Publishing is still one of the most sought-after careers in the arts. But there is more to it than loving reading and wanting to be an editor of Booker Prize-winning literary fiction. Take the time to find out more about the different aspects of publishing and you’ll be sure to find a slot for your interests and skills.
· Did you love essay writing at uni or were you better at giving presentations or organising clubs? Are you good at design, or are spreadsheets and admin more your thing?
· Consider the different jobs: as well as editorial, there’s publicity, marketing, sales, contracts, rights, design and production.
· Don’t get fixated on fiction, consider non-fiction, academic presses, illustrated books or children’s publishing.
· Working in an agency could be a good way in, as you learn about every stage of the publishing process
· Even if you do want to end up as an editor it’s good to jump in anywhere, so try to get experience in anything to do with books/magazines/marketing/social media
· Learn about the different publishers (and agents) by looking at their websites and reading The Bookseller. Get the book Inside Book Publishing.
· Go to events organised by bookshops, go to literary festivals, talks etc
· Build your own profile – linked-in, twitter, instagram, TikTok, make your posts a bit bookish from time to time – and follow book people. That way you’ll hear about internships and opportunities. Follow #jobsinbooks on twitter.
· Look for paid internships in uni holidays and the first few months after you graduate. Work experience is for A level students. Otherwise go for positions advertised as ‘entry-level jobs’.
· It sounds obvious, but make sure your CV is mistake-free and labelled with your name, rather than CV4publishing.doc.
· The Big 4 publishers and some others have internship programmes and they do have new diversity criteria. For smaller publishers look at their lists, write to a named person, say you’d like to work shadow or intern for a couple of weeks and are free now/whenever.
· Send us your CV as we have opportunities throughout the year for paid interns