritative bodies (educational departments, professional accreditation) too.

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Teachers and lecturers are easy to identify and easy to reach through marketing communications. Teachers are grotesquely overworked, on the receiving end of every latest government and institutional initiative (few of which are fully thought out, and all of which are politically motivated), and doubt that those advocating and implementing change understand the day-​to-​day reality of being in front of students. They are our primary customer –​they choose the books and resources used to teach. They are also often our authors, as ideally learning resources are created by people teaching in the field, who understand the material and how to present it to students. Publishing and promoting educational resources means understanding the teaching curriculum and goals, and working with teachers or lecturers to create learning resources built for student learning. We use the term resources to mean books, websites or online courses; many titles in educational publishing are all of the above, giant product suites including print and digital components and teacher supports, or series driven across different school year levels consisting of different components of the area of study. Selling resources in education is a multi-​tiered business, as many people tend to be involved in buying decisions. Teachers are natural collaborators, and lecturers team-​teach; while it may be the classroom teacher who wishes to use materials by a different publisher, the decision must be discussed with others on the teaching team, the year-​level coordinator, the head of department, perhaps consulting with the university chair in the relevant subject, and run through an administrator. Universities and schools then work with a nominated bookseller for print (and sometimes digital) resources; students (or parents) buy from the bookseller or direct from the publisher. University students are increasingly reluctant to buy resources, due to perception of poor value (high prices –​‘and I didn’t even use it!’) and growth in availability of open resources, including search engines. Higher Education publishers have responded creatively with subscription models, offering complete online courses, and embedding assessment in their products to drive up student sales. Some universities also put together ‘learning cartridge’ support for courses, buying content from a range of different publishers/​authors to form a composite resource to support their particular module or course. I liked that it felt like I was a part of something larger than my role, company and individual customers.While my friends were working for consumer goods companies, it felt like I was part of the education sector and the sharing of knowledge. Anon, publishing, UK I rang up an educational publisher and said I was a scientist and wanted to become a sales rep and was I crazy? Apparently yes.And I’m still working in the industry. I’m kind of glad I didn’t really know what it would be because it has been an adventure so far.Though nobody told me how funny and interesting

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and lovely most people in the industry are. Always good conversations. I think the people are the best part. And the lovely covers. Fiona Hammond, Portfolio Lead, Cengage, Australia

What does it take to succeed in educational publishing? 1. It sounds obvious, but you really do, quite genuinely, have to be interested in education. A background as a teacher can be useful, but is not essential. What is essential is an understanding that teaching is an ever-​evolving profession. The best resources are developed through a clear grasp of pedagogy and educational needs. Whatever your role, you need to talk to teachers. Listen patiently to the tales of woe and bureaucracy, of poorly thought-​ out ideas, time pressures and compromises. Lecturers within higher education can be quite isolated; the profession is fiercely competitive and there are huge bureaucratic responsibilities to juggle as well as teaching and researching. Respect what they do. Spread these contacts as widely as possible; you need an awareness of lots of different educational delivery mechanisms, not just those you have experienced yourself. Listen too, to the support staff, and find out how materials reach schools, what the problems are and whom they like to deal with and why. It’s worth pointing out that unlike those interested in trade publishing, you can’t go along to a bookshop to inspect resources that are made available to the teaching profession (other than revision handbooks, which are now widely stocked, most educational textbooks are not available for general sale). So to see the materials they are using you will have to draw on publishers’ information –​and what they can show you. A teacher showing you what they really value, and why, in the resources they use –​is invaluable. Also useful is an ability to think laterally. How is your material used by students? What’s the right delivery format? How will the material age between editions? What support do both teachers and students need in order to get the most out of your resources? What information should you be sending them, at intervals of how often, to keep the relationship alive? 2. A solid understanding of the subject matter being taught is also important –​ but don’t worry, this can be developed if you have an open mind and broad interests.You might work on areas as disparate as chemistry, physical education and sociology; you might need a thorough understanding of how children learn to read using phonics. Whatever you are working on, understanding how it is taught and how to interpret the content into accessible and interesting learning resources is an art. Develop an eye for detail, and in particular an ability to master buzzwords (and spot which ones are falling out of use or sound dated).Teachers and lecturers love what they work on and like others to treat it with similar import; to be taken seriously you need to be able to get the language right. Be a political animal. With more and more educational initiatives driven by central government or institutional administration, within financial/​political

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objectives and spending plans, educational publishers need to be vigilant and good at spotting the long-​term consequences of what is being proposed. They need to be effective negotiators, who can represent the industry position and the educational consequences –​without attracting accusations of pure devotion to their own profits 3. Educational publishing is so tech-​focused now that good publishers must have a strong grasp of digital capability and multimedia delivery. Educational products may be digital first, or exist purely as online courses; getting your head around how the materials operate within the educational ecosystem, learning management system/​ course management system, and assessment capabilities is important. Again, you can learn it; but if you are already digitally savvy, you are streets ahead 4. Good communication skills are critical. Teaching is immensely labour intensive; preparation, planning and assessment extend far beyond traditional working hours. Teachers and lecturers have little time or patience for fluffy, vague or ill-​considered communication. You have to sell hard and fast just to get their attention, let alone win their business. Many educational resources are similar to others; they cover the same topics, in the same order, with similar resources –​ so being able to explain the difference in a nutshell is powerful

If you’re interested in educational publishing, also consider •

•

Educational technology companies who make digital learning resources, Learning Management Systems/​ Course Management Systems or (massive open online courses MOOCS), product management, production, multimedia, sales and marketing Large educational institutions such as universities and colleges –​content management, marketing, publishing, production, research support

Academic and professional publishing This is a distinct category that you might not have considered. It’s a coverall title bundling other bits of publishing outside of the juggernaut sectors of Trade and Education. But it’s no less Publishing, and no less important. It can be easier to get your career started in Education or Academic & Professional, because so many graduates think they want to work in Trade, so those jobs tend to be much more competitive. Openings within academic and professional publishing firms still offer opportunities for meeting interesting people and usually attract fewer applicants and are often better paid. The work can be just as or more fulfilling. Don’t discount any departments or sectors. After years working in trade, I have worked in academic publishing for the last 4 years and learnt a great deal. Anon, publishing, UK

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What’s going on? Academic and professional includes • •

• • •

Upper-​ level academic titles for highly complex, academic and theoretical materials –​often provided by specialist university presses Professional resources for medicine, law, accounting, theology and other professions –​these may be essentially advanced textbooks, annually published reference works or online resources that are updated all the time. Think advice on the latest financial regulations and how to present the information that is required for accountants, detailed resources for doctors and dentists Training materials for college or short courses, such as first aid, hospitality and more Personal resources for continuous professional development (CPD) Anything else you can think of designed for people who are working or training

As with education, this sector is heavily digital. Academics and professionals were early adopters of technology, particularly in subject speciality journals; libraries and professional organisations make as much information as possible available online through searchable resources for accessibility and convenience.

Who’s the customer? •

•

•

•

Academics and graduate students interested in high level and niche subject areas are the end users but often not the purchasers; they may buy a few books but primarily access through their institutional library/​learning resource centre Working professionals, especially in accounting, law, medicine and science are end users –​and any other area where people have to pass professional accreditation and stay current with guidelines and regulations and new research in their field. A good example here is lawyers needing information on the specifics of a medical field within which they are acting for a client in a negligence case. Again, they may purchase, or they may access through their organisation Libraries, including university and institutional libraries, specialist libraries and corporate (business) and government libraries –​more libraries than you imagined existed in the world. A colleague of Alison’s set up the library for the London Fire Brigade Headquarters Aggregators, who licence content from publishers and provide package deals to libraries. Aggregators work with publishers on licence conditions and making the content discoverable

What does it take to succeed in academic and professional publishing? 1. Accurate information. You will want to get to grips with the nitty gritty of how your allocated subject area works –​and this stuff is commonly more technical

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2.

3.

4.

5.

than any other segment of publishing. You won’t need to know as much as the authors and customers you are working with, but you’ll need to be able to ask relevant questions so you can target marketing meetings appropriately, to process trends and work with authors on what they are writing for you, on metaphysics, internal medicine or literal, actual rocket science –​sometimes in the same day A genuine interest in cutting-​edge and flexible delivery mechanisms and working with supported learning environments and the student mentality. It’s the same mindset we talked about being needed for educational publishing, but more so because the supply chains and delivery are technical here It’s good to be a multi-​ tasker –​you’re working with layers and layers of customers –​from end users, corporate procurement, librarians, information managers, aggregation businesses –​to get your content to the person who wants to see it. You may also be in a smaller organisation, such as an academic press, and wear multiple hats –​production assistant, marketing assistant, receptionist! A fascination with those you are publishing and the research they are reporting. They are every bit as interesting as the higher profile authors commissioned by trade publishers, and almost certainly have a longer –​and less high-​maintenance –​ trajectory with your organisation A readiness to understand the significant contribution you make to your organisation, and to tolerate the different perspectives and priorities of your colleagues working in other divisions. Academic and professional publishing is seldom as high profile as other areas of publishing organisations that have a range of different sectors, it may however be their profits that fund the group as a whole. Don’t expect this to be routinely acknowledged

If you’re interested in academic and professional publishing, also consider • • • • •

Online media/​magazines for business and professional audiences Libraries –​events, marketing, communities Business and corporate communication –​content publishing Journal aggregators –​see Chapter 5 on journal publishing Research support –​which involves finding out about grants available to support academic research and looking for a match with academic interests. This is becoming increasingly important within higher education

As promised, in this chapter we’ve looked at just three broad areas of publishing –​ Trade, Education and Academic & Professional. There are, of course, many, many more. Wherever you find a bunch of like-​minded consumers hanging out together, whether in a physical or virtual space, you’ll probably find publishing companies anticipating and serving their needs. Sometimes they’re subsets of bigger firms, and sometimes they are highly specific niche firms with a limited area of operation.

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Pretty much everything we’ve said in this chapter is relevant to whatever group you’re publishing for. The bottom line? You must be fascinated by what fascinates the customers, and fixated on coming up with new ways to serve their needs now and in the future. Above all, you need to be flexible, to listen to their buying signals rather than impose your own. It’s a good idea to remind yourself that your first job and the first market you work in are highly unlikely to be those where you spend your whole career. But the experience of learning about what fascinates those working in corners of highly specific research or application fuels your desire to know more –​and you can always take the transferable skill you gain in the process –​of consumer curiosity –​elsewhere in the future.

5 ABOUT JOURNAL PUBLISHING

Publishers who produce journals perform a vital function in the academic world. They are responsible for bringing together and making available the best academic research, so that scholars can make known their own findings and share knowledge about research in their field. Work in journal publishing falls into two groups: • •

Working for a journal publisher, small or large, to produce journals –​here there are publishing-​technical roles such as production, editorial and proofing Working for one of the big journal aggregators who on-​sell packages of journals, databases and content to libraries –​career opportunities here are mainly in sales, marketing, publisher relations and data management My first job was as a Desk Editor at what was then called Current Science in London, UK (biomedical review journals). I loved the camaraderie; the excitement of working in London in something that felt creative; and the speed of journal publishing –​swiftly seeing an issue through production into print (and seeing my name inside the front cover!). Anna O’Brien, Senior Director, Strategic Product Management,Wiley, UK

What’s going on in journal publishing? There’s a difference between a periodical and a serial journal. Periodicals publish regularly on a subscription basis payable in advance, and are dispatched directly by the publisher to the subscriber (even if the sale is made through a third-​party subscription agent). By contrast, a serial is published at irregular intervals (once a year or less), is invoiced at the time of publication and is warehoused like a book by the supplier before sale. DOI: 10.4324/9781003273424-6

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Being published in peer-​reviewed journals is an essential part of the system of progression for academic and scientific careers. The journals circulate innovations, ideas, the reporting of important research and the charting of both individual and organisational effectiveness. Reading journals enables individuals to keep up to date with happenings in their field. Individuals, or teams working together, submit a paper to a journal for publication, which is reviewed by colleagues and an editorial panel for quality and relevance.The journal editor may then write a foreword to the issue, drawing attention to items of interest, or suggesting directions in which the debate may continue. Sometimes an edition may comprise proceedings of a conference, including papers presented and the discussions at the end of sessions. • • •

•

Some journals are started and managed by publishers Some are run by publishers on behalf of professional societies and organisations Some societies run their own journals, and while this means they keep the profits from subscriptions and advertising, managing one is an immensely time-​ consuming process and arguably better organised by those who are experts, who also handle a range of other titles (i.e. professional publishers). Such society-​run journals can make an attractive takeover option for publishers looking to expand, and a great option for people wanting to get a foothold in publishing –​getting a job there may be less competitive, and you can get excellent experience before moving on A key stage in the development of a new area of disciplinary involvement is the founding of an academic forum –​the copy will read something like this: ‘With the fast expansion of this area, a new forum was needed…’ Those who found or lead journals may be the movers and shakers in their fields, and others take on roles for similar reasons. A young Barack Obama was the Editor of the Harvard Law Review

Journals are produced electronically –​a few are still printed –​and sold by aggregators to libraries, enabling access by scholars globally.

New models in journal publishing Historically, the academic engine was driven by peer-​reviewed journals, where content is validated by the academic peer review process, and costs are covered by subscriptions and site licences. The process of managing the peer review process is significant, and largely invisible; in the case of popular journals, the cost of managing responses to the large numbers who submit their material rises as acceptance rates reduce. Escalating costs (particularly in STEM journal publishing) and the desire for more open accessible knowledge share has driven a growth in open access journals, where content is made freely available or licensed through creative commons models.

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To protect their business models, most journal publishers and aggregators place restrictions on when and how authors can make their papers available through open access. There is a tension between publishers, who argue that they add value by curating the content and managing distribution, and librarians and scholars who appreciate the benefits of open access and wide availability of content, and dislike the commercial imperatives that limit access to knowledge. An unpleasant side-​ effect of open access journals is the rise in ‘predatory journals,’ whose business model is indiscriminate publishing, without peer review, and sometimes by impersonating other, more reputable journals.

Who is the customer? Customers for journals are in the main academics and professionals involved in the relevant discipline, usually accessing via subscriptions through their corporation, institution or library. Journal aggregators bundle together different journals as part of an offer package to organisations and libraries, and while this represents a considerable saving on the cost of subscribing to individual titles, it means they end up paying for, and managing, lots of material they didn’t necessarily want. Library budgets are limited, and there is increasing resentment against what are perceived to be exploitative publishers, particularly in the STEM fields. Don’t be too particular about the function you start out in: pick the companies you want to work for, get a foot in the door and then move internally to the function that interests you most. It pays to be an all-​rounder. Also, if you’re aiming to work in journal publishing, don’t talk in your interview about how much you love books and reading! Anna O’Brien, Senior Director, Strategic Product Management,Wiley, UK

What does it take to succeed in journal publishing? 1. Knowledge. Like all publishing, journal staff need a sound understanding of the areas covered by their publications. This makes journals an excellent place to get started in publishing if you have a science or technical degree or have experience in those areas being published. But it’s not essential, and many have successful careers in journal publishing built on technical publishing skills (editorial, sales etc.) rather than specialist subject knowledge. Alison (degree in history) was marketing manager for Macmillan’s scientific journals; her role relied on establishing routes to market and this she was able to do by asking good questions Looking back, of all the roles I had in the industry, it was one of the most enjoyable.The significance of the content was really prestigious, more so with

54  About Journal Publishing

hindsight, and I also knew who the publishers were trying to reach –​so both progress and success could be measured. Alison 2. An eye for significance. Journals crystallise significant contributions within particular fields. They establish a fixity and remain a point of reference into the future: Only the archive remains young. Jonathan Keeble1 This matters hugely: ‘being in the literature’ records a contribution, and is the foundation of academic and related professional careers. Those managing this process need political and social nous: an ability to understand motivations and character, and to assess the relevance, value and likely longevity. Because of its high degree of specialisation, journal publishing attracts contributions from both geniuses and self-​promoting also-​rans, and the ability to spot the difference is critical. All professions have their rising (or aspiring) stars who cultivate eccentricities to get noticed (bow ties, being late for everything/​entering with style, red socks), and the publisher’s job is to distinguish the genuinely talented from the attention-​seekers and to build support services from the relevant community (as well as others equally informed but perhaps more objective) to help them do this. 3. Organisation. Journals publish to a strict and immovable timetable: the dates by which articles must be approved, changes submitted and signed off are all advertised long in advance, and you must excel both at encouraging others to stick to them, and keeping to them yourself. Journal publishers look ahead and spot opportunities for special issues, anniversary issues, or those timed to coincide with conferences Contributors, editors and others (often those trying to sell to the market) congregate, usually at the annual conference: the journal’s publishers need to be there too. 4. An ability to network. Journal publishing operates in tight communities, so building relationships and remembering names and faces at conferences is important. You need to know which approach to which society producing which journal did or did not work, who the major players are and their relationships with each other and you, so a good memory, backed up by meticulous record-​keeping, reaps dividends 5. Think strategically, act tactically. You need to understand and analyse the market you’re in, your publishing house’s stake within it and the role and value placed on the journals you’re working on. The key to journal publishing is opportunism, the ability to build upon your presence within the market to

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launch more journals and/​or make your existing ones more and more a part of the subject rather than a feeder on it. The ability to spot publishing opportunities, or new commercial opportunities within existing ones, is rare and valuable 6. Develop a strong eye for detail. You’re dealing with complex technical material, which you don’t even begin to understand. Getting it 100% right is tough, thankless work –​no-​one’s going to congratulate you for getting a fiendishly complex mathematical formula right however many you clock up, but get one wrong and you’ll never hear the end of it. (We speak from bitter experience.) 7. Tact. Those submitting papers are rarely paid for their contributions (though publishing in peer-​reviewed journals is critical for the academic career path); they have to juggle the time to write them with other personal and work responsibilities. Extracting material by the deadline requires tact, diplomacy and patience. Along similar lines, you may also have to pass on information from the editorial team that they would like conveyed but, for a variety of reasons both professional and personal, they feel uncomfortable doing. Be aware of the distrust that poor publicity (and journal publisher decision-​making2) has engendered in recent years, and be prepared to work with contributors to rebuild that trust 8. Commercial nous. It helps to understand financial realities and be able to read a profit and loss statement. Be mindful of the benefits your journal operation offers to the publishing house’s overall profitability –​many journal programmes form a huge and reliable part of the house’s overall income You can enjoy a successful and profitable publishing career in journal publishing, as have many others.You’re dealing with passionate people making a difference in the world, who need the information you’re making available. Know the size of your market and where it is, and argue for your effectiveness in reaching it and signing subscriptions. Be aware of international trends and developments. In summary, a career in journal publishing means you combine your love for the technical aspects of publishing with a field that is intellectually stimulating, culturally satisfying and financially rewarding. I fell into my first publishing job. I had a year at Oxford and lived in the attic of a house owned by a publisher. His department needed market research on developing a new list, I needed cash... Back in Melbourne I landed editorial work with two publishers over eight years, then to the UK for 18 months, then back for a PhD over four years, then into academia for 15 years… and now back in publishing in acquisitions /​list management. I’ve enjoyed a career in academic publishing as author, editor and publisher in books and journals. They’ve always intersected, regardless of what my actual day job happened to be. Paul Watt, Publisher and Academic, Australia

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If you’re interested in journal publishing, also consider • • • •

Academic and professional (Chapter 3) Online media/​magazines for business and professional audiences (Chapters 6 and 7) Libraries –​events, marketing, communities Large educational institutions such as universities and colleges –​content management, marketing, publishing, production

Notes 1 Something Understood, BBC Radio 4, 20 February 2022. 2 For example, Elsevier’s relationship with the fossil fuel industry hit the mainstream news in 2022: Revealed: leading climate research publisher helps fuel oil and gas drilling, Guardian, 24 February 2022.

6 ABOUT MAGAZINE PUBLISHING

This chapter focuses on content which could be classified as print first, and is then often digitised. Chapter 7 discusses content published first or principally as digital content including online magazines, content-​based websites and podcasts.

Five kinds of magazine –​and who is the customer? The first magazine, The Gentleman’s Magazine, appeared as long ago as 1731, adopting magazine from the Arabic maḵzin, meaning a storehouse (so you can see why the word also means the part of a gun that stores the bullets).Today, the industry is substantial, worth £4bn in the United Kingdom, for example. But not surprisingly, the traditional print magazine is declining fast as consumers increasingly rely on screens rather than paper, and advertisers find new and different ways in which to sell their message.1 Sales of consumer magazines have dropped by 60% in less than 20 years.2 Broadly, there are five types of magazine, which untidily overlap: •

Consumer magazines are the type of magazine you’re most likely to be familiar with, whether it’s a magazine about abseiling, beekeeping, current affairs, gaming, movies, fashion, golf and gossip. Its characteristics are that its customer is an end user consumer. It makes its money from the cover price that you pay, and also from pages of advertising. That could be 50/​50 or it may be that it makes the majority of its money from advertising sales, or from cover sales. You’d typically buy it at the newsagent, supermarket or perhaps by subscription. If you look in any high street newsagents you will see that the prime selling location (ground floor, easiest access), is generally devoted to selling magazines and greeting cards –​because these yield the highest profits. Think Radio Times, Good Housekeeping,Top Gear, New Statesman, Golf Monthly, National Geographic DOI: 10.4324/9781003273424-7

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•

• •

•

Trade magazines, as the name suggests, focus not on a consumer interest but on a particular trade, whether that’s architecture, building or construction, retail or yachting. If you’re in farming, for example, then Farmers Weekly and Farmers Guardian is required reading, not for entertainment, or at least not primarily, but for work. If you’re a lawyer, then The Lawyer is likely to be your reading matter of choice. For book publishing people, The Bookseller (United Kingdom) and Books+​Publishing (Australia) and Publishers Weekly (United States) are widely read, meaning staff are in the rather meta position of publishing magazines about book publishing The B2B (Business to Business) magazine is characterised by advertisers whose products and services are of interest to professionals in a specific field Free magazines include those you could get posted through your letterbox or pick up at the supermarket. Obviously if a magazine is free it gets its money not from what people pay for each copy, but from advertising or another source A contract magazine is typically paid for by the owner of the magazine, such as supermarkets or other big retailers. Sometimes the company contracted may take a share or even all the advertising revenue, and some contract magazines are also consumer titles. Indeed any type of magazine could be a contract title, because there’s nothing that says a magazine has to be put together by its owner. Examples of free or contract magazines are AA Magazine and Sky TV Guide, both from the United Kingdom’s largest contract publisher, Redwood, which produces an astronomical 110 million magazines a year.Think too of all those supermarket magazines –​Sainsbury’s,Waitrose Food mag and so on.They are beautifully photographed and produced on quality paper, casting a warm glow across the brand. Other major department chains have free magazines to reinforce the brand too, like JB Hifi’s Stack in Australia

So, as we say, the categories overlap, but the key distinction is who pays.

What’s going on in magazine publishing? Reduced demand and increased competition for the advertising dollar have forced magazines to evolve or die (as has happened to Marie Claire, for example, FHM and NME, among many others), and evolution has meant a much increased focus on maximising revenue, which results in an increasingly blurred line between editorial and advertising, since advertisers pay more for content that readers can mistake for editorial endorsement; and reducing cost, which results in longer hours, lower wages and a greater dependence on outsourced talent. As in other forms of media such as TV and newspapers, specialisms are a dying breed, because they’re too costly and you can measure money more easily than you can measure quality. Instead, employees are increasingly required to multitask. This emerging reality is not reflected in media depictions of magazines. If your ideas about life on a magazine come from Ugly Betty,The Devil Wore Prada, Bold Type or Inventing Anna, think again. Just as in every Hollywood movie people can afford

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multi-​million dollar houses and drive enormous SUVs on a minimum wage, so it is with Just Shoot Me. A huge staff and hardly any work is correct in both respects –​ except with the polarities reversed. And at a more parochial level, if you saw Ricky Gervais’ Netflix series After Life, you’ll have seen a remarkably un-​lifelike depiction of work on a local newspaper: he’d take those photos himself, for example, and the sleepy, overstaffed office would be out of business within weeks.3 Yes, the biggest magazines still have substantial resources, even today, and, yes, there are still one or two superstar editors such as Anna Wintour and Emmanuelle Alt with big budgets and, some (who can afford lawyers) might say, even bigger egos. They are, however, a dying breed, as more and more magazines get gobbled up either by ultra-​high networth individuals with their own ultra-​strong views and their own way of doing things, such as Salesforce billionaire Marc Benioff, who bought Time magazine in 2019, or David G. Bradley who bought The Atlantic in 1999; or by huge multinational conglomerates such as Advance (The New Yorker, Vogue, Wired), Forbes (whose titles include Integrated Whale Media Investments) and German monster Bauer, the United Kingdom’s biggest publisher which bought out UK publisher EMAP in 2007 and owns TV listings magazines, Bella, Empire and many others, radio stations Absolute and KISS and a whole heap more. (Why is Magazine World so misrepresented in the media? Simple: TV doesn’t care about reality, but about entertainment. After a long day at work, who wants to come home and watch someone else being miserable in a miserable office?) Four key things to know about working in magazines:

It’s all about the money, money, money This is Number One for a reason: we can’t stress it enough. Commercial magazines are primarily there to make money for their owners. How? Well, obviously from the cover price (what you pay in the newsagent or as a subscriber), and from advertising –​but also, increasingly, from spin-​offs such as conferences and events, merchandise, podcasts, joint partnerships with advertisers and media companies and more. A successful magazine can become a commercial juggernaut and cash cow. For some people, this discovery is disappointing and the disillusionment palpable. The fortunate ones, perhaps like yourself, find this out by being told about it long before they ever get to experience it for themselves. You will be required to contribute towards making the magazine you’re working on profitable –​and that means understanding the needs of your advertisers as much as those of your readers. If being in business (and working on a magazine is being in business) makes you queasy, best look elsewhere: you won’t like it. There are exceptions to every rule (including this one), and there are magazines that are genuinely independent, such as Private Eye and gal-​dem, which exist to serve their readers; and magazines that exist as part of corporate brands, as we mentioned earlier. But if this is really a big issue for you, you might want to find a less money-​ hungry industry.

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It’s great fun Right, has everyone who thought magazines are about something more noble than money left us? Then we can proceed. Just as true is this: working on a magazine can be every bit as creative, exhilarating, exciting and just sheer fun as you can imagine –​ maybe more. The raw excitement of seeing your story on the newsagent’s shelves never goes away. In fact, you’ll be delighted to discover, the pleasure gets deeper, though perhaps quieter. It’s not the same as seeing your blog or post get a lot of attention, because even now print still has a special cachet. [T]‌hrough all those years, navigating all those roles, from journalist to ‘senior management,’ I can honestly say it’s still a blast and a great career choice. I still get a buzz seeing the latest issues arrive and love the almost instant data-​ driven reaction when a piece of digital content hits the spot. Steve Prentice, Group Managing Director, Special Interest Group, Bauer Media If you’re genuinely thrilled by seeing your words in print (as we are), if you’re bursting with enthusiasm for your subject matter (as we are), and if you’re overflowing with passion for communicating that enthusiasm (as we are) –​then you’ve found your base: welcome to Magazine World! You’ve found home. Why? Because: •

•

•

Magazines are interactive –​what good magazine doesn’t have a vibrant, scintillating letters page? There’s an intimacy between author and reader in magazines that books and podcasts simply cannot match. It’s a dialogue, not a monologue Magazines are responsive –​there’s a lag (perhaps about six months or so) while the readers catch up to what you’re doing. But if you have something they want, and you’re serving it up to them, they’ll let you know about it in their droves and suddenly you have a raging success on your hands. Admittedly the opposite is true, too: they’ll vote with their feet, right out of the newsagent’s Magazines are fast –​what you write today can be on the shelves, beautifully packaged and illustrated, in a matter of weeks, while you can still remember how you felt when you wrote it, and your editor will get emails the day it goes on sale.You can float ideas, get them adopted and get them implemented in a gratifyingly short time. OK, so that’s not the same as having an idea and tweeting it, but it’s still a lot faster than book publishing, where completion of a book can be two years after signing the contract (decades if you’re George R. R. Martin), and then another year after submission of manuscript until the item with your name on appears

It’s fast-​moving Steve started his first job on magazines at Future Publishing one September many years ago, was an editor by the following July and a publisher within another 24 months. He was fortunate in working for a particularly fast-​g rowing, vibrant

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business –​but such stories are by no means unprecedented. You can make your mark fast in Magazine World, not least because the product cycle itself is so fast. A magazine can go from thought to newsstand in a matter of months… and from newsstand to the dumpbin of history even faster. Every year there are hundreds, indeed thousands, of magazines launched around the world, and every year it gets cheaper and easier to do. In fact, you should think about launching your own magazine. Seriously, why not? The late great magazine genius Felix Dennis, one of the most successful and weirdest of proprietors, often told his employees that if they were any good they’d be off doing their own thing instead of working for him. Put that thought in there somewhere and carry it around. Why not you? The founder of Future Publishing, Chris Anderson –​the TED guy –​was editor at two of the United Kingdom’s first computer magazines, Personal Computer Games and Zzap!64. A year later he founded Future with a £10,000 bank loan.

Magazines are like family We’re a social species and work best as a group, and a magazine resembles a group of friends or, perhaps, a family. A typical magazine has an editor, who looks after the whole thing, and an art editor or art director, who puts together the look. Pretty much they’re like mum and dad, and working on a magazine is like being one of the kids, pretty much. At first you’re a baby, and everyone looks after you and shows you round. Then you’re the teenager, with an urgent desire to make your own impression on the world. Then you outgrow the magazine, and fall out with mum and dad, and leave home –​or find a way of staying without everyone killing each other. Whether this is a dysfunctional family or a harmonious one depends to a large extent on the editor’s ability to get everyone to pull together. If you’re lucky you’ll have an editor who is teacher, mentor, protector and boss all rolled into one. If you’re unlucky, you may find you have an editor who is a small-​minded tyrant who hates to share glory or do work, who has little loyalty to their staff and will sacrifice you without a moment’s regret if it suits. Most editors, of course, fall somewhere between the two extremes. It’s common for the happiness of your working day to be determined by your boss. But here in Magazine World you’re part of a small, tight team and your boss has a particularly powerful influence on your career, at least while you’re on this particular magazine. If it’s a good experience, savour and celebrate it; if it’s not, grit your teeth and remind yourself it’s not forever. It’ll just feel like it. Also while we’re on the family theme, magazines cultivate the sense that they offer their readers a family: a place where they are understood and which offers opportunities to connect with other family members. Successful magazines build a sense of community with events, reader offers and reader-​meet-​reader connections (read the same book as us, try the same diet, come see the boats or houses we’re talking about). So there may be roles here too for the aspiring magazine contributor –​and your (original or stolen) ideas for increasing readers’ sense of belonging may be

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really valued. A good magazine becomes its readers’ community, speaking for as well as with them, sharing their values, feeling and articulating their emotions. Simon Kanter, creative director at Haymarket Media, is a past master at this and has turned around the fortunes of magazines such as Campaign by bringing it so close to its readers that they felt it as a real, living presence in their world. Similarly in the United States, The Atlantic magazine and brand was dragged back from the brink of extinction under the proprietorship of David G. Bradley, who bought it in 1999, relocated it to Washington and gave it a sharp focus on politics. Now it is one of those ‘must read’ magazines with a vastly increased readership.

What does it take to succeed in magazines? While it’s unfashionable these days to talk about hierarchies, you will find yourself a good way down the pecking order in your first job. Bear in mind, though, that there are no hard and fast rules on getting jobs in publishing, and this is particularly true of magazine publishing. ‘Sometimes it does come down to whether you as the employer have a gut feeling about an applicant, whether they have a, gosh… anything really,’ says Andy Jones, Director of feedBack Media & PR and much-​experienced magazine journalist and editor. Magazine World is no place for shrinking violets, and a ridiculously cheeky swagger will often do the trick (either that or get you thrown out). ‘Attention hip young gunslingers’ was the infamous NME [New Musical Express] advert for a couple of writing jobs in the 1970s that Julie Burchill and Tony Parsons applied for and got.4 Julie has that necessary swagger in bucket-​loads as anyone who revisits the seminal ‘Desert Island Discs’5 will witness, where Kirsty Young does one of her best ever interviews with an unadulterated and vituperatively unrepentant Burchill. Jan Goodey, Course Director, MA Magazine Journalism, Kingston University However, there is one absolute golden rule for every job in magazines, or indeed any job in publishing (sales excepted): I can’t overstate how important and obvious it is to be good at English. The number of job applications I have dealt with and CVs I have seen with bad English is appalling. I don’t even bother looking at qualifications if there’s a typo on the CV. Andy Jones, Director, feedBack Media & PR, UK Do you need a degree in magazine journalism? It can only help, though not having one hasn’t stopped many from getting started. Jan Goodey makes the case: Currently five or six universities in the UK run courses in MA Magazine Journalism. You leave one of these courses with an online or print magazine

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under your belt, and possibly a Student Publication Award (SPAs) on top of that, and you’re in a great position to get that entry level job.The better courses are increasing in popularity, offering practical application of additional skills to design and production, like shooting video and producing captivating podcasts. Jan Goodey, MA Magazine Journalism course director at Kingston University, UK So here are the traditional routes into magazine publishing…

Editorial Your first job in magazine publishing might be as Editorial Assistant, which means running errands, helping out, researching and generally doing the jobs no-​one else wants to. Do them exceptionally well, stay cheerful and keep telling yourself that one day you’ll be in a position to be nicer to the Editorial Assistant than this lot are, and you may find that you get yourself a role as a Staff Writer, writing the bits no-​ one else wants to. Perhaps you’re not even working on a magazine that thrills you –​ an entry level job on a B2B (Business-​to-​Business) magazine such as The Grocer or Accountancy Age may not be your idea of a fulfilling role, but it’s a vital first rung on the ladder. Take your job seriously, do it exceptionally well, stay cheerful, keep telling yourself that one day you’ll be in a position to be nicer to the Staff Writer than this lot are (sound familiar?), and you may yet make it as a Departmental Editor. Here’s where things get interesting, and where you get some clout to manage your own area of the magazine, and we’ll come back to this in a minute. Naturally to succeed as a writer on, say, a photography magazine then you’ll need to be passionate about the subject matter yourself. So take a look at yourself and work out what you have to offer the market. If you’re a passionate nerd, then congratulations: this is your time, provided there’s a magazine for it. And if there isn’t, why isn’t there? Maybe it’s time there was. And writing for a magazine may be a way to get into an editorial role. Those already writing for magazines are, in our experience, a competitive bunch, unlikely to help you work out how to take over their patch. But you can work out how to take over their patch for yourself, by regularly reading the magazine, noting what kind of pieces they take and who’s their audience. In the process of submitting, and hence chatting online with the features or news editor, you can also take the opportunity to get to know them a bit, admire what they are doing –​and perhaps find yourself a commission. The best advice is get some freelance experience, and assuming you are good, write to your brief and get your work in ahead of deadline. When I was commissioning, 90% of the work went to people you could rely on, above and beyond whether someone else was a 10% better writer. Be reliable –​you solve the problems, you get the work. David Taylor, Director,Touchpaper Digital, UK

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Editorial production Alternatively you may find that you enter Magazine World on the editorial production side of things, dealing with copy-​editing and the transmission of the manuscript from receipt onto page. (That’s how Steve started, working on a computer magazine basically as a filter to stop too much Geekish being left untranslated.) Although this may seem less creative than being a writer, it leaves you with a surprising degree of responsibility and the opportunity to really contribute to the magazine. And if you happen to be exceptionally good, as he was, at proofing and subbing and the attendant spelling and grammar skills that make you great at it, then you’re in luck, because these production skills are increasingly at a premium. So too is technical proficiency at things such as shooting and editing video and the ability to produce a professional podcast. The best way to progress is to become indispensable. Your department gets to write the captions, the crossheads (the mini-​headlines in the story), the introductions, the call-​outs (sometimes called pull-​quotes: the bits in bigger type that draw you in to read the story) and the headlines themselves. Work up a good reputation in this area and you can quickly get noticed. (Steve’s favourite from his computer magazine days was a letter from a reader complaining about what was on the cover disk, back when there were such things as CDs: ‘Now is the Whinger of Our Discontent.’ He’s never let us hear the last of that one.) Arguably you don’t need to be an expert to be on Production, though opinion is divided on this. (Some feel you need to be able to verify all the facts as they come speeding through; others that you need to make sure the magazine doesn’t end up appealing to a smaller and smaller subset of uber-​experts like the writers themselves.)

Design A third option is the design stream, the graphic design department. (Department might be putting it a bit strong, since for many magazines it’s a grand total of two or one, maybe not even full time.) Yet again in your first role your title may well have the word ‘Assistant’ in it, although you will be working your way towards the role of Art Editor or Art Director.

Sales A fourth option is on the advertising or commercial side. Here you’ll find opportunities for Advertising Sales, getting out there and selling advertising space in the magazine. If you’re entrepreneurial, outgoing, something of a lone wolf rather than a team player, happy to use your initiative, good at remembering names and interests and persuasive, this is a good route for you. A word of warning: do not try to use selling advertising as a way to get into editorial: it will not work. Even though they are of huge importance to title profitability, there is a tendency for editorial to look down on sales, though perhaps, as

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the commercial balance on magazines shifts in favour of advertising and advertorial, that may be changing. As a result, while such a move is possible, you’d be better off getting an editorial job –​any editorial job –​and work your way up that way. The same is true in the opposite direction, by the way. For one thing, not that many people are equally good at sales and at editorial. And for another, if you’re that good at sales you’ll be raking it in, then having to move across to a less well-​paid editorial job may be demotivating. So, that’s a brief summary of the various ways you can infiltrate the seemingly closed world of magazines.

INTERVIEW WITH A MAGAZINE VETERAN Based in Melbourne, Amy Flower is the Online Editor and Games Editor of Stack magazine, the instore and digital entertainment magazine for JB Hi-​ Fi, Australia’s biggest consumer electronics retailer. Unusually, perhaps, Amy didn’t have a burning ambition to be a writer, but instead was asked by a friend, who happened to be the editor of Beat magazine, to write a weekly column on Britpop back in the 1990s. And if all that sounds rather glamorous and showbizzy, it may put it into context to know that she was paid the princely sum of $20 weekly. Then, wanting to build up her DVD collection, she wrote reviews for the digital magazine DVDNet, and was as a result invited to write for What DVD. Her interest in video games got her a slot writing for Official PlayStation Magazine, which in turn led to writing on games for Stack magazine, which led to the role of Online Editor (and, more recently, the Games Editor role also). Here’s five things Amy has learnt: 1. Being well connected helps, in the sense that it increases your chances of being in the right place at the right time. Knowing the editor of Beat magazine socially got Amy her lucky break 2. Still, if luck can get you in the door, when you get there, you really need to be able to deliver the goods 3. Not everyone can deliver the goods! Writing well is a combination of talent and hard work. You need excellent literacy and a thorough eye for errors (see what I did there?). Over time Amy has developed a distinctive writing voice that gives her work a real edge. ‘There’s never an excuse to be boring,’ she says 4. If you do have that combination of talent and the ability to apply yourself and put yourself out there, then you may not need a degree (Amy doesn’t) 5. Finally, you may have overlooked the reference in point 3 above to hard work. Amy has made a point of diversifying and of training herself in graphic design/​layout software such as Photoshop and InDesign

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If you’re interested in magazines, also consider •

•

The online and digital publishing sector is the newer half of magazines –​you can’t target to work in one without knowing your way around the other. See our chapter on this, coming up next Communications –​think newsletters and informative websites from big organisations such as local government, services, big commercial companies

Notes 1 Magazine Publishers in the UK –​ Market Research Report, IbisWorld, 3 August 2021. 2 Between the covers: how the British fell out of love with magazines, Guardian, 14 September 2019. 3 To learn more about this, we recommend Innovations in Magazine Publishing (2021) by Simon Das, David Stam and Andrew Blake. 4 The glory days of the New Musical Express, Sunday Times, 8 March 2012. 5 Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4, 15 February 2013.

7 ABOUT DIGITAL PUBLISHING

This chapter discusses material published first or principally as digital content including online magazines, content-​based websites and podcasts. Chapter 6 on magazines focuses on content which could be classified as print first, and then often has been digitised. This is the only chapter we are embarrassed by. Not because it’s not useful, because it is, but because we know full well that this is the one that will age fastest, indeed already has by the time you hold this book. (See? We just said ‘hold,’ when you may be holding not a book but a device.) If we’re invited to write a third edition of this book, then (a) remind us how much work it is before we say yes, and (b) this chapter won’t be in it. It’ll be like having a chapter on horse-​drawn carriages in a book in 1930 on transport, or one on electric cars in one in 2030: pretty soon there’ll be no point. So this is pretty much a moment in time, when it’s still possible to conceive of print books, newspapers, journals and magazines in one pile and digital books, newspapers, journals, magazines, social media, websites, apps and so much more in another. Already much publishing is multi-​platform, and magazines such as Vogue, Marie Claire and Golf Digest are multifaceted brands offering events, clubs, community feeling, video, newsletters, digital content, tutorials in print, online and via social media. With that caveat in mind, this chapter discusses how it’s never been easier to get your content out –​and it’s never been harder to get it seen; it defines our terms and gives a potted history of it; it talks about the advantages and disadvantages of being small and of being big; why being a great writer still matters, and the types of publishing you find here.

DOI: 10.4324/9781003273424-8

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What’s going on? It’s never been easier… If you’re under 30, you’ve taken this for granted all your life: you can write or record something and you can have it visible to the entire world in a second. It can go viral instantly, and you can be famous, or your career can be over, by dinnertime. It happens. On 20 December 2013, a senior director of corporate communications flew to South Africa. Before she boarded, she posted a flippant tweet about catching AIDS that was meant to be funny. She had 170 followers. By the time she landed, 11 hours later, it hit worldwide number one trending. She was fired from her job.1 Yes, be careful about what you post –​and where you work and what you contribute. It’s all on the record, and cancel culture has created an online world that is often unfair and traumatic.

… And it’s never been harder So it’s never been easier to get your work out there. And it’s also true that it’s never been harder to get noticed. At the time we write this, Twitter has 300 million monthly users. There are two billion websites. Instagram has more than one billion users. Appearing is easy; by yourself, getting seen is hard. That’s why media companies exist: because size matters, and because they can make money from being seen by many pairs of eyes.

Definition of term and brief history For the purpose of this chapter, digital publishing is the distribution of online content such as journals, magazines, newspapers and e-​books that people can access via computers, e-​readers, tablets, smartphones… and whatever has replaced these devices by the time you’re reading this. Digital also encompasses videos, podcasts, infographics and digital animations. Digital publishing typically has a highly disintermediated model, which is to say there are fewer players: the publisher owns the right to, and pays for what, the author writes; doesn’t print; doesn’t involve a third party to get it onto the screens of the end user. (For the commercially minded, this means the digital publisher, unlike the traditional publisher, is not only taking the money they would usually earn, but while paying for many of the standard costs such as filtering from what else is available, and editing what they decide to share, is also keeping what would otherwise go to printing, warehousing and physical retail.) There are now more than 4.5 billion active Internet users –​60 per cent of the world’s population –​and digital media take more than half of the world’s advertising revenues.2

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Individual v big media Big media loves digital. Here are a handful of reasons why, in addition to the key reason stated above (that the publisher gets to keep more of the money for itself and doesn’t need printing, warehousing or physical retail). Using digital platforms, a publisher can reach a readership more conveniently, faster, easier and cheaper and can analyse response and share much more fine-​g rained usage data with advertisers. Content can be released to the world the moment it’s created, whereas this book, to use one handy example, was almost a year from handing over of manuscript to appearing in print, let alone getting into your hands. And content can be updated and amended instantly, too. It can be presented as video and audio as well as words. It can link to a hundred, a thousand or a million other places at the click of a link. (It’s easy to overlook how dramatic a change this is. Previously, if I had a document and wanted you to see it, I had to print a copy and get it to you, involving investment, risk, cost and infrastructure.) Advertising can be interactive and can offer easy, convenient calls to action, ordering right there and then. Content can be multi-​platform, with website and social media interconnecting and reinforcing each other. It is not limited by physical constraints, and can be any length the creator or the audience need it to be. (However, it’s noticeable that book publishing has not yet found a clear model for exploiting digital media’s possibilities. Although there have been richly illustrated books, for the most part the additional cost and complexity has not paid off, and publishers have shied away from the additional expense of bringing different kinds of content together. Most e-​books on Amazon, for example, are conventional in their format.) It’s not all good, though, and there are problems associated with digital publishing. For example, digital content is much harder to protect, because it’s digitally reproducible. It can be conjured up on a website, but it can’t show itself off and the reader can’t ‘taste’ it nearly as easily as standing in a bookshop or newsagent, flicking through and weighing it. Relatedly, we are not digital beings ourselves, but physical, and love to touch and smell and weigh things up. It’s harder to get customers to value content in quite the same way as a hefty, expensive-​looking book or magazine. Instead of your book on a bookseller’s shelf, for example, or your magazine on a newsstand, now it’s virtual. Even so, there’s enough about digital to give big media companies massive opportunities and advantages over an individual such as yourself doing it all alone. If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, find an employer and buckle up for the ride.

Content is king If that’s all a little depressing –​the large corporations getting all the breaks –​don’t get too downhearted. The flipside of the massive volume of content that floods the

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digital universe every single day is that big media’s appetite for content has never been greater. Somebody has to entertain all those pairs of eyeballs, right? And it might as well be you, if you play your cards right.You need to be able to write, and entertainingly too, of course, but that’s always been the case. Talent has never been enough, but it’s always been necessary.

Who is the customer? You are. And she is, and so are they. Every time you open an online news site, visit a brand that speaks about itself or read just about anything interesting online that isn’t social media (and much that appears there), you’re consuming digital content. It’s like asking who reads. Pretty much everyone is the customer. Well, that’s one answer. Another, better answer is that the customer is highly targeted. Sophisticated successful sites have tightly defined audiences and engage them carefully. For example, Mia Freedman’s mamamia.com.au is a women’s media company with a purpose: ‘to make the world a better place for women and girls.’ Their focus is pin sharp and they do what they do brilliantly, in online content, podcasts and every type of media you can imagine. Well, that’s a second answer. Another, even better answer is that a site like Mamamia makes great, focused content, but they aren’t doing it (just) for love, and such terrific content costs money to create. So it might be true to say that the customer is the one who pays for it, and that typically isn’t you at all. Unlike book publishing, most though far from all digital content is funded through eyeballs, which means that, as they say in the classics: if the content is free, you’re the product. You’re paying by being a click or by clicking on the links in the piece or by taking some action.This means of course that the writer has to have one eye on her readers and the other on her paymasters, the advertiser. This is enough to make her cross-​eyed, and sometimes cross: it’s certainly enough to make the content sometimes crass. When you read poor content you can just feel that you’re not getting the writer’s full attention.The giveaway sign is often the relentlessly positive tone. We’ve all seen a hundred shonky sites that are clearly just advertorial; you might think this kind of shonkery is terribly short-​ sighted, but the fact is that many of the population lack the skills to distinguish advertorial from real editorial content.

What does it take to succeed? Before we look at the different types of roles in digital publishing, let’s establish one key point: a commercial mind helps within digital publishing. You can work in book publishing all your life and not have much to do with money, but in digital content the wolf of Wall Street is never far from the door. Many digital content producers have few people on their staff, and do most things with freelancers, who are paid by the word rather than by the minute. (Think of the effect of this: if you’re being paid for your time, then output is a by-​product; if

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you’re being paid for your words, how long it actually takes you is your business and nothing to do with whoever’s paying you.)

So what are the opportunities for you? Digital publishing offers most, if not all, of the same opportunities as traditional publishing. The companies or entities producing the content still need someone to write, coordinate, illustrate and design content, and they still have to have someone to sell the advertising. The crucial difference is that often many of these roles are performed by the same person. On even a small magazine just a few years ago you might well have these full-​ time roles: editor, deputy editor, production editor, graphic designer and writer. Each of these people has a specialist role (with the exception of the deputy editor, who is an editor in training). The editor decides what’s to go in; the writer writes a brilliant piece; the production editor hones it to a fine edge; and the graphic designer makes it look amazing. These days, you may find the editor having to spend most of her time dealing with a freelance graphic designer and freelance writers, with no-​one on staff to call on. She may have no-​one to edit at all. (And yes, we know there are exceptions to this description. But it is certainly the trend that more and more is being outsourced and teams are getting stripped back.) So, specialists are a threatened species, and many are becoming extinct, in favour of generalists who can wield a pen, a phone, a digital recorder and a laptop, sometimes all at once, and who can even identify who’s going to end up paying for this piece, when it won’t be the reader. Of course, that’s not to say that this is the standard model, because there is no such thing. But it is to say that the future belongs not to the hedgehog (who knows one big thing) but to the fox (who knows many little things), as Isaiah Berlin characterised it.3 So is specialisation dead? No, and it never will be. But it’s true to say that you enhance your chances if you can show that you have experience across a range of different skill sets, and you are willing to do what’s asked, even if it’s not what you know best. Back to our example of mamamia.com.au; started by Mia Freedman in 2007 as a blog, and now Australia’s biggest women’s media brand with millions of monthly readers and more than 50 different podcast shows. And Mamamia’s podcasts are themselves a good case in point of this growing trend of multitasking. Although ‘audioblogs’ were a thing back before the millennium, the term ‘podcasting’ wasn’t even invented until 2004.4 Now, there are thought to be more than 2,000,000 podcasts5, the most popular have subscribers numbering way above 10,000,000 and they are themselves a creator of news stories or progressing legal cases.6 They are now a major, and growing, feature in the media landscape. To produce one requires skills in content ideas and creation, such as scripting, presenting and interviewing, but also other areas such as editing and production. It’s a wonderful way to develop your own personal brand, to learn what it is to run a thing from top to bottom and

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to problem-​solve. Start one this afternoon: we genuinely believe it is one of the best ways of learning how media works and what your own abilities and interests are, as well as giving your portfolio a major boost. Plus it’s a great thing to talk about in your job interviews!7

What does it take to succeed in digital publishing? The personal attributes you need to make a go of it in digital publishing include heart and guts as well as a sharp mind. As stated above, it’s never been easier to get your voice and opinions heard, and it’s never been more competitive. You need to be willing to work hard and to take rejection, of which there will be plenty. (If you’re lucky and you succeed with the first thing you try, then hurrah for you; just don’t expect it always to be the case.) Additionally, here are few skills you need: •

•

•

•

You can write to order: if you’re commissioned to write 400 or 4,000 words, don’t be fooled into thinking you can submit 200 or 6,000. Digital publishing properties have strict formatting, and besides word count they may well need you to understand SEO keywords and write accurately and with sensitivity to editorial and other standards. Don’t expect you’ll be covered by a sub-​editor who will tidy up your prose and fix up your clumsy cultural references, because there may not be one at all Be a multitasker –​you will succeed in digital if you are a writer, a videographer, a graphic designer, and every other -​er you can think of that may come in handy for the medium Be low maintenance and a self-​starter. If you need a lot of looking after, go elsewhere. Here, you’re expected to wash and dress yourself and address whatever comes up, as well as volunteering editorial ideas and angles (example: ‘There are now diversity readers’ is not an angle: ‘Diversity readers are a great thing’ is an angle, and so is, ‘Diversity readers are a menace to publishing’). And, finally Know your audience. This goes for all media, of course, but your readership, viewers, listeners (or combination thereof) can spot a phoney a mile off and will not be shy of letting you know about it

Funnily enough, everything you’ve done before –​your own blog and podcast, working on the uni mag, making your own special interest newsletter and so forth –​ will prepare you for all this beautifully.You’re used to not having anyone else to turn to. You’re used to having to do everything yourself. Good! Step on in: you’ll feel right at home.

Who are the key players? In digital publishing, where what really matters is type, which corresponds pretty well to size. We’ve grouped them by characteristics:

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All love and no money/​love, plus a little money Principal characteristic. Whether it’s a student-​run or small community publication, at this level it’s all about interests and passion. They may have a small commercial element or grant money Description. Such a venture is fuelled on passion and volunteerism. You do it because you really, really love it. No-​one is in it for the money. Think of a thing you love doing, and there’ll be 10,000 or 100,000 digital publications around the world dedicated to it Examples. Abingdon Marina Residents Association,8 Alcester Running Club,9 Tabletop Gaming;10 The Suburban Review11 and every other small organisation someone cares about Positives. There may be experience from which you can learn and there’s a huge amount of passion and commitment.You have a real say.You can learn and build your portfolio Negatives. Just because there’s not much money doesn’t mean there’s no politics, or no-​one on a power trip, or that everyone is fair and generous. If you’re keen you’ll end up doing everything. Nobody knows how any of this works. Few potential employers take contributions to such publications as seriously as if your work is appearing somewhere more prestigious

Love, plus real money Principal characteristic. A full commercial player, likely still to be independently owned and where the person running the place is typically the person who started it Description. Even the world’s biggest publishers were once like this.You can sense the passion, and now you are properly part of the gig economy, with something between patchy and regular freelance work Examples. Mamamia,12 Bath Life13 Positives. You’re part of a mission, and you have a purpose and a pay packet. You believe in what you’re doing and so do those around you. So they and you do good work that you are proud of and that makes a real impact. If you’re ambitious and skilled you can advance quickly to a more senior position Negatives. Most businesses that are like this one day get sold to a much bigger, less caring company, you get sold along with them and the whole company may have to relocate and will certainly do things differently from day one

It’s all about the money Principal characteristic. Businesses with unimaginably huge budgets. If they are privately owned they’re making money for the owners, who are really good at making the pips (of which you are one) squeak. If they are publicly

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owned they are in hock to their investors, whose primary and sometimes only objective is return on their investment Description. This place is bigger than anyone can possibly imagine.You could work here all your life and never meet 99% of the workforce. They have huge resources… and huge ambitions and targets, too Examples. The world’s top digital publishers include CNN, MSN, Fox, New York Times, Google News;14 all names you know; plus a bunch more Positives. They have huge resources, and when a project gains momentum it can get real big real quick. There’s plenty of room for internal promotion, and plenty of different business units you may get the opportunity to work in. Pay and conditions are likely to be high.There is room for specialists.You may even become an employee as opposed to a freelancer Negatives. At its worst this place can be soul-​sucking and a source of great misery… but the money’s good so you can’t face leaving, or can’t afford to To wrap it up: all digital publishing is publishing, but not all publishing is digital. To succeed in digital publishing you need many if not all the same skills as in more traditional forms, as well as an appetite for learning new ways of doing things –​not just using technology, but new models and new ways of doing things

If you’re interested in digital publishing, also consider • •

Magazines and journals are the other half of digital publishing, with overlapping skill sets Communications –​think newsletters and informative websites from big organisations such as local government, services, big commercial companies

Notes 1 How One Stupid Tweet Blew Up Justine Sacco’s Life, New York Times, 15 February 2015. 2 The Big Question: Is Print Media on its Way to Becoming Obsolete? Newsline Magazine, July 2017. 3 The Hedgehog and the Fox, Wikipedia. 4 A Brief History of Podcasting, Paradiem, 13 September 2021. 5 2021 Podcast Stats & Facts, Podcast Insights, 28 December 2021. 6 How do you solve a problem like Joe Rogan?, Aja Romano,Vox, 23 February 2022. 7 Try Susannah and Steve’s: bloomcast.com.au. 8 Abingdon Marina Residents Association, amrauk.org. 9 Alchester Running Club, alchester-​runningclub.co.uk. 10 Tabletop Gaming, tabletopgaming.co.uk. 11 The Suburban Review, thesuburbanreview.com. 12 Mamamia, mamamia.com.au. 13 Bath Life, mediaclash.co.uk. 14 Top 10 Publishers in the U.S. By Market Share, Molly Winik, similarweb, 18 November 2021.

8 WHERE WILL YOUR SKILL SET TAKE YOU?

By preparing and beginning your career in publishing, part of the creative economy, you are developing a highly transferable skill set. This chapter covers the two basic sectors –​publishing and journalism –​and suggests market sectors where the skills you need to succeed in them are highly prized. Understanding different groups of consumers (whether they are likely buyers or recipients), deciding how best to approach them and how and when to reach them, is remarkably useful pre-​thinking activities for so many other areas of involvement. We three authors have seen this first hand, watching the career routes taken by university students we have taught; their roles are increasingly interdisciplinary and integrated –​at the same time growing multi-​skill sets. For example, there are commentators and journalists who produce multi-​platform content (video, audio, online and print), and there are roles such as special sales within publishing that operate within a particular imprint or sector and require content spotting, editing, marketing, production, social media connectivity, boosting relationships with collaborators and dealing with customer enquiries.

The relationship between publishers and journalists While all content formats communicate directly with a market and offer managed content, whether it is entertainment, information, news, advice or whatever, in reality there are two headline roles listed within different economic sectors, which means different opportunities for career development: publishing and journalism. It’s worth spending a little while exploring the difference between publishers and journalists, and the type of work they do. Again, these are generalisations, but help you think carefully about which route you want to take. Both publishers and journalists are content-​and market-​focused, but there are significant differences. Publishers, in general: DOI: 10.4324/9781003273424-9

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•

• • • • •

• • • •

Work with creatives. While publishing is a creative industry, often publishers are working together to finesse and promote the reputation of a third-​party content provider. Even if what they commissioned does not get delivered, and they end up rewriting the entire book, their role is seldom credited by name –​ or their name apparent on the final product Commission content from third parties, and so are reliant on them for sticking to agreed format and delivery times Have freedom to think about the format through which the market may be enticed and approached Are influenced by what their competitors are doing, but tend to operate over long time frames which enable product development and reformatting Have long lead times. Publishers are less held by the cycle of regular delivery; publication dates can and regularly do slip Are trend-​focused. Due to the uncertainty of content creation and development, publishers have to predict longer-​term trends, so that the people/​situations commissioned for content will still feel relevant when the output is written and finally made available. This is much harder than it looks –​how do you decide which celebrity autobiographies to commission? In two years’ time, who will continue to shine and who will by then have burned out? Have a physical format that lasts longer than that of journalists Have to pay their costs before there is a product that can be sold Typically sell one item at a time to their consumers (even if they promote across a list) Register, monetise and justify their efforts through the sale of content; so media coverage is a means to an end, not an end in itself.

Journalists, in general: •

• • • • •

•

Are the primary creatives. They collaborate across different production processes, to get the agreed format out on time, but are aware of their own level of credit, hence their personal and professional frustration at ‘by-​line banditry’ (when an individual’s piece of work is credited to a second author who joins the project late and has done much less) Create their own content, thus can reliably work towards a specific deadline Are usually tied to a particular delivery window, be it hourly, daily, weekly, monthly See what their competition is producing within a short time frame.They focus on market share and whether this is rising or falling Are nearsighted, which is to say they have short timelines and hence are news-​focused Are responsive to trends and ideas much more quickly than publishers; they are much less bound (depending on their format and frequency) by appreciation of how long that trend will last Are driven by dates of production and distribution; once these are past, it’s too late to make changes or add more material to a dated edition

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•

Sell a wide variety of different content to the consumer at the same time (e.g. within a news site, there may be many different types of content to which the consumer is attracted).

And the need to be responsive to what you have written, for readers to challenge and comment, and so require answers, has become even more rapid of late. As Gillian Tett of the Financial Times wrote recently of her years in journalism: When I started out as a journalist three decades ago…writing felt like a one-​ way process: journalists presented readers with news; only sporadically was the information flow reversed. Today that landscape is unrecognisable. Journalists not only use digital platforms to crowdsource ideas and promote their pieces, but readers are also constantly reacting, commenting on articles in real time. Stories are no longer like static tablets of stone, but interactive and constantly moving.This interactivity can be both humbling and irritating. Nobody likes criticism. But it can be exhilarating in a way that releasing your stories into the world previously was not.1

Caveats Despite the differences, publishers and journalists are drawing closer in their business practices. There are other overlaps. Journalists used to have much greater insight than publishers into who was buying their publications (through ongoing programmes of reader-​analysis, market research and charting responses to advertising), but the advent of social media has enabled publishers to catch up. Feedback from digital formats and selling locations, point of sale, literary festivals and person-​to-​person marketing initiatives mean that publishers too can now both meet and understand their customers. Many publishers now seek advance orders, which bring in revenue before publication. This can work particularly well for expensive reference works that need heavy investment, in which case a ‘foundation supporter rate’ may be offered, or a limited edition for a particularly special publication (e.g. a small number of leather-​ bound copies, signed by the author, at a vastly higher price). Publishers need to keep a close eye on trends and what interests their market, in the same way that journalists do, and so what is newsy can be responded to, but their longer lead times mean that in general they have to pick longer-​term trends rather than immediate responses to current and changing situations.

Mutual reliance Publishers and journalists need each other. They are well advised to understand how each other’s professions work and to develop both mutual appreciation and respect. This will likely pay dividends in the long run.

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Publishers need to understand that journalists’ determination to get to the heart of a story may mean they are abrupt, extremely direct and loyal to the story they are pursuing rather than the publishing source who supported their route. Encounters can be bruising, particularly if after careful presentation to journalists, a story is ‘knocked off the front page’ by new material. Journalists are well advised to benefit from what publishers have to offer, but to include the details publishers need to see as part of the story in order to make their cooperation worthwhile (e.g. title and author of the book, publication date and source of availability). For publishers, it is galling to see an author quoted without a link to, or name check of, the publication on which their comment was based. Publishers need journalists to highlight their forthcoming publications, to review them, interview their authors, approach their editors for comment about long-​term trends, write or commission feature pieces on what is relevant about new work. Journalists need publishers to provide content, draw their attention to issues and longer-​term trends that they may not have spotted or that need more extensive coverage. They benefit from publishers identifying, through their commissioning, nascent trends and names worth interviewing or approaching for comment. Journalists often make fine authors. They are well informed, good at sticking to deadlines and not precious about being edited. They have friends and colleagues who will promote (or ‘spruik,’ as Australians say) their work. For them, having a book published tends to be an aspiration; having their work appear in durable format can be useful to their careers –​hence the journalistic autobiographies or manuals on industry practice that keep their profile high (e.g. Emily Maitlis, Mishal Hussain, Andrew Marr, Anderson Cooper, Eric Baume). Ultimately, while the skills of publishers and journalists are transferable to each other’s areas of operational influence, the best outcome is mutual understanding and potential collaboration.

Where else would your skill set be useful? The wider media world, including journalism The publishing industry is fortunate in having opportunities to promote what it produces to a wider audience under the heading of cultural interest. Most newspapers have book review pages, if not sections, and there are specialist programmes in the broadcast media that feature the output of publishers. All offer opportunities for those with an understanding of how publishing works. Reviewing for relevant publications can lead to opportunities in literary journalism. Or you might find that a publication seeks to develop its relationship with readers through a series of events related to books and reading. For example there are media groups offering events on how to get published, getting their regular journalists to offer presentations, and this has become a valuable additional income stream.

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Market information and statistics One of the complaints from publishers used to be that they did not know who was buying their products, because reliance on intermediaries (booksellers and other retailers) distanced them from their customers and meant they gained no associated data. While this situation continues through Amazon (which does not share data on who has bought the product), today much more information is available and involvement in customer analysis can yield a satisfying career.

Politics and government The operation of government, political parties and lobbying groups all offer opportunities for those with publishing skills. Government needs documentation to support ideas, policy, negotiations and finalised arrangements, all of which require accurate communication skills and an appreciation of the optimum method of presentation (which may be standard, but may also offer options for more creative thinking). Think of Brexit, for example, which generated a vast number of reports of those conducting independent reviews and the negotiation/​renegotiations of treaties between international governments. Each requires paperwork to be accurately produced and then quickly published –​a high-​pressure but key role for those involved, at the heart of what is happening. Similarly, political parties need to manage their ideas and presentation to a range of different audiences, and ensure each creates the right impression. So information on initiatives related to sustainability and environmental awareness might need a different tone from those related to local investment.

Museums and galleries Museums or galleries need to manage and publish information. Initiatives and imperatives to widen participation require them to reach out more broadly; to draw visitors from a wider range of different individuals interested in content and culture. There is a constant need for updated information on their standard institutional collections and to produce catalogues, merchandise and related items to support specialist and temporary exhibitions.

CASE STUDY: PUBLISHING IS PRODUCT CREATION A major gallery, mounting a retrospective of a significant living artist, worked with a publisher to produce a two volume catalogue that had a value to those attending and to a much wider audience: other museums holding items by the celebrated artist; universities and colleges teaching Art History; international and national auction houses specialising in the sale of art and private collectors who saw the catalogue as an opportunity to learn more about items held by

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then as well as revalue their holding. Many of these orders came in for delivery by mail rather than in person –​and this raised a series of problems. Packaging for despatch of the catalogue had not been thought about and the standard arrangements for packaging listed in organisation’s regular direct marketing materials (free if over a certain amount is spent) meant that catalogues were subsequently sent out at a loss. To make matters worse, the packaging that was accessed at the last minute for their despatch offered insufficient protection to the item inside, many arrived damaged and had to be replaced. Thinking about the customer needs (a perfect item, delivered safely even if this results in an additional cost) meant the packaging needed to be thought about at the same time as the creation of the catalogue itself, so that the two could be harmonised. A marketing point could have been made that collection in-​person was optimal –​giving those ordering the chance to see the exhibition –​but home delivery would come at an additional cost to ensure safe transit. Effective publishing means paying attention to the details of how the product will reach its market, not just product creation alone.

Corporate communications Public-​ facing organisations need to communicate with shareholders, with customers, with government and with regulatory authorities. All organisations producing materials for corporate or wider communication (and that can include schools, universities, banks, charities, NGOs and a wide range of other organisations and institutions), need to think about how they communicate and the message they send, through the medium they choose as most appropriate.

Literacy initiatives There are many initiatives to widen involvement in books and reading, all of which may offer possibilities for involvement.The precise nature of the charities, and their various objectives, differ –​but collectively they seek to encourage more people to read. There are options for involvement in the research related to this, the development of policy and the delivery of effective support services.

Widening participation initiatives Today there are widening participation initiatives embedded within the mission and practice of so many organisations and services, and so the habit of being curious about those you don’t currently reach, and how best to do so in future, is a significant one to develop.

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CASE STUDY: BLOGGING TO WIDEN RECRUITMENT A government department in the United Kingdom wanted to widen the range of those applying to work there, with a longer-​term aim of broadening the diversity and hence effectiveness of the institution. The number of applications from ethnic minorities was low. The communications team developed a policy to encourage members of the wider community to blog on the benefits of working within the department, how involvement worked in practice and job requirements. These blogs were placed on community forums and networks, in places previously untargeted. The result was a significant rise in the number of applications from ethnic minorities and some actual recruitment. The role in developing this initiative drew heavily on publishing skills: commissioning content, placing it in appropriate places and driving traffic towards it and creating useful further information for those who enquired.

In conclusion, a publishing skill set is a lifelong asset, which can lead to effective roles in many other areas. Take note.

Note 1 “In praise of readers”, Gillian Tett, Weekend FT, 6–​7 August, 2022.

9 WHAT JOB IS RIGHT FOR YOU?

You want to work in publishing. Doing what? There are multiple roles, and you aren’t going to fit them all, nor want to. Knowing what each entails, and what you have to offer, gives you a better chance of getting your break. In this chapter we identify key areas –​Sales, Marketing, Editorial, Production and more –​and talk about the kind of person who thrives in each. These are generalisations, based on our extensive industry experience and understanding. Find an angle for yourself. Are you interested in editorial, marketing, sales, operations? Focus your networking and your reading around that. Steve King, Cambridge University Press, UK

1. Sales Whatever the publishing organisation, without sales nothing happens. No books get sold, no money gets made and no one gets paid. Whatever your long-​term career ambitions, don’t make the mistake of looking down your nose at the people who shift all the stuff. Nor should you assume that sales is an early-​stage career role, before moving onto something more intellectually challenging. Effective Commissioning Editors are aware of what is selling (and what is not) and the company’s sales director or manager has a key role in deciding what is published –​ and is there at every decision-​making meeting. Sales is a brilliant way to learn your market and how the business works. You get first-​hand feedback on the elements of any product that are off-​putting, or what else the market is buying. It’s also a great way to meet people –​it’s common for senior managers to spend a day visiting with a sales rep, and you can get good contacts and make a big impression this way. In magazine publishing, publishers

DOI: 10.4324/9781003273424-10

What Job Is Right for You?  83

often, maybe most often, come from a sales background: spending your time up close to the financial engine of the publication is a great way to show you can hack it as a commercially minded business manager. As a side note, in the world of magazines there tends to be a much bigger divide between editorial (words and pictures) and sales (cash). Perhaps some magazine people are snobby, but each side looks down at the other, at least a little. They’ll be perfectly polite, but regard what they do as the real business of the magazine. The takeaway: do not get into sales in a magazine company expecting to get into editorial later on.You might, but you’d be doing it the hard way. Some people are great at both words and cash: most of us are better at one rather than the other. Go with the one that really makes you happy. My first role was as Special Sales Coordinator at DK. I loved the creativity it offered and that no two days were the same. I was given a lot of responsibility and autonomy from the start, which was intimidating to begin with, but was a great way to learn the ropes quickly. I loved being able to speak to all teams across the business on a daily basis, and the comradery in the sales team was amazing. I applied for every entry level sales job I could find in the summer after leaving uni. I had done three unpaid work experience placements in publishing previously, and knew that sales was where I wanted to be. With most people applying for editorial and marketing roles at entry level I think this gave me an advantage. Sarah Porter, Key Account Manager, UK Your typical sales person is driven, competitive and commercially savvy –​while having a strong understanding of the content they are selling. It’s worth noting that sales positions often come with a bonus or commission scheme: you have a target and get paid a bonus if you hit or exceed it. Sales people live and die by the numbers. Sometimes how you do is outside your immediate control, like the state of the economy or the strength of your new season titles. If offered a job in sales, it’s key to understand the pay structure and ask ‘How many times in recent years have you paid bonuses?’ Sales suits people who are: •

Observant

They notice what is selling, whether or not they published it. They spot market trends and can recognise effective marketing and packaging. •

Confident and assertive

You’re prepared to badger contacts for appointments and constantly chase to develop opportunities. Don’t underestimate the brutality of this: many of us wilt

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under rejection. You might have fantastic product and market knowledge, but you need the personality for this role too. •

Organised, tech savvy

What makes an effective salesperson is how well you service your territory. And that means being together enough to manage a sales territory with 500 advertisers or 2,000 teachers, to know who is who, be expert on the product range you have to offer, remember what’s different about each item and why, and use the systems and platforms and processes (even if you hate having to do so). You have great relationships with key decision makers. You network easily, effectively and relentlessly. •

Self-​sufficient and competitive

You enjoy working alone, driving around or out on campus/​at schools or at the premises of your advertisers, chatting to many contacts every day but not having the deeper relationships you build when you work in an office.There’s nothing you love more than meeting new people, travelling to remote parts of your territory and to yet another sales conference.You enjoy hitting targets, being under pressure and beating apparently impossible odds. You’re based… where? Sales reps are often located in their territory to get closer to customers. If you want a publishing career and live somewhere other than London, Oxford, Sydney or Melbourne, sales is a great career option, as sales roles may be placed in smaller countries and regional centres where other roles are limited. And not everyone wants to live where you already live, so that may be an advantage. (When Steve moved to Australia, no one wanted to leave HQ in Sydney to live in Melbourne –​that’s where he went.) I fell into publishing because I wanted to find a job in Sweden, then got offered my first sales rep role in Denmark which, at the time, was close enough to accept. Mark Barratt, now living in Finland What sales jobs are there? •

Sales assistant

This might be a graduate level job where people spend a year or so, or it can be a longer-​term option for a non-​g raduate or someone who wants a less demanding job. You support sales reps and managers with research; arrange appointments; organise sales tools. In a smaller company, you may combine a sales and marketing assistant role.

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•

Sales rep/​consultant

In magazine publishing, you sell advertising space to whoever is relevant for the magazines you work on –​furniture, make-​up, tourism providers, cycle manufacturers, service providers. In trade publishing (fiction/​non-​fiction/​scholarly/​medical), you maintain a relationship with bookselling buyers (in bookshops and other retail outlets that stock your wares) and make sure everything is working. The core of the job is the new release sell-​in, and discussions about stock, returns, data and promotions. Schools and Higher Education salespeople visit teachers and lecturers and persuade them to recommend (‘adopt’) our book, not theirs. Sales reps spend time in schools/​ universities dealing with teachers and academics, talking content and demonstrating technology. Many sales jobs are graduate entry, or graduate plus a few years’ work experience, preferably in a relevant field. School publishers often hire ex-​teachers. •

Business Development/​Key Accounts/​Channel Partner

You may have the most important customers, such as the giant online booksellers or library suppliers.You work more closely with the customer and understand their business model, and work heavily with your operations and data teams to give the major customers the best possible service. The feedback you get from your key accounts can influence how the product is presented or positioned. If a key account hates the cover for an important new book, and tells you it will put off their market, it needs to get reconsidered. •

Sales Managers/​Sales Directors

You work with your sales team to keep focus and train them. You travel a lot to spend days with your reps.You also provide lots of input in the office to publishing direction and company strategy.You have almost certainly done a few years of sales repping yourself. •

Rights sales

This is a specialised field. In broad terms there are two kinds of rights: (a) foreign publication/​export rights: another publisher buys territory rights to your product and re-​publishes it for their local market, sometimes with slight adaptations but still in English; (b) translation rights: you sell rights to translate your product and publish in specific foreign language territories. In addition there are many variations including digital and other format rights, licensing products related to publications (book and toy in a box for sale through department stores etc.). This is an important area for publishers, because securing deals for multiple languages and/​or different editions at the same time rather than just for one market

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can make publication viable. In small companies this is handled by the sales or publishing manager; larger organisations (or those with significant rights and export business) have this as a specific role. You combine sales skills with excellent cultural awareness and an eye for detail. You work with publishing people all over the world, many with English as their second language, sometimes through translators. Your role is mostly office-​based, with stints of international travel to your key contact and to the major book fairs –​London in March, Bologna for children’s books in April, Book Expo America in June, Frankfurt in October –​though increasingly post-​pandemic, meetings are virtual and deals are struck beforehand. Additional languages are helpful, not essential. I applied for any assistant/​secretarial job in publishing that came up, and I wrote speculatively to every publisher whose address I could find. I interviewed for jobs, but got none of them, until I applied for a job at Faber. At the time, I felt that a job in rights was just a way in: I really wanted to be in editorial. I wish I’d known how multifaceted and useful and all-​round excellent rights work is. Kate Wilson, Managing Director, UK

2. Marketing Marketing and publicity are the public face of the company: your work and words are what people think about your company. There are two types of marketing in publishing companies (and indeed in most of the corporate world): •

Where marketing drives communications

Marketing primarily looks after promotions, fulfilling the strategy and drive that come out of editorial and sales departments. In this type of company, the marketing department creates digital promos, direct mail, publicity, advertising, websites, sales tools, manages events and other promotions and marcomms (marketing communications) functions. •

Where marketing drives strategy and product decisions, as well as communications

In this type of company the marketing department works closely with authors, trains the sales team and has input into publishing decisions, as well as fulfilling the marcomms functions. Either way, entry-​level marketing roles are often all about the marcomms –​ updating the organisational website, making brochures, preparing media releases, managing social media. Bear in mind that a company where marketing is respected

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as a strategic function is likely to be a more dynamic and creative place if you’re looking for a long-​term career in marketing. Marketing suits people who are: •

Creative and ideas driven

What’s a great new way to get everyone’s attention about this first time author? What’s a different, innovative, effective subject line for an email? What copy style and design look suit this brochure? How do I reach this niche market? How do I get people to wander into a bookshop, wander past the 50,000 other books on shelf, pick up this book –​and then walk it to the till? •

Happy in a fast-​paced, demanding role

Roll out a viral BookTok campaign, please… by this afternoon. As a marketing executive, you might simultaneously be (big breath) creating brochures for an email marketing message; thinking about who to mail them to; letting Customer Service and Warehouse/​Inventory know the campaign is about to go; talking to design about latest corrections; liaising with the editor to make sure the copy is accurate; liaising with your manager to make sure the copy is stylish, innovative and hits your market; planning supporting point of sale material for bookshops; reassuring an author that you’re doing a great job with their book; planning a price rise for your list; running a focus group and analysing customer feedback; reviewing competitor materials and campaigns; updating your website; rewriting a bunch of book blurbs for your next catalogue; costing a new campaign idea; taking calls from reps about product information; preparing sales tools for your upcoming rep conference; commenting on proposed front cover designs; reviewing a pile of book proposals to give feedback to the editor; planning a bookshop visit with your rep in Stockholm; proofing your colleague’s new catalogue; answering a call asking for a suggested book list for a bookshop campaign that they need this afternoon; trying to get in a bite of lunch… Fancy the quiet life? Look elsewhere. •

Confident

Your work is often public, in the form of campaigns that everyone can see, admire and critique, and it is deeply annoying when you create a huge, multifaceted campaign and the managing director notices the one thing you got wrong. •

Interested in presentation, style and the written word

As a good marketer, you need an eye for what looks good to other people’s eyes. You may not be doing the design yourself, but you do need to explain to designers how you want something to look and to work with them on a design that matches your message and the market they are approaching.

