Getting Noticed: The Impact of My Blog

My blog officially ‘went live’ six months ago, and I’m finally starting to see that my efforts are not going unnoticed. I now have a growing network on Twitter (Suzanne Collier started following me the other day!) and readers are even getting in touch with me via email. But one of the most exciting developments was being approached recently by two separate organisations asking whether I’d be interested in being interviewed and featured on their websites. Of course, I jumped at both of these opportunities, so I’ve listed the links below for any of you who’d like to read them.

My first interview was with Publishing Trendsetter, a website for young professionals in the publishing industry:

‘A Look Across the Pond: Breaking into Publishing in the UK’

And the second interview was with Trident Media, one of the many media outlets run by the University of Hertfordshire’s Students’ Union:

‘Life as an Alumnus: The Publishing Industry’

More blog posts are on the way very soon!

Thanks for reading.

Gemma

Twitter: @Path2Publishing

December’s Job Vacancies and Internship Opportunities

Starting your job hunt over Christmas? Check out the latest opportunities in publishing:

• The Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET), one of the world’s largest engineering institutions, is looking for an Editorial Assistant to join their Books Editorial and Production team. The role will involve tasks such as, managing the signing of contracts, preparing manuscripts for production, ensuring accurate payment of royalties, and ordering gratis and review copies. The position is based in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.
• Interested in selling books? Bloomsbury is recruiting an International Sales Assistant to work across all of their publishing divisions. The successful candidate will be tasked with selling books in all territories, liaising with customers, providing marketing material, and creating promotional sales kits and regular newsletters. The role is based in London and the closing date for applications is Wednesday 16th December.
• Bloomsbury also has a vacancy for an Assistant Editor to join their Adult Editorial team and work on their award-winning cookery and lifestyle list. The role will involve providing editorial and administrative support, liaