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Publishing

© The University of Manchester Careers Service 1

Contents

Introduction and industry developments ............................... 2

Where is the publishing industry based? ................................ 2

What roles exist in publishing? ............................................... 3

How do I find out about careers in publishing? ...................... 5

Widening diversity in Publishing ............................................ 6

Work Experience .................................................................... 6

Skills for publishing ................................................................ 7

Postgraduate study and short courses ................................... 8

Find advertised vacancies ....................................................... 8

The hidden job market ........................................................... 9

Temping Agencies ................................................................. 11

Books and journals in the Careers Service ............................ 12

Websites ............................................................................... 12

Events ................................................................................... 13

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Introduction and industry developments The publishing industry consists of around 30,000 employees, plus a significant number of freelancers. It’s worth remembering that the largest amount of opportunities in publishing is within non-fiction, including academic, children’s school literature, English language and Reference materials. Most entry level jobs in the industry will require an undergraduate degree and usually any degree discipline will be considered. If, however, you wish to work in a role related to a particular subject, such as Science or History then a degree in this area may improve your chances. Traditionally, the publishing industry has incorporated all forms of print media, including journals, books, magazines, databases, directories, business media, newspapers and more. However, online publishing has come to play an increasingly significant role in the sector in recent years and a large number of digital publishers have emerged. (See the UK Association of Online Publishers for more information at www.ukaop.org.uk) For most traditional publishers, online content has now become as important as their print media, and content such as digital magazines, multimedia and e-books are now commonplace. In addition, most publishers will now engage with their audiences through social media such as Facebook, blogs and Twitter.

Where is the publishing industry based? Geographically, the UK publishing industry is heavily concentrated in London, Oxford and the South East, with clusters of publishing houses in Edinburgh and other cities. In Manchester, the main publishers include: Graduate Prospects

A publisher of careers publications and online careers resources. www.prospects.ac.uk

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Manchester University Press An academic book publisher. www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk

Cillian Press www.cillianpress.co.uk/ An independent, Manchester based publisher, specialising in literary fiction and novels.

Carcanet A literary publisher specialising in poetry. www.carcanet.co.uk

Comma Press A literary publisher specialising in short stories. www.commapress.co.uk

In the North West generally, there are also a number of small, independent publishers, and information can be found at www.publishingnorthwest.co.uk. Additionally, the Northern Fiction Alliance (http://northernfictionalliance.com/ ) comprises eleven independent northern publishers who work together to represent themselves and their authors internationally whilst promoting regional diversity in publishing.

What roles exist in publishing? Typical entry-level roles for graduates include: Editorial assistant Production assistant Marketing executive Publicity assistant Rights assistant Graphic designer Sales executive

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Distribution Assistant Social Media assistant Detailed job profiles and case studies for various roles in the publishing industry, including information about typical responsibilities, qualifications and skills required, salaries and vacancy sources can be found at: www.prospects.ac.uk https://targetjobs.co.uk/career-sectors/media-journalism-and-

publishing/advice/315577-entry-level-posts-outside-of-editorial MYTH: “Editorial work is all about reading manuscripts and lunches with authors. The main quality necessary in order to get in is a love of books.” This is a common misperception of editorial work which, while it does include reading manuscripts, also involves (depending on the level) project management, researching trends, sales forecasting and day-to-day administrative tasks. Employers in the publishing sector say that while having a love of books is great, graduates also need to understand that publishing is a business like any other and show that they possess commercial awareness. Even if you think you really want to work in editorial, do check out other areas such as digital content, production, publicity, sales, marketing, distribution, finance and rights as well. These can often be just as rewarding, but as they tend to be less well-known, vacancies in these areas often attract fewer applications. Similarly, it can be worthwhile considering starting out in a smaller publishers to gain a rounded experience and insight into all aspects of the business, and is likely to be less competitive to break into than the national and international publishing companies.

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How do I find out about careers in publishing? The following sites offer useful careers information:

The Creative Industries Council

An overview of creative industries in the UK, with facts, figures and information about the publishing industry

www.thecreativeindustries.co.uk/industries/publishing

The Publishing Training Centre Provides some really useful careers information and training courses for the publishing industry.

www.publishingtrainingcentre.co.uk/

The Publishers Association Provides some useful Career profiles, as well as vacancies and a list of large publishers which offer internships. www.publishers.org.uk

Widening Diversity in Publishing Some publishing companies are working proactively to recruit more graduates from diverse backgounds. This is reflected in the few graduate schemes that are available (see page 10). Some other initiatives include: Changing the story–www.hachette.co.uk/landing-page/hachette/changing-the-story/ an overview of policies and initiatives that Hachette are undertaking to ensure workforce equality. Future Bookshelf https://thefuturebookshelf.co.uk/submissions/ – a scheme for budding writers who feel unrepresented in the publishing world, allowing them to present an unsolicited manuscript.

https://creativeaccess.org.uk/ Carole Blake Open Doors Project –http://blakefriedmann.co.uk/carole-blake-open-doors-project ten days of work shadowing, a programme

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specifically aimed at aiding candidates from a more diverse background to enter the publishing industry. Rare recruitment www.rarerecruitment.co.uk/ – aimed at helping businesses to diversity their workforce, their clients include Hachette.

You should always enquire to see if you can get travel to interviews, work experience or internships reimbursed; companies will not necessarily advertise this but will often reimburse when asked. Alternatively, consider asking for a Skype interview. If you are trying to establish an employers’ attitude to equality and diversity issues, it is worthwhile exploring their equality and diversity statements and company values.

Work Experience Getting some work experience in a publishing company is usually a prerequisite to getting your first graduate job in publishing. Work experience and internships in publishing companies can vary in length from a day or two of work shadowing, to a few weeks or even months. Some publishers may even offer students 1 day per week over a period of a couple of months or more to fit around your timetable. A few short periods of work experience amassed over a couple of years while you’re at university can be as useful as one long internship, so try to be flexible about what you are prepared to do. Because publishing is such a competitive sector, the majority of work experience opportunities are unpaid. To understand your rights and avoid the risk of being exploited, see our ‘Employment rights’ web pages. www.manchester.ac.uk/careers/findjobs/paytax/employmentrights/ Many entry-level publishing jobs involve a lot of admin work, and employers often ask for office experience, so getting a part-time job in an office as a student or doing admin temping work when you graduate can make it easier to get that first publishing role.

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Working in a book shop can also be a great way of getting experience for publishing and is still a fairly common route into the sector. Other ways to obtain relevant experience include volunteering at literary festivals, such as Manchester Literature Festival www.manchesterliteraturefestival.co.uk and find ways to contribute towards student media, such as the student newspaper, write blogs or become involved with the Society of Young Publishers.

Skills for publishing In addition to the transferable skills sought by most graduate recruiters (good communication skills, organisation skills, the ability to work under pressure and manage one’s time effectively etc), key skills for publishing include: Writing, editing and proofreading For editorial and marketing roles in particular, evidence of your ability to work with text (outside academic writing) is important. Consider writing for the Mancunion and other publications that welcome contributions from students, or start your own blog. A high level of attention to detail and good spelling and grammar is important for editorial jobs especially, and some publishers will test this as part of the recruitment process. See our ‘Journalism and Broadcasting’ Starting Point guide for further ideas, available in the Careers Service and online at: www.manchester.ac.uk/careers/startingpoints Digital skills As the internet becomes an increasingly important platform for most publishers to both deliver content and market themselves, employers increasingly look for graduates with basic web skills and an interest in social media. Having even a smattering of some of the following (in addition to a reasonable knowledge of Microsoft Office, internet and email) can be a valuable addition to your publishing-focussed CV:

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Coding, including HTML and XML CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) Content management systems Experience of producing digital copy i.e. Wordpress Dreamweaver Experience of using blogging software Experience of using Twitter (beyond following celebrities!) InDesign, Photoshop and Quark If you want to teach yourself basic web skills, w3schools.com offers free online tutorials which are suitable for the non-techie. www.w3schools.com

Postgraduate study and short courses Doing a Master’s in publishing is not essential, as work experience is the most important thing, but it can be useful as it demonstrates your commitment to publishing and also gives you an excellent understanding of all aspects of the industry and the job functions involved. Search for postgraduate publishing courses here: www.findamasters.com The Society for Editors and Proofreaders also has a list of publishing courses in higher education: http://sfep.org.uk/pub/train/publcourses.asp

Finding advertised vacancies The Careers Service’s vacancies on CareersLink

www.manchester.ac.uk/careerslink The Bookseller

A weekly trade magazine for the publishing industry (also available in our Careers Library) www.thebookseller.com/jobs

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The Guardian Publishing vacancies can be found in the newspaper on Mondays and Saturdays. http://jobs.guardian.co.uk/jobs/media/publishing

Bookcareers.com Independent careers consultancy specialising in the book industry. As well as advertising vacancies, bookcareers.com allows you to upload your CV to the site for employers to view. www.bookcareers.com/job-seekers

Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies This well-known publishing course provider lists jobs and work experience opportunities on its website. http://publishing.brookes.ac.uk/

Some publishers advertise vacancies on their own websites and/or on Twitter rather than on job sites, so Develop a list of publishers that you’re interested in working for and

check their websites regularly for opportunities Follow publishers on Twitter.