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Don’t worry if this sounds alien at the moment because it’s largely a learned skill –​you pick up ideas on how good design works as you go along. A good starting point is caring about the words you use and the image you create. If you enjoy words and language for what they evoke, you are definitely on the right track. What marketing jobs are there? •

Marketing assistant/​coordinator

Look to work in this entry-​level role for one or two years and then move up. You mainly perform support duties such as copying information, updating websites and socials, coordinating events (authors, conference and book fair) and perhaps basic design. In a smaller company your role might be combined into Sales and Marketing Assistant; in a larger company there will be a number of Marketing Assistants, each one working in a subject area (Literary Fiction, Secondary Schools etc.). •

Marketing executive/​marketing manager

As a graduate plus two or more years’ work experience, your role may include creating promotional plans for books, author or list support, copy, website management, placing advertising (online and print), briefing sales reps, creating campaigns. With a bit more experience the next step is marketing manager where you specialise in digital or events, or list or subject ownership. I wanted to get into marketing and I saw this job opening for covering someone on maternity leave and I took it. Although, my first role was also a maternity cover, I thought I might be able to move around if there was a job opening sometime in the future. Luckily enough, there was a restructure happening in marketing just as my 12-​month contract was coming to an end and I was able to move to a different role (one that I like much much more). Alex, Marketing Campaign Manager •

Publicist/​publicity manager

You specialise in coordinating book and author press and public relations campaigns including media interviews, planning campaigns, writing press releases and author management. This role is in trade-​ focused houses where this role may be so important it operates as a separate department, not part of marketing. Smaller or less trade-​oriented companies may give this function to a marketing executive or hire freelance publicity when needed. •

Research Manager

You work for a magazine publishing house, which needs to be able to show advertisers why they need to feature in their magazines rather than anyone else’s.

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They also need to understand who their readers are, what they do and what makes them tick. You’re a cross between a maths geek; a cultural anthropologist, studying the strange habits and behaviour of readers; and scriptwriter, helping shape a great story for the advertising department to sell. As a researcher, you need to spend as much time on your readers’ values as you do the content. So, readers of [Australian souped-​up car magazine] Street Machine love a good joke, think well of themselves, wave their flags proudly, and play their favourite music loud –​in between drooling over ’69 Mustangs and classic Aussie Monaros and Falcons. Capture the whole picture and they’ll love you for it. Travis Godfredson, Research Manager, Australian Consolidated Press In book publishing customer research may sit within marketing or publishing/​editorial, or may be called customer insights. •

Marketing Manager/​Director

Your job differs depending on the size of your company. In a small publishing house, you do all the work listed in the roles above as well as the practical work yourself. In a large company you may have staff who look after the detail of product and campaigns, freeing you to create campaigns and strategy and work with editors on publishing direction.

3. Editorial Editorial is a confusing term. Firstly it’s the one role most people outside publishing have heard of. But it’s also an umbrella term, and there are many different kinds of editor –​the difference between copy editor and Commissioning Editor is huge! We’ve divided this wide field into, first, editorial (desk, development and copy editors, who work in producing the book) and then commissioning (commissioning, acquisition editors and publishing –​people who find authors to write the books). There can be crossover, and some companies start you in one and promote you to the other, but others don’t. Editorial first.You might say it’s the engine room of publishing –​the people who create the words that make the books and the magazines. Most people who want to land a job in their precise favourite niche won’t be that lucky. Some of the best editors have come from non-​editorial jobs. Get your head around the fact that publishing is a team effort, and make the effort to be part of the team, even if working remotely.Think broadly about opportunities in your field of publishing and make an effort to also understand the

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industry’s problems, otherwise you might be letting yourself in for many years of underpaid misery. Anon, publishing, UK Editorial suits people who: •

Have a keen eye for detail and precision. Taking a piece of writing, moving words about, making it completely consistent in layout, structure and style, and loving it; that’s editorial. Ever submitted an essay or report and then lay awake at night worried that your bullet points had inconsistent punctuation? You’re an editor born. Editing is not a vague open-​to-​interpretation kind of skill. It’s a set of rules and principles, you’re being trained as a professional editor with skills: editing, mark up, and there are fundamental skills in grammar and expression and feel for words that you need. To achieve a high editorial standard is hard—​there are only a few people who are going to be good editors—​I don’t see that as something you can train a mass of people in anyway. That might sound a bit elitist but you need a temperament, to be anal, all those things. Managing director of a small consumer publishing house, Australia

•

•

In love with words and grammar. And not just on a micro-​level in terms of where the comma goes. A vast amount of editorial work is structural, for which your ability to grasp the whole direction and style of the story/​piece/​entire book you’re working on, and apply your best efforts to reshaping the material, is invaluable. Bear in mind too that the agreed style and market of the product being produced may be different to your personal preferences; effective editors can manage this. Happiest in the back room. There’s little glory in editorial: your best work is invisible to the untrained eye (because it’s so harmonious). Only other editors are going to congratulate you on a beautifully (re) constructed sentence, and many authors hate to have it pointed out to them how much you amended what they wrote; they just assume the seamless prose was theirs all along. In your career as an editor at some point you will almost certainly find yourself rewriting material to such an extent that you should really get a co-​authoring credit. (You won’t.) Editorial work can often go unnoticed and be a thankless job at the end of the publishing process. Anon, publishing, UK

•

Widely interested and tactful. You’re working with authors, after all, and giving feedback about what they’ve written: you need to have a quick mind to understand the structure and argument. And that applies to books about

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physics, life cycle of the earthworm and tractor parts, as well as the latest big name author. Authors are universally touchy about having their words changed: you’ll need buckets of tact and a thick skin. My first job in publishing was as a publishing assistant for a multi-​national publishing house. I loved the variety of work, establishing connections with the authors and media and learning lots of new computer skills. Also working with and being mentored by the lovely staff. Anon, publishing, UK What editorial jobs are there? •

Copy editor

You work with the author from manuscript to finished product, as the main point of contact. You read the author’s submission word by word, looking for errors and inconsistencies, and going back and forth over queries and new drafts of the manuscript. You may also do structural editing (see below) and prepare permission and artwork briefs. In addition to your undergraduate degree you’ll need specialist training, usually in a postgraduate editing course, and possibly then get an entry-​level job as an editorial assistant (see below in ‘Publisher/​Publishing Director’). Today the copy editor role is often handled out of house, as a freelance role, working to a managing editor.You are likely to be offered a fee for the whole text rather than an hourly rate, and have to decide whether or not the job is worth your while (review a page or two of the submission to clarify). •

Structural editor

You work for a trade/​fiction publisher, sorting out the story, making sure things are in the best order before the manuscript gets tidied up by the copy editor.You don’t need the precise eye for detail of a copy editor, but you do need to understand how the story works and how it could work better. Structural editors now also thrive in agencies, offering their services directly to authors and helping them manage their material before it gets to the agent or publisher. •

Development editor/​project editor

You’re probably in Educational or Professional publishing, taking on a structural role, and sometimes working with a Commissioning Editor (see ‘Publisher/​Publishing

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Director’ below). You work closely with the author while they do the writing, to make sure the book does exactly what the publishers want it to do. You may also be responsible for market research, such as investigating areas for publishing a potential new list.You need editing skills, an eye for detail, and structural editing talent. •

Proofreader

You work through the page proofs, making the final checks, looking for spelling, grammatical and typesetting errors, and spot-​checking the contents list, index and author’s name (at least twice). You’re almost certainly a freelancer, with just a few left as employees of publishing houses. •

Managing editor

You organise production and brief copy editors. Depending on the size of the company, this job might run in combination with Production Manager. Editor jobs come in two flavours; in-​house and freelance. Many editors start out working in-​house for a publisher and then at some point may choose to go freelance, working for themselves, once they have the experience, contacts and lifestyle requirements to set up on their own. Sitting closely to editorial are the Commissioning Editors and Publishers. Commissioning suits people who are: •

Zeitgeisty

Publishers are product development engineers, creating items for mass or specific audiences. So you need to provide what those audiences want, or the magazines linger in the newsagents and the books sit unloved on the shelves. Publishers need to be up with the latest to create material people want to read. •

Strategic thinkers

In publishing, building a list can take years of careful planning.You must figure out what you want to publish, find the authors, sign them up, give them a year or two to write something and then get it out into retail outlets… and do it again and again to create a list of titles with a specific style and focus. And you need to do it all years in advance to figure out what will be the hot topics by the time it all publishes. Magazine publishers are strategic thinkers, working out what the next big thing is going to be and getting a new magazine launched before anyone else is out of the starting blocks. You need to build a portfolio that blocks competitors without leading to self-​destruction; in other words, one in which the magazines complement each other and don’t steal advertising from one another.

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In both areas, a highly developed sense of strategy is essential. •

Big picture people

For the reasons mentioned above, you need to be able to see the forest, not just the leaves. Few people do this well, and even fewer in publishing. After all, if you’ve been in a job like editorial or sales where detail is king, it can be difficult to make the adjustment to a position where what really matters is not the comma, nor even the chapter (feature), nor even the book (magazine), but the range and the market. It’s the difference between using a microscope and a telescope. •

Political animals

You’ve got to be good at taking the credit and avoiding the blame. There’s big money at the top end of any business, and no one’s going to step aside and offer you the floor: you’ve got to take it for yourself. Many of the best people in publishing are shrinking violets who never get to fulfil their potential because they just don’t like the limelight.That’s fine, but it does mean you may never achieve the influence you could have. What jobs are there in commissioning? •

Editorial/​Publishing Assistant

You do the essential admin work: circulating manuscripts, chasing authors to remind them of due dates, sending out questionnaires for feedback on proposals. This is an excellent entry point into the world of editorial where jobs can be hard to get. As you get more experienced, you’ll be given more responsibility and maybe even a small list to manage in combination with your assistant level roles. In a trade house you might be the one reading through the ‘slush pile’ of unsolicited manuscripts to discover the next Harry Potter. •

Commissioning/​Acquisitions Editor (‘AE’)

You are the person who signs up authors to write.There are a few different models: In Trade, Professional and University Press publishing, your role typically combines identifying a market gap and seeking an author, working with previously successful authors and agents to secure their new projects, and working through prospective new authors to see what projects might work (much less common than you’d imagine). In these areas you probably started as an editorial assistant, and you’re usually though not always called Commissioning Editor, or perhaps Publisher.You may also do the structural and copy-​editing. In Schools and Higher Education publishing you work on a list and identify areas where you would like to publish a new title. For example: ‘We have two

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introduction to economics books, but neither uses the approach that the most popular competitor does.’ Having identified the market gap, you work with your contacts (teachers, lecturers) to find the right person to create the content you want. This role may be called Editor, Publisher, Acquisition Editor, Product Manager, Content Manager. •

Publisher/​Publishing Director

After years as a successful Commissioning or Acquisitions Editor, you’ve made it as a Publisher. This may mean creating the list you want, drawing in the authors you have always planned to work with or creating a whole new area of publishing for the company. Or it may mean having junior editors reporting to you while you plan the strategic direction and they fulfil it. There’s more than one way to get to your dream job. If you want to be a commissioning editor, you don’t necessarily have to start as an editorial assistant at your favourite publisher and work your way up. I started off in book clubs and then bookselling, getting an overview of all the publishers’ lists and reading hundreds of new titles across all fiction genres.When I moved over into publishing proper, they wanted me for my commercial knowledge as well as any editorial skills I possess. I’d also spent years meeting people from all the publishing houses and had a clear idea of which companies I would and wouldn’t want to work for. Suzie Dooré, Publishing Director,The Borough Press

4. Production Production staff are the cement of publishing companies. Intrinsic problem solvers, they break down difficult situations into component parts and then look at how to deal with each issue in turn. In addition to being good at their jobs, they tend to be calm and offer a valuable sounding board. Production suits people who are: •

Organised, competent and calm

If you can keep tabs on 200 different projects in varying stages of a long process, this is the job for you. •

Collaborators

Production depends on people responsible for all the other stages in the chain doing their bit in time, and adjusting schedules and suppliers as problems arise.

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Effective production people can come up with solutions, as the plot thickens, not just throw their hands in the air and think ‘it’s all awful.’ •

Makers and doers

Production people quite literally make the product, turning a massive great long Word document into something that sits in a bookshelf or computer. They are skilled at using systems and tools and visualisation. What Production jobs are there? •

Production Editor/​Production Controller

You organise production, manufacturing and dissemination (getting the product where it is needed, at the right time). This means managing relationships, working with printers and typesetters and copy editors and proofreaders to get a title through the process. Sometimes this job comes under the editorial banner too. •

Production Manager

You do what it sounds like: you run the department, making sure every project is where it should be. You may manage projects personally, as well as working with production controllers who handle most of them. •

Designer and illustrators

Your job is to make effective covers and illustrations for the market.This means that the style chosen is attractive to the right audience and gets bought.You’re probably freelance. •

Multimedia and UX (user experience)

You design software products and websites. You’re probably in Educational/​ Professional or online publishing and may be freelance. Publishing products are increasingly technical and complex. Working with a subject matter expert, content specialist or portfolio manager, your role is to create software that is easy to use and delivers above customer expectations, maybe in support of printed product, or perhaps as digital first/​digital standalone products.

Other departments in publishing and the booktrade There are other job opportunities too, of course, but many require skills transferable from other industries or professions, rather than being specific to publishing. Here are a few:

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• •

•

•

•

•

•

Accounts and finance: you pay the bills, send out bills and chase payment Business management: you’re an accounting type who counts income and anticipates both opportunities and threats, in the immediate and more distant future Buyer: you’re working for a bookseller, large or small, or another retail organisation that stocks books and working with publisher reps and data to make buying and stock decisions Customer service: you handle direct customer orders and ensure efficient despatch; deal with subsequent contact with customers, complaints and praise. You are capturing essential first-​hand information from customers of all sorts (individual and bookshop buyers); your feedback on how the ordering process feels to the end consumer is invaluable.This can be a good entry role into some publishing houses Royalties, copyrights, contracts, permissions: you ensure authors and others with whom the company has contractual obligations do what they should, and are paid appropriately, or manage third party permissions. You’re organised and have a strong procedural brain Stock control/​shipping/​supply chain: you make sure the materials are where they should be, in the quantity they should be. On locally publishing books you organise reprints; for local and import books you make sure you’re stocking the right quantities Operations management/​warehouse: you look after what is produced and understand how to get it where it needs to go. Often warehouses and offices are separated, but if you’re lucky, you’ll work for publishers where the warehouse is right on site. I worked in a bookstore (always wanted to).Then I was sacked from there. Then I worked for my mum’s landscaper boyfriend labouring. His best mate was sales manager at Macmillan Ed, and Pete called mum’s BF up one day saying there were heaps of jobs down in the warehouse in Port Melbourne as they’d just been raided by immigration and lost about 30 staff. Been in the biz ever since. Mark Seebeck, Australia

Politics between the various departments In general, publishing is a collaborative industry. Most organisations have a relatively flat management structure –​in other words effective publishing relies on deals between different departments/​individuals, rather than a hierarchical management structure where layers of management boss lower layers about. An editor for a particular title liaises with that title’s production editor, marketing person and rights coordinator, and each staff member may subcontract to freelancers. Working relationships and dress codes tend to be informal.

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Be aware, though, that there will be tensions between different departments, and the coordination required to get a title out may not be quite as readily available as required, to put it mildly: Looking back, I wish I had understood more clearly the ideological divide that exists in many publishing houses between sales/​marketing and publishing/​editorial. It wasn’t until after I had worked on both sides that I really appreciated the different concerns and viewpoints held by each. Jessica, Australia Senior staff are usually willing to give advice and mentoring to those who are starting out, and some firms offer such schemes, on a formal or informal basis. More than any other industry I have worked in, publishing is full of kind and generous people. If you’re good at what you do, people in publishing are happy to see you succeed. Kirsty Hine, Development Editor, Australia Don’t be shy. Most people in publishing are generous with their time and happy to help out newbies. When I was coming up I had heaps of great chats with industry veterans at book fairs etc. Contact a publishing company you like and tell them you are trying to learn about the industry, and ask if you can come in and have a coffee. Michael Hanrahan, Director of Publishing, Publish Central, Australia

10 STUDY, TRAINING AND LIFELONG LEARNING

In this chapter we address how you decide where and what to study and whether you need a degree in Publishing Studies for your job in publishing and the booktrade. Qualifications are useful in giving you an overview of the industry and what different options are out there, beyond editorial. In my experience, it was essential to getting a job, because I had a much better understanding of the industry, and because my lecturers were able to help me to understand what people were looking for in job applications, which gave me more success in getting to interview stage. I also think they are really valuable in understanding some of the basics and the jargon when you get your first job, so you can pick everything up faster. Anna, Editorial Assistant, UK Competition for graduate roles is fierce, so a publishing qualification equips you with insight, skills and experience as well as signalling commitment to building a career in the industry. Caroline Prodger, Freelance Publisher, UK I had a Bachelor of Creative Arts and a Diploma in Publishing, Editing and Writing from TAFE when I started and now I have a Masters in Publishing, Editing and Creative Writing (which was interesting but unnecessary). Publishing degrees are useful but not the be-​all-​and-​end-​all. Publishing is changing constantly and it’s getting ridiculous for entry-​level roles to expect a Masters in Publishing. Learning on the job seems to be forgotten now but that is more useful than a lecture. Anon, publishing, Australia

DOI: 10.4324/9781003273424-11

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Publishers need to know stuff One thing that strikes those joining the publishing industry is how much those who work there know. Of course, this usually centres around books and reading, and you will be surprised to hear the level and complexity of literary references that get bandied about the office, but it also tends to work much more broadly. We predict you will be surprised by the quality and randomness of informed banter –​by the things people know. My explanation is that this partly comes from working on a range of different specialisms and the information you just can’t help acquiring in the process. In my time, I have worked on tax, accounting, high level science, travel and social services, as well as the more predictable literature, and all this fuels my ability to make comparisons and understand the working practices of different professions. My second reason is that an effective publisher is necessarily curious: about what people want to read about, what interests are growing or declining and who are the people saying or writing most significant things within these fields. In the process, publishers tend to build up a pattern of connectedness to interesting information. This information bank, acquired by all publishers, leads to the one course-​ asset that I offer our newly arrived cohort for MA Publishing during the opening week of our course: that if they pursue a career in publishing, they will become a real asset on a quiz team. It’s worth noting too that quizzes tend to be popular in the publishing industry, those within departments and the organisation as a whole, and the many organised as industry-​wide events. Alison And this continues.The head-​based information bank gets constantly added to, and constantly used. Your role may involve evaluating proposals, being curious to spot new markets and developing trends, and being sufficiently open-​minded to know that what does not personally fascinate you may nevertheless draw in other people. How to fuel that information bank is the subject of this chapter.

Studying At school or college we tend to see the range of subjects available as static. Not so. Explored in terms of the numbers presented for formal examination, some subjects are in decline (German), others in ascendency (Spanish, Chinese). Geography is growing faster than History, Business Studies is rising, Media Studies is falling. In 2019 the BBC reported: •

Between 2014 and 2019 the number of A-​ level entries in arts subjects (including drama, music and art) fell by 13,000, almost 17%

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• •

Similarly, there has been an 8% decrease in modern languages and more than 25% decline in English Meanwhile, entries in science, technology, engineering and maths increased by 15,500, a rise of 6%.1

While this is information related to curriculum change, government priorities and rising costs, the wider message for who will be buying what in future is relevant. Publishers still need a grasp of different areas of knowledge in order to be able to commission and market effectively.

College, further education and vocational qualifications School curricula today teach children to edit their work before handing it in, and it’s not unusual for classes/​g roups to publish their own work as a collective exercise. Some colleges and vocational institutions offer courses that include communication and editing. But while there are exceptions to every rule, it would be unusual to enter publishing and similar industries without at least an undergraduate degree. This excludes those who can’t access university and so preserves privilege and reduces diversity, but there it is. If you are studying at college and interested in getting into publishing and unable to shift to university, one avenue is to apply for entry-​level roles and commit to tackling a university degree part-​time while you work.

University and higher education The UK Publishing Association’s diversity survey The UK Publishing Workforce: Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging reports that 82% of those working in book publishing have an undergraduate degree or higher.2 We suspect that the majority of the 18% of respondents who don’t have an undergraduate degree are working in roles such as operations and administration; it’s unusual to find a publisher, editor or marketing executive who does not have at least one degree. If you are considering where to study for your first degree, here are seven recommendations: 1. Go to the best university you can.This definitely counts, and many people are interested in where you studied than what. What is best, though? Some institutions just have that reputation, deserved or not. Others excel in particular subjects and even courses. Either way, aim as high as you can in terms of entry, logistics and cost: you’ll be living with this on your CV for the rest of your career. 2. Study what you’re passionate about. Rather than what you think will be useful, study what you love. Many assume that a literature degree is the natural precursor to a career in publishing, and indeed many publishers are literature

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graduates. But in our experience, this is not necessarily optimum. Emerging from a literature degree with a strong predilection for a particular style of literature can make it difficult to understand the perspective of those who are less enthusiastic. Remember that publishers are needed in every sector for which finished content is required. (Alison has a first degree in Mediaeval History and Fine Arts, Steve in English Literature and Susannah in English Literature and Linguistics.) I am a big fan of studying something you love (Anthropology, anyone?) but these Masters courses are a big financial commitment to get an entry-​ level role that might never equate to a large salary. Allison McMullin, Learning Consultant, Cengage, Australia 3. Keep your options open. While you can usually change course (explore this before you enrol: some universities more flexible than others), the momentum of the system is always going to encourage you to continue with the one you began –​and three or four years spent on something you are not sure is for you is a big risk. Some universities offer the chance to spend a taster year (or sometimes two, for a four year degree) trying things out, before committing yourself to your final subject; others work in modules where you build up credits as you go. These are good options for the undecided. 4. Consider studying something with wider applicability… –​especially if it’s something that will sustain your interest. Most people working in publishing and in the media generally didn’t start out with a burning desire to do exactly the position or even the career they now find themselves in. Many of us have a hankering to be in publishing, but don’t know what role will suit; and the number of people who dream of a commissioning role in a small literary publisher far exceeds the number of available positions. Staying broad keeps you flexible. 5. … or don’t. If you are unsure what to take, rather than studying a subject for the sake of it, consider something specifically designed to prepare you for your career. There are many media, journalism and publishing courses, and technical degrees where you can find a home in publishing include Multimedia, Product Development, Project Management, Digital Marketing and Editing. I think publishing degrees are effectively like buying yourself a job. I loved studying my MA and wouldn’t change it, but I look back with cynicism. You don’t need a masters degree for the first role I did in publishing. But the MA significantly facilitated my getting that job. I feel like you need to buy your way into the industry. Heather Benn, Marketing and Strategy Specialist, UK

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6. Consider just how practical you want your course to be and if it includes internships or work-​based learning. If you take on a ‘hard core’ practical course and find that your interests take you in other directions, you might feel you’ve wasted valuable time and money. On the other hand, if you’re by nature a practical person, then finding yourself in an environment with no real industry connections and exposure is frustrating. Many degrees now include working for credit –​internships in publishing houses, work-​ based learning projects in collaboration with business, practical skills modules (teaching press/​student press). While you may not enjoy studying theory, remember that knowing how to do something, and not necessarily why, is only useful as long as things are done the same way. When problems that no one anticipates arise, theory about how things have worked previously can be useful. 7. You’re valuable to them, too. Finally, while you’re considering your options, remember that universities and colleges are after you, too. No students, no university. So treat their claims seriously but sceptically. Consider whether what impresses you is the course… or the university’s marketing. Read reviews, talk to people who have studied that course, and look at LinkedIn to see what degrees are held by those who currently do the job that you want to get. Whether your study is in Publishing/​Communications/​Media, something technical or areas totally unrelated to Publishing, you need to be able to succinctly explain why your development and training are relevant and what you learned, as well as what wider life and professional experiences you bring to benefit the role and the organisation. If you have a qualification that is not sector-​specific, you need to be prepared to answer relevant questions about the bridge between what you know and what it equips you to do within the creative economy. For example, My degree in geography was broad, offering a working knowledge of a wide range of subjects, from the biology of swamps to the impact of cities on communities.This gave me a broad general knowledge which I see as a valuable asset within publishing. You’ll be surprised by how little employers care what you learned at school and university. Recruiters are interested in how you have behaved and responded in different situations, and the personal initiative you have shown, as an indication of what type of employee you might be. Behavioural interviewing is slanted towards understanding what you did, what you learned and what you might do differently; you could learn more about yourself having failed a subject, than having received top marks because you find academic study easy. From personal experience, we know that understanding this can be a challenge. You may be on the receiving end of advice about how you are at university to study rather than spend time on building connections or setting up initiatives that may not outlast your time there. This is well intentioned, but wrong.

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When I wrote home to my parents, and talked about what I was doing at university, anything other than reference to what my father consistently called ‘your studies’ would attract negative feedback. His clear idea, sadly never having been fortunate to go to university himself, was that anything else was a distraction. Of course, I learned not to talk about extracurricular activities. But when it came to trying to get a job, the one item on my CV that routinely attracted most attention was that I had set up a new society at university -​and that it was still running after I left, as I had recruited successors. Alison

Postgraduate degrees in publishing I think publishing degrees really help people understand the nuts and bolts of the industry and the bigger picture. It can help put a job into context, which adds to motivation and also enhances career prospects. Laura Summers, Director, BookMachine, UK With the growth in proportion of young people getting an undergraduate degree, the master’s degree has emerged as a popular way to narrow in on future work areas.Taking a postgraduate qualification is an increasingly popular route into book publishing, and there are new courses springing up every year. And of course taking a postgraduate course gives you the chance to explore whether publishing is for you –​and lots of useful skills to take elsewhere if you decide it is not. (In addition to publishing, graduates end up working in online content, communications, PR, arts marketing, academic/​education content and marketing and many other jobs.) I’ve supervised many interns from postgraduate publishing courses and have been impressed by their skills, dedication and insight. They know a lot about how to make and promote books by the time they get to their first publishing jobs. But these degrees are expensive and require a year or two of extra study, often including an unpaid internship, and so create an extra barrier to entering the industry. In a low-​paying industry already dominated by middle-​class people and generally lacking diversity, this is a problem. I’ve supervised interns who weren’t sure if they wanted to work in publishing, and others who didn’t have certain basic aptitudes needed to succeed in the industry, but they were all investing thousands of dollars in a vocational degree they might not ever use. On top of all this is the fact that there are many more publishing graduates than there will ever be publishing jobs (at least where I am –​Australia). So far as I can tell, most publishing courses don’t tell students much about working conditions in the industry. It seems irresponsible of universities and other providers not to tell prospective students all this before they enrol. Anon, publishing, Australia

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I love publishing studies! They are useful and give students an overview of the variety of opportunities in the industry. They also prepare students well for management progression, as they have a good understanding of the sector as a whole and of where their own job and skill set fits in an organisation. Alison Lawson, Head of Discipline of Marketing and Operations, Derby Business School, University of Derby, UK The sudden availability of so many publishing MA courses is consumer-​driven, not industry-​driven. Taking one doesn’t guarantee you a job in the business, and neither does the availability of all these courses imply that there are enough jobs for all the graduates. What drives the courses is not the need for students with those degrees: on the contrary, it’s the desire for students to have those degrees. And having completed three to four years of an undergraduate degree, not everyone has the time or funds to tackle a postgraduate degree, either full-​time or part-​time while working. When reviewing courses, look at logistics. Are you working, and so need a part-​ time, after hours or online course? Can you attend full time? How much is the course, and can you get government support? Can you afford it, and is it worth taking out loans? Is the location convenient? Does it offer flexibility, where you can exit halfway through and still get a qualification? Could you study for one year and get a postgraduate diploma or stay for two and get a master’s degree? When you have a shortlist, here are seven tough, smart questions to ask: 1. Do lecturers have extensive and recent industry expertise? The ideal is lecturers who are also doers, continually refreshing their knowledge; look for courses delivered by a mix of full-​time staff who specialise in publishing, and part-​time staff active within the industry. 2. Are the teaching team involved in industry-​related research? Those working within universities have the opportunity to explore –​and potentially overturn –​long-​ term thinking about types of literature, markets and how best to communicate. And this is useful knowledge to take into the industry you want to join. 3. Are there options for hands-​on learning? Work-​ based learning, practical modules, teaching presses or organised internships are all incredibly valuable to help you break into such a competitive industry. • Work-​based learning includes working on projects in partnership with publishing companies or industry managers –​real-​life practical or research projects based on actual work challenges. How much access do you get to industry professionals? Are you interviewing and consulting with them, or just getting a brief and presenting to them at the end? • Internships are where you are working in a publishing house. You want a program of study where the course has partnerships with publishers and can help you secure your placement; your internship is for a reasonable

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4. 5.

6.

7.

period of time (a month or more, not five days) and you are doing substantial work and taking responsibility for projects, while gaining course credit. (More detail on internship programs later). • A good practical module/​ teaching press gives students hands-​ on tasks to produce, design, edit, write, sell, market and promote books, and learn along the way. These hands-​on models, delivered well, give you valuable experience in publishing and can help you decide if this is the industry you want to work in, give you experience to talk about in interviews and a basis of knowledge to take into that first job. What activities/​facilities do you get access to? Are there programmes of guest speakers from industry, and visits and opportunities to see relevant organisations? What is the employment history of previous students? Do they keep data on who entered publishing or related industries and in what roles? As well as asking those running or marketing the program, use LinkedIn to look at recent career starters in the roles you can see yourself applying for. What degrees do they have? From where? Is there a buzz? Can you meet with staff at an open day? Do they ask about you and your aspirations? Do they talk about the course and students with enthusiasm? What do graduates of the program say about it? Is it somewhere you want to be? A lot of publishing is based in big cities. That does not mean that courses based elsewhere are not worth applying for, but you would need to be assured that they had thought about their location and made plans for how you access the industry (so, a regular programme of speakers, and a history of those who have taken the course being successful in securing placements and jobs). Of course online contributions can be made from anywhere, particularly now the pandemic has got us used to this, and many publishers found they could work from anywhere.

Key take away: think seriously before enrolling. But if you do, enjoy it. Studying publishing is a unique chance to immerse yourself in the world of words, meet like-​ minded people and deepen your understanding of your future career. They can give a candidate the edge when I’m hiring, although I’m always aware that the learning may not be practically applicable, e.g., if the degree course was heavily skewed toward books and I am recruiting for a journals position. Publishing-​specific Master’s qualifications have enabled me to secure higher starting salaries for candidates. Anna O’Brien, Senior Director, Strategic Product Management,Wiley, UK I never really felt that any staff I worked with or employed who had publishing-​specific degrees had any advantage over other staff who built up experience over their career. Graphic design degrees are definitely an advantage to getting into the industry though. Lisa Coley, prev. Senior Editor, UK

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I teach in a Masters of Publishing and it’s excellent and turns out excellent graduates, but it is expensive and I worry about the privilege aspects: only students from a certain socio-​economic background have access to this course, I wish more publishers hired keen young people from a variety of backgrounds and trained them up in-​house or sponsored them to do a postgrad degree. Tim Coronel, General Manager, Small Press Network, Australia I wish [publishing specific qualifications] weren’t necessary, because I think publishing is an industry that you just pick up as you go/​learn on the job –​ I think if we were more inclusive, and offered more opportunities like paid internships, people doing an MA and then getting entry-​level jobs paying £20k in London wouldn’t be happening. Anon, publishing, UK

Lifelong learning Looking wider than university-​based study, all publishers embark on a much more long-​lasting educational commitment: to lifelong learning. The habit of acquiring information needs to be ingrained. Here are a few principles: 1. Take every course Never turn down the opportunity for training. Jackie Steinitz, economist and analyst If someone has dropped out of internal training and there is a chance to fill the additional place, take it. Even if it does not sound relevant, and you have a pile of things to do, there will be something you learn, someone you meet. Even if all that training does is confirm how much you don’t know about something, that’s still a positive. If all else fails, watch how the trainer manages and delivers their material –​ and learn from that. 3. Sign up for a course Sign up for an adult education class. Sign up for a lecture series in person or via a MOOC (Massive Online Open Course) –​many are free, or cheap. Join a society that offers regular talks.The opportunity to hear an interesting individual speak can be so mentally refreshing, and you can widen your knowledge base for both professional and non-​professional topics. 4. Read outside your comfort zone Reading the same kind of book is tempting, and those pesky publishers make it easy by reassuringly packaging similar titles to look related to each other. As a result, we can float along thinking that the rest of the world is as reasonable as we are. But it’s a good idea to move outside your comfort zone, to access different minds with

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different perspectives. To see the world as it is, and not as we have always assumed it to be. If you normally read literary fiction, try young adult or manga. Switch around your news and magazines. Listen to podcasts by people you don’t agree with. 5. Remain curious Find out more about interests that have so far passed you by. When you meet new people, find out about their pathway through life: what were their key decision points? What don’t you know? People love talking about themselves, and being a good listener is a great way of developing new relationships. 6. Develop your interests, read around them, and remain up-​to-​date It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so. Mark Twain3 What you first knew about a subject may have changed. Keep current. Attend lectures. Read new books in your field. Offer a ‘lunch and learn’ session to colleagues on your special interest. Become known within your institution as someone with a particular interest –​it may lead to project proposals being shared with you, or your inclusion in relevant working parties. Build up a portfolio to evidence what you can do is probably better than quals. If you’re just starting out, charities love a bit of help with marketing etc. I think today the way to relay information needs to be entertaining and up-​to-​date so try and make sure you have multiple skills and keep things fresh. Anon, publishing, UK It’s normal to start a job hunt by thinking about the basic building blocks that tend to make up a CV and a career pathway –​the qualifications you gained while at school or college, your degree(s) and the list of relevant work experience you can amass. But remember: publishing is a creative industry, and the industry needs people with imagination, spark and drive, wherever you find it. In our experience, publishers tend to be both interesting and interested in… everything! In conclusion, constantly practice becoming a creative and observant person. Wherever you are, you can spot populations with unserved needs (those at a concert with nothing available to read about the band; a campaigning document for the inclusion of your sport in the Olympics –​netball at the time of writing). Seeing what other people are talking about on social media might spark ideas about possible commissions. Your own experience of trying to find how something should work might make you spot the need for a published resource that is not available. Take this a stage further and think about what you have in your past that is transferable to demonstrate your adaptability, energy and creativity. And go from there. But to constantly fuel this process: keep learning.

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Notes 1 A-​levels:What subjects are students dropping and why? BBC News, 15 August 2019. 2 www.pub​ l ish ​ e rs.org.uk/ ​ p ubli ​ c ati ​ o ns/ ​ d ivers ​ i ty- ​ s ur ​ vey- ​ o f- ​ t he- ​ p ub​ l ish ​ i ng- ​ workfo​ rce-​2020/​ 3 Ironically, he probably didn’t say it: quoteinvestigator.com/​2018/​11/​18/​know-​trouble/​

11 INTERNSHIPS, PLACEMENTS AND WORK EXPERIENCE

Internships within publishing companies, media organisations or retail outlets selling publishing products are extremely valuable learning experiences, and that is what this chapter addresses. Having spent time in publishing or related industries puts you streets ahead of candidates with only education or non-​industry work behind them. Internships also help you discover if you like this industry, make contacts and head towards the right job for you. Not surprisingly, they’re screamingly competitive. I did a couple of unpaid internships at Wiley during university holidays in my third year and HR got in touch to suggest I apply for the job when I graduated. Internships helped me to both get an understanding of the industry and gave me an advantage when it came to getting a job. I only did a few weeks of unpaid work but it helped me in the interview and in being notified when jobs arose. Apply for any you can get and make yourself available as much as you can. Sophie Langer, prev. Head of MarComms, Cengage, UK How competitive entry level publishing jobs are, how much experience in publishing seems to be valued, and how important it is to show that you love the books they publish. Before I did the MA I had spent some time in an office job and had thought that the work experience would make it easier to get a job as I had a number of transferable skills. While I think it helped me get to the interview stage, I was only able to get an editorial assistant job after having done an internship. Anna, Editorial Assistant, UK

DOI: 10.4324/9781003273424-12

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A note on terminology. Broadly speaking, •

•

•

Work experience is a one week or fortnight’s stint in a workplace while you are at secondary schoolgiving you a taster for the working world. You will probably be doing basic administrative tasks although you may have the opportunity to see what else goes on in the workplace, and perhaps even try out some more taxing involvement Internships are longer, for example often a day a week for a semester, or a month full time. You’re probably a university student, and the internship may be offered as part of your study. You may not be paid (although travelling expenses are possible).You might get meaningful projects, you will learn a lot, and will work under supervision Work placements are longer again –​maybe six or twelve months working full time as a break from your university study or your first year post graduation. You are likely to be paid somewhere close to an entry-​level graduate salary and working with guidance on independent projects. You may also be rotated through departments to get a taster for different roles.

However, different people and organisations use different terminology –​so make sure you and they are talking about the same thing. We’ll talk mainly about internships in this chapter, but the advice also applies to work experience and placements.

How internships work An internship allows you to do meaningful work in your chosen field, and the organisation gives you support and structure. •

•

They are often (though not inevitably) unpaid There is a lot of discussion around this and whether unpaid work is fair or not and if they entrench prejudice (as only people who can afford to work unpaid are in a position to benefit from the valuable experience from internships).You get experience, exposure and mentoring; they get your labour and also take on the responsibility to give you training and supervision. Sometimes you may get expenses, or a stipend; for a longer placement/​apprenticeship, you might get a close-​to-​g raduate salary. But for the most part, internships are unpaid. There are also living expenses to be considered, and in the United Kingdom, The Spare Room Project –​Opening a Door to Publishing1 can help –​a wonderful initiative set up by James Spackman Internship lengths vary An internship might be two weeks, or three months, or a semester; it may be full or part time. The timing will depend on whether it’s an organised part of your university study, an arrangement you have negotiated directly or something else

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•

•

You get meaningful work Ideally, you’ll get training, structure and projects to work on that make a difference to the organisation and where you can learn and see if this is what you want to do. That gives you a taste for the job, and the company a chance to get work done which wouldn’t happen otherwise You get the taste of the company You get to see how the company works, the kind of people who work there and to think about whether you fit in.The ideal arrangement is that at the same time, managers find out how effective you are and get accustomed to seeing you around –​and you’re first on the spot when a permanent role comes up.

What will you be doing? Often companies get interns working on things they’ve wanted to do for ages but haven’t had the resources.That can lead to some really juicy, interesting –​and potentially high profile –​projects that might include, for example, researching potential new publishing markets, reviewing editorial systems and streamlining existing processes.You might cover a junior position during a hiring phase or parental leave vacancy (note that if you are covering a permanent position and fulfilling all the duties of that role, you should definitely be paid). Don’t leave this to chance, though. If you don’t work on the manager who is taking you on, to define a solid project for your time there, you can end up doing the filing and photocopying.You’ll still get to know people and see if you like the company, but you won’t get a chance to show off your ingenuity and brainpower. So do your best to structure the internship to suit you (without of course giving the impression that administrative support work is beneath you).

Finding your internship Internships are often available as part of your university study; there may be support to help you find a program, or the publishing house may take interns each year from your university. These are often the best companies to intern at, by the way, as they have a model for onboarding, training, and structure for the work. How to find an internship when it’s not part of your study program: •

•

Look for advertised internships. Occasionally internships are publicised to help career starters enter the industry. This is like applying for scholarships –​if you meet the attributes, and can apply, do apply! Check all the places where such roles might be advertised –​ publishers associations2 (formal and informal), book industry newsletters, writers’ centres and so on. Also youth organisations, local councils, government and any other organisation you can think of; join networks and groups that spread the word.

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•

•

•

Outline your goals. Do you simply want to see if publishing is for you? To check out a company where you want to work? To try a few different areas of publishing? To make contacts? To get a job? Once you know what you want, you can work towards making sure the internship is structured to benefit what you are seeking to achieve. Work out where you want to go. Internships don’t grow on trees. They do, however, grow on the lists in trade directories. Talk to friends and relatives. Search ‘publishing internship’ online. Try your university course/​ university careers service/​writers’ centre/​careers counsellor/​association (such as for women in publishing or young publishers etc.). Make lists. Follow up leads. Become obsessed: this is going to take a lot of work. Get in touch! If you know which department (marketing/​editorial/​production etc.) you would ideally like to work in, start with the department manager –​they’re the person you’ll be working for, so if they can’t see the opportunity, it’s probably not going to work out. If you’re looking for general experience or to work different departments, the HR manager or (in a small company), the general manager will probably work best. Large publishers work by divisions, and the different groups often have parallel roles, but the management structure only joins together at the top. So if you want to try the marketing department for ABC Large Publisher, there might be three divisions (Fiction, Children’s and Literary Fiction, or School, Academic and Professional) and you’ll need to do your application three times over, or find an energetic HR person who will do it for you. If you are managing this yourself, make your approach by email or LinkedIn message. Try something like this: I’m a graduate looking for a career in publishing, and I particularly want to complete a voluntary, unpaid internship position with your company. Could we chat about how this might work? If they pass you on to someone else such as HR, then pursue the lead with them. This is a good thing, by the way: you’ve just been referred, which means you already come carrying a little credibility. Remember too that you’re talking to someone who’s almost certainly overworked and you’re offering to work for free –​and perhaps on a project that is valuable to them but for which they have never had time. There’s a real chance this could go somewhere.

Making your internship work Before you commit, give the internship the best chance of success. Does the structure work for you? Is the commute manageable? Can you do the days they ask you to be there? If you are not getting paid, can you fund yourself for the agreed duration? Will they pay your transport fares? Don’t agree to something where you can’t actually see how it will work.

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The best internship is one that interests you, and if you suggest a project (based on your understanding of what they do), you’re more likely to get it. You could suggest, for example, one of the following: •

•

•

Researching a new, growing area of publishing that particularly interests you –​ and looking into who publishes within it, which books have been hits, who the top authors are, whether there is export potential –​everything they might need to start publishing in that area? A marketing project such as a frequent buyer scheme, website/​email voucher campaign or bookshop window dressing competition… think of schemes you’ve seen that work well and how they might be adapted for your chosen publisher Research on how the firm’s competitors are approaching their market and the image they are promoting in the process.

You’re probably thinking that you’re unlikely to hit the spot. And, frankly, you’re right: you may not. But many potential employers will appreciate the time and effort you’ve put into researching their business (without of course implying that they are not doing it well –​you are offering to work on a project that benefits them, not management consultancy).

Make sure the company respects you and your skills You’re working for free, but you’re not worthless. Ideally, you’re looking for a company/​manager to: •

• • •

Provide you with a proper workspace of your own, including desk, phone, computer for when you’re in the office; and provide access to systems and management support for when you’re working from home. Take the time to discover your interests and skills and assign you to projects that use your expertise, as well as giving you opportunities to stretch yourself Provide you with at least one mentor/​manager you can work with closely and who shows you where the loo and the coffee live Treat you like a regular employee, include you in departmental treats and pay for work-​related expenses.

Not surprisingly, we don’t recommend handing over a list of these requirements before you start. Instead it’s probably best to try to establish the answers to these questions in a meeting, before you begin (can you call in the week before to find out how things work; or perhaps put you in touch with someone else who has experience so you can chat about how it went?). The bottom line is that you are doing work for nothing, and if they don’t treat you with respect, it’s probably not somewhere you’d like to work anyway.

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How good interns behave You’re trying to make a good impression so you can get a job. So it’s not surprising that mostly your behaviour should be as if you were already working there. Here’s some pithy advice for interns and employees alike: Take an interest in ALL aspects of a publishing company so you understand how it works –​not just your role. Rachael McDiarmid, Director, RM Marketing Services, Australia Do your research, understand the company, their list, what the job involves. Be prepared to do some boring work to begin with. Make the most of opportunities to showcase your particular skills. Consider applying for a job that you know you can do even if it’s not the one you really want. Once you get your foot in the door it is possible to move into other roles and it’s a great way to develop different skills that help you build an overall understanding of how the industry works. Anon, UK To tease out this advice into some detail: •

•

•

•

DO treat this like a permanent job (and maybe it will become one). Remember, you’re on show here. Always start work on time, and call if you are running late. Dress like the other employees. Take the same amount of time as everyone else for lunch and breaks DO keep a positive attitude. Never, ever, ever let resentment at how they are getting your services for nothing get in the way of doing the job to the best of your abilities. Even if you feel this way, do not share your feelings with those you are working for –​they work for the host company and that is where their first loyalty lies. Don’t forget that they will view how you do the job in the context of how the previous intern performed IF there are problems, address them professionally. Give the organisation a chance to fix things so you can get the best out of the time there. Ask for a meeting with your manager; explain what the difficulty is, and ideally have a suggested model for how you would like to see it fixed BE great! This sounds so obvious that it shouldn’t even need saying. But it does. Be outstanding and you may well get asked back: be a pain and you won’t. So: be helpful, be thorough, be friendly and cheerful, be willing to do anything and everything that needs doing. Make yourself useful. Follow directions. And don’t be afraid to say that you haven’t understood what’s been said to you. That’s much better than struggling through for a while hoping you’ve got the hang of it, and then finding out that you haven’t. All this can be hard when you feel like a spare wheel, or don’t feel like you’re getting much feedback. But don’t give up, and don’t let the smile fade

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•

•

•

•

DO make an effort to meet the key people –​general manager, editorial, sales, marketing directors and managers, HR. If you’re worried you might not be able to think of something to say, have a stock sentence up your sleeve in case you get introduced to someone important when you’re not expecting it. (I love the new campaign on… ’ or ‘I’ve just been reading our new publication on Jane Austen’) is good DO come up with useful and interesting ideas, and run them by your line manager before anyone else. They will be put offside if you start passing your bright ideas to the departmental head before they have heard of them DO, when you’re leaving, thank anyone and everyone who helped organise the project (chocolates or a book are good), and remind them you’d love to work with them again when something comes up. A publishing student of Alison’s left behind an office plant which she named after herself –​so the name of Lisa lived on in the office. Connect to everyone you worked with on LinkedIn, and stay in touch. Oh, and if you plan to list them on your CV as a reference (which you should), remember to ask permission DON’T get carried away at the pub for your farewell drinks. You’ve worked hard to create a solid image of professionalism; behave inappropriately and you can undo all that good work in five minutes

Your side hustle It’s common to engage with the industry and build up experience through freelancing, writing, blogging and podcasting and self-​publishing/​micropublishing. Many people now in the booktrade started with a mixed bag of roles (and others started and continued that way, working multiple jobs, mixing up professional and semi-​ professional work to build a rich and rewarding path. There’s no law that says you have to become an employee.) Here are some thoughts on popular publishing side hustles: •

•

Working in a bookshop or other retail outlet selling books.This can be invaluable experience for a life in publishing –​so much so that you never move on; finding recommending books to the buying public more to your taste and still influencing what gets published. Publishers routinely consult booksellers to establish their opinion on new publications, to find out what is currently selling well –​and to spot potential gaps in the market. Work in a bookshop for any period of time and you will be amazed at the knowledge booksellers have of their stock, and how they can identify a title required by a customer on the slimmest of information (‘a thriller with a one word title and featured on the radio last week’3) Freelancing: it’s common parlance that freelancing works best when you’ve worked in-​house first for a few years and built up your experience and contacts. But if you’ve got the skill set through training and can start with a small roster of clients, why not? Publishing lends itself well to using

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freelancers to manage the ebb and flow of work, particularly in manuscript development, copy-​editing, structural editing, proofing and design work; and working on small publications, zines and community publications help you build up your experience and portfolio. If you’re at all serious about this, engaging with associations and networks for freelancers will help you understand expectations such as what to charge, contracts and share opportunities. Never work for free Useful resources: • • •

Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading UK, ciep.uk Institute for Professional Editors Australia, iped-​editors.org International Association of Professional Writers & Editors, iapwe.org Jobs can be limited in certain locations. Freelancing is one way to work wherever you are, but it can be difficult to get consistent work. Freelance work can be feast or famine. If you’re going to freelance you have to constantly promote yourself and regularly ask all your contacts for work. Kirsty Hine, Development Editor, Australia My experiences are not typical. I was well over 30 when I entered publishing. The industry recruits younger people by and large. If you are over 30 you should think about entering specific areas where there are lots of vacancies still, e.g. educational publishing, bookselling, marketing. It’s definitely best to get a few years of in-​house experience under your belt before going off to freelance. Having a broad lived experience of the industry is good for your mental health as well as your recognition in the industry. Anon, publishing, Australia

•

•

Self-​ publishing and micropublishing: test out your publishing chops with a bit of self-​publishing, or band together with friends and create a micropublisher. With the technology available today anyone can be a publisher –​though being a good publisher is a little more challenging. Understanding a publishing strategy; sourcing content ; working through copy and design and production; setting up the metadata; creating a promotional strategy; choosing channels for publication; engaging with customers –​ all of this is fantastic fun, and you can build up your skill set and publish real live books and reach a few customers and maybe even make a little money. Try not to work for free Creating content: writing, blogging, podcasting is fulfilling for its own sake if you are that way inclined and again builds up a valuable skill set and portfolio of work.You’ll probably be doing this for free, so make sure you are enjoying yourself

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Using your work experience to benefit your job hunt Be mindful that every job you work can add to the experience on your CV, including part-​time and freelance work, as well as internships. While all work experience is useful, some work experience is more useful than others.

Part-​time jobs count –​so build experience in a publishing adjacent area Target organisations where you can use your communication and editing skills. If you’re looking for work in retail, try bookshops rather than chicken shops. If you’ve got a few hours a week in an office, ask if you can proofread the staff newsletter or submit blog content for the website. If the only option is a chicken shop, think about how what you are learning could benefit you as a publishing employee (you are getting to know customers’ preferences, how to work under pressure, what new lines are proving most popular, what are the busiest times for the business?). Ultimately, most skills are transferable. I put a lot of pressure on myself to find a job in publishing straight out of uni. Having done work experience placements I knew how competitive it was and that certain entry level roles come up rarely. There are plenty of jobs that you can do while looking for a role in a publishing house that will help your application -​working in a bookshop or an office role to gain admin skills are particularly beneficial. Sarah Porter, Key Account Manager, UK

Get involved in publishing/​communications as early as you can If you’re at school, volunteer to edit the school magazine. If you’re at university, get involved in as much of the student media activity as you can. Not only is this terrific experience –​a deadline is a deadline, and a crisis a crisis! –​it proves that you really are keen.

You are learning and building evidence of what a great worker you are with every job. Any job builds your skill set and can be usefully offered as useful evidence of experience, whether it is customer-​facing, service oriented, or administrative roles that require accuracy and efficiency.

How to talk about your work experience in your job applications Your internships, freelancing and work experience gives you valuable, hands-​ on experience that you can use in your job applications and interviews. What’s important is to be able to talk about how you did the job well and what you learned.

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Type of work

Can you demonstrate (with examples):

Internship/​work placements in publishing

Understanding of the publishing sector

Freelance work

Technical work you have done –​editing, proofing, design etc.

Technical work you have done –​editing, proofing, working with authors, events

Deadlines Attention to detail and accuracy Self-​publishing, micropublishing

Technical work you have done –​production, liaison with vendors, sales and marketing Deadlines and budgets Attention to detail and accuracy

Professional work experience in other industries

Collaboration and teamwork

Part time student jobs such as retail, hospitality

Listening to customers Attention to detail and accuracy Managing a project Initiating process improvements Taking the initiative Being personable, teamwork, getting on with co-​workers, understanding workplace norms

Deadlines and budgets Writing and communication

It’s good to contextualise your experience –​if it was an internship or a work-​ based learning project while you were studying, be prepared to mention the time frame, so interviewers can understand how long you were there. If you can, take a copy of books you worked on, or samples of materials (design, marketing, writing). When you are thinking about possible interview questions, plan answers to demonstrate your achievements in the internship (don’t just outline your responsibilities, say how you fulfilled them). Without overtly criticising the person who did the job before you (they may be interviewing you!) what did you do in your internship that was better, more proactive, more thorough, more insightful, than other people fulfilling the same role.

Working for ‘exposure’ No one but a blockhead ever wrote except for money. Samuel Johnson

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Publishing of all kinds has always blurred the lines between passion and commerce. Even the first hand-​illustrated bibles were bought by rich men, and someone had to pay to keep those monks in bread and water. After all, Johnson’s quote would have no point if there weren’t those who wrote for reasons other than money. For centuries, this has been presented by penniless, brow-​clutching authors as the fault of those terrible plundering publishers, who ruthlessly exploit the creatives for their own nasty moneymaking ends. In return, publishers have patiently pointed out that someone has to take the risk for printing this stuff, paper costs money and where’s that book of sonnets you promised me last August? The relevance of this debate has never gone away, and is with us even in this era of digital publishing. If we were honest, this book wouldn’t be called How to Get A Job in Publishing, but rather How to Get A Paying Job in Publishing. Internships at their best are an excellent way for people new to the industry to learn from their more experienced colleagues, who can’t necessarily afford to pay full wages to someone as they learn the ropes. And it doesn’t stop there, either. If you’re trying to make a name for yourself, you will almost certainly find that you’re asked to do something not for cash but ‘for exposure,’ that is, to get your name out there. Even worse, those who are already disadvantaged are often asked to write ‘for exposure’ so that they can highlight the causes for which they are (presumed to be) advocates. Here’s writer, speaker and appearance activist Carly Findlay on the subject: This is an insulting offer of remuneration. To be paid $50 for a speech is as bad as being asked to work for free. $50 won’t pay my rent, fuel, food, medication, etc. It won’t just take one hour. It will take 1-​2 days of preparing the speech, plus travel, delivering the speech, plus the emotional energy of answering questions after the speech. What’s more, it’s taken me 12 years of professional writing and speaking to get to this point.4 Asking a disabled person to work for low or no money implies we aren’t worth much, but that we exist solely. to benefit others. And there’s what America Ferrera has termed the ‘brown discount,’ when people of colour are asked –​often in flattering ways –​to provide the ‘vastness and value’ of their experiences, but without fair compensation or resources.5 In both cases, even those doing the asking may be well intentioned, the result is to further reinforce disadvantage. So the moral of this story is to think carefully when someone offers you a ‘wonderful opportunity’ that doesn’t pay market rate. Such opportunities do exist, and often it can be the only way into the fiercely competitive world of publishing, where you need a job to get experience and you can’t get experience because you can’t get a job. But exploitation does happen, even when it’s well intentioned. It’s normal to start a job hunt by thinking about the basic building blocks that tend to make up a CV and a career pathway –​the qualifications you gained while at school or college, your degree(s) and the list of relevant work experience you can amass.

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In conclusion, always remember that publishing is a creative industry, and that the industry needs people with imagination, spark and drive –​which can be evidenced in other ways than these obvious choices. If you can think of a population you have spotted with unserved needs, or examples of Twitter threads that sparked ideas about reading material that might appeal, or how your own experience of trying to find how something should work made you want a published resource that was not available, you are thinking along the right lines. Take this a stage further and think about what you have in your past that is transferable to indicate your adaptability, energy and creativity. And go from there. Good luck.

Notes 1 The Spare Room Project, thespareroomproject.co.uk/​ 2 The UK Publishers Association has a useful page ‘where to look for publishing jobs’ that you should check out: publishers.org.uk/​about-​publishing/​where-​to-​look-​for-​publishing-​ jobs/​ 3 I confess that was me and the Waterstones’ sales assistant in Harrow worked out that I was talking about Snap by Belinda Bauer, Transworld, 2018. Alison. 4 Stop asking disabled people to work for free (or almost free), Carly Findlay, carlyfindlay.com.au, 19 July 2021. 5 Standing up to the “brown discount”, Juleyka Lantigua, NiemanLab.

12 HOW TO CREATE A COMPELLING CV

In many, perhaps most, cases your CV1 is your only chance to make an impression on a potential employer. This chapter shows you how to improve your current CV so that it gives you the best shot at being called for interview. Ask for advice! If you can, get someone who works in the industry or a lecturer (if on a publishing course) to look at your CV and cover letter when you apply for a first job.You only need a one page CV for an entry level job as this makes sure that they see everything important. Strongly show your interest in the publisher in your cover letter and in the interview, a lot more than you would for a job in most other industries, but don’t forget to showcase your skills. Anna, Editorial Assistant, UK Employers are looking for someone to fill their vacant position, with a suitable background, skills and personal fit. A CV offers swift access to information about you so they can judge if you could be a match. You are providing the key information that shows you at your best for this role; this is your chance to present the potential employer or investor with information on your aptitudes, attitudes and potential: 1. It’s a display of the most appealing, interesting, relevant things about you that might fit the role they have on offer 2. It needs to be flexible, to support applications for different roles and the different situations in which it should be used. Each time you use it, it should be personalised for the role you are applying for

DOI: 10.4324/9781003273424-13

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3. It must be accurate, well-​presented and short enough to read in a hurry 4. It should represent you –​not anyone else –​and you should feel confident to talk to every word in it. A common assumption is to think that the purpose of the CV is to get a job.This is not the case. The purpose of the CV is to get you on a shortlist to be interviewed. Your interview then gets you the job. Non-​publishing jobs may attract 10 or 20 applications. Many jobs in publishing, however, see 100, 200 or more applications land on the desk of the advertiser. The record we’ve heard of is 566 (for an editorial assistant job). Your CV is likely to get a ten second glance to determine if it is going in the Yes, No, Maybe folder, or it may be run through HR software seeking keywords to make that first shortlist. Receiving and filleting the CVs received for a job may be handled by an external agency, so your application never makes it to the potential recruiter at all. The CV generally arrives with only a cover letter (more on that later) –​no presentation, handshake or smile –​and so needs to communicate your main benefits. If you’re competing against 300 other CVs, yours needs to be easy to flick through and show you for the high quality and accomplished professional that you are. In magazine publishing, if we advertised for an editorial assistant we would get 300 or 400 applications. After a while I got clever about it and made it harder for employees to apply, by asking for a 1,000 word written piece on the role of contemporary magazines, or something like that. That used to cut it down to around 15 good applications and five usefully rubbish ones that I could dispense with immediately. Anyone who’d decided they didn’t need to write their 1,000 words? Bin. Anyone who overran the word count? Bin. Anyone who had a typo? Bin. Steve It may not mean anything –​not every person in editorial is quite as obsessive as I am –​but do exactly what they do: if they use em dashes rather than en dashes, if they use the Oxford comma, if they use double or single quotations marks, if they cap up job titles… it may be only a tiny psychological effect, but if you’re applying for so many jobs and you’re one of hundreds of applicants, why leave anything to chance? Stephanie Carey, Associate Commissioning Editor, Joffe Books Rejoice when you find it hard to apply for a job due to selection criteria requirements or some other hurdle: the harder it is to apply, the fewer people take the time and effort to do what’s asked, so your excellent application stands out even further.

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What does it look like? Your CV needs to give just enough to show you could be the right person for the job, and it’s worth interviewing you. CVs are not the place to get creative. Stand out from the crowd through the quality of your application: flawless language, spelling and grammar, a superb piece of communication.Your aim is to look like a good fit and full of potential without making it look like you are from a completely different herd, and so would not fit in. Don’t over-​design, use wacky typefaces, be quirky or ‘different.’ It must be scrupulously accurate (spelling, punctuation, grammar, layout), presented in an attractive (and readable) typeface, of an appropriate length and be targeted to the sector within which an application is being made. There are lots of standard templates around with small variations to choose from and show your individuality. There are thousands of books and websites on how to put together a CV, and even more opinions from agencies and friends who offer often conflicting opinions. Pick and choose the advice you use to create a document you are happy with.

Key guidelines for your CV 1. Include key information in a standard format, so the employer can get a picture of you and benchmark you against their other candidates and the role: your key details, any experience, education and skills 2. Offer just the headlines, not the whole story. Too much info in a CV looks cluttered and can be hard to understand without context 3. Be clear, neatly laid out, and with a legible typeface –​professional in appearance 4. Show off flawless spelling and grammar, and plain English language –​avoid jargon, too many adjectives –​and humour 5. Personalise for the job you are applying for 6. Demonstrate your strengths. Use ‘show and tell.’ Instead of ‘hardworking, creative self-​starter,’ talk about when you have worked hard, what makes you creative and offer examples of being a self-​starter 7. Be brief: preferably one page for a new graduate, two for more experienced. If in doubt, leave it out.

Building your CV Typeface, layout and appearance • • • •

Pick a standard typeface that’s easy to read and works on both PCs and Macs (if in doubt, search it up) Go with a serif typeface (with ‘feet’ on the individual letters) for a classic, readable feel: Georgia, Garamond, Palatino Go with a san serif typeface (no ‘feet’) for a clean, modern feel: Verdana, Trebuchet, Arial, Calibri Helvetica is popular in design circles.

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• •

Can you find out the house style typeface of the organisation you are applying to? You will look like you belong! Stay away from Comic Sans (it’s repellent) and highly stylised /​ handwriting style typefaces which are hard to read.

The CV should be one or two pages. If you’re a career starter, one page is enough. We’ve never met a CV where it wasn’t possible to trim back some irrelevant or unnecessary information.

Formatting Centre your headings or align them left. Align body text left.You can use right justification to make things stand out, but use it sparingly. Do not justify the full text (it’s alienating and hard to read). Decide what style to use and be consistent.

LIZZIE BENNETT (SHE /​HER) Tel 1234 5678 [email protected]

Your name First name, surname is fine. You may choose to add your pronouns. It’s not a legal document, so don’t feel obliged to put your name as it is on your birth certificate –​ put what you wish to be known by. Contact details It’s standard to use mobile/​cell and email. Your physical address is not required. Only put details where you are happy to be contacted, so don’t put your current work phone or email. Once you are job hunting, be prepared for calls at random times. Have a straightforward voicemail message (nothing quirky), and you may find it helpful to carry a list of roles you’ve applied for and your diary system so you can set up interviews when you get that unexpected call. Use a professional and private email –​not your university or current work email. Email should be simple; lizziebennett@ or lizzie2002@ are fine, slinkygirl02@ is not. If you have a professional website or portfolio site or LinkedIn, it’s fine to include. If you use social media professionally (industry information) include here, but if you use social media socially (cat memes) do not include. Summary This might be a career summary or career or employment objective. This is a chance to really pack together and present a pithy summary of why you might suit this job. These are all different, if only slightly, in function and purpose. We recommend having one, right at the top; it’s like an executive summary, so helps recruiters who are in a hurry (all of them).

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Use plain English: short, simple words; stay away from long strings of adjectives. Make sure you tweak to make this appropriate to the role for which you are applying. Employers put your application straight in the No pile if you apply for a job in marketing with a career objective ‘seeking a role as an editorial assistant’ –​it makes you look sloppy and as if you’re not interested in the job (or have forgotten to update from a previous application). A good summary wraps up what you’ve been doing and may include what you’re looking for: • • •

A motivated, focused graduate looking for a career in publishing Experience in sales, marketing and customer service BA (First Class) from Oxford Brookes University; MA in Publishing Studies, Kingston University.

or: Career Objective To pursue a career in publishing through a Sales and Marketing Assistant role in a major trade publishing house. To refine the skills I have acquired throughout my industry experience and studies, in a fast-​paced, rewarding environment. Make sure you are not including too many meaningless adjectives –​this is simply hard to read: Aspirational, proactive self-​starter with successful work background; focused, motivated and conscientious team player seeks a substantial new challenge. Much better to use your skills and background to explain what kind of person you are and where your strengths are. Try instead: Motivated, creative and conscientious team player An astute and successful Marketing Executive looking for a substantial new challenge A broadly skilled graduate with successful work experience in multiple sectors. Skilled in research, support and communication. Postgraduate and undergraduate degrees in literature, psychology and communication.

WORDS TO USE (BUT ONLY A COUPLE) • Ambitious • Articulate • Astute

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• • • • • •

Confident Creative Determined Keen to learn Well-​presented Words that are in the job ad (but not too many).

If you choose not to have this type of section, open your CV with Experience/​Work History/​Employment History. Chronological format works well if you’ve had a logical career progression and growth in one industry or one type of job. Reverse chronological is the standard model to organise this information; what you’ve been doing and when, most recent first. • • •

Company, job title, date Responsibilities Achievements.

Skills-​based format present the skills and experience you’ve gained, rather than where you gained those skills. After that you list job titles and who you worked for. People tend to use this style if they don’t yet have much work experience, are looking to change career path or have been having a work break due to family/​study for example. Because this is a less usual model, it can backfire –​some employers find it hard to understand and your resumé ends up in the ‘No’ pile. Use with caution. Mix it up: chronological and skills This kind of format can be a good compromise. You start with your fabulous and transferable skills, then get into employment history.Alternatively, some people use the chronological format, and list ‘key skills’ for each role. Any of these options can work. Don’t include jobs you had for just a short time, and if you are more experienced, it’s fine to include the most recent 10–​15 years of work showing your career trajectory. It doesn’t need to be a complete record of every job ever.

Employment history Here are some sample formats and layouts: Date, job title, company Job title, company, date

July–​October 2023: Editorial Intern, Sensibility Magazines Editorial Intern, Sensibility Magazines (July–​October 2023)

Job title Company Date

Editorial Intern Sensbility Magazines July–​October 2023

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You may prefer to include months you worked there –​January 2023 to July 2024 gives a more accurate picture than simply 2023–​2024. If you were there for many years or there are gaps, it’s fine to use the years. It can work well to have a little brief on the company you worked for, especially if you’re changing industries, to help recruiters visualise what sort of work you did and what size the company was. July–​Oct 2023: Editorial Intern, Sensibility Magazines Sensibility Magazines is a small publisher based in Brighton, specialising in colour monthly magazines such as Gourmet Food and Travel in Style. www.sensi​bili​tyma​gazi​ nes.com Responsibilities: keep this brief and no need to list every single thing you did at the role. Bullet points (rather than full sentences) are often best. •

Performed key editorial duties including subediting and compiling editorial and industry research.

Achievements: this section is where your CV comes alive. Responsibilities are what everyone in that job did; achievements tell what YOU did that was good and why you are special. Everything you list here should be evidence based. Numbers (data, percent etc.) are particularly powerful here to help really define what you did and draw a picture. So –​not just Improved sales, but Improved sales by 15%. Initiated a reader review project that lead to a number of format changes and increase in subscriptions by 20% Show, don’t tell. Stay away from intangible statements about your skills as a communicator, a connector of people, a leader. Demonstrate using evidence, and for writing and communicating, demonstrate through your flawless communication. See Chapter 13 on selection criteria for more detail on how to do this. Try splitting the job description into function and achievements, or function and skills acquired:

July to October 2023: Sensibility Magazines Editorial Intern (full time) Performed key editorial duties including subediting and compiling editorial and industry research. Achievements: • •

Initiated a reader review project that lead to a number of format changes and increase in subscriptions by 20% Won Intern of theYear Award for positive attitude and excellent quality of work

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Skills gained: • • • •

Editing and research Stakeholder management –​worked with multiple article authors Good information storage and database habits Presentation skills including small and large groups

As when you’re doing any writing, especially about yourself, there are tricks to making all this sound good. 1. Write it up first, put it away and return to it later; never send your first draft 2. Your work description should include an outline of your role, and more detail in the more challenging areas 3. And stay on the correct side of stretching the truth.You will get found out! So whereas a precisely accurate record of Lizzie’s last job might read like this:

NORTHANGER PUBLISHERS Receptionist/​Sales and Marketing Assistant • Reception duties included answering phone, taking messages, greeting visitors, sorting mail, making tea and coffee for senior staff • Sales assistant duties included photocopying, setting up conference calls, making calls, keeping contact with territories for which there was currently no sales representative • Marketing assistant duties included photocopying, distributing flyers, booking conferences and sending books, checking brochures for errors, answering author calls

What Lizzie might prefer to use in her CV when she applies for her next role:

NORTHANGER PUBLISHERS Sales and Marketing Assistant Sales, marketing and reception support including controlling events, creating brochures and promotional materials, managing author relationships Achievements: • Managed 15 events including author liaison, bookings, media promotion and PR

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• Created new PR model for author interviews; successful interview placed in Travel in Style magazine • Managed vacant sales representative territories; 15% sales uplift

13 power words that make you sound more capable: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.

Achieved Controlled Created Changed Directed Devised Drove Improved Innovated Led Managed Resolved Solved

If you’ve not got much formal work experience, think about your non-​work experiences and how you can use them: • • • • • •

Do you do volunteer work for a charity or not-​for-​profit? What have you contributed to? Sporting or debating clubs, political parties, religious groups? Are you a committee member for any social groups? Have you organized any significant events –​parties, games, days out? What non-​professional work have you done –​waitering, fast food, tidying up at the golf club? Have you won awards at school, university or in other avenues?

What level of responsibility/​skills/​experiences can you take from any of this? Be careful, though –​don’t overstretch your babysitting experience into paragraphs of detail. Most recruiters would rather see an honest CV that indicates your level of experience and a handful of extracurricular activities. If you have never had work of any type and never been involved in any social groups or volunteering, then your CV is going to look bland and we recommend you get experience before applying to professional roles. As a good starting point, could you volunteer in a charity shop, maybe sorting out their book section and ensuring it is attractively presented? See Chapter 11 on internships or ideas on how to gain valuable work experience that can put you a nose ahead.

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If you have professional experience from other sectors and want to transfer into publishing, this is where focusing on skills and transferable experiences can work well.Try picking out the most relevant skills for the kind of role you’re applying for, and then in much less detail cover where those skills were gained. Career Summary: • Experienced marketing professional with skills in events, advertising and written communication, seeking a new challenge in book publishing marketing Skills Summary: • Event management: Managed numerous small and large conferences and involvement at events; drove attendance and increased responses • Advertising: Experienced at managing advertising contacts and database, selecting advertising targets, booking advertising for best effectiveness and budget; print and radio media • Communication: Created advertising copy and draft designs, liaised with designers for ad creation and proofing, brochure creation, design and fulfilment Employment: February 2023 to current: Marketing Executive, Branwell Bank October 2021 to January 2023: Marketing Assistant, Keighley Insurance

A note on formatting: new graduates often tend to open their CV with Education. Employers are usually more interested in your work skills, so we prefer Work followed by Education.

Education Graduates should add information on their higher education studies: 2022–​2023 (part time): MA in Publishing Studies, Kingston University •

Modules included Editorial English, Advanced Copyediting, Marketing

2019–​2021: BA English (First Class), Oxford Brookes University If your marks have been exceptional, say ‘Consistently awarded High Distinctions’ or something similar, but keep this low focus. A list of every grade you’ve got since you were 15 is not interesting. No need to include secondary school details, as long as you have some post-​ secondary qualification. Secondary school information doesn’t add a benefit and

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may trigger prejudices; employers may be pro or anti the type of school you went to. If you studied editing or a language or some other skills directly relevant to the job you are applying for, list it under ‘Skills.’ Training also goes here –​short courses and certificates are useful to show breadth of learning. Skills may include a list of software you have used or are confident with –​ this is particularly useful in technical roles such as Design, Editing, Production, Marketing.

Personal data This is where you any other relevant information that draws a picture of you, such as: Attributes (optional): languages, your driver licence and police/​working with children checks; professional associations; community work Interests/​Hobbies (optional): this gives recruiters a handle to chat to you –​‘I see you like netball?’ –​one or two interests are fine. Only list things you can genuinely talk about.This section can be short, and get shorter/​disappear as you become more experienced and have more work achievements to list instead.

Referees It’s normally fine to say ‘Referees available on request,’ or just not include a section on referees, as usually referees won’t be contacted until you’re in the interview process and the hiring manager asks for details then. However, if the job ad asks for referees, best to give them. Otherwise you may be sending yourself to the No pile, on the basis that you’ve blatantly ignored a clear instruction. For thoughts on choosing referees see Chapter 18.

Troubleshooting Things happen. It’s common to not have a linear employment history, to have mixed up study, travel, freelance, part-​time work. Don’t lie or mislead. Instead, acknowledge the gaps in a positive way. Practice some phrases, such as ‘I took a few months to travel around Australia –​I worked odd jobs during that time but haven’t included them. It was a wonderful period and got the travel bug out of my system,’ or ‘I had some time out for a health issue, since resolved, and I’m now keen to crack back into work.’

Ideas for managing CV gaps • •

Group together any freelance work you did and present it as a freelance/​ consulting stint (see below) List ‘Travel’ or ‘Caring Responsibilities’

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• • •

Use years to indicate your time of employment, for example, 2020–​2021, 2022–​ current rather than February 2020–​February 2021, and July 2022–​current List the work dates, leave a gap, and see if you are asked about it Include any volunteering or charitable works, which helps round out the picture of who you are and gives you experiences to talk to.