The hidden job market Most work experience opportunities and many entry-level graduate jobs in publishing companies are never formally advertised, so the more you can do to network with publishing professionals and uncover hidden jobs, the higher your chances will be of finding opportunities. You could try the following approaches: The Manchester Network (www.network.manchester.ac.uk/ ) is the University’s online professional networking service and allows students the opportunity to connect with alumni who now work in your area of interest. If you register with the service you can contact professionals directly to ask their advice and begin to build your network of contacts.

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LinkedIn has an ‘Alumni’ function for the University which allows you to find previous students who are now working in publishing with whom you can connect. Speculative applications; combine applying for advertised vacancies with identifying publishers you are interested in, check their websites and send a tailored CV and covering letter ideally to a named person (ring them if necessary). If you are patient and resilient (it’s normal to get a few ‘no replies’ and flat rejections along the way), this approach can be very effective indeed, as long as your applications are high quality and well-targeted. You can also enhance your network and exposure to opportunities by using Twitter and Facebook to follow relevant companies and individuals. One approach to gain exposure could be to write a blog and promote this to your network. Of course face to face networking is another effective way to build up your database of contacts. Ensure that you are attending relevant events, such as those organised by the University and the Society of Young Publishers as well as book launches to maximise opportunities to meet with people who work in the industry. For information about how to write speculative applications, build your contacts and use social media for jobsearching, see our ‘The Job search guide’, available from the Careers Service, or online at: www.manchester.ac.uk/careers/networking

Are there any publishing graduate schemes? There are now very few formal graduate schemes for publishing and those that do exist tend to run on a fairly ad hoc basis and only take a handful of graduates each year. Amongst those schemes that are available are:

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Harper Collins BAME graduate scheme (London) Penguin Random House run a 6 month traineeship, ‘The Scheme’ which is a positive action initiative aimed at BAME students or those from a lower socio-economic background. Cambridge University Press – a fifteen month rotational programme which usually has a very narrow window for entry, around January time. Hachette – offer a 12 month BAME traineeship By far the most common route for graduates into publishing, however, is an entry-level ‘assistant’ role. Be flexible One experienced publisher told us that they recommend graduates take a job in publishing if it comes up, even if it is not in the area you want to work in, as there is a lot of internal moving around and many job opportunities come once you are actually in an organisation. Also don’t just focus on the ‘big name’ publishers, as competition can be fierce and experience with a small publishing house can often provide a really effective way to learn the business at the start of your career.

Temping Agencies Temping through an agency (especially if you are in London) can be a great way to get your first job in publishing and it can open the door to something more permanent. Relevant agencies for the publishing industry include: Inspired Selection

www.inspiredselection.co.uk Media Types

www.media-types.co.uk

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See also: Agency Central

Allows you to search for recruitment agencies linked to a specific sector. www.agencycentral.co.uk

Books and journals in the Careers Service

Inside Book Publishing, Routledge The Bookseller – a weekly journal for the publishing industry

Websites Women in Publishing

This organisation works to promote the status of women in publishing and offers useful networking opportunities. Student membership is available. www.womeninpublishing.org.uk

The Society of Young Publishers This society holds careers events and an annual conference. Again, student membership is available and it can provide valuable networking opportunities. There is also now a sub-group for the North and Midlands, which meets regularly and organises bi-monthly events. www.thesyp.org.uk

Equality in Publishing An organisation funded by the Arts Council which aims to promote equality in the publishing industry. The site provides information about careers in publishing as well as courses and vacancies. You need to register (no cost) to access the site content. http://equalityinpublishing.org.uk/

Periodical Publishers Association Trade association for the UK magazine and business media industry. They also accredit courses in magazine publishing and journalism. www.ppa.co.uk

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Other Tips:

The Judith Butcher Copy Editing book is an excellent resource, covering all aspects of the editorial process.

Writers and Artists Year Book gives industry advice for writers and artists.

It can be advantageous to gain an understanding of Markup symbols – see www.sfep.org.uk/standards/standards-in-proofreading/

As mentioned earlier in the guide, gaining experience in Digital copy and coding is invaluable within this increasingly digital sector and familiarisation with ‘The BookSeller’ magazine can help you to build on your commercial awareness.

Events The Careers Service usually runs a ‘Careers in Publishing’ event at least once a year. Check our events listings (and sign up for email alerts) via CareersLink: www.manchester.ac.uk/careerslink ‘Get a job in publishing’ has previously been run by the Northern Fiction Alliance in association with Manchester Metropolitan University in late April. There is a cost associated with tickets but some sponsored tickets are normally available for students. Keep an eye on the MMU website and Eventbrite for further information. This publication is copyright The University of Manchester and may not be produced wholly or in part for commercial or non-commercial purposes without prior permission