Ideas for listing multiple part-​time or freelance jobs Many of us have periods where we have worked multiple jobs part-​time, freelanced, mixed it up with study. That’s fine. To represent this on your CV, try an employment heading that wraps it all together, and list major projects and achievements, like this: July 2022–​current: Freelance copy editor and proofreader Clients included Blue Hair Press,Peanut Publishing and Sunset Communications Structural and copy-​editing for 15 full-​length novels in genres including fantasy, sci-​fi and young adult • Acclaimed for speedy and accurate proofreading turnaround on 20 full length novels • •

Well done! Now you have a first draft of your CV. We’re not finished, though. Now review, and remove information that shouldn’t be there: 1. Typos: publishing people are fussy about this 2. Date of birth/​age, marital status, kids, religion or anything else that refers to non-​professionally relevant attributes, or your photo: there is nothing to be gained, and the potential disadvantage of sparking off a recruiter’s prejudice 3. Excessive detail: long lists of school results or every single thing you ever did in your last job, work you did for a brief time or some decades ago 4. Salary expectation: better dealt with at the negotiation stage 5. Copies of written references: save it until asked 6. Anything you don’t want to be asked about 7. Lies: Positive spin yes, out-​and-​out fibbing definitely not. We promise this: you will get found out, you will lose the opportunity or your job, and your reputation will suffer.

Getting feedback At this stage, ask a friend to help. Pick your friend carefully and let them know what you want them to do. A good brief makes it much more likely you’ll get what you want. Choose:

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• • • •

Someone straightforward, who says what they think without being so polite that they aren’t helpful Someone who works in publishing/​has some familiarity with the types of jobs you are applying for and your work background Someone who is a hiring manager Someone trained in proofreading.

These may be four different people. That’s OK. The brief: Ask them to mark up your CV as if they are the world’s most pernickety employer. • • • • • •

Is it a ‘whole’ document, with a consistent voice throughout? Is the level of detail right, and are there inclusions that should be removed? Does it focus on your achievements? Does it have data and detail? Is it at a professional standard in accuracy, language and free from errors? Does it reflect the amazing and unique person that you are?

Assess their suggestions and where you agree, update.Your CV represents you, so it should be your voice and something you can talk to.

Should you pay for CV building? If you are taking a course at a university, you are already paying for CV support –​ as most institutions now have this available, either built into the course or within a formally titled Employability Centre (names vary). Take the trouble to find out where this is on offer and ensure you take advantage. A key metric for universities is the practical employability of their graduates, so it is in their interests to enable you to make the best possible impression on the job market. The services may also be available to recent graduates, so do ask. There are many services where you can seek professional advice to help you create or improve your CV, and they are of wildly varying quality. There are so many tools and templates and websites that can help you with CVs that we would suggest not to pay for advice. Exceptions might be where you want to maximise help, for example if you have moved country and need help understanding the job hunting norms, or you are making a big career jump across industries and want to reframe your work experience to suit the new industry. If you really feel adrift in this CV business, and you’re lacking helpful friends in the industry/​area you’re looking for then a professional CV building service may be of use. To choose a service, vet them carefully, looking at sample work they’ve done to make sure their style suits you. Sometimes recruitment agents also give basic CV tips –​again, this can be really useful; make sure you pick and choose what feels right for you.

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With all CV advice, remember that your CV should be yours, and you don’t have to agree with every suggestion.

Your LinkedIn profile LinkedIn is the professional social network; having a basic LinkedIn profile is important for job hunting, and if you go further and use your profile to engage and follow, you’re picking up real advantage. LinkedIn benefits from strong search, so when you apply for a job and prospective employers search you up (as they will), your LinkedIn profile will come up in the first few hits. What you do on LinkedIn is public and visible (except messaging) –​use the platform as an opportunity to show who you are. If you already have LinkedIn, check against your CV; you want all key information to be in sync.You might tweak your LinkedIn profile as you apply for jobs, just as you can tweak your CV to make it more relevant. If you don’t have LinkedIn, it’s a good idea to set it up. Do some searching around current best practice as it changes. Currently, what’s key: • • •

•

Profile photo Cover photo Blurb about you: similar to the summary or key objective above, but maybe a little more descriptive of what you’re doing now –​like a cover letter, you want to tell a bit of a story Employment history, education, training should match the details on your CV.

Now engage: • • • •

Join a few industry groups Follow a few thought leaders –​key individuals in editing or publishing, CEOs and MDs of big companies Follow big and small publishers, those you might wish to work with one day, your university, and other key organisations Send connection requests to people you’ve worked with, people you’ve studied with, people you’ve met; add a note ‘Hi, I enjoyed chatting with you at the Bookfair this week. It would be great to connect –​Lizzie.’

Chip away at this bit until you’ve got a few hundred connections; and then refer to Chapter 14 for more engagement strategies for LinkedIn. Well done! By now you should have a powerful CV that makes a strong case for you and a LinkedIn profile in sync. But you’re not finished. In fact a CV is never finished, but rather a work in progress, both as you proceed through your life and add skills and experience, and for each and every job you apply for.

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Sample CV LIZZIE BENNETT (SHE/​HER) Tel 1234 5678 [email protected] www.linke​din.com/​in/​liz​zie-​benn​ett

Summary • A motivated, focused graduate looking for a career in publishing • Experienced in sales, marketing and customer service • Background in book and magazine publishing and the booktrade

Skills • • • • •

Editing and proofing Research Event management Promotional design Stakeholder management (authors)

Work experience July to October 2023: Sensibility Magazines Small publisher based in Brighton, specialising in wedding style and travel magazines. www.sensi​bili​tyma​gazi​nes.com

Editorial intern Performed key editorial duties including sub editing and compiling editorial and industry research.

Achievements • Initiated a reader review project that lead to a number of format changes and increase in subscriptions by 20% • Won Intern of the Year Award for positive attitude and initiatives

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January to June 2023: Northanger Publishers Non-​fiction publisher specialising in building and design titles. www.nort​hang​ erbo​oks.co.uk

Sales and Marketing Assistant Sales, marketing and reception support including controlling events, creating brochures and promotional materials, managing author relationships.

Achievements: • Managed 15 events including author liaison, bookings, media promotion and PR • Created new PR model for author interviews; successful interview in Travel in Style magazine • Managed vacant sales representative territories; 15% sales uplift

2019–​2022: Retail Assistant, Pemberley Bookshop Casual role while studying; customer service, P&A, book merchandising 2022: MA in Publishing Studies, Kingston University 2020: BA (First Class) from Oxford Brookes University

Personal data • Languages: English (native), French (conversational) • Skills and software: MS Office programs (advanced), Adobe Creative Cloud (introductory), Salesforce (introductory) • Interests: baking, football, walking

Note 1 CV stands for curriculum vitae (Latin for ‘course of life’). A resumé is a summary of your work and academic experience. Increasingly the terms are used interchangeably. Note though that in academia, research or a scientific or technical field, a CV is a complete academic history. We use CV here, but if you see a request for a resumé and yours is labelled CV you should be fine.

13 HOW TO PUT TOGETHER YOUR JOB APPLICATION

In this chapter we address three key questions: 1. How can you learn more about the company and the role, over and above what the job ad states? 2. How do you decide whether to apply? 3. How do you get the component parts of a job application right? For example, detailed examination of the selection criteria, preparing a covering letter, setting up aspects of your personal presentation that may get considered (e.g. your LinkedIn or Twitter account). It isn’t worth applying for every single job you see –​it’s much more effective to spend time doing really good quality applications for fewer jobs. Spending time tailoring your application and making it really good will give you a much better chance of getting through to interview stage than sending off hundreds of poorly done ones. Anna, Editorial Assistant, UK Make your applications job specific by finding out as much as you can about a prospective employer: given the digital information available from company websites to activity on social media, it’s never been easier to find out about organisations. Kate Wilson, Managing Director, UK Before you rush to apply for a job, do two things. First, read the job ad carefully, three times. Extract every last bit of information from it. And then second, research the company and the sub-​sector of industry it operates in, in these places:

DOI: 10.4324/9781003273424-14

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• •

•

• • • •

Their website Social media channels. Posts tell you about the marketing/​social media team, but also about the business culture and what they value, what customers think of them, and what key individuals within the company have to say (follow their individual accounts as well as the organisational posts) Social media channels of key members of staff (not necessarily the most senior, but those who communicate most often.These are often more informative and more interesting, than organisational posts) Product review sites/​Google reviews –​what relationship do they have with their customers? Glassdoor.com is helpful in some countries for giving an independent view of company culture and the experience of being employed there Industry news such as The Bookseller, Books+​Publishing and general media can give you context about the business and where they sit The media in general often covers the book world, so look out for coverage of the sector as a whole.

How do you decide whether to apply? It can be tempting to have a go, just in case. Don’t. If you apply for everything, you’ll lose focus and energy for the jobs you stand a chance of getting. That’s easy to say, but how do you know which ones to avoid and which ones to target? Here are five criteria:

1.  Are your background and attributes a match for what’s in the job ad? It’s unlikely you match every single one of the requirements, so get a feel for which are compulsory and which are on their wish list (some job ads helpfully specify required vs preferred). If you are in the 70%+​good fit, then that’s a positive indication that you should apply. Often there is a minimum requirement and then it depends on who else applies. But to encourage you, those on interview panels are often told to look for aptitude and potential rather than a complete overlap in experience –​it is often not essential to offer everything specified, as long as you have a learning mindset and are willing to get involved. So if a job ad asks for two to four years’ experience at a task, and you have one, we suggest applying; but if they ask for five years’ experience and you have zero, it’s too long a shot to make it worth your while or theirs.

2.  Cultural and personal fit Does this sound like a place you would like to work? Is the work they do interesting? If they are a religious publisher and you are a sworn atheist, it won’t work out; ditto for political stance, if that’s something you feel strongly about and you are not in

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sync with the company approach and values –​and perhaps a controversial title they have recently published, when others declined. But if you are keen on working in a literary press and can see yourself building up your experience, happily working on Bible stories, then go for it! What does the research you did (see above) tell you about the company culture? Small businesses can have a distinct culture where everyone has to muck in; a government communications job might be process heavy, high on compliance and low on innovation. How would you feel about that? Would it frustrate you, or would it be fine for a year or two? Not every job is for everyone.

3.  Career fit Elsewhere in this book we talk about your long-​term view of where you want your career to go. Does this job fit as a good first step for your three-​year, five-​year, ten-​ year plan? The answer being no doesn’t mean you should dismiss it out of hand, but it’s certainly a factor. Try to figure out which area you want to work in and be specific in your applications. As a hiring manager we get a lot of applications for sales roles where people say on their CV they’re wanting to work in marketing or editorial (or have this written on their LinkedIn –​it’s a professional tool and we do check!). If you can show you’re keen on the business area rather than just ‘publishing’ it will give you an edge. Sarah Porter, Key Account Manager, UK Don’t dismiss applying for sales coordinator roles because it’s not ‘real publishing’. Sales has given me a great opportunity to work in the publishing industry. Don’t be put off by the title. Look at the work required, the salary, the independence you would have in the role you are applying for. Allison McMullin, Learning Consultant, Cengage, Australia

4.  Practical things Are the location and salary likely to work? Don’t kid yourself that a twice daily two hour commute is sustainable or that a salary that won’t even cover your share of the rent is enough to live on.

5.  Red flags So you’ve heard through your network that the manager is toxic, or noticed on LinkedIn that the company has a high turnover? There’s language on the company website that you find concerning, and every single staff photo is a middle aged white man? If you see one or two red flags, it’s probably still worth applying –​but make a note, and if you get to interview, ask questions to get their response.

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Things aren’t always what they appear. We suggest you don’t ask a question like, ‘I notice that every single staff photo is a middle aged white man.’ Better: ‘What’s your policy on diversity? What are the stats and what are you doing to improve them?’ If they are uncomfortable with the question, you can draw your own conclusion. Maybe things are just as they appear. Applications take time (and if it doesn’t, you’re not doing it right). Is this job worth you investing the time you need to make an effective application? If you have the luxury to hold out for a job that’s close to perfect, then pick and choose, and only apply if it’s a strong contender. If you need a job quickly, then your bar is going to be lower in deciding what to apply for.

Your cover letter and why it matters Some industries don’t use cover letters, but in publishing and communications –​ word-​based sectors –​the cover letter can be more important than your CV. It follows that you need to spend time getting it right. Why? This is the bit employers read (or at least skim) to decide if they are going to check your CV.Your CV could be the best one in the pile, but if your cover letter lets you down, it will never be seen. The key to an exceptional cover letter is personalisation –​explaining not just why you are a great candidate, but what makes you a great match for this specific role. It should be personalised, readable and relatable. Your CV is a standard document, albeit tailored to the jobs for which you are applying.Your cover letter, on the other hand: • • • •

Is fully personalised to the job and organisation/​individual to whom you are applying Tells the story of why you want to work for them Explains why you are particularly suited to their needs Is around one page long –​ideally two or three paragraphs.

Putting together your cover letter: In an email or online form, there is no need for the date; just start writing. In a document you submit as an attachment, format as a letter –​so, open with the date, then crack into the text. Start with a generic greeting: • • • • •

No need to sleuth to find out their name; Dear Hiring Manager works fine Dear Publishing Manager or Dear Marketing Director can work Dear Sir or Madam is dated and also non-​inclusive. Don’t do this Dear Sir is wrong and will almost certainly send your application straight to the ‘No’ pile If their name is listed in the job ad, Dear Barbara is more modern than Dear Ms Smith but both are usually OK; Hey Barbara,Yo Barbara, and Barbara! are all wrong.

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In your first sentence, reference the role you are applying for.Yes, some guides suggest you write a killer opener and start with a passion or an attribute, your interest in the company or role for example.You certainly can, but it’s not necessary –​it’s more helpful to let the hiring manager know what job you are applying for. Like this: 1 July 2023 Dear Hiring Manager, I’d like to express interest in the Editorial Assistant Executive position advertised on www. seek.com.au. Or like this: I’d like to apply for the role of Editorial Assistant. Or like this: With a passion for helping people learn and a background in science, I’d like to apply for the role of Editorial Assistant, Science Resources. Next, the body of the letter. Why should you be considered for the job? You want to make your CV come alive; think about this as telling a story. You want to engage your readers and help them see what you can see. Don’t just repeat what’s in your CV. This is an opportunity to add something new, to provide colour and narrative to the basic facts of your resumé. The CV can show off your experience, skills and education: the cover letter is an opportunity to talk about the soft skills –​communication, teamwork, motivation, drive, dedication to their cause, passion for publishing, whatever it is that they are looking for above and beyond work and education history. A good shortcut is to imagine you are telling a friend why you’re excited about the role. I feel like this is the perfect role for me! It builds on the skills I learned in my internship and it’s with a science publisher, so uses some of my learning from my undergraduate science degree as well as my publishing studies. You Now that becomes the basis for your letter. In terms of tone, your letter can be less formal than your resumé –​think conversational and engaging while still being professional. Like this: Dear Hiring Manager, I’d like to apply for the role of Editorial Assistant. I am passionate about science and excited about your mission as science textbook publisher for secondary schools. I believe young people deserve a pathway to understand how amazing the world is, and interesting and professional learning resources are an integral part of their journey. Following my undergraduate degree in Biology and Chemistry, I studied a Masters in Publishing, which confirmed that I want to use my passion for

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science in creating books and resources to inform and educate. I recently completed a four month full-​time internship in the editorial department of a magazine publisher. The research, editing and contributor-​liaison work I did there showed I have a flair for editorial support, resulting in me being awarded Intern of the Year for high quality contributions and communications. By the way, it’s common for those new to publishing to say they want to work in publishing because they love to read. This may be true for you. It certainly is for your authors. But please be careful with how you talk about this. Your future employers are seeking candidates with a passion for books and authors and content, and also who understand that publishing is a business and have the skills and attributes to succeed. I am interested in young adult and genre fiction and find working in the creative industries fulfilling draws a picture. ‘I love books and reading’ makes you sound as if you think a job in publishing is sitting about reading novels all day. (Hint: it’s really, really not.) Back to your letter. Think about showing evidence to demonstrate your suitability. Facts and specific data are always helpful.The points you highlight should be relevant to the role/​company. A common mistake is to focus on how well the job will suit you. That’s not interesting to an employer. They want to know what you can bring to the job. Like this: Dear Hiring Manager, I’m excited to apply for the role advertised as PR Coordinator at Rush Press. Through working with media in my current role, I’ve learned how to get the most out of slim budgets, while being squeezed for time and managing relationships. This year I was excited to manage media-​pitch events, and successfully negotiated multiple interviews for mid-​list authors, raising our media presence by 27% over the prior best year. Placing Anne Elliot’s interview on Channel 44 was a highlight; the associated YouTube was viewed 250,000 times and sales of her book ‘Leo, Max and Izzy’ increased by 40% above target as a result. Then wrap with your interest in the particular role advertised or their company, like this: I have a passion for helping authors find the right route to promotion and seeing their sales soar. I would be thrilled to join Rush Press and work with your authors and sales teams. or I’m now looking to secure a role as an Editorial Assistant that uses my science background. I would love to have the opportunity to discuss what I could bring to this role.

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And finally, the signoff. It’s standard to include your name and phone and email details.You may wish to include your pronouns and social media. Yours sincerely Lizzie Bennett (she/​her) Tel. 01223 456789 [email protected] twitter.com/​lizziebennet200 linkedin.com/​in/​lizzie-​bennett-​200

Checklist for your cover letter 1. DO NOT repeat your resumé/​CV! 2. Is your cover letter a story that brings to life your resumé and illustrates your skills, personality, benefits? 3. Have you made a personal link with the organisation to which you are applying (e.g. the part their books played in your childhood or a title that particularly influenced you more recently)? Will it be evident that you know about them and what they do? 4. Show, don’t tell –​use data and examples to show what you can bring 5. Focus on what you can bring to the job, not what the job will do for you and how it fits your wishes. Avoid long statements about the exciting part they can play in your planned career trajectory.They are much more interested in them than you! 6. Language can be less formal, warmer, conversational (compared to the more formal CV) 7. Is the information in the correct order? People read from top down; hotspots for reading are the first sentence, then the opening sentences of the first two paragraphs. Are your strongest reasons for why you are the right candidate in these opening sentences of your top paragraphs? If not, review and reorder so that they are. You could also make limited use of some typographic colour (bold, underlining, italics) to draw attention to key parts of your message.

SAMPLE COVER LETTER This cover letter is from one of Susannah’s students. Please don’t copy this letter –​ you need to write your own –​but you can see how well Kate paints a picture. Dear Managing Editor, I am writing to apply for the Editorial Assistant position in the Blue Publishing team. I am drawn towards the creative and editorial challenges of children’s books, and I would love the opportunity to tackle these challenges at Blue Publishing.

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While undertaking my Master’s degree in Publishing Studies, I have completed an in-​house editorial internship with trade publisher Red Press –​a mid-​size publishing house specialising in local fiction and non-​fiction, with a growing children’s and YA list. I was involved in all facets of the publishing process from managing their submissions software and assessing manuscripts, through to approving cover designs, writing teachers’ notes, and proofreading final pages. A personal highlight of the internship was the opportunity to collaborate with the Publisher and the Senior Editor to improve Red’s unsolicited submissions process. They took on my suggestions to rewrite the submission instructions, making the process simpler both for authors and the in-​house team. Following these changes, submissions could be processed faster and the editorial team could focus their time on assessing the quality of submissions. I pride myself on putting people first, so when it comes to children’s books, my focus turns to the importance of the dual audience –​both the child and the adult. I believe children’s books play a pivotal role in teaching the next generation about their world –​what’s familiar to them as well as what’s not. For this reason, I think it’s incumbent on publishers to depict the world in all its diversity, while simultaneously captivating young minds and creating an enjoyable shared experience. I am currently the Book Reviews Editor and Sales Associate for Purple Press, a student-​run teaching press. In my editorial role, I am responsible for commissioning, assessing, and editing book reviews that are in line with Purple’s values and image within the local literary scene. As most of the reviewers are first-​time writers, I take the time to explain the editorial process to them and give feedback which is both supportive and constructive. I project manage each review, liaising with the publisher, authors, blog editor and marketing team to ensure deadlines are met. In my other role as the Sales Associate, I have needed to find cost-​effective methods of promoting our new book on a limited budget. To combat this limitation, I have written copy and created promotional materials for our authors to share via their own channels. This solution enables us to build brand awareness and generate sales within authors’ communities, as well as help the authors self-​promote their work. Having spent the last two years completing my Masters, I would love the opportunity to join an in-​house team and grow my publishing career. Thank you for considering my application. I hope to have the opportunity to discuss it with you further. I am available for interview at a time that suits you. Best wishes, Kate Fleming

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About selection criteria Before any job is advertised, those planning the appointment will be asked by their HR colleagues to come up with selection criteria, both for the role and for use at interview. They are usually made available with the job description, or on a website linked to the advert. Selection criteria are quite literally the basis for selecting candidates for interview and then for the job. So, when presented with selection criteria, you are getting a huge hint –​this is what the employers are looking for and the basis on which your application will be judged. If you are looking through the selection criteria and you can’t think of good examples for most of them, it may be a sign that this is not the job for you. Selection criteria commonly include (examples in italics): • • • •

Education: qualifications, degree, postgraduate degree Experience: one to three years’ experience in industry or a similar role Skills and abilities: technical skills such as editing, proofreading, digital marketing; soft skills such as teamwork, written communication, ability to innovate Availability: can start within one month.

Whether a job ad lists selection criteria or not, they exist –​they are the key factors the employers use to determine the interview shortlist and the job (and sometimes applications are assessed by machines that have been programmed to look out for responses to the key criteria). This is where you demonstrate your case that you are a good match! Responding to selection criteria is both an art and a science: •

•

If selection criteria are not listed, you can still intuit the selection criteria from the job ad or position description, and weave these points into your covering letter Most candidates skip selection criteria or do a poor job: by spending some time on this and working up a really strong response, you are making it more likely that you get an interview.

How to respond to Selection criteria The core approach with selection criteria is to make a list of times you have used the skills required; then craft that list into a story. The most challenging selection criteria to address are those that address soft skills such as self-​motivation, self-​awareness, initiative, independence. Adopt the same procedure as with all other selection criteria: think of solid examples where you have displayed that attribute, preferably in a work context, but if not in a volunteering, internship or study situation. Word count: we have seen suggestions that range from 60 words to 400 words per selection criterion, though we think anything more than 200 is too long (unless

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they tell you otherwise). If you can see that if there are eight to ten selection criteria, putting together responses is a significant task. But if you really want the interview, it’s worth it! To determine a good length, check the Selection criteria document carefully. Does it specify how long they should be, or is there an online form that has a character limit? If there is, feel free to write up to the limit specified. If not, aim for 100–​200 words per selection criterion. Writing style: make your response mainly narrative –​again think storytelling. Mix in a few bullet points if it suits, but make the bulk of your responses sentences. Don’t make the response to each criterion exactly the same length; add visual variety and readability by making them different sizes. Specific sectors often have precise requirements and styles for how to present your responses. If you are applying for work in the public sector or education, spend some time reading up on selection criteria responses for the type of job.

Situation/​Task/​Action/​Result Here’s a sample for how to do it following the STAR model: • • • •

What was the Situation or context? What Task did you have? What Action did you take? What was the Result?

Selection Criterion: Demonstrated strong organisational and planning ability Open with a position I pride myself on my organisational and time-​ statement stating your overall management skills, including the ability to manage approach/​background multiple deadlines. (optional, but it can contextualise your answer) Situation or Context When I was the sales associate at Red Press, we had new books published each month, and a sales history spreadsheet set up by previous people in the role, but due to a lack of consistent systems we were basically starting fresh with each new title. Task I needed to sort all the historical information, target the right bookshops and generate orders. Action I started by going back through the data and creating a more organised database of sales and retailers and checking that contact details were current. I crafted a query email and contacted 35 independent bookshops. Result As a result of my work, we generated 30% more sales for the new titles, and there’s now a much more organised database of retailers for the future.

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Here is another similar model you can use for structuring your answers. Tip: these models also offer a great structure for when you get an interview and are responding to behavioural interview questions.

SAO: Situation/​Action/​Outcome What is the Situation? What Action did you take? What was the Outcome? If you find yourself applying for a few jobs that ask for responses to selection criteria, it’s a timesaver to save all your responses into one document sorted by topic –​ initiative, organisations, editorial skills and so forth. Then next time you have to compile a selection criteria response, you can locate any that you’ve previously written, and tweak them for the new opportunity.

Video applications or one-​way interviews It’s increasingly common for job applications to ask you to record a short video and submit it as part of your application, or as a first shortlist response. This is so hiring managers can get a feel for who you are, how you talk, how you present yourself, and why you want the job –​in a more dynamic format than a piece of writing. This is a chance to show off how much you want the job! Common questions include 60 seconds on why you’re interested in this role and 60 seconds to tell us about yourself. For tips, refer to Chapter 17 on interviews. How to put together a video: 1. Expect to record this at least ten times. Seriously, if you think you can get this right first time out, you’re in for a shock 2. Like all applications, do what they ask –​if they ask for under three minutes, then record 2.55 seconds and so forth. Under no circumstances submit a non-​ compliant video 3. Plan, plan, plan. Review the questions, write out succinct, accurate responses and then practice saying your answers out loud and check timing. Do some self-​videoing for a practice session or two to feel less self-​conscious 4. Check how you look –​all the same tips as for video interviews in Chapter 17 –​ check lighting, check sound, what you are wearing, what’s in the background 5. You may find this easier getting a friend to record you, so you feel like you’re chatting to them; or you may find it easier to do it totally alone. Either is fine 6. Review what is captured, check and re-​record before submitting.

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Organising your applications Start a new folder for each job. In this folder put: • • • • •

•

Your cover letter The version of the resumé you used for this job Your video and any other components for this job Selection criteria responses if you made them Information about the job –​job ad and position description (always download and save a copy –​as often the job ad has vanished by the time you are called for an interview) Any research you’ve done or other information relevant to this job.

Submitting your application 1. Format for your documents: use Word (not PDF) for compliance with HR software 2. Submit your application when it’s ready –​don’t wait until the end of the application period. Some employers conduct rolling interviews while still accepting applications, and if they have enough good people they may close early and then you’ll miss out.You gain nothing by flirting with the deadline 3. If you’re submitting by email, your subject line should be precise: ‘Job ­application –​Editorial Assistant’ and include a position reference number if there is one 4. Ensure your documents have appropriate names –​with the (correct) name of the company you are applying to in the file title (not ‘Job applications cover email’) 5. If you are submitting by email, the cover letter can be in the body of the email or as an attachment –​it doesn’t matter 6. If you’re submitting via their online system, there may be yet more questions where you need to summarise information that’s already in your CV such as work history.This may be annoying and exhausting when you’ve already spent hours refining your letter, CV and selection criteria and just want to submit the thing. Sorry. Even so, treat this as part of the application (it is) and spend the time on it that it deserves. See point 7 7. A last golden rule for creating job applications: Do exactly what they say in the job ad. So: • If they want only a cover letter and no CV, or a CV and no cover letter? Fine! • If they ask for contact details for four referees? Include! (Normally we say don’t include referees at this stage, but if they ask, then yes, do them) • If they want 1,000 words on contemporary digital publishing? Put time into this and create the absolute best piece of writing you’ve ever generated. Make it exactly 1,000 words –​not 1,001 or 999, but exactly what they say in the job ad

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• •

•

If they want job applications only through their website/​LinkedIn/​using their specific application form? Do exactly what they say in the job ad Never assume they don’t really mean it. If it’s in the job ad they honestly do –​and it’s probably a little test to sort out those who read instructions from those who do not. If you were them, and you had 500 applications to triage, and 480 of them had disobeyed your clear, explicit instruction on how to apply, then you’d punch the air, dump the losers and get down to looking at the top 20 applications that fill your brief Remember that most advertised jobs in publishing tend to attract huge numbers of responses. So an initial sift on whether or not applications follow the instructions set or take care with their submission is a useful starting point.Alison remembers a manager who would divide applications into two piles –​those who could accurately spell ‘liaise’ and those who could not. Spellchecks on computers make this easier, but the principle behind it is a good one. Take care, because if you don’t care enough to make a good impression, why should we employ you?

Before you hit send, double check your attachments –​this helps make sure you don’t accidentally send a letter for a different job, a comedy picture of Nicolas Cage, the script for a play or your period tracker. All have been done.

After you apply Finally –​once you’re submitted –​forget all about it and move on. Don’t do any further company research or talk about the job (you may be encouraging others to apply). Assume you have not got an interview, unless notified otherwise. This is hard when you’ve spent days and days sweating over an application and imagining yourself in the role and getting excited for the job. But if you get emotionally invested in every job you apply for, you will exhaust yourself with hope and trepidation. You may get an automated response to your application, but the vast majority of employers don’t acknowledge your application unless you get called to interview. Probably you get called to interview, or you don’t, in which case you never hear back. This doesn’t mean you did anything wrong. It means: • • •

•

They had a large number of quality applications and had to rule people out on the finest of margins Or they changed their mind and hired internally and didn’t interview anyone Or the hiring manager’s ex went to your university, they had a nasty break-​up and the hiring manager swore they would never hire alumni from that university, ever Or they listed requirements X, Y, Z in the job ad, but actually they are only interviewing people with the background in Z because the last person in the job had a background in Z and the hiring manager has no imagination, and your background is full of X and Y but not as strong in Z.

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Or any other of numerous reasons that you didn’t make the shortlist. Don’t take it personally. There are however a couple of steps you can take. If you have your mind set on a specific type of position and you are consistently not getting interviews, have a look on LinkedIn at all the people currently in that position in various companies (and in a few months, the person who got the jobs you are applying for now).You can search by company and job function to find the people who work there. That will tell you if you have the right background for this type of job or if there is a specific qualification that everyone has, or similar, and you can take action accordingly. You could also ask for advice from a mentor or friend. An objective look at your submission, by an informed individual (preferably someone who reviews applications or interviews themselves), can really help. They do not need to be in the same sector as that for which you are applying, just able to offer advice on the impression you create through your applications. Someone with a couple of years’ experience hiring may be about right for this task. Summing up –​you will not get every job you apply for. That’s just life. Think of it as a pipeline where you put in a lot of applications, get selected for interview at some, proceed to second interview at a handful and eventually get offered a role or two, when you will consider and accept one and end up in a job that’s right for you. If you’ve been at this game for a while it can feel like an exhausting merry-​go-​ round. Stay strong, listen and learn, and you give yourself the best chance of success.

14 NETWORKING AND YOUR PERSONAL BRAND

You’ve been networking since you could talk. This chapter looks at how to use your ability to network to know and get known by the people in the industry you want to join. Publishing is a people industry, so it does help to make connections, talk, ask questions, and be curious about people and their work. I didn’t engage in any networking events as frankly they terrified me (and still do-​awkward small talk over a plastic cup of warm wine-​gah!) It’s easy to say that you need to be confident talking to new people, but this comes more readily to some than others. However, it is a skill that you can acquire with practice. Caroline Prodger, Freelance Publisher, UK Networking means interacting and making a contribution, with a view to becoming known. It is the art of building alliances, of engaging with others and cultivating relationships for employment and business. Networking is highly relevant to your goal of finding a job, as it offers you the opportunity to connect with a wider body of professional and other contacts, in both the industry you want to join and the wider creative economy. There are real benefits to effective networking. It can amplify your presence in your chosen sector, and alert you to trends you need to be aware of, and the way in which those working here already communicate.You get to hear about opportunities before they are advertised, or while they are still possibilities being considered. The key is to be effective in your networking. To do that, you need to understand how to build your professional network both online, by building your personal brand through social media, and in person through events, informational interviews, work, personal and education connections.

DOI: 10.4324/9781003273424-15

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In highly competitive industries such as publishing and media, those of us from a lower socio-​economic or culturally and linguistically diverse background may be at a disadvantage. And, regardless of background, as a newcomer to the industry you may feel short on experience. If you’re of a quiet disposition, the concept of networking can feel threatening to you. You may be self-​conscious of something that seems nakedly self-​interested, and you may wonder why anyone would help you. These are common concerns, and we address them with advice on a general approach to networking, and then offer you practical tips for getting started.

Do I really have to do it? Yes.Yes you do.You could still get a job and make a career in publishing, but you’d be doing it the hard way, and heaven knows it’s hard enough as it is without stacking the odds further against you. It might help to think of networking as building your reputation in the industry you seek to join. Building your connections through engagement in the industry helps you know who is who and what the burning issues are; following along and making a contribution is building your reputation, so that when prospective employers check you out and interview you, you come across as savvy about industry issues and people, and better able to make a contribution.

The secret: givers gain I often think ‘networking’ describes a type of connection you can make in publishing, and I’m someone who prefers not to be ‘networked’ with. Instead, remember that people are people, no matter who they are, and all you have to do is talk to them like a human being. If you go to an event, try to chat to people you actually find interesting, people you’d want to get to know –​ as people –​rather than just seeing them as a means to an end. Industry connections are important, but they won’t work out for you if not based on a genuine desire to connect as human beings. Hella Ibrahim, editor, Australia Networking is a two-​ way relationship; the creation of mutually satisfying connections between individuals. Sincere networking, based on genuine interest, can lead to opportunities for all parties. Generally it works best if it’s done on the basis of authentic listening and spotting opportunities for the development of ideas, rather than either party being stuck on ‘send.’ The outcome you seek from networking –​others recommending you for opportunities you would not otherwise hear of –​requires kindness on the part of those you approach. But don’t forget that advantages flow the other way too. Speaking from personal experience, it is a pleasure for those already in the industry to hear how their work has been spotted, appreciated and has inspired others.

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Many excellent people take professional pride in being an encourager of others, in being someone with a reputation for knowing others, for being a problem solver, for being generous and seeking to develop colleagues. And in those who approach them now, they may see themselves at an earlier evolutionary stage in their career, and decide to pay forward the help they would like to have received.When it’s your turn, you too may want to pay it forward to the next generation. Expressing a genuine interest in the career paths of those you admire is best done with authenticity. Before you approach those you would like to help you, do your homework –​where they used to work, and what (else) they have worked on. Having their former successes noted and remarked on by those seeking to enter the industry may bring them pleasure, and help build a relationship, but you need to know what you admire and be equipped with the details, before you make an approach. It’s also best done slowly. Building rapport and relationships takes time –​and you need to nurture existing relationships while making new ones. Rushing round an event, collecting business cards as you go, is not effective networking if you later can’t remember whom you met –​particularly if you follow this up with insincere emails commenting on how wonderful it was to meet people you barely spoke to. Never discount any contact as a waste of time –​you never know who they are, who they may become, who they know. And bear in mind that if you seek to benefit from networking, then you should give as much as you get. As and when you are able to help others (and it may be sooner than you think) you should willingly do the same, bearing in mind that you too were once nervous and needed encouragement.

Spotting and developing your personal brand Organisations spend huge amounts of money on developing an effective brand, giving the consumer something to spot, feel loyal –​and hopefully draw repeat purchasing. As a would-​be entrant to publishing you can work on your own brand and reputation, from a position of authenticity and candour.

Why are you interested in publishing? We’ve already warned about the dangers of concentrating on your love of books. But it’s worth thinking about seminal experiences that have shaped your desire for a career in the publishing industry, as those you are seeking to network with certainly have had similar experiences –​and this may spark a good conversation. So put some thought into the growth of your publishing awareness. This could include books that you remember from childhood; key covers that influenced you in adolescence; titles that you read in a particular place that you remember with particular intensity; advertisements that you spotted on buses or the underground which you could not ignore; the first book that made you cry.

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What do you want people to remember about you? Building a personal brand can be composed of many things: the typeface you use in your emails and on your business card, the colours you wear, your hairstyle and your accent. Anything that makes you memorable. For those wanting to enter publishing, there are two vital requirements: • •

First, demonstrate that you have taken care with how you appear in print or online Second, show an attention to detail.

Every communication you put out, whether professional or social, should be filtered through these two considerations. Taking care means no ill-​considered choices in typeface, colour of text or message content. Attention to detail means no split infinitives, rigorous attention to correct use of the apostrophe, avoiding sentences that end in a preposition, not saying ‘less’ when you mean ‘fewer.’ Publishing people always notice grammatical mistakes or textual infelicities. We can’t help it. As for images you share, bear in mind that looking through a candidate’s social media is part of the risk assessment that will be undertaken, usually prior to interviews and definitely before job offers. When it comes to your interests, people often remember preferences or enthusiasms. In Fever Pitch author Nick Hornby talks about how he likes the thought that many friends are thinking of him on a Saturday afternoon, when they hear the result of Arsenal, his favourite football team. Alison has a fondness for the faces of cows, and regularly gets birthday cards with them on. Talking authentically about your interests and passions helps people form an idea of who you are.

Networking online The two critical social media platforms for networking in publishing are LinkedIn and Twitter. They work in different ways; here’s a quick overview of each.

Three steps to LinkedIn success 1. Set up your basic LinkedIn profile –​refer Chapter 12 2. Build your network. It’s ideal to connect with people where you have some form of real life connection, even if tenuous. To start building your LinkedIn network, send connection requests to everyone you can think of –​search them up, check it’s them, hit Connect and then Add A Note.1 Then add a little message reminding them who you are –​‘Hi, it was great to meet you at the Young Publishers talk last week, let’s connect! –​Lizzie.’ You can connect with: • Family, friends and particularly peers from your studies –​whether they are in publishing or not –​build a wide network

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• • •

University lecturers and guest speakers People you have worked with and for People you have interviewed with are fine, but normally after the interview process concludes • People you have a distant connection with are OK –​just give them a nudge in the note • People you don’t know but are key in industry sometimes accept connection requests and sometimes don’t. If people don’t accept your request, don’t take it personally or overthink it. You are building a network, and the more quality connections you can get into your network the better. It’s a numbers game. Some don’t use LinkedIn often or have a policy to only connect with people under certain conditions and that’s fine. No one will be upset with you for sending a connection request if you follow these guidelines • For prominent people you’ve not met (industry and community leaders, politicians, CEOs of big publishing firms) you may want to follow instead of connect –​this means you see their posts and can engage, but you’re not sending a connection request. If people prefer this, their profile will be set up accordingly 3. Networking through engagement. Now you can engage with your connections, and post content yourself, to build your professional reputation and reinforce the connections.

HOW TO ENGAGE –​FROM LUCY BINGLE, LINKEDIN EXPERT Lucy manages Australia’s leading LinkedIn agency, LucyBingle.com. Her guidelines for how to post and network start with ‘LinkedIn for Breakfast’ –​15 minutes on LinkedIn, three times each week: • Socialise! Three times a week: like and comment on posts from your connections, thought leaders and relevant businesses • Post: once per week: a status update, a comment on industry happenings, events or share an article with your own commentary • Expand your network –​send connection requests to grow your network –​ connect with peers, professionals and thought leaders in your professional space. Send connection requests with a personalised message and keep going –​add connections each week until you reach 500. Always use the Add A Note function –​so your connection request arrives with a brief sentence like ‘Hi, we worked together during my internship at Purple Press. It would be great to connect.’ The best connections are those you’ve worked

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with, studied with, been in meetings with or had some other personal interaction with. ‘Hi, we have a number of connections in common, it would be great to connect’ can work too for people you don’t know. If you are interviewing with someone, wait until after the interview process is over if you want to send a LinkedIn connection.

What happens now? LinkedIn’s algorithms do the rest –​your engagement on the platform is being seen by your connections, and their connections. For example, you took a Publishing Studies subject with Kate.You haven’t seen her in a year or two but are connected on LinkedIn. Kate posts on LinkedIn; you comment on Kate’s posts; her boss Pratika sees your comments; your name and picture grow in familiarity for Pratika. A year later, Pratika starts a new role as Publishing Director and advertises for an editorial assistant.You apply, and Pratika recognises your name amongst the 300 other applications. She decides to interview you and says to you warmly in the interview ‘I think we have an acquaintance in common –​I used to work with Kate at my last job.’ Networking!

Three steps to Twitter success In many ways Twitter is the social media for the book industry, with controversies, gossip, moves and industry news a regular feature. Here’s how to connect: 1. Set up a Twitter profile, and remember that if you are using Twitter for building your reputation, you’ll want your profile set to public. While it can be more informal than LinkedIn, while you are job hunting, your profile and tweets operate as part of every application you send out –​so make sure your Twitter is positive, engaging and presents you as a prospective good hire. If you use Twitter personally and like to say evil things about politics and religion, consider having two Twitter profiles –​one for public, one for private 2. Follow everyone you can think of –​people who work in industry, particularly in the sector and businesses where you’d love to work. See who else Twitter suggests and follow them too. Watch relevant hashtags and news, see who the commentators are, who has good followings, who engages, and follow them all 3. Comment, heart and retweet away! Don’t be shy. Be positive without being sycophantic; be authentic. So commenting on a book launch, retweet if a new publication or tweet is meaningful to you. Follow controversies and see if you can add to the discussion (don’t worry, there are lots of Twitter controversies in publishing).

Private messaging Once you are connected on LinkedIn or someone follows you back on Twitter, you have the ability to send a direct message. Use this carefully. See below regarding informational interviews.

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Networking in person So, how do you get started with in-​person networking? These ten tips work for in person events (and also for private messaging online).

1. Commit Networking (particularly in person) does not come easily to many of us. But that does not mean you should not try. Deciding that you are going to get involved is an important start; consistency is a good continuation. Networking is about planting 1,000 seeds and seeing which bloom.

2.  Make a list of everyone you know who could possibly help If you think that they may be able to give you a hand at some stage, count them in. You could start with anyone you know, anyone at all, who has any connection, any connection at all, with publishing: authors, people already working in publishing, lecturers, friends, friends of friends, parents of friends, distant acquaintances…. The list does not have to be publishing only, it could include the wider creative economy and those who have taught you. The only qualifying condition should be that they know your name (and you can work towards this by making links with those who you would like to be on the list).

3.  Having made a list, expand what you know about them Connect on LinkedIn and follow on Twitter. Then start documenting. Use Outlook Contacts, or a spreadsheet, or a nice leather notepad, whatever works for you. But use something. If they mention their football team, their kids or partner, where they went to university or where they are going on holiday, keep track. Soon you’ll have a detailed portrait of their likes, dislikes and habits. And this is less creepy than it sounds –​after all, you probably know most of this information about your friends and those you have worked with, you just tend not to write it down. Keeping a record enables you to build a conversation the next time you are in touch.

4.  Build connections Stay in touch with people.Think LinkedIn messages,Twitter DMs, Christmas cards, texts. Congratulate them when they have a work win. If you attend a lecture they give, let them know what you enjoyed. If you spot an article that may interest them, pop a link through. If you read their book, drop them a note to let them know how it helped you (authors love this!). Don’t overdo this –​you are engaging and building on connections, not stalking; if in doubt, check with a professional mentor or just a wise friend.

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5.  Remember names Many people struggle to remember names and assume that everyone else is really good at it. They’re not, it’s just that they practice. There are many techniques, but the easiest is this: when someone tells you their name, repeat it and try to use it back to them. If you can, make an association; come up with a mental picture. If you meet a Lizzie Brown, perhaps you have the image of a big brown lizard sitting on her head. If it’s Tom Green, maybe it’s a giant tomato… you get the picture. It really does work! And, like anything, the more you work at it, the better you get. Alison had difficulty remembering the names of the two daughters of a friend. Catherine had a bob hairstyle, which she equated to looking like a ‘C.’ Jane on the other hand had long hair, and this fitted with an extended ‘J.’ This worked a charm… until they both changed their hairstyles!

6.  Accept invitations Just say yes. Just say yes, thanks, I’d love to. Go to lunches, coffees, dinners, breakfasts, online webinars. Always reply to every invitation you get (this is getting increasingly rare and is always appreciated and remembered). Having accepted, turn up. Be the perfect guest. Dress up. Behave yourself. Be polite. Be charming. Be considerate. Send thank you messages on social media which concentrate on specifics rather than blandly saying ‘it was wonderful.’ Do these things and you’ll make a great impression. Go to any and all book events you can. If you’re not currently in the industry, these might include: •

•

•

• •

Book Fairs: There are usually public days advertised in the publishing media. Introduce yourself to staff at the stands of publishers you’d like to work for. Ask who the right contact is in the area you want to work in, chat about what you’re looking for, have a CV on hand Meetings: organised by those within the profession, such as the Society of Young Publishers (UK), Women in Publishing (UK), Institute of Professional Editors (Australia). You’ll find the dates and locations in the trade press and their websites/​social media. See list of publishing and booktrade organisations at the end of this book Book readings and book launches: often advertised in book review pages and by independent/​literary bookshops. Introduce yourself to the publishers (you’ll see them setting things up and talking to the author). Ask a good question, buy the book and have it signed Book and publishing awards: same as above Browse the literary press and try out different events. Attend talks organised within the Publishing/​Communication areas of your local universities; even if you don’t intend to study there, you never know who you might meet.

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If you are nervous about attending events, try to set yourself a goal –​perhaps that you speak to three people you don’t know, or stay for an hour, or do one event a month. Once there, be fully in the moment. Observe what is going on before you launch in. Ask people questions rather than immediately recounting your reason for being there. ‘Hello, I’m Mandy and I recently graduated in Publishing Studies. What brings you here today?’ Members of the royal family, who between them meet thousands of strangers every year, apparently have a standard opening: ‘What keeps you busy?’ Neat. It’s open enough to work for anyone, and gives the recipient something to work with. On this theme, it is important to ensure that you are not making a nuisance of yourself at such events, where staff are often really busy. Introduce yourself, explain you’re looking for a career in publishing, ask for the right contact, ask for their card and if you can connect on LinkedIn; have your CV on hand (only if relevant); then thank them and walk away. When receiving a card, learn from what is done in other cultures (notably Japan). Read what is written in front of the person who gave it to you. Annotate it with something they have told you. Sticking it straight in your pocket or bag without reading it can feel much less courteous. Afterwards is where you make the most impact; connect on LinkedIn or drop an email (‘Thanks for your time at the event yesterday, it was great to meet you and hear about your new project. It would be good to connect.’ Thank them for their time. If relevant, ask for a follow-​up (a meeting with them/​an introduction to the right person).

7.  Carry a CV or a card Keep a clean copy of your CV with you whenever you can in case of unexpected opportunities. The other clever thing about carrying a CV is that when you get an unexpected call from someone who says ‘Tell me about your background,’ you can quickly remind yourself of the relevant points. If you regularly go to in-​person events, you can create a business card for yourself –​it’s easy and cheap to order online and offers an ideal way to manage keeping in touch. Summarise what you are looking for or what you can offer, and do this with style. When Alison first went freelance she summarised her services as: Consultancy, Training –​and Fine Ideas It often drew comment. (By the way, don’t have the card that Steve was handed once: ‘Freelance Journalism At It’s Best’!)

8.  Keep your promises If you say you’ll send more information, or a link to a piece of press coverage that you talked about, remember to send it. Be consistent and relevant. Say what you’re going to do, and do what you’ve said you’ll do.

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Along the same lines, if you are given help, be grateful. Let the person who helped you know how things turned out. Keep in touch with them afterwards and remain mindful of the start they gave you.

9.  The informational interview When you find someone who is friendly and you could learn from, ask for an informational interview. (If they are a high profile person with many thousands of connections, or senior in their role, don’t do it unless you really do have a meaningful connection). This is where you genuinely want to find out about what they do, what the organisation is like, and what might suit you.You can ask for advice, ideas, introductions to contacts. While your goal is not to find a job, and asking for an informational interview and trying to turn it into a hiring conversation can be highly detrimental, occasionally it can happen, which is all the more reason to take this seriously. I’m always delighted when people who are serious about the industry contact me and show genuine enthusiasm for what we do. I had an approach just recently from a junior designer simply looking for some advice on how to produce a strong design portfolio for interviews and who was looking to get into children’s book publishing. I gave her some hints on presentation, and when she did send in her work, because it impressed me, I passed it onto the relevant department, who happened to be looking for a designer. We employed her shortly afterwards. My advice would be, if you are genuinely interested in the industry and there is a publishing company you would really like to work for, tell them! Christie Davies, HR,Walker Books How to do it: •

•

• •

If you’ve met them, follow up within a week. If you’ve not met them, make sure you have engaged with the person on the platform –​for a few days or a few weeks is fine First try ringing and leave a voicemail saying you are messaging them. The voicemail makes it more likely they respond to your message. Do not ask them to call you back –​bad idea to get into phone tag with a busy senior person, it exasperates them. Be prepared when you ring that there’s a small chance they may actually answer their phone –​this is good if it happens! Make sure you have a script, similar to your message. Even if you go off-​script, you have it there to fall back on Be clear about what you are asking –​an informational interview, a referral or an introduction are all good If they are advertising a job, you can drop them a line and let them know you are excited to see the job and have applied; but don’t ask for an interview by

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•

private message, as most hiring managers want to follow the application process they have set up, and asking for a job or an interview can come across as out of sync with professional norms and be frankly annoying Some options for your message/​script: I really enjoyed meeting you last week and was hoping you might have 20 minutes for a coffee next week –​I would love to find out more about your role and the company. I’m a recent graduate looking for a publishing career. I really like your approach to marketing –​the recent campaign on Instagram really appealed to me. Your product development process really intrigues me. I hear from my network at the Society of Young Publishers that it’s a great place to work.

A coffee date keeps the meeting informal and makes it more likely they agree. Be prepared to go with a date they pick and to go to their office/​convenient location –​you’re asking them to take time out of their busy day, they won’t travel too. A quick coffee with a key contact is not a job interview, but treat it like one in terms of preparation. Take your CV and dress professionally. Give the impression you’re ready to walk right into their office and start work and they’re more likely to visualise you there! If they don’t know what you look like, email them a photo or carry one of their recent publications so they know who you are. If they get a hot drink, get a hot drink. If they get a snack, get a snack (but not otherwise). Unlike an interview where they’ve advertised and there’s an opportunity, you’ve asked for this meeting; now you set the tone of the discussion. Make sure you’ve got open questions to ask them, such as •

• • •

Thanks for meeting with me. As I mentioned on the phone, Frances Price suggested I meet with you. I’m keen for a career in publishing, and I’m hoping you can give me some tips and ideas How did you come to be in this role? What’s it like to work at this workplace? What’s it like to have your job? What do you love, what would you change?

They may not have roles open at the moment, but make sure you let them know a little about you –​what you are looking for, your qualifications, what appeals to you. From here on, follow their lead.Think of this as a mini job interview, an opportunity to show off your skills, talents and confidence. Be courteous, and follow their signals –​ when they wrap up, thank them and be on your way. Send a thank you follow-​up note. Use the informational interview to grow your understanding of the job you are looking for, what you might enjoy, and crucially, what other managers might look for in their new hires.

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Is all this insincere? If you’re thinking, ‘This is false,’ or ‘This is insincere,’ you’re mistaken. It’s really not. You’re paying respect to others by showing a real and focused interest in them. What should be obvious is that you may well be limiting yourself in the number of people with whom you are currently keeping in touch. With more focus and determination, you can almost certainly get more ‘value’ out of your social network than you do currently, just by focusing on what your contacts can do for you –​and what, in the long term, you can do for others.

Note 1 Currently this functionality is on the website, not on mobile app.

15 ADVERTISED AND NON-​ADVERTISED OPPORTUNITIES

By now, it will be obvious that when you are looking for a job in publishing, there is strong competition. So, in this chapter, we show you how to: 1. Widen your search for advertised roles 2. Search for roles that are not advertised 3. Find roles that offer experience of the publishing process while not being within the usual publishing media and networks.

Widening your search for advertised roles It’s commonly argued that only a small proportion of jobs are formally advertised. It’s a small proportion, but it’s a vital one.This is where you find publishers who are actively looking for staff. The problem here is that while these vacancies exist to be filled, if you concentrate on them, you are focusing on where most of the competition will also be found. But there may be other opportunities within the industry that you can search for. Here is how to go about it.

Spend time on job websites Browse relevant websites for jobs and set up search alerts (see below). Consider: • •

General job sites, including LinkedIn, Seek (Australia), Monster and Indeed (UK) Company sites for places you might like to work –​not all have alert functions, so you may have to keep checking back

DOI: 10.4324/9781003273424-16

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•

Industry and media sites –​The Bookseller (UK), BookMachine (UK), Books+​ Publishing (Australia), Australian Publishers Association website and so on –​see list at the end of the book. Good search terms for jobs include: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Content Communications Copy Editor Creative Editor Editorial Journalist Marketing Media Product Publisher Publishing Sales Social Media Associate Staff Writer Writer

You can usually do a quick search and trawl through lots of results, or an advanced search that refines things down and reduces the number of options visible. Where possible, set up a regular automated search using categories and sub-​categories. Once you’ve registered your interest, the website emails you jobs weekly or even daily. While job search emails can be frustrating in pulling out a thousand jobs that aren’t right for you, it’s better to have a wider search and skim through a long list than a narrow search that misses something. It’s also useful to see who is recruiting, even if not for any job you might be interested in, and how long jobs are advertised for (or re-​advertised). Some publications offer advertisers an ‘until filled’ deal, so they will repeat an advertisement until they have found someone for the role. By regular scanning, you will soon pick up an idea of which firms lose most staff/​have most new vacancies. Think laterally; check job function sites and journals as well as publishing-​ specific sites. For example, if you’re interested in Sales and Marketing, then try marketing organisations and associations. Set up Google Alerts for terms such as publishing job and publishing news, and scan what arrives each time –​you will find sites and sources you didn’t know about as well as keep up to date with jobs on offer.

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Read job ads in newspapers, magazines and journals Read the relevant media. Do this as well as using the job sites –​advertisements get categorised in different ways and you can’t afford to miss something. Not every job ad makes it to online (and vice versa). For example, LinkedIn costs per ad so many companies only advertise one or two jobs on LinkedIn at a time, while listing all the available openings on their company website. If you rely on a single source, you will miss out. Read widely and be constantly on the lookout in both publishing and non-​publishing companies.

Looking for roles that are not advertised at all Most job hunters concentrate their energy on roles that are advertised. This is a natural thing to do, but means you are concentrating your efforts where there is most competition. There are benefits in proactive targeting; contacting companies you’d like to work for, explaining how you respond to their products, outlining a particular role you would like to develop for them –​without implying they are inefficient or unobservant of market opportunities. When you get in touch, make a personal link. For example, for an educational publishing company, you could talk about how their titles impacted you when you were young and your strong memories about particular books. Be authentic, not sycophantic. As well as the companies you know and admire, do some research on publishing companies you don’t know: • •

•

Check out books and magazines in shops –​publisher details will appear in the first few pages, including address details, and, in magazines, contact names Review resources that have lists of publishers, such as Writers and Artists Yearbook (published annually by Bloomsbury), websites for Australian Publishers Association or Small Press Network (see list of resources at the end of this book) Search up company profiles and check their websites –​would you want to work there? If so, bookmark their sites, and as well as contacting them, check them regularly –​often jobs go up on their site before being advertised externally, so you can get in early. And when you reply, make it clear you saw the job on their website rather than in the usual sites –​it shows keenness.

Many smaller publishers and organisations don’t have proper websites; instead, they use social media or aggregate sites. If that’s where your interest lies, you’ll need to follow their social media to find out what they are up to, or get in contact proactively (noting that small organisations may take internships but tend to have fewer job vacancies).

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Publishing roles that are not within ‘publishing’ Any organisation that needs managed content also needs publishing services, so whether they are putting out in-​house manuals, style guides for contributors, service sheets for special occasions, information for departmental or whole organisation meetings, internal or external communications, social media, ads and brochures –​ they need people who can work with words such as writers, editors, proofreaders, designers and production. In the corporate world, direct mail marketing (online and print), newsletters, brochures, press releases and other materials (often referred to as ‘collateral’) are now all big business. You wouldn’t necessarily imagine that law firms and accountancy practices had publishing opportunities –​yet someone has to put together all that marketing collateral. In fact, there’s a whole industry of publishing, much of it online, that goes on in the professional world that we consumers never see.

CASE STUDY: IN-​HOUSE PUBLISHING SERVICES VS FREELANCERS A national organisation, with headquarters in London and a regional structure throughout the world, was looking to save money. It had an in-​house publishing service that looked after its regular reports and outreach, but after a review, managers decided that the overhead costs could be better managed through the use of freelance labour, as and when needed. The department was closed down and staff redeployed or let go. What they found when they got rid of the department was the hidden and huge money-​saving service it had delivered. Colleagues from throughout the organisation had accessed their services for various projects that required the presentation of a professional image or last-​minute guidance on format. The new process to rely on freelance labour led to a reduction in organisational standards, because official guidelines were variously followed and no one was in overall charge to ensure brand consistency. There was also a significant increase in overall costs –​because last-​minute checks on text are expensive. The long-​term result was that the in-​house publishing department was reinstated, and its financial and social value to the organisation significantly recalibrated, so costs could be more effectively offset against the service provided and the benefits experienced. An expensive lesson on the hidden value of effective publishing.

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Types of organisations that need publishing services •

• •

•

•

Retailers who sell books. Many have marketing departments and online services that are heavily involved in promoting books, both to existing customers and potential new markets Professional services firms such as accountants and lawyers publish a great deal of marketing material and formal reports that need publishing services Community groups, charities and other ‘not-​for-​profit’ organisations. The big ones have publishing and communications departments, and some do lots of direct mail with catalogues as well as email; and you get the double satisfaction of working for a good cause Schools, colleges and universities need publications to impress potential students and their families: websites, brochures, email and social media. Universities have publishing divisions, for internal communications and sometimes for books and journals. As such institutions are now required to communicate with their wider community and be good civic neighbours, how they present themselves is taken seriously Governments, banks, utilities, services and other big organisations need to communicate and many produce online and print publications for their clients, employees and prospects. As examples of this process in practice, Alison has worked on professional publications developed between major organisations and publishers, ranging from yearbooks to guides to best practice. Similarly, advertising agencies produce high-​ quality publications that present their best work over the past year, as an outreach item for securing new business, and galleries work with publishers to produce their exhibition catalogues. Experience within such roles can either lead to a satisfying and comparable career within another economic sector (and probably better pay, training and prospects than within the publishing industry) or the opportunity to transfer into it.

Not only is working in corporate communications a great way to build up your publishing experience, it also exposes you to a level of commercial-​mindedness that many traditional publishers cannot match. In fact, you may find you end up as a highly sought-​after expert in this area and, having found your home there, never move into ‘traditional’ publishing after all. In conclusion, publishing is taking place in many more areas than just the traditional industry, and a publishing skillset is universally valuable.

16 RECRUITMENT AGENCIES

This chapter is for you if you see employment agencies advertising the type of role you’re after and wonder if you should extend your job search by registering with such an organisation. First things first. What is a recruitment agency? There are two types, and we’re only talking about one of them. What we’re not talking about is an agency that hires or employs staff and supplies labour.We’re talking about agencies that act as an intermediary, finding suitable candidates (that’s you) for employers (that’s your boss, if all goes well), representing potential employees (that’s you, if you get that far), and managing all the processes in between (applications, shortlisting, interviews, appointment negotiations –​and feedback throughout). Crucially, since recruitment agencies get paid by the employer, none of this should ever cost you any money.1 If a recruitment agency ever asks you for payment, run, don’t walk; they’re cowboys. (Note: you might choose to pay someone to review your CV or help you sharpen up your LinkedIn profile, and that’s fine, but different.)

Why do organisations use recruitment agencies? It’s worth noting that the number of recruitment agencies working within the creative economy is significantly lower than within the workplace as a whole –​ agencies tend to cluster where salaries are higher. There are however agencies that specialise in publishing and media (more in the United Kingdom than other regions), and agencies who focus on graduates, or technical roles such as design/​ creative, sales, marketing. A publishing company might decide to use an agency to recruit because: •

Some roles are harder to fill, or the business has had short-​term occupancy in the past, or is looking for someone with a hard to find skill set or level of

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•

•

seniority. Some areas of publishing compete with other general businesses –​ sales, for ­example –​so may be able to tap into a wider pool If the business is short-​staffed and the hiring manager or the ‘People and Culture’ team don’t have time, or there are too many applicants and they are looking to someone else to do the initial sift Agents may have a database of potential applicants, particularly in technical areas such as design, or more advanced tools and contacts to find applicants proactively.

What are the benefits for candidates? •

•

•

You may get access to more roles than you would have found on your own. This can come as an initial shock, when you are suddenly on the receiving end of information about various possible roles. Be cautious; not everything that appears in your inbox may be suitable, and you do not need to say yes to everything A recruitment agency wants candidates they are representing to make a good impression, so it’s likely that agencies will offer guidance on your CV and interview techniques You learn about the recruitment process. If an agency has submitted your CV, they will keep you informed on its progress –​and help manage your expectations. If you are offered an interview, they should provide the logistical details as well as support and guidance –​and maybe a trial interview.

The feedback you get after working with an agency may be particularly valuable in learning how to present yourself more effectively in future. Because the feedback is being given to the agency, rather than directly to the candidate, it may be more straightforward and faster than when you deal directly with potential employers. And should you receive a job offer, you can rely on the agency to handle the negotiations over salary, because it is in their interests for this to be as high as possible –​as that is the basis on which they are paid. Do note however that when a salary range is advertised by an agency, seldom does the role get allocated at the top end of the range quoted.

How to work with a recruitment agency An agency you agree to work with should be one that you are happy to be represented by. And you can judge an agency by all its staff, because they recruited them. Look for: •

One that has a job or jobs you are interested in, or links to an organisation you want to work for. Some agencies pretend to have jobs to get your details into their database

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• • •

One that is sensitive to when you can and cannot talk, and offers times to speak that fit with your schedule (within reason) One who listens to your overall aims and feedback on the process so far One that you are happy to talk to. Remember that the way they come across to you is the way they are received by those they are approaching on your behalf. Do you find them a pleasure to talk to? Do they waste your time? Do they sound sincere?

Note that you don’t sign up with a recruitment agent to represent you exclusively –​ this would block you out of many jobs. You are working with them to place you, but that doesn’t stop you applying and interviewing elsewhere.

How to behave with a recruitment agency Act as when dealing with any industry contacts: professionally. Take care with your messaging, be on time with appointments, value their attention, listen to their advice. Do be honest about what you are looking for –​it helps you end up in the right job! Talk with them about what kind of role you are looking for, the salary level you seek, the working hours, holiday entitlements and other related benefits. Talk about flexible working arrangements and locations. Ask them why the role is vacant and take everything they say as data, though not necessarily the truth.

Five things to remember when working with a recruitment agent 1.  They are paid by the organisation doing the recruiting, not the person being recruited Remuneration for the services of a recruitment agent comes from a percentage of the salary being awarded, which goes to the agent. This remuneration is often spread over time –​a percentage payable on appointment and a further percentage once you pass probation or at one year after hiring.

2.  Why the speed? Recruitment firms are keen to fulfil the needs of their clients. Firms may place a role with more than one agency, and the agency to win the business is the first one to submit the candidate’s CV –​hence agencies are keen to submit CVs quickly.

3.  Beware of agencies trawling for information that benefits them, not you When asked ‘Where else are you applying?’ do not tell them; the agent may contact other organisations where you are interviewing and offer additional candidates.

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A better response is the types of jobs you are applying for. For example, you might say, I’m looking widely for a marketing assistant role. Similarly, if they ask for your references early, they may be looking to expand their contact base.

4.  Give them helpful details about you; build your narrative Agencies are often asked to talk about those they represent and so passing on a few useful stories may be helpful, such as your reasons for wanting to work in publishing or your involvement in volunteering.

5.  Working for a recruitment agency may be a great place to learn more about the industry Alison has had former students working in this capacity for publishing recruitment agents. Some have progressed into publishing itself; others have stayed put, finding recruitment a satisfying role in itself. Finally, bear in mind that sometimes companies use the tips and techniques of recruitment agencies, such as blogging within publications aimed at particular communities, or actively targeting individuals with likely backgrounds on LinkedIn and inviting them to interview (Susannah has found strong candidates through this method).

HOW TO USE RECRUITMENT AGENCIES SMARTLY –​AN INSIDER’S VIEW Recruitment agencies vary widely. They vary in their approach, with some specialising not just in industries (e.g. publishing) but even in types of role (e.g. editorial). They vary in their approach, often having quite a distinct philosophy and way of working. More importantly, as far as you’re concerned, they vary in quality and ethics, too. There are excellent agencies that really care about what they do and look after not just their clients, the employers who pay the bills, but their own employees and their candidates (which is where you come in). And then there are the sharks, who really don’t care for anyone or anything except money. How many are sharks? Hard to tell, because new agencies arrive and old ones die. We don’t think it’s many, and that they are definitely the exception. You could go through your career and never meet a shark, or you could be unlucky and get bitten on your first outing. There are three important messages to take from this: firstly, it’s not personal –​it’s not you, it’s them; secondly, you shouldn’t generalise, assume they’re all like this and give up. Get yourself up, dust yourself off and start all

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over again. And thirdly, if you have a genuinely, unmistakably bad experience, encountering an agency that is clearly unprofessional –​not just not getting on with a recruitment agent, or not getting a job out of it –​make sure you tell everyone you know, so hopefully their reputation is trashed and they get the hell out of an industry that does not need them. Good recruitment agencies find good candidates and build a reputation for doing so. It’s not in their interest to jam candidates into positions for which they are really not suited, just to collect their commission, as in most cases they must replace candidates who don’t make it through probation at their own cost. In practice, some people employed by recruitment agencies are focused solely on the short-​term, collecting their bonus for hitting their targets and letting tomorrow look after itself. Fortunately we have some advice for you, from an insider. When we spoke, Danielle Knight had just landed a role in London at Scholastic as Digital Sales Assistant for Amazon, providing metadata for the publisher’s backlist. She’s an excellent example of one way to get into publishing. With a background in sales, and knowing how competitive publishing is, she decided to improve her odds by taking the master’s degree in publishing at Kingston University. Danielle was attracted to the work placement element there, which ensured she’d leave with at least some workplace experience and a few contacts in the world of publishing. Danielle previously worked for recruitment agencies. Here are her insider’s tips: 1. As in any industry there are good ones and bad. If you’re trying to get your break in publishing, find an agency that has a real presence, perhaps even a specialist publishing firm. That helps, and increases your chances that they know what they’re talking about. But that’s not enough, because there are good people and not so good in any agency, and you need to find someone who actually cares about people, not just filling positions for the cash. ‘If you get the sense they don’t really care about you,’ says Danielle, ‘run a mile.’ Judge your agent by her actions: does she do what she says? Does she listen when you speak? Does she follow up with you to see what’s happening? 2. Talk up your experience! That ten days you did filing and making coffee in a grotty kitchen? That was a role for a top London publisher. Brits in particular have an endearing but hopeless habit of being modest, which may win you friends but won’t help you win a job. Get your agent to help you frame what you’ve done in the best possible way. 3. It’s easy to confuse her professional interest in you for friendship. It’s not, and you shouldn’t make the mistake of dropping your guard. ‘Every conversation with the agency is a sales pitch,’ she says. ‘If you’re chatting

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on a Monday morning and you complain about a stinking hangover, the agent might reasonably register doubts about your professionalism.’ Why would you present yourself in such an unflattering light, when you have the opportunity to do otherwise? A good agent skilfully puts you at ease and help you to open up… but part of why she’s doing this is to see what comes out. 4. Talk… but not too much! If you have a nervous habit of gabbling, take a breath, pause and regroup. The agent is observing how you are with her, and imagining how you’ll present to a potential employer. Remember, it’s not just your reputation at stake: every candidate she presents to a client says something, good or otherwise, about her, too. You’re her asset, so you’d better be one she’s comfortable to deploy. 5. Take feedback. Difficult one, this. No one likes to be told you need to stop gabbling (see previous point), or that your nervous habit of rubbing your nose with the back of your hand (the one you shake hands with) is off-​ putting, or that you come across as a little arrogant. But she’s not saying these things to hurt your feelings, but to give you expert, professional feedback on your performance. In fact, if she’s willing to do this, you should take really good notice, because (a) she knows what she’s talking about and (b) she cares enough about you to want to polish you. That means she sees potential! 6. A relationship with a recruiter can last for a long, long time. It’s one thing for a recruiter to place you in a job, and that’s terrific. In a year or three, when you’ve found you’ve gone as far as you can in that role, and there doesn’t seem to be any chance of promotion, then that’s when your relationship with your recruiter can kick in. The great ones are always in touch with key clients, looking for opportunities to place their good candidates. And at the same time they are in touch with their candidates, looking for opportunities to help them move on. That, in a nutshell, is the role of the good recruiter. They build good relationships and then nurture them. For this approach to work, they must be committed and in it for the long haul, and so should you.

Note 1 All UK recruitment agencies must comply with laws that explicitly state recruitment agencies must not charge job seekers for finding them work.

17 HOW TO GIVE A GREAT JOB INTERVIEW

So you’ve been called for interview. Congratulations! You have done a great job so far. This chapter has advice on how to give the best interview you can. Take stock.Your personalised cover letter and sharp CV have done their job, and you’ve been invited for an interview. Feel proud –​only a few get this far, particularly in competitive industries such as publishing. Hiring managers typically bring in no more than five or six people for an interview, so you are already part of a narrowed field. A hire process may include: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Phone screening to check if you are still interested and if you sound suitable Video/​in-​person interview Video/​in-​person second interview Real-​life test –​copywriting or editing a piece to see your skills Psychometric testing Medical questionnaire or testing Coffee with team members to get their thoughts on team/​cultural fit Lunch or longer meetings with senior management Reference checks.

A graduate/​early career position typically involves three or four of these steps, with 2 and 9 almost certain and 3 and 4 likely.

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Before the interview Phone screening After you’ve sent off job applications you may well get an unexpected phone interview. Ideally they book a time, but often it seems to happen when you’re in the shop buying birthday cards. For recruiters it’s a quick way of narrowing down a long shortlist, or checking something on your CV. For you it’s an opportunity to get in the door for an interview. Here’s how to handle it: 1. There’s nothing wrong with explaining that you can’t talk and making a time to call them back. This gives you an hour or so (don’t leave it much longer) to get your head together, read the job ad again, remember which version of your CV you sent in –​and feel in control 2. Give the conversation your full attention; look away from what is currently on screen or has just arrived in your inbox. Stand up (it helps your voice, as well as your concentration) 3. Carry a pen so you can scribble down numbers and names while on your mobile 4. Answer questions precisely and succinctly. If the discussion gets too long, or they ask for more detail, it might be an opportunity to say, ‘That one’s a long story –​ maybe we should discuss it face to face. Would I be able to come in for a meeting?’ 5. Finish with a query or two about the role, a request for a meeting or ask what the process is from here. If you get a chance, mention how keen you are to work for their company and always thank them for calling. Ask them for an interview –​they might say they’ll call you back when they’ve decided who they’re interviewing, but it’s good to show initiative 6. And finally, don’t beat yourself up if you think you screwed it up –​you probably didn’t, and even if you did, it gives you a reminder to be better prepared next time.

Logistics and prep Once you send in an application for a job, a request to interview may come at any time. Spend a few moments thinking about logistics before then, so you’re not caught on the hop. If you’re currently working, you can ask for an early or end of day interview time, or maybe you can work from home that day. It’s a good idea to double-​check the time, date and location, since some companies have numerous offices, and you want to ensure you’re going to the right one. The email signature block of the person asking you may not be the address you should attend. You can also ask whom you are meeting (check them out via LinkedIn) and for a copy of the full position description (if you have not already received it).

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Research and practice Interview prep should include around 20% research on company and industry, and 80% on practice questions. When you’re working on significant projects of any kind, keep brief notes. You’ll find them immensely helpful when it comes to job applications or when you’re asking for a pay rise to be able to talk about specific examples of things you’ve done. Stephanie Carey, Associate Commissioning Editor, Joffe Books

Practice, practice, practice Review the common questions below and use the job description to make a list of likely questions and your answers. Practice your answers out loud, so they sound natural. Many companies use behavioural interviewing to get you to describe situations you’ve been in.The thinking is that rather than talking about what you might do, you can talk about what you have done.This can be tough if you’re a career starter without much work experience, but in that case you can use examples from your studies or your part time job. A student of Alison’s was floored when asked about her experience organising big events but then remembered she had organised her sister’s wedding. Think about when you worked on something or achieved something that you can use for behavioural interviewing. Write down examples, talk through them with a friend and know them inside out. It’s fine to use the same handful of work examples to answer questions. Two good structures for answering questions: •

STAR

Situation, Task, Action, Result. You did this in the selection criteria, and it works for interviews too. Example: ‘Tell me about a time when you achieved a goal that you initially thought was out of reach.’ Answer: • • •

•

Situation: ‘At Fleet Street Press I interned as the sales associate.We had new books published each few months, and sales history, but each intern basically started fresh Task: ‘I needed to sort all the historical information, target the right bookshops and generate orders Action: ‘I started by going back through the data and creating a more organised database of sales and retailers, and checking contact details were current. I crafted a query email and contacted 35 independent bookshops Result: ‘As a result of my work, we generated 320 sales for the new title and backlist, and there’s now a much more organised database of retailers for future people in the role.’

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•

Funnel

Start wide to give the context of what happened, and narrow in on what you did, why and the result. Practice out loud so your answers flow naturally. Example: Tell me about a time when you achieved a goal that you initially thought was out of reach. Answer: As the sales associate at Fleet Street Press, I didn’t get a handover with the previous intern, so I was really starting fresh. My job was letting booksellers know about the new publications, generating sales. I started by going back through the data and creating a more organised database of sales and retailers, and checking contact details were current. I crafted a query email and contacted 35 independent bookshops. My work generated 320 sales for the new title and backlist, and there’s now a much more organised database of retailers for future people in the role.

Research, research, research Finding out about the company and industry sub-​sector helps you understand whether this is the right job for you –​which is just as important as whether you are the right candidate for them. Here’s how: • • • •

Review the company website, social channels Review industry information and news about the sector the organisation works in Have a look at LinkedIn –​search by individuals who work for the company and look at their work and education backgrounds, age and so forth Glassdoor.com has varying depths of information in different countries. Like all reviews, read with a pinch of scepticism –​but it’s another point of information.

You’re looking for: • • • •

Company structure, divisions and business units, office locations, recent publications and bestsellers, key people How diverse are the staff? Can you see yourself fitting in? Any recent media coverage? What’s happening with the customer base of this company? For example, if the role is with a travel guide publisher, and the travel sector has been badly affected by the pandemic, how is the company responding and what’s the day to day impact?

Browse a few retailers (both traditional and online) to see which books/​magazines from this company are stocked and merchandised. If you’re interviewing for a job in marketing, look at their promotional displays. If you’re into design, look at the covers. Subscribe to their newsletters and follow their social media. Get familiar with their product(s).

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Who else is publishing in this space? Check out competitor websites and retail presence too. Ask friends in the industry what they think of the company; trawl Twitter and industry magazines (The Bookseller, Book+​Publisher and so on) for gossip and news about the company. Don’t repeat anything bad or derogatory in the interview, of course. Be aware of your prospective employer’s reputation and be able to ask relevant questions: ‘I noticed your Managing Director joined around six months ago. What sort of changes has she brought to the company?’ will make a seriously good impression.

Dress to impress First impressions count. Looking professional and polished helps for all jobs. Even for editorial/​production jobs that are mostly internal, the interviewer still has to like the look of you and see that you’ve prepared for the interview in a respectful way. If you look professional and right for the job, it’s much easier for the interviewer to visualise you at that desk. As a rule of thumb, interview wear is one notch more formal than what people actually wear in the office. Publishing is a creative industry –​that does not mean you can show up in your Birkenstocks and expect to get the job. Having said that, the days of suits and ties are mostly past. For interview, business casual usually works –​think trousers, shirts with buttons, skirt and work top, maybe a blazer or suit jacket. If in doubt, go up a level to the full bit –​ tailored jacket and trousers/​straight skirt/​tie. You want interviewers remembering your savvy answers, not your distracting outfit. The easiest way to do this is to have an interview outfit that’s appropriate and helps you feel confident, and dust it off for interviews. Vary the shirt/​accessories between first and second interviews. We know people with a lucky item they wear for interviews. You can probably relax these guidelines a little if you are in design, multimedia or technology. By all means add a touch of your own flair and personality –​a quirky ring, a bracelet, deep red lipstick, a stylish scarf. Sophistication and style can be shown in the cut of your clothing and your accessories, not in wacky styles that may be off-​putting to senior managers, accustomed to corporate wear.

At the interview Carry: • • • •

A clean copy of your CV, just in case A folio/​samples of work, usually only if you are in design or a visual field Pen and notebook or tablet for writing notes, to remind you of questions and so forth Referee details, in case they ask.

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Your interview may be with the line manager, an HR manager, prospective colleagues, senior managers, or a panel. Have excellent communication skills both written and verbal; do your research; have great computer skills; be friendly and patient; be persistent but not pushy; don’t tell a prospective employer how much you love reading. Anon, publishing, UK

Video interviews It’s likely at least one interview will be by video platform –​maybe all of them: • •

• •

Ask for a mobile number you can call in case of internet failure Check your background –​a plain wall or a bookshelf works; if you can’t manage that, blur out the background or put up a pleasantly professional background image Dress professionally as above including bottom half, just in case you need to stand up for some reason. Nothing jangly or distracting –​it’s still an interview Use the format to your benefit –​you can have Post-​its with notes in eyeshot.

Getting there Give yourself heaps of time to get there, especially if you don’t know the area. If this means you arrive way too early, congratulate yourself and find a café for a coffee (order small –​coffee is a diuretic) –​arrive in the office around 10 minutes before your start time, neither less nor more. But aim to be within striking distance prior to this so you can use the loo and freshen up.

Giving a great interview •

•

•

Show interest Be seen reading your future employer’s books they have on display in the foyer while you’re waiting for the interview. Paul Watt, publisher and academic, Australia Smile, shake hands A friendly smile and firm, friendly handshake (depending on custom and health considerations) to start. If you prefer not to shake hands that’s fine too. Even if you’re wearing a mask, a smile can be seen in your eyes and warms up your voice Be socially adept and have techniques for dealing with nerves As they walk you to the interview room or as you wait on Zoom for the late person to join, talk about the weather or traffic. Doesn’t matter if it’s banal, it shows you have social skills. If you are nervous, it’s OK to say ‘I’m sorry, I’m a bit nervous’ –​this shows self-​awareness.

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Here are five strategies for what you do in the interview:

Listen This is hard to do well, which is one reason why doing it is such a good idea. Naturally you’ll want to have your next question lined up and ready to go, but if you concentrate on it you may find that your attention has drifted, and a good interviewer will notice. At junior levels there are usually a number of applicants who are capable of doing the job being advertised, publishing being a popular choice and attracting high calibre people. So personality, compatibility and ambitions become decisive factors. No-​one expects you to be an expert in publishing when you go for a first interview. But you would be surprised at how many people I have interviewed who were unable to remember the title of the last book that they had read –​even when ‘reading’ was on the CV as an interest. Charles Nettleton, Managing Director,Working Partners Two, UK

Build rapport with the interviewer Laugh at their jokes. Show amazement when they say things they think are amazing. If they want the interview to be straightforward, professional and serious, that’s what you do. If their tone is more friendly chit-​chat, respond in kind.

Be positive about yourself Your experience, your education, and why you want this job, why you’re leaving your current job. Never ever criticise –​your current boss or workplace, your university, your ex. Find the positive (and what you learned in the process) in any experience. Regarding interviews, I would offer the same advice I would give anyone applying for a job in any industry: Sell yourself –​no one else will; never point out your weaknesses, focus on your strengths; don’t indulge in gossip or be indiscreet about former employers during interviews. Learn something about the company before you attend the interview. Pay attention to your appearance. You’d be surprised how much your presentation can affect interviewers. How you are dressed says a lot about your personality, your attention to detail and your work attitude. Averill Chase, Director,The Authors’ Agent, UK

Keep the focus, and keep it professional Let them know that you are interested in this job, what you can bring to it and how you can learn from it. It’s really common to try and get any entry into publishing

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(sales assistant, customer service) with a goal to work your way round into editorial. This is both common, and deeply annoying for an interviewer; they want to hire someone interested in this job, who will do it well and stick with it for a few years at least. If your interest isn’t in this job, fake it! If you can’t find a few things of interest in the role you are interviewing for, it’s probably not the right role for you.

Be yourself Show your personality off –​just a bit with a little humour and smile. They genuinely want to get to know you –​who you are, what you’re interested in, what you’re good at –​to see if you match the role and the company. In many ways, there are no wrong answers, and it’s better to be the person you are than pretend to be someone you’re not. Honestly, the whole publishing career was accidental. I’m kind of glad I didn’t know anything at all. I was completely 100% myself and somehow I was equipped for the job. I somehow landed exactly where I needed to be. Sometimes I feel like a publishing fraud because I don’t have any [qualifications], and all publishing people seem heaps smarter than me. But it’s now 18 years since I started at Lonely Planet, and I figure if I’ve gotten this far without them, I’m doing OK. Stefanie Di Trocchio, Independent Brand Publisher, Australia

Some common questions you may be asked Tips on how to answer Why are you interested in this role?

Why are you interested in publishing?

Why do you want to leave your current role?

Tell me about your university studies?

Be positive –​pick out a couple of things that interest you about the role and also the company, and how you can contribute. Don’t say you think it’s a starter job and then you’ll move into an editorial role! Be positive –​talk about wanting to join an industry that contributes to culture, using your passion for communication and data, and demonstrating an interest in what people read. Don’t say you love books (this is taken for granted)! Maybe you’ve learned a lot and are looking for the next step, or the role has changed in a way that doesn’t suit your skills and interests. Don’t say your boss is an idiot! Focus on the behaviours and skills you’ve learned that are relevant to this role… don’t talk about your social life. Do talk about how you took responsibility –​ for example within societies you contributed to or volunteering you did.

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Tips on how to answer How long do you see yourself in this role?

You’re excited to get into it and learn and grow in the role.You would be led by your manager, but you’d imagine 2–​3 years would get you ready for your next role, which you hope might then still be in the company. Tell me about a time you faced a Your answer to this should probably be around asking big work challenge and weren’t for direction from someone senior and being willing sure how to move forward. to flex to make it happen. What did you do? Note this is a behavioural question –​ real examples from your experience at work, study, or volunteer work should all work. Is there a time you didn’t get on Your answer to this will probably be around focusing with someone you had to work on the best way to work with them and being with closely? What happened? pleasant and professional –​not changing teams or spitting in their coffee. Behavioural question Tell me about a project you Your interviewer wants you to talk about what went worked on that failed. wrong and why, and acknowledge what you’ve learned from this experience, to show that you can Behavioural question take ownership. What are your strengths? OR Highlight something you are genuinely skilled or What’s something that you’re experienced at that (crucially) is a key part of the good at that you can bring to position you are interviewing for. this role? What are your weaknesses? OR Highlight something that’s not a deal breaker, and talk What is an area where you’d about how you are addressing it. For ­example –​‘I’m benefit from development or not great at using spreadsheet packages like Excel, training, or where you’re not and I’ve realised that’s key to many of the types of confident? roles I’m seeking, so I’m actually doing an online course at the moment to brush up on my Excel skills,’ OR ‘I had some issues with time management when I was at university –​working on essays at the last minute, that type of thing –​so I’ve taken some really practical steps to address how I manage my workload for my internship using lists and tech tools and it’s working out really well.’ In the position description, you For this one, your research should include working will have seen [such-and-such]. through the job description and making sure you Can you tell me about your have great examples of your skills or experience, experience or skill set in this line by line (as much as possible), against the tasks area? required.

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Early in my career, someone told me to interview for a job I had zero interest in ‘just to get to know’ the hiring manager. Eventually that person referred me to a marketing job that I did want and was interested in. Interviewing for jobs you aren’t necessarily interested in has been a helpful networking opportunity in my career and it feels less like ‘networking’ as you have a clear and defined purpose for your meeting and discussion. Anon, publishing, US

When it goes wrong If you feel like you’ve got off on the wrong foot and everything you’re saying is all wrong, don’t panic or point it out –​they probably haven’t noticed. Just carry on and do a better job from that point. During the course of the interview you may suspect this is not the job for you for any number of reasons. That’s fine. The interview is a chance for them to assess you, and you to assess them, so you can both see if it’s a match. If this happens, you can continue in the process and if you get to the offer stage, see if there is compromise. If it’s a serious deal-​breaker, you can back out at any point with ‘I’m sorry, having explored this, I don’t think this is the right job for me. All the best with your search’ is acceptable at any point.

Show me the money If they ask what salary you’re looking for, ask what their range is. An offer would then land within that range, depending on your experience/​skills. If they ask you to go first, give a range yourself: ‘Having looked into what is generally being offered within the sector, I’m looking for something between X and Y, which seems about right for my experience,’ is the way to respond. Your research should include the going rate for this type of role, in this type of company: • •

•

• • •

If you are working currently, look for about 4–​6% increase for each year of experience in that role, and larger jumps for changing to more advanced roles Crowdsourcing has enabled salary surveys where publishing people can share their salaries:1 UK: Book Publishing Salary Transparency tinyurl.com/​5bn72rzv Australia: Australian Publishing Wages tinyurl.com/​4r8neby9 Review other industry research and surveys, such as: UK: www.book​care​ers.com/​sal​ary-​sur​vey​ Australia: Employment in the Australian publishing industry in 2022, Books+​ Publishing, 24 August 2022 (paywall) Ask friends in similar roles or working for similar companies Ask your university lecturers or previous employers Search by job ad and use salary bands to narrow in

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Publishing has a reputation for not paying well. Broadly speaking: • • • •

Entry level roles in small trade publishers do not pay well Business and educational publishing tend to pay a bit better than trade Sales and Marketing tend to pay more than Editorial and Production, certainly in the junior roles Most people don’t go into publishing for the money. Sad but true. I find the juggle between being creatively fulfilled and being decently paid is a hard one. It’s easier when you’re younger to justify low pay for a creatively fulfilling job, less so as one gets older. Anon Life balance is always going to be difficult. Also, if you don’t live in a two-​ income household or get left a stash of dollars by your favourite auntie, it’s going to be difficult to make ends meet for years. Anon Early-​career roles are low paid, and this is something we need to address as an industry. If you survive those early years you can make a decent (not luxurious) income later on, but the low entry-​level salaries are a real barrier to entering the industry in the first place. The more those of us already in the industry can do to unionize and discuss pay rates the better. Anon, publishing, Australia

Don’t be tempted to exaggerate what you’re earning/​looking for in the hope of getting a higher offer. This rarely works in publishing, and is more likely to make the interviewer think you don’t know what you’re talking about or decide they can’t afford you. And if you genuinely can’t figure it out –​if you’ve not worked before, or don’t know anyone in the industry, or are moving countries and you don’t know what you’re worth, say so and take it back to their range. Once you know their range, you can figure out if it’s acceptable. If coming from a better paid industry, you might even find yourself saying things like this: ‘Well currently I’m on a higher number, but I realise that to move into the role I am seeking, a slight pay cut may be necessary.’ This has the advantage of making it clear you’re genuinely committed to publishing. There is more advice on salary and negotiation at the job-​ offer stage in Chapter 18.

Interview wrap and after When they’re done, they’ll ask you for questions and then wrap up the meeting.

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Questions at the end of the interview show that you were listening, thinking critically, have something to say and are interested. Here are some ideas (make a choice, don’t use them all!): 1. Can you tell me more about your selection process? What will happen next? 2. What might a typical day or week in this role look like? 3. What are the key issues the person in this role will face? 4. What would make someone in this role a really outstanding hire? 5. Why has this role become available –​did someone move on, or internal promotion, or is it a new role? 6. Can you tell me about the department structure? Who would I be reporting to, and who would be my key colleagues and stakeholders? 7. How would you describe the company/​department culture? 8. What’s the future direction of the company? What are the medium and long term goals? 9. What are some recent successes of your group/​division/​company? 10. What are some of the challenges your group/​division/​company faces? 11. Who are your main competitors? 12. Use your research to frame a couple of detailed questions that show your market awareness (but without sounding as if you are offering consultancy). ‘I notice you publish a lot in the social sciences; have you assessed the education sector?’ ‘Six of your non-​fiction scholarly titles have performed well. Is there a market trend here that you’re responding to?’ 13. What’s the best thing about working here? 14. Are there any concerns about my candidacy for this role that I can address for you? By this point you should have asked enough questions to make sure you have a grip on the job and the company and to show that you care. Make sure you understand what the interview process is too –​when you can expect to hear back, whether they’ll call candidates back for second interview or offer the job to someone immediately. Follow their lead, remember to thank them for the opportunity. The day after the interview, drop the interviewer/​s an email to thank them and say something specific about the role: I was impressed by the new catalogues you have put together and would love the opportunity to work with your team in this area.

Second interviews The same guidelines apply for second interviews as the first time around.You may find the interviewers change and the questions are the same, or you get the same

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interviewers and different questions. Either way, follow their lead and be courteous, professional and on the ball. Always think of some new questions for the second interview, ideally based on things they’ve told you at first interview that you’d like them to clarify or to enlarge on. You mentioned your company has a commitment to training. Can you tell me more about that? Then, same again: same clarification of the process now, thanks at the end and polite thank-​you email the next day.

Tests and tasks Don’t be surprised if you get asked to do a little test or fulfil a task to demonstrate your skills. This might include: •

Written exercise in the interview This is pretty much standard for a copy-​editing role, and sometimes also used in marketing and assistant editor jobs. This should be related to the job you’re applying for. It’s often given in a tight time frame to see how you react under pressure. Don’t freak out; remember you’ve done exams at school and university and you did OK there. This is stuff you can do (otherwise you shouldn’t be going for the job), and the recruiters make allowances for your nerves. Everyone else doing the test is operating under the same conditions, so they’re comparing how you perform in your stressed out test to other people’s stressed out tests. I give Marketing Executive applicants a book, and 40 minutes to write me a promotional piece (postcard or email) for it. It’s hard, but you really see who can be calm, imaginative and accurate under pressure, and who can write –​all useful traits. Susannah

•

Job-​related field exercise These are often used for sales rep jobs, where you might be required to research a market by chatting to prospective clients (booksellers, lecturers and so on). Put some time into this, as if they ask you to do this you’re probably down to the final one or two candidates, and what you produce can well decide whether you get the job. Make sure you ask lots of questions so you’re clear what they’re expecting from you, and then follow guidelines exactly. If you need to send or hand in a written report, go over it with the same level of care you did your CV, including proofing, and ensure your presentation is attractive, error-​free and professional.

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•

Written or oral ‘personality’ test at one of your interviews All the rage a few years ago, but have somewhat gone out of fashion now. They’re designed to see what kind of person you are and if you’d fit their team/​culture. Medical or drug test Not common in publishing but happens sometimes. Some drugs can be detected in your system a month after you use them. Some of these tests have been reported to have common false positives so if you’re not a drug user and you get a positive, be sure to push for a retest.

Other types of interviews If you are interviewed by a recruitment agent rather than directly by the publisher, you can be guaranteed there’ll be a multi-​stage process –​a good agent will want to meet you before introducing you to the hiring company directly. Recruitment company interviews tend to be a bit less specific –​partly because they don’t know the job as well as the employer, so are honing in more on whether you’ll fit in the company culture –​and partly because they probably want to check you out for other roles in other companies too. They are also more likely to get technical with formal personality testing and the like. See Chapter 16 on using recruitment agents for more on their processes.

Bad behaviour by the interviewers A recruitment manager we know referred to negative experiences in the interviewing process as ‘war stories.’ Interestingly, this term referred to things she had seen those doing the recruiting do which she considered less than optimal practice. Examples included eating during an online interview with the sound still on, the crunches clearly audible, a member of the panel sitting so low in his seat that he was almost horizontal and yawning every now and again, a panel member who was using their laptop throughout the interview, and clearly not just to make notes on what was happening. Anything like this serves as a useful red flag to warn you about the kind of company where you are interviewing. If they can’t show respect and professionalism at an interview panel, what would it be like to work there?

What happens now? Usually, a long wait, and sometimes, nothing. Recruitment always takes longer than everyone thinks. It can take months. If you didn’t get an idea of the time frame, you can send a follow-​up note (just one) about two weeks after your interview. Publishing is generally a polite industry and informing those who do not get a call back is the general practice. Sadly, it’s not universal. Some employers ghost

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job seekers, even after interview, and do not call you back. This is unprofessional and horrible, but it happens. The best way to handle this emotionally is to assume you won’t hear anything and you didn’t get the job, and then it’s a pleasant surprise when they do get back in touch.

What if you don’t get the job? It’s natural to be disappointed, but no one gets every job they applied for.When you apply and interview, you are competing against many other candidates. It doesn’t mean you were a bad fit or you stuffed up the interview or you wouldn’t be great at this job; it means the interviewers decided someone else was a better match than you for this role, in their mix of experience, skills, personality and team fit. It’s a great idea to respond to their ‘Sorry, you didn’t get the job’ message with thanks for their time, underlining your interest in the organisation, and hoping they will keep in touch should events not work out as expected. A pleasant reply at this point may put you next on the list if the hire doesn’t work out, which is surprisingly common. Recently the person we offered a job to turned out to be not quite right –​ and we went back to the next on the list. Knowing she was still interested made all the difference. It’s happened to me personally a couple of times too –​ I didn’t get the job, but then the appointee didn’t work out and they got back in touch. Susannah Keep going, I applied to many companies without hearing back & reached a few second-​round interviews without being offered the job. It isn’t a reflection on you -​the market is incredibly competitive. Anon, publishing, UK You can also ask for feedback. Feedback is enormously helpful –​this can help you improve. In many cases they don’t give feedback or the feedback is generic –​‘we had a number of strong candidates and we went with someone we thought would fit the team.’ But sometimes you get real and detailed feedback that helps you improve for next time. Read it carefully and calmly, and learn for next time.

Note 1 If you use these, make sure to contribute back when you can.

18 REFEREES, JOB OFFERS AND NEGOTIATION

You’ve made it through the interview stage, and waited what seems an impossibly long time. Now, they’ve asked for referees and are making positive noises.You’re not home yet, but this is promising.

Referees and reference checks It’s common to be asked for referees towards the end of the process. Most employers only reference check one or two candidates, so if you are reference checked, you’re close to an offer. It’s not certain, though –​sometimes employers have two strong candidates and use the reference process to choose between them. The employer contacts the referees, usually by email, sometimes by phone, and asks: • • • • •

To confirm employment –​dates, title and responsibilities of the role Attendance – were you late or sick more often than expected? Your attributes –​were you hardworking, proactive, helpful and so on? Strengths and areas for development; any disciplinary issues; whether the referee would hire you again Specific issues to do with your technical skills or personal attributes –​clarifying issues from the interviews.

The ideal referee is a previous line manager, who speaks well of your work: •

•

Previous, because if you are currently employed, it’s normal to not reference check through your current line manager, as that can put your current job at risk Line manager, because they can speak best to your workplace skills and attributes DOI: 10.4324/9781003273424-19

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• •

Who speaks well –​you want someone who thinks you’re great! If you’re not confident, they may not be the right person Of your work –​someone who has worked with you can talk about what you are like in the workplace, which is what employers want.

If you don’t have someone who can tick all these boxes, that’s OK –​it’s common, especially for career starters. Many career starters don’t have previous managers (or current managers). Consider work colleagues, volunteer or youth group leaders, lecturers or teachers. As the job seeker, ask permission to give someone’s name as a reference provider for you before you pass on their name, and it’s courteous to give them the chance to consider (so, ask by email rather than putting them on the spot in a phone call). If they are willing to go ahead and be contacted on your behalf, thank them and give them advance warning of when they are likely to be needed. Thereafter, remain in touch. Send them a reminder every now and again of what you are up to and some of your top achievements, so they have the right things to say on top of their memory of you. You can also send them the position description (PD)/​ad for the job. Make sure you say thank you for agreeing to do it, and thank you after they’ve done it. Let them know how you go, and thank them a third time. Now is a good time to ask if they’d be willing to do so in the future, and say thank you whatever the answer. Bear in mind that giving references can take a long time, and that the reputation of the referee rides on the back of those they recommend –​you are seeking a favour, so approach in that spirit. Assumptiveness about their willingness to cooperate can be alienating!

Responding to a job offer You got an offer! That’s great and well done. Celebrate the moment –​whatever happens from this point on, you’ve done brilliantly.You can do this! And… breathe. Now is the time to have a final think about the attributes of this role and whether it’s for you.You don’t have to accept. By this point in the process, you have a really good feel for the key issues. Be honest with yourself –​are there red flags where you need more information, or that tell you deep down this isn’t right for you? There’s risk in every decision, and you can’t know everything until you actually get into it, but if you do your due diligence you minimise the chances of realising only months or even weeks into your new job that you’ve made a horrible mistake. • •

What’s the role like? How well do you fit what they’re after? More importantly, how well does it fit what you’re after? Work/​life balance? Does the company and team culture feel right? Will you enjoy working here? Are there long hours or after hours work, travel, a long commute, working from home in a mix that you are OK with?

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•

•

What’s your new boss like? Presumably you’ve met her at least once, so at a bare minimum you’ll know what she looks like and how she talks to you. But remember the interview is an artificial environment, for both of you. What were the subtle or not-​so-​subtle clues you picked up? Did she spend too much time talking and not enough time listening? These are pointers for what working for her might be like. What about the pay? Publishing often doesn’t pay well, especially at the starter end. Can you survive on this? It might seem like a lot of money if you say it quickly, but take out the tax (actually you can rely on the government to do that for you), student loans, the rent, the food, the transport to get to work, the cost of some decent clothes to wear once you get there and suddenly it doesn’t look like such a huge amount.

At or before this stage, do some research to figure out what the right salary amount is. Cultural sectors including publishing have a reputation for not paying well. Broadly speaking, within publishing: < Smaller organisations may pay a bit less; trade and non-​profits may pay a bit less; editorial jobs may pay a bit less > Bigger organisations may pay a bit more; education and business publishing may pay a bit more; sales and technical jobs such as multimedia may pay a bit more. It’s really helpful to have an idea of your market value, given your experience, skills and education, to assess and negotiate on job offers. Some ways to find out your market value: • • •

Online salary information includes publishing specific salary surveys Job search engines and past job ads that give salary numbers Ask friends, employers and recruiters.

Three notes of caution: some salaries include bonuses which don’t always happen; part-​time workers get paid pro-​rata; and pensions/​superannuation may be included or not. Keep an eye out to make sure you are comparing apples and apples. If the job isn’t right for you, let them know as soon as you can, with thanks for the offer.

Negotiation –​salary and benefits I encourage people to have the courage to negotiate a good salary. If an employer thinks you’re the right person for the job, they’ll be willing to consider giving you more than just award rates. Having said that, be wary of those who do not receive your attempts to negotiate a better pay well. Consider if this means they will appreciate you in the job. Remember that a job interview is a two-​way street; treat it as an opportunity for you to work out if the company/​job is right for you. Ruth Jelley, Communications Officer, Australia

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Even if the salary is stated, which isn’t always the case, always ask for more money, especially if you’re a woman.They might not give it to you, but every time I’ve asked, I’ve got it. Tell them what you’re worth and push for more than they offer. And even if they say they can’t, perhaps they say they have bands or something, then at least say, ‘Well at the end of my probation/​after six months I’d like to have another conversation. I’d like to discuss my progress and know where my career is heading, and that includes my salary.’ Stephanie Carey, Associate Commissioning Editor, Joffe Books The salary you earn at this company for as long as you’re there is determined largely by your starting salary. Next year’s salary will be this year’s, plus any increase and/​ or bonus you get. And if you are promoted internally, the increase again is largely determined by the starting point. Making sure you maximise your starting salary will have benefits for many years to come. Where I work they don’t have a real structure. So they said at the end of my first year, ‘We’d like to amend your job title and here’s £500. Do you want to be [Assistant]?’ I said, ‘No thanks. You’re promoting me, I’d like to be something good. How about [Editor]. And I’d like a raise of £2,000 please.’ And they said yes. Anonymous

When NOT to negotiate Be aware that while salary negotiation is common for more experienced or senior hires, for entry-​level positions, you may well get a polite ‘take it or leave it’. But a good organisation will be fine with you asking, if you ask in the right way. If the offer is generous for the role, your background and the industry, you’re probably best off graciously accepting rather than trying to negotiate higher. Additionally, if you gave a number or a range earlier in the process –​‘I’d be happy with between X and Y’, and the offer meets your number or is at the top end of your range, it’s not a good look to then ask for more money. In that case, you might want to negotiate on something else.

What you can negotiate on Negotiation includes anything important to you –​not just salary. You can also negotiate on: • • • •

Timing for first salary review Annual bonus -​percent and when it kicks in Start date Leave –​either an increased annual allowance (more common in the United States) or taking prearranged holiday commitments in the first few months

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• • •

Working hours Work in office/​work from home –​balance between the two Parking.

But pick one or two items to ask about, not the whole lot.

How to negotiate You do want to let them know you are keen on the job. What you say now is in two parts: 1. Be positive: Thank you. I’m so excited about this OR Thank you so much for the offer OR This is a great opportunity for me. I love the way the department works and the way you’ve set it up 2. Then the ask. Keep it simple, don’t get defensive or over-​justify: Do you have any wiggle room on the salary? I was hoping for Y; or, Could I ask for clarification on a couple of points? You had mentioned the salary range was X to Y, and your offer is Z. I was hoping to get a little closer to Y; or, When I interviewed you mentioned the performance bonus, but I notice this only kicks in after six months’ service. Would it be possible to have that waiting period set to three months? Be polite, direct and realistic. It feels scary, but it’s highly unlikely this will result in a withdrawal of the job offer.

What happens next? They say

You say

Oh –​yes, actually I can do that Tell me more about what makes you ask that?

That’s super! Then I would love to accept.

No, sorry, that’s the offer

Be prepared for this one with a couple of sentences you feel confident saying. Focus on the value you bring, and your research for the role: I’ve done a little research, and it looks to me as if similar positions in similar companies are often paying more like Y. I’m coming in with my Master’s in Publishing and two significant work placements, I anticipate getting up to speed really quickly in the role, so it would be great if the offer could be just a little higher in your range. Well, thank you for considering. I’m keen so I’d like to accept regardless*.What start date works for you? * Assuming this is true, of course.

When these details are agreed, they will send you a formal job offer letter; that’s it! You’re in.

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Before you start You’ll probably agree on a start date within a few weeks, depending on whether you need to give notice in your current job. Here are a few final things you can do before you start: • •

• •

• •

Make sure you flag any booked or planned holidays Find out what to wear –​it’s fine to ask your new line manager or HR. ‘When I interviewed it looked to me as if most people wear smart casual to the office, would you say that’s correct?’ They will probably send you a list of what documents they need to get you on their system –​for payroll, communications and so on. If not, it’s fine to ask Ask if there’s any prep you can do –​reading about the role or the company, the market or the products.There probably isn’t, but it always gives a good impression to look proactive Do some googling on your role, and kicking off a new job well, first 100 days, that type of thing –​to help you feel confident about your start If you’re nervous, practice the commute, or ask to have a coffee with your new manager or key workmates before your start day –​a nice icebreaker, so it’s not so strange and new on your first day.

That’s it! Good luck!

19 WORKING INTERNATIONALLY

One of the wonderful attributes of publishing and the booktrade is that it’s an international industry, and that’s what we look at in this chapter. Publishers worldwide tend to share the same characteristics and look for the same skill set; experience in other territories is usually well recognised. If you are keen to work overseas, here are three good options:

1.  Seek jobs that include a good amount of travel (but based on where you live now) Think about roles in rights sales, where you may regularly travel to overseas markets and book fairs, or English language publishing. My first job was working freelance for a publisher as a freelance educational consultant to provide training and orientation to adopting institutions of the publisher’s textbooks. I later joined OUP in a full time editorial position partly based on my experience having worked as a freelancer. For the freelance role, it was via an introduction to an ex-​teaching colleague working at the publisher. For the full time position I saw an advertisement from the same publisher seeking a senior role abroad. Though underqualified I applied anyway and inquired if there were any lower level positions available.Turns out there were! Michael Cahill, Senior Regional Director, National Geographic Learning,Taiwan

2.  Work for a multinational and apply to work in an overseas office Unless you are quite senior in your role, this will be less like a transfer and more like applying for a job, with an interview/​selection process and no assistance with DOI: 10.4324/9781003273424-20

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moving costs, accommodation or visas, but with the benefit of a head start in knowing the organisation and getting the job. As a young rep in Melbourne I knew I’d love to work overseas at some point in my career. When I was promoted to national Marketing Manager based in Sydney, I started being sent to company conferences in the USA, which helped me meet managers from other countries –​and not just meet them but get to know them! By the time I was ready to move overseas I was offered two amazing jobs, one in New York and one in the UK. There was a bit of juggling and I ended up working with a wonderful bunch of people at McGraw-​Hill UK. Susannah If you are based in Australia or other smaller markets, you will be impressed by the size and diversity of publishing and the booktrade in the United Kingdom and United States. And if you are based in the United Kingdom or United States, you may be a bit startled by the small scale of publishing in other countries, where often roles are focused on sales, marketing or rights for imported United Kingdom/​ United States editions. Honestly, I’d manage expectations about opportunities for career growth here in Australia. Senior positions are rare and the local market is shrinking. Publishing is a global industry –​so many Houses are headquartered in the UK or US –​so the geographic and time zone barriers of working in Australia are a challenge.The travel is an incredible opportunity, but to work in leadership from here you need to get used to working a night shift! Deborah Wyatt, Australia

3.  Move to where you want to live and look for a job when you get there Obviously this is risky, and if it doesn’t work out you can find yourself working in another industry, such as hospitality, that is not your dream, or worse, having to drag yourself home feeling like you’ve failed. (You haven’t, by the way. It takes guts to give it a go, and you’ll have added a whole lot of experience you can’t get sitting at home moping.) We said it’s risky. The obvious problem is this: you need to work harder to get your job in the first place –​you’ll be up against local candidates who know the local scene. You may be short on local knowledge and culture that potential employers don’t want to have to teach. Given two approximately equal candidates, why would they take a punt on the outsider who doesn’t know how things are done around here? Here’s how to reduce that risk a little, or maybe even a lot. By the way, we’re not saying this is fair. We’re saying it’s realistic. So, get realistic: double your research efforts to understand the organisation and context. Work your experience –​a year or two in your first job in publishing in your home country

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will go a long way to winning your second job in publishing, including in another country. Look for jobs or areas of the trade where your background will benefit the work. For example, do you speak multiple languages? Rights or sales working in the regions you’ve come from will make you an easy hire. Interested in English as a second language teaching? People in this area of educational publishing tend to be native English speakers living in Asia, South America and globally where English is taught. Visas are vital. Check out your visa situation before you construct a five-​year career plan around working in Turkey/​Sydney/​Edinburgh/​Boston. Many organisations only sponsor employees at senior levels. If you can’t get a long-​term working visa, can you get a travel visa that lets you work for short stints? You are less likely to be hired for a permanent role, but may be able to pick up casual short-​term work in publishing –​which may lead to greater things, and will certainly be a benefit for your CV in the future. Adapt your CV for the market you are approaching. Don’t assume recipients know what you are describing or will take the trouble to find out. • •

•

•

Contacting you: use email as primary contact, or get a local number for the region you are targeting Clean up local details, which may be unclear. So, for example, if you originally wrote in your (Australian) resumé Attended Holmesglen TAFE you might amend it to read: Attended Holmesglen Technical and Further Education College.Your CV should be easy to read for someone from your target country, not full of mystifying abbreviations and terminology. If possible, have a friendly local assist with this Highlight your language abilities, previous international experience, your ability to cope with change, your familiarity with the region where you are applying and think about how you can demonstrate the benefits of hiring someone with your background. Can you bring a fresh perspective, or experience from where you come from? Consider local spellings and customise how you communicate (so programme or program, analyse or analyze). At one interview I was told that the fact that I had taken time to travel after university definitely disqualified me from being a serious applicant; later in my career the fact that I had travelled alone around India proved to be the thing that tipped the balance in my favour against a more experienced candidate. Helen Fraser, former Managing Director, Penguin UK

Finally: be in it for the long haul. Employers may be concerned you will do a short stint and move on. Mention that you are committed to a long-​term (three or more years) stay in the country. Good luck! You have an amazing opportunity to build the career that you want, in the place where you want it.

20 YOUR FUTURE IN PUBLISHING

This last chapter is a way for you to plan your progress, and measure how you’re getting along. It starts with things we really wish we’d known and expands on making a career plan. Then we offer a few thoughts about what to do when things don’t work out the way you’d planned. Finally, we encourage you to look to the future –​your future –​and to take yourself seriously.

Five things we really wish we’d known Here are five things we wish we could go back in time and tell ourselves. As we can’t do that, we’re telling you and perhaps you can avoid making the same mistakes we did. (Of course, that simply means you’ll have to find some new ones to make instead…)

1.  Yes, you can do it Too many people spend too much time telling you that you can’t do this thing and could never do that thing.This may start with a Careers Counsellor either underestimating your commitment, or thinking that if they can talk you out of something, then clearly you’re not serious about it. Or maybe a parent or friend tells you not to aim so high –​perhaps for the best of intentions, because they don’t want to see you disappointed and hurt; or because they are jealous and don’t want to see you succeed. Such advice also, in our experience, tends to be passed on by those who did not try. Someone has to do it, so why not you? Aim high, have a bash at it and you’ll almost certainly not regret it. Regret more often comes from things not done, rather than things attempted.

DOI: 10.4324/9781003273424-21

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It can be hard to get that first foot in the door. Even if an entry-​level role comes up that isn’t in the area you think you’re interested in, take it. You’ll learn a lot and it will open doors to other opportunities. If your ambition is to be an editor, don’t be afraid to start in another part of the business. Kirsty Hine, Development Editor, Australia Be open-​minded: the first job you take is unlikely to be your dream role or ‘forever’ organization. Steps along the road all build a more rounded candidate for future moves. Anna O’Brien, Senior Director, Strategic Product Management,Wiley

2.  Find your mentor If you’re starting out in publishing and in a junior position, really get to know your job no matter how mundane the task and complex the processes and systems you’re using and find an experienced mentor (official or unofficial) who will show you the ropes. It will give you a solid foundation to build on. Amanda Cheung, marketing, publishing, UK I believe the basis of networking is having a mentor who acts in good faith to introduce you to people it will help you to know, including outside your organisation; who listens to your work problems when you need advice; and who doesn’t just want you to be their minion. Anon, publishing, Australia If you have someone you respect and to whom you can turn for advice and help in your career, you’re lucky. Make the most of that person. If you don’t, find one. A good boss, perhaps, or someone who takes an interest in your career. You’ll find them invaluable as a sounding board –​and a good mentor often does nothing more than nod sympathetically and murmur the occasional ‘Hm…,’ which can mean almost anything, from ‘Tell me more’ to ‘That’s interesting, what do you think that means?’ to ‘Are you sure you’ve not got that back to front?’ What you really don’t want is someone who takes you literally and gives you advice when you ask for it. You’re actually not after advice at all, though that may be what you ask for. Instead, you’re after someone who can give you just enough of a response so that you know they’re actually listening. Almost always you’ll end up talking yourself into the advice you need, at which point you can thank your mentor and praise them for their incredible wisdom. (All three of us speak as mentors who’ve learned the above the hard way; and all three of us have at various times had mentors who’ve done the above well, and in some cases not so well. Last week Steve met someone whose mentor had advised them to write completely the wrong book.)

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We continue to be amazed at the generosity of people in the publishing business, and although there are cold-​hearted exceptions, they really are exceptions. If you have someone in mind to be a mentor, call her up, say ‘Could I buy you a coffee? I have two questions and I’d really appreciate your thoughts,’ and away you go. And when she says, ‘Happy to do this again,’ take her up on it. The other reason they may agree is that in addition to being super-​busy, the person you approach is also likely to appreciate being asked (flattering) and may well relate to you as a representative of themselves at an earlier stage in their career, and decide to pay it forward. It’s also frankly enjoyable to look at the bigger picture, and think about why you enjoy working where you do, when day-​to-​day you are trapped in making complicated decisions in difficult meetings.You may be offering them a welcome break!

3.  Make friends and build your network Talk to your corporate friends. They know all the best jargon for backing yourself, selling yourself, how to ask for stuff, how to get what you want. Stephanie Carey, Associate Commissioning Editor, Joffe Books, UK People you work with now you’ll continue to bump into, and may work with again, for years and even decades to come. So be nice to them, (a) because you never know when you’ll find yourself needing them to be nice to you, (b) because they’ll be nice to you back, (c) because publishing is a notoriously small business, and while people job-​hop they seldom industry-​hop, and an argument with a key person could haunt you forever, and because (d) because you should be nice to people. You don’t have to be friends with everyone, though you will make friends now you’ll keep forever. Mutual respect is quite sufficient. So get networking. Start small –​connect with publishing hopefuls like you. If you can make a few friends in the same situation, then maybe think about going to an SYP event together or reaching out to some people at earlier stages of their career –​ they’re probably less intimidating! Even if you can only do a little bit of networking with people like you, you will pick up lots of tips and advice. Sign up to as many newsletters as you can -​e.g. The Publishing Post –​as these will give you tips, but also may offer a chance for work experience and networking with people at the same stage as you. Anna, Editorial Assistant, UK

4.  Take your career seriously You’ve bought1 a book on getting a job in publishing so you are already someone who is investing in your career. When you get your shot, don’t miss it. The reality of any job is that it can at times be boring and at times unrewarding, and there will always be parts you wish you didn’t have to do. Don’t let it show. Turn up on time,

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do your best, be polite and be positive. This may sound screamingly obvious, but we’re all human and wobble at times. Doing the right thing is good for your moral bank balance as well as your professional reputation. For more on this, books such as Richard Templar’s The Rules of Work: A Definitive Code for Personal Success show how those who always seem to get on, avoiding the backstabbing and the nonsense and succeeding at work, actually manage it.

5.  Have a plan If you were going to tackle Everest or run a four minute mile, you’d make a plan. Yet many, and perhaps even most, of us don’t really bother building a plan for our own careers. This needn’t be anything too elaborate, but a clear, written statement of your vision stating what you’re aiming to achieve and how you plan to achieve it. The writing down means you take it seriously and reviewing it regularly ensures you think about what you are trying to do and recalibrate as necessary.

HOW TO MAKE A PLAN IN FOUR EASY STEPS 1.  Plan to plan The world is divided into two kinds of people: those who divide the world into two kinds of people, and those who don’t. We’re in the former group, and we reckon there are two kinds of people in the world: those who plan, and those who don’t. Those who have goals are more likely to hit them.

2.  Make a plan Ask yourself four simple questions and see where they take you: • What is truly important to me? Career, satisfaction and the pleasure of a job well done, helping others, playing a part in an issue you are committed to, working in a large or small organisation, keeping busy… there are many reasons people do what they do. Be clear about what you want and you’re closer to getting it. There’s no ethical hierarchy implied here, but we do stress the importance of being honest with yourself. • What is my goal? Be honest about this and articulate what exactly you want. Maybe it’s being a copy editor specialising in science fiction. Maybe it’s being the CEO of a multinational publisher and making significant amounts of money. Maybe you’re not sure as long as you work with literary fiction.

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•   What do I need to get there? To become a copy editor you need a terrific eye for detail, a high degree of literacy and the ability to live frugally. To become a CEO you need ambition, drive and commercial acumen. Once you have a goal, you can work out the skills and experiences that will help you get there and where the gaps are. Either you start bridging that gap (training on time-​management, study copy-​ editing) or you accept that your goal is unrealistic, revisit it and create a goal that is both aspirational and achievable instead. • What’s the first step? That a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step is a cliché –​ because it’s true. Plan now for your future publishing career –​contribute to every publication you can, blog and podcast your socks off, network with those who can help you. Study subjects that are publishing/​media/​words relevant. Work on your writing. Learn all you can about the publishing industry. The great thing about this is you can start right away. In fact, there’s a school of thought that getting your stuff published early is by far and away the best thing you can do –​more effective, even, than getting a postgraduate degree in publishing or journalism: Like Nike, my message is Just Do It. Any journo who is after a job needs to show me a portfolio of work that they’ve had published (paid or unpaid), or bring me ideas and people they have teed up for interviews. Rather than turn up with qualifications and expect to be given work they need to bring something to the party -​which is vigour and pragmatism, rather than ideals. The quicker they get that, the quicker they’ll get their foot in the door. Get work experience as I’m more interested in your common sense than whether you have a PhD in English Lit.

3.  Be precise in your goal It gives great power to your plan to make it as real and tangible as you possibly can. Rather than vague, abstract goals (like ‘get into publishing’), set yourself as specific a set of targets as you possibly can –​such as, ‘Get a role as a fulltime employee in an editorial position in a publishing company, within two years.’ Now you know exactly what you’re trying to achieve. You also have something clear and uncompromising that you can work your way backwards from, and for which you can develop some short-​term goals along the way. Think about your career and the skills you need to develop. Sometimes the right sideways move is as valuable as a step up.

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4.  Revisit your plan It’s harder than it sounds to keep a plan alive. The temptation is to work on it till it gleams, then lay it to one side in your bottom drawer and never take it out again. Don’t worry, you’re not the only one. We all do it. So, part of your plan should include specific review dates –​every birthday perhaps. Then you can check on your progress. And every significant step on the way should include a date by which you’re aiming to complete it. That helps keep you on track. Rob Pegley, editor, Alpha Magazine, Australia Andy Jones, Director, feedBack Media & PR, UK Anon

When things go wrong Enjoy your work. If you’re not enjoying it, it might be the wrong role or the right role in the wrong environment. It’s OK to realise this in your early roles and look for an opportune moment to make a move.This experience, even if it feels like it’s been a negative one, will never be wasted. Caroline Prodger, Freelance Publisher, UK Forgive us if we’ve sounded too gung-​ho throughout this book, making it sound as if everything is fun and easy. We know it’s not, and we know that things can go wrong. Every job, every single job, asks you to work with people you wouldn’t associate with by choice; to do things that are boring or don’t come naturally to you; to spend hours and hours of your week away from your family, friends and interests. In publishing you are probably paid less than equivalent jobs in other industries, and there will be days and weeks (and months and years?) in which you wonder whether it’s worth it. If you change jobs every time you hit a problem, you’ll be moving every week; but if you stay in a toxic, dysfunctional role, your mental health will suffer. Here are some thoughts on common problems and what to do when things go wrong –​and how to tell when things are fixable.

Working with someone you hate Almost all publishing jobs operate in teams, and not everyone gets on all of the time. Here are things you can do: •

Read up or study on working with difficult people and dispute resolution techniques

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• • •

Try and understand where the person is coming from, conversely by getting to know them better (often the last thing you want to do) Ask your manager or mentor for support Sound off to friends. One challenge was working in unison with some of the other departments. Often there were instances of butting heads with design or production, for example, about direction. Everyone has a specialised area of expertise and sometimes the vision doesn’t align. Anon, publishing, Australia

Nervous, anxious or struggling with mental health There’s an ongoing negative refrain running through your head. Whose stupid idea was this in the first place? I can’t go through with this. Why did I ever think I could? I’m a fraud, they’ll see through me and they’ll laugh and point… Take a breath. Every person you meet has once experienced exactly the same feelings. In fact some of them may be experiencing the same feelings this very day, too. We all have up days and down days, and most people are far more patient and understanding than we think they will be. • •

If you’re having ongoing mental health challenges, please get help –​support is out there, and help helps If the problem is others’ bad behaviour –​bullying, sexual harassment, microaggressions –​speak to your Manager or Human Resources Director immediately, document everything and do not permit the perpetrator to be alone with you in work or out of it. Safety first. Get out if you need to.

Undervalued, underpaid, under stress You’re doing the work of three people, it’s unrelenting and you can’t get on top of it. Some publishing houses certainly have a reputation for cost-​cutting and people-​ cutting without cutting expectations. This is difficult, but what helps is taking control of the situation as much as you can: • • •

Talk to your boss –​work with her to prioritise your workload and make sure she knows what you cannot get to Talk to your mentor or friends –​are they really asking too much of you, and is there an end in sight Look at how your business itself behaves. Does that tell you anything about what works and what behaviour is considered acceptable? And is this a good fit for you?

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Wrong job/​wrong workplace If Sundays are the day you dread Mondays, it’s time to be honest with yourself. Did you take the wrong career path or just the wrong job? The distinction is important, because while you may have discovered that in fact you’re not a Sales Rep at heart, or an Editorial Assistant, you may simply have found a dysfunctional job/​boss/​ company. Every job/​boss/​company is different, and the same role elsewhere can be a whole lot of fun if you’re working with good people, have a half-​decent boss and are employed by a human company. After a year (at my first job), I reached a point of crying at my desk from the horror and stress of the job (low pay, unbearable workload, and a culture of outright racism, classism and homophobia), so I started applying for every [other] publishing job I saw. Hella Ibrahim, Editor, Australia

Stuck? If you are keen to move on but can’t see where your next job is coming from, ask your manager how you can further your work and skills to be ready for the next step. Make sure she knows you are capable and keen to move on and up –​don’t take it for granted that she will see you beavering away and know what you’re thinking. Publishing is a limited market, and there aren’t always too many options for internal promotion, especially in small businesses; you may need to look further afield. The biggest challenge I had (and the reason I left) was that there was no progression route for me. I’d reached Managing Editor before I was 30 and there was nowhere to go except the same role in different publishers. Alison Lawson, Head of Discipline of Marketing and Operations, Derby Business School, University of Derby, UK Getting stuck in a role where there seems no room for growth because everyone else is there to stay. That’s how I felt on my first magazine, where everyone loved their jobs and the subject so much, they seemed like they would never leave and I’d never get the chance to climb the ladder into a more senior role. I ended up having to move sideways on to other magazines to move my way up through the ranks. Lisa Coley, prev. Senior Editor If things are going wrong, you’ve tried everything you can and the problem hasn’t resolved, it may be time to make a rational decision to get out. No job is forever, and by moving on you refresh your working day, get to meet new people and

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learn more, and hopefully can use your experience to get a more advanced job and better pay.

Who do you want to be? Look around your circle of friends and family and you’ll almost certainly know someone who seems to be more alive and alert than the rest of us, and having an absolute blast –​the time of their life, quite literally. Take a look at what they do and you’ll see why. Try their approach on for a bit and see what happens. What do you see? You see someone who takes control –​because if you don’t, no one else will. It’s your life: own it. There are plenty of rules we live by that aren’t rules at all, they’re just habits or tradition or customs. If humanity had behaved like that we’d still be living in trees. Someone took it upon themselves to say, ‘Stuff this, let’s try it down there. It could work!’ You see someone who’s better at learning from mistakes than at not making them. Wisdom comes from experience, and experience comes from bad decisions. If you don’t take a risk you won’t do anything. It is suffering that makes us aware of the good that precedes it. Do you think about your toes outside the moment when you bang them hard against the leg of a chair? Leïla Slimani, novelist2 You see someone who knows their own worth –​because if you don’t believe, and really believe, that you’re valuable then it’s virtually certain that no one else will. It’s an odd thing, but true: people tend to take you at your own valuation. You see someone who plans to be somewhere and is in a hurry to get there –​ because the faster you go, the further you get. And since you’re determined you are going to get there anyway, you might as well get there as quickly as you can. You see someone who goes the extra mile –​as Stuart Jones, until recently Circulation Manager for Bauer Trader Media in Melbourne, Australia, puts it: ‘Seriously, always go the extra mile: it’s less crowded there.’ You see someone who’s loving what they’re doing and doing what they’re loving –​ because that’s what they’ve decided is important to them. That bit is much more important than whether they’re earning a ton of money or not.They might be (and it’s surprising how much money you can make when you’re doing what you’re passionate about, just because of the energy it brings you). But some of the happiest people we know (ourselves included) aren’t particularly well off. And some of the most miserable folk around are positively loaded. That tells you something. It doesn’t mean you can’t be rich and happy, and it certainly doesn’t mean you can’t be poor and miserable. All it means is that if you’re miserable, being rich won’t take the pain away.

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Conclusion: have the time of your life Know your stuff, work hard, have fun and be as good as you can be. Publishing doesn’t offer the best paid jobs in the world, at least not when you’re starting out, but they must surely be amongst the most fulfilling. Simon Bradley, Freelancer, UK Right then, that’s pretty much it. As you can tell, you’ve come to the end of this book, and it’s time for us to part ways. We hope you’ve enjoyed it as much as we’ve enjoyed reviewing our industries and lives within them. Publishing is a terrific career, and we still think that, having spent most of our professional lives working here. Remember to enjoy yourself. Publishing is one of the entertainment industries, and if you enjoy yourself, you’ll love what you do. Starr Jamieson, Sales Coordinator,Walker Books Australia

I love the creativity of it, I love ideas, I love words and language and I love the relationship you can build with authors and helping someone achieve their life’s ambition. To find previously self-​published authors with 11 reviews on Amazon and now with us [Joffe] they sell millions of e-​books… that’s great! Stephanie Carey, Associate Commissioning Editor, Joffe Books, UK One last thing before you finish. You’ll have noticed that we quote lots of friends and colleagues and their wisdom along the way, and we thank them for it. Now we’d love to hear your story, and even more so if it’s about your first or next job in publishing, how you got it and what advice you’d give others. Then perhaps in the next edition you’ll find your own words of wisdom quoted.We’d really love to hear from you: [email protected] Alison, Susannah, Steve

Notes 1 Hopefully, and if so, thank you. 2 The Questionnaire: Leïla Slimani,Weekend FT, 6 August 2022.

USEFUL ORGANISATIONS AND WEBSITES

UK • • • • • • • •

• • •

Association for Publishing Education: lists institutions where you can study specialist degrees, publishingeducation.org/​ The Bookseller: industry news and jobs, thebookseller.com/​ Book Careers: recruitment agents, training, job boards, bookcareers.com/​ BookMachine: training and jobs, bookmachine.org/​ Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading, ciep.uk/​ The Guardian Media Jobs, jobs.theguardian.com/​jobs/​media/​ Publishers Association: industry body, has a great careers section, publishers. org.uk/​ Publishing Post: a voice for people trying to break into the industry and also those who wish to learn more about the publishing industry, thepublishingpost. com/​ Society for Young Publishers: supports junior and aspiring publishing professionals, thesyp.org.uk/​ The Spare Room Project: helps with London accommodation for those trying to get into publishing, thespareroomproject.co.uk/​ Women in Publishing: promoting women and careers, womeninpublishing. org.uk/​

Australia • •

Australian Publishers Association: industry body, useful resources and job board, publishers.asn.au/​ Books+​Publishing: industry news, includes industry news and jobs (paywall), booksandpublishing.com.au/​

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• • • • •

FNPOC Network: Australian First Nations and People of Colour (FNPOC) in Publishing Network, email [email protected] Institute for Professional Editors Australia (IP Ed): Professional association for Australian and New Zealand editors, iped-​editors.org/​ Magazines Network Inc: magazines.org.au/​ Mumbrella: useful for media jobs, mumbrella.com.au/​ Small Press Network: group of small-​and medium-​sized publishers, and run the annual Independent Publishing Conference, smallpressnetwork.com.au/​

Global • •

International Association of Professional Writers & Editors, iapwe.org/​ International Publishers Association (IPA): book and journal publishers, internationalpublishers.org/​

Salary and employment surveys • • • •

UK: Book Publishing Salary Transparency –​crowdsourced salary survey: tinyurl. com/​5bn72rzv/​ UK: www.book​care​ers.com/​sal​ary-​sur​vey/​ Australia: Australian Publishing Wages –​crowdsourced salary survey: tinyurl. com/​4r8neby9/​ Australia: Employment in the Australian publishing industry in 2022, Books+​ Publishing (paywall) 24 August 2022

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Baverstock, Alison and Susannah Bowen (2019, sixth edition). How to Market Books. UK: Routledge Bowen, Susannah and Beth Driscoll (2022). Australian Publishing Industry Workforce Survey on Diversity and Inclusion. Sydney: APA Chowdury, Radhiah (2020). It’s Hard to Be What You Can’t See: Diversity Within Australian Publishing. Lessons in Diverse and Inclusive Publishing From the United Kingdom 2019–​2020 Beatrice Davis Editorial Fellowship Report. Sydney: APA Clarke, Giles and Angus Philips (2019, sixth edition). Inside Book Publishing. UK: Routledge Das, Simon, David Stam and Andrew Blake (2021). Innovations in Magazine Publishing. UK: Routledge Green, Alison (2018). Ask a Manager: How to Navigate Clueless Colleagues, Lunch-​Stealing Bosses, and the Rest of Your Life at Work. USA: Ballantine Books Green, Alison (2010). How to Get a Job: Secrets of a Hiring Manager. e-​book, USA: askamanager. org/​ Johnson, Miriam J. (2021). Books and Social Media: How the Digital Age is Shaping the Printed Word. UK: Routledge Publishers Association (2021). Diversity Survey of the Publishing Workforce. UK: publishers.org. uk/​ Publishers Association (2020). Top Tips for your CV. YouTube channel: www.yout​ube.com/​ watch?v=​1GaS​dRS7​mfU/​ Templar, Richard (2015). The Rules of Work: A Definitive Code for Personal Success. UK: Pearson

GLOSSARY OF KEY PUBLISHING TERMS

When you head off for your job interview and as you settle into your first job, it’s a bonus if you are familiar with basic publishing terminologies. advertorial Advertising copy that masquerades as editorial backlist Older titles on a publisher’s list that are still in print blurb A short sales message for use in leaflets or jackets bottom line Financial jargon referring to the figure at the foot of a balance sheet indicating net profit or loss break-​even The point at which you start making money. In a publishing context, reaching break-​even means that sufficient copies of a publication have been sold to recover the origination costs. The break-​even point in a mailing is reached when enough copies have been sold to recoup the costs of the promotion buyer The job title within a retail or wholesaling firm responsible for selecting/​ ordering stock. Large shops will have a different buyer for each department closed market Closed markets are created when local selling rights are sold to a particular agent. Booksellers in an area that is part of a closed market must obtain stock of titles from the local agent rather than direct from the original publisher. This arrangement is under threat from the internet which knows no geographical boundaries database marketing Building up increasingly complex information about your customers in order to serve their needs more precisely and sell more to them in the future. The long-​term aim of direct marketing database publishing Publishing from information stored on a database. Can be a fast method of producing complex material or material that dates quickly direct costs Costs attributable to a specific project, as opposed to general overheads or indirect costs. For example, the printing bill for producing a particular title

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is a direct cost; the photocopier used to copy proofs that are circulated is an indirect one direct marketing The selling of services directly to the end consumer –​including email, direct mail, telemarketing and house-​to-​house calling direct response advertising Advertising designed to produce a measurable response, whether through the email, mail, telemarketing, space advertisements and so on. This compares with direct promotion, whereby material is sent directly to the market which may, or may not, produce a direct response back dues (also called arrears) Orders for a new (or reprinting) publication before it is released. Publishers record the dues and fulfil orders as soon as stock is available. Checking the dues of forthcoming titles is a good way of finding out how well the reps are subscribing particular titles in bookshops and hence estimating sales extent Length of text. For example, for a magazine or book, extent: 192 pp (192 pages); for a leaflet, extent: 4 pp A4 (four sides of A4 paper) firm sale The orders placed by a bookstore from which the publishers expect no returns. In practice most publishers have to be flexible and allow at least a credit for unsold titles, to ensure goodwill and the stocking of their titles in the future. The opposite of sale or return frontlist This season’s new publications flush left (or justified left) Type set so that the left-​hand margin is vertically aligned, the right-​hand margin finishing raggedly wherever the last word ends font In common but incorrect usage, the range of characters for one size and style of type: ‘This book is set in Helvetica’. Properly the term should be typeface, and the term font refers to a set within a typeface –​for example, 12 point is a font, Helvetica is a typeface format The size of a book or page. In the UK and Australia, this is usually expressed as height × width, in the US and most of Europe as width × height gsm (or g/​m2) The measure by which paper is sold: grams per square metre house style The typographic and linguistic standards of a particular publishing house impression All copies of a publication printed at one time without changing the printing plates. Several impressions may go into the making of a single edition imprint The name of the publisher or the advertiser, which appears on the title page of a book, or at the foot of an advertisement. One publishing house may have several imprints, for example, Grafton is an imprint of HarperCollins, Puffin of Penguin indent 1. To leave space at the beginning of a line or paragraph; often used for subheadings and quotations. 2. To order on account, to ‘indent for’ in print Currently available. Enquirers will often ask if a particular title is still ‘in print’ ISBN International standard book number; a system of providing each edition of a book with an individual identifying number. The appropriate ISBN should appear on any piece of information to do with the book: it is essential for bookshop and library ordering; stock control; despatch and more

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ISDN International standard data number; use of a telephone line for the exchange of data between computers ISSN International standard serial number; a similar system to ISBN for identifying serial publications. The number allocated refers to the serial in question for as long as it remains in publication. It should appear on the cover of any periodical and in any promotion material Landscape A horizontal oblong format, that is, wider than it is deep (as opposed to portrait) limp (or C format) A format midway between hardback and perfect bound paperback; the spine is usually sewn but encased in card covers rather than boards list All the publications a particular publisher has for sale. Also used for a group of new publications, for example, spring list measure The width of text setting, usually measured in pica ‘ems’ (the m is chosen because it is the widest letter for setting) net The final total. In the case of a price or sum to be paid, the net price means that no further discount or allowances are to be made; net profit is the surplus remaining after all costs, direct and indirect have been deducted, as opposed to gross profit which is the total receipts, only allowing for the deduction of direct costs perfect binding 1. In book publishing, the most common binding for paperbacks. The different sections of the book are trimmed flush and the pages glued to the inside of the cover. This is more expensive than saddle stitching but cheaper than sewing. 2. In magazine publishing, a more expensive and therefore upmarket binding than saddle stitching. Sometimes called “square binding” (for the effect it has on the spine). point of sale Eye-​catching promotional material to be displayed with the product where purchases are made. For example, publishers produce showcards, posters, bookmarks, balloons, single copy holders, dump bins and counter packs for display by the till portrait An upright oblong format, that is, taller than it is wide (see landscape). pos Abbreviation for positive, for example, pos film; or point of sale positioning A marketing term for how you want your designated customer to feel about the product or service you are offering; the emotional relationship you want them to have with it print run The number of copies ordered from a printer pro forma invoice One that must be settled before goods are despatched, often used for export orders or where no account exists proofreading Reading typeset copy for errors. There is a standard series of proofreader’s marks which should be made both by the mistake and in the margin. Typesetter’s mistakes should be noted in red, and the author’s and publisher’s in black or blue recto The right-​hand page of a double-​page spread (with an odd page number). The opposite of verso

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remainder Verb, to sell off unsold stock at a cheaper price, often to ‘remainder shops’ such as discount book stores response device How the order or response comes back to the mailer, for example, link to the website to place an order, reply card or envelope retouching Adapting artwork or film to make corrections or alter tonal values returns Unsold stock of particular titles that may be returned to the publisher by the newsagent or bookseller with prior agreement. In magazine publishing, newsagents hate handling returns almost as much as publishers hate newsagents. In book publishing, reps often use the authorisation of returns as a bargaining point in persuading booksellers to take new titles rights The legal entitlement to publish a particular work. Permission is given by the copyright holder (usually the author or editor) to reproduce the work in one particular format. Subsidiary rights (for other formats [e.g. paperback; online], film, merchandising deals and so on) are then sold by either the firm’s rights manager, or the author’s agent. The major occasion for selling rights is the annual Frankfurt Book Fair roman Upright type (not bold), as opposed to italic royalty The percentage of list price or net receipt paid on each copy sold to the copyright holder, usually the author. There are regional variations in how long the royalties must be paid for. Royalties are paid to the author’s estate for 70 years after their death (in UK and usually in Australia); the manuscript is then out of copyright and may be reproduced by anyone without paying royalties run on Extra print after the print run, often used for promotions; also a copy-​ editing term for removing the hard return between sentences sale or return Newsagents, bookstores or wholesalers take titles ‘on sale or return’ on the understanding that if they have not been sold after a specified period (usually by the time the next edition comes out, for magazines; or 6–​12 months after ordering for books), and provided the titles are still in print, they may be returned for a credit. This leaves the long-​term financial risk with the publisher. The opposite of firm sale school supplier (also called educational contractor) A firm that supplies both schools and local education authorities with books and other educational products see safe Bookstores or wholesalers usually take books on a ‘see safe’ basis. They are invoiced immediately for the total taken; those they do not sell may be returned for a credit or exchange. While the immediate financial outlay is thus with the shop, they are protected by the practice of sale or return serif; sans serif A ‘serif ’ font (see font and typeface) has ‘handles’ on the letters, like the typeface used in this book; sans serif is the opposite specs 1. Short for type specifications. Designers may refer to ‘doing the spec’ by which they mean laying down the parameters of text design -​choosing a typeface and size. 2. The specifications for printing a job are all the production details (format, extent, illustrations, print run etc.) sent to printers for a quote

Glossary of Key Publishing Terms  215

subscribe 1. In magazine terminology, to buy a series of magazines in advance. Publishers love it because it means a guaranteed sale (you only print one copy to sell one copy), with cash up front. Newsagents are not so keen, since it takes them out of the loop. 2. In book publishing terminology, to secure orders from bookshops and wholesalers before publication date, either by phone or through a rep visiting.The results are recorded by the publishing house as dues terms The discount and credit conditions on which a publisher supplies stock to a bookseller or wholesaler. Terms will vary according to the amount of stock taken, the status under which it is accepted, what the competition is doing and how much the customers want the book. (See see safe, firm sale and sale or return) trade discount The discount given by publishers to booksellers and wholesalers on the price at which they will subsequently sell. The amount of discount given usually varies according to the amount of stock taken or the amount of promotion promised. ‘Short discounts’ are low-​scale discounts on products that are either very expensive (often those that are extensively promoted by the publisher directly to the end user) or those that are sold in sets (e.g. school text books) type area The area of the final page size that will be occupied by type and illustrations, allowing for the blank border that will normally surround text typeface The style of type, for example, Garamond, Helvetica: see font typescript The hard copy (usually a printout) of the manuscript or copy to be reproduced and printed verso The left-​ hand side of a double-​ page spread (even page numbers). The opposite of recto wholesaler An organisation that produces books in bulk, and stores them, in order to supply other retail outlets quickly and efficiently; often securing higher than usual discounts in return for the large quantities taken. The national bookshop chains, and outlets with large designated markets (e.g. library suppliers and school suppliers) will similarly demand substantial discounts from the publisher for large quantities of stock taken

INDEX

academic forum 52 academic publishing 47–​50; customers 48; how to succeed 48–​9 accounts 96 acquisitions editor (AE) 93–​4 admired person 206 advantage blindness 32 advertisers’ needs 59 advertising: agencies 167; online 69; revenues 68; selling space 85 advice for newbies 198–​203 aggregators 48, 51, 53 A-​level entries 99–​100 Amazon 41, 43, 69, 79 associated publishing jobs 96, 166–​7 attention-​seekers 54 authors 91; empowerment of 22; involvement in marketing 21; new vs established 40; partnerships 19; working with 93

book covers 12, 22, 25, 41 Book Depository, The 43 book events 24, 86, 158–​9, 200 book formats 18, 41 book podcasts 24 book presentation 22 book promotion 21 book reviews 41 book social media 24 books, importance of 7 booksellers 41 bookshops: survival of 24; working in 115 ‘brown discount’ 119 Burchill, Julie 62, 66n5 business cards 159 ‘business incubators’ 22 buyers 44–​6, 96 buying motivation 43 buzzwords 46

B2B (Business to Business) magazines 58 bad behaviour of others 204 behavioural interviewing 102, 176 behavioural questions 182 belonging 27, 31 benefits negotiation 192–​3 big media 69–​70 Bingle, Lucy 155–​6 Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) traineeship 28 blogging 81 bonus schemes 83

career fit 139 career path 10; wrong 205 career plan 201–​3; when things go wrong 203 charity work 107 Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) 116 Chowdhury, Radhiah 30–​1 Cocoa magazines 28 coffee date 161 colleagues: difficult 203–​4; helping to develop 153

Index  217

commercial magazines 59 commission schemes 83 commissioning editors 82, 92, 93–​4 company culture 139 consumer behaviour 42, 89 consumer magazines 57 consumer needs 24 content creation 116 content ownership 22 contract magazines 58 copy-​editing 64, 91 copyright 22 corporate communications, working in 167 cover letter 140–​4; checklist for 143; generic greeting 140; professional 141; sample 143–​4 ‘creatives’ 19, 76 curiosity 11–​12, 42, 99, 107 curriculum vitae see CV customer service 96 customers 41–​2, 48; insights of 89 CV 62, 121, 136n1; achievements 127, 135–​6; adapting for market 197; appearance 123–​5; career objective 125; checking 132–​3; contact details 124; education 130–​1; employers’ treatment of 122; employment history 126–​30; flexibility 121; format 124, 126, 130; gaps in 131–​2; guidelines for 123; length 124; non-​work experience 129; part-​time or freelance jobs 132; paying for 133; personal data 131, 136; personalised 121; photo 132; purpose of 122, 123; referees 131; responsibilities 127; sample 135–​6; selling yourself 128–​9, 172, 173; skills 126, 128, 130, 131, 135; summary 124–​5; training 131; transferable experience 130; volunteering 129, 132; words to use 125–​6, 129 deadlines 54, 55 determination, need for 5 development editor 91–​2 ‘different’ people 28, 37 digital publishing 67–​74; advantages of 69; customers 70; definition 68; how to succeed in 70–​1, 72; key players 73–​4; opportunities in 71–​2; protecting 69; shonkery 70; soul-​sucking 74 disaster planning 16–​17 discrimination 35, 36, 37 diversity 27, 28, 29, 32 dress codes 96; for interviews 178, 180

e-​book readers 2, 8, 18 editorial 89–​94; assistant 63; personality for 90; production 64; tasks 90 editorial/​sales divide 58, 97 education establishments needing publishing services 167 education salespeople 85 education system 29–​30 educational publishing 17, 44–​7; customers 44–​6; how to succeed in 46–​7 educational technology companies 46 Elsevier 56, 32 empathy, need for 43 employer red flags 33, 34 employers, researching 33–​4, 137–​8, 176, 177 equality and equity 27 extra-​curricular activities 102–​3 eye for detail, need for 55 feedback 173, 188 flexible working 10 foreign publication/​export rights 85 format rights 85 free magazines 58 Freedman, Mia 70 freelancing 10, 20, 91, 92, 115–​16; vs in-​house 166 funnel 177 Future Publishing 61 galleries 79–​80 general knowledge 9, 99, 101 ghost writer 13 gig economy 73 glassdoor.com 138, 177 glossary 211–​15 goals 201, 202 Google Alerts 164 government, jobs in 79 grammar, correct 154 graphic design 64, 105 Hachette 28 hire process 174–​5, 178–​88 home-​educators 17 inclusion 27, 29, 31, 32 independent publishing, future for 19–​20 informational interview 160–​1 in-​house editor 92 in-​house vs freelance 166 Instagram 68 intellectual property (IP) 22

218 Index

Internet users 68 interns 111; behaviour of 114–​15 internships 104–​5, 109, 110–​13, 118; applying for 112; making it work 112–​13; unpaid 109 interviewers’ bad behaviour 187 interviews 15, 117–​18, 174, 176, 178–​87; afterwards 187–​8, 189, 194; behavioural 102, 176; building rapport 180; dressing for 178, 180; drug test 187; feedback 188; going wrong 183; informational 160–​1; one-​way 147; personality test 187; preparation for 175–​8; questions 16–​26, 34, 176, 181–​2; questions to ask at 33, 140, 185; rejection 188; salary looked for 183–​4; second 185–​6; self-​presentation 180, 181; smiles and handshake 179; strategies 180–​1; tests and tasks during 186; thanking them 175; by video 179; wrapping up 184 job ads 137, 138, 145, 165, 183; on company websites 165 job application 117–​18, 137–​50; assessment by machines 145; checking attachments 149; folder for each job 148; making job specific 137; silence from employers 149; submitting 148–​9; after submitting 149–​50; whether to apply 138–​40 job description 145, 175, 176 job enjoyment 39, 206 job fit 138–​9 job offer, responding to 190–​1 job rejection 188 job search: advertised 163–​5; automated 164; not advertised 165; websites 163–​4 jobs: associated with publishing 96, 166–​7; in magazines 63; negative aspects of 203; non-​publishing 96; part-​time 117; search terms 164; variety of xiii journal publishing 51–​7; how to succeed in 53–​5; jobs in 51; new models in 52–​3 journalists 76–​7, 78 journals: customers 53; open-​access 52–​3; peer-​reviewed 52, 55; ‘predatory’ 53; society-​run 52 key accounts 85 kindle 2 language teaching 197 learning resources, free 23 learning, work-​based 104 lecturers 45, 46, 47

letters page 60 LGBTIQ+​ 32, 33 libraries 47, 53 lifelong learning 106–​7 LinkedIn 33, 115, 139, 150, 165; guidelines 155–​6; profile 134; success 154–​6 literary festivals 24 literature degree 9, 100–​1 Lonely Planet 39, 181 love/​money balance 73–​4, 119 magazine editor 61, 71 magazine journalism courses 62–​3 magazine publishing 85, 92; routes into 63–​5 magazine veteran interview 65 magazines: advertising sales 57; business 58; buyouts/​takeovers 59; cover price 57; decline of 57; how to succeed in 62–​6; media depictions of 58–​9; out of business 58; reader offers 61; responsiveness 60–​1; sense of community 61–​2; staff 58, 83; starting your own 61; types of 57–​8, 59; working in 59–​62; writing for 63 mamamia.com.au 70, 71 managing editor 92 marginalisation 31 marketing 86–​9; jobs in 86, 88–​9; personality for 87; and quality 25–​6; tasks 87 Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) 23, 46, 106 mental health 204 mentors 199 messaging 156, 160 microaggressions 28, 35, 36 micropublishing 116, 118 money /​love balance 73–​4, 119 multinationals, working for 195–​6 multi-​tasking 49 museums and galleries, jobs in 79 negotiating salary and benefits 191–​3; how to 193; when not to 192 networking 54, 151; accepting invitations 158–​9; building 157, 200; necessity of 152; opportunities 183; in person 157–​62; remembering names 158 news-​focus 76 newsletters 200 newspapers 78 niches, identification of 23 not-​for-​profit organisations 167 office politics 96–​7 one-​way interviews 147

Index  219

online content 18, 24, 45 organisations needing publishing services 167 outsourcing 58, 71; see also freelancing pandemic 16–​17; lockdown 2 Parsons, Tony 62 part-​time jobs 117 pay, by word or by time 70–​1 periodicals 51 personal brand 153–​4 personal interests 154 personal worth 191, 206 phone screening 175 politics, jobs in 79 portfolio of work 107, 202 problems and solutions 34–​8 product review sites 138 production: jobs 95–​6; personality for 94–​5; staff 94–​5 professional publishing 47–​50; customers 48; how to succeed in 48–​9 project editor 91–​2 project notes, keeping 176 proofing 64, 92 publicity manager 88 publicity, poor 55, 56 publisher/​journalist relationship 75–​8; mutual reliance 77–​8 publishers 94; distance from customers 79; personality of 11–​14, 92–​3; power of 3; role 2–​3; work of 75–​6 Publishers’ Association 28, 30, 38n3, 111, 120n2, 164 publishing courses 101; logistics 104; questions to ask 104–​5 publishing degrees 101; postgraduate 103–​6 publishing organisations: big firms 20; consolidation of 19, 20; reputational damage 20 publishing side hustles 115–​16 publishing, image of 28–​9 publishing, reasons to work in 6–​11 publishing, salaries in 11, 21, 184, 191 racism 35 reader habits and behaviour 42, 89 reader needs 59 reading widely 106–​7 recruitment agencies 168–​73; benefits for candidates 169; charges 168, 170, 173n1; CV tips 133; feedback from 169, 173; insider’s view 171–​3; interviews 187; red flags 170–​1, 172; role of 173; sharks

171–​2; used by publishing companies 168–​9; working with 169–​73 recruitment practices, restrictive 16 red flags 33, 34, 139, 170–​1, 172, 187 referees for CVs 115, 131, 189–​90; asking permission 190; ideal 189–​90 reference checks 189 rejection 30, 72, 188 rejection of later bestsellers 12 research manager 88–​9 researching companies 33–​4, 137–​8, 176, 177; and competitors 178 resume see CV reviewing 78 rights 214 rights sales 85–​6 salaries in publishing 11, 21, 184, 191 salary looked for 183–​4, 192 salary negotiation 191–​2 salary surveys 183, 188n1 sales 64–​5; jobs in 82–​6; working in 139 sales person 83, 84, 85; personality for 83–​4; territory of 84 selection criteria 122, 145; responding to 145–​7 self-​publishing 22, 116, 118; rise of 17–​18 selling yourself 144, 180, 181 serials 51 shareholders 19, 20 sharks 171–​2 situation/​action/​outcome (SAO) model 147 situation/​task/​action/​result (STAR) model 146, 176 slush pile 13 small companies, working in 40 social media 77; of candidate 154; for research 138; Twitter 68, 156, 178; use by small publishers 165 soft skills 145 software creation 95 Spare Room Project 110, 208 staff: with degrees 100; diversity advantages 29; feeling safe 29, 37 stickybeaks 13 stress 204–​5 structural editor 91 subbing 64 supermarket magazines 58 supportiveness 28, 31, 37 takeovers 73 teachers 45, 46, 47

220 Index

thriving at work 36–​8 trade publishing 40–​4, 58, 85; career in 43, 44 trade sales 40 transferable experience 130 translation rights 85 trend spotting 12, 42, 43 trend-​focus 76 Twitter 68, 156, 178 university 100–​3; changing course 101; growth in education 23; studying part-​time 100 video applications 147 video interviews 179

visa requirements 197 volunteering 129, 132 web-​based learning 23 Wilde, Oscar 25, 36 work diary 34 work experience 110, 117 work placements 110 work-​based learning 104 workforce statistics 30, 31 working for ‘exposure’ 118–​20 working overseas 195–​7 work/​life balance 190 Workplace Pride 32 Writers and Artists Yearbook 165 wrong job/​workplace 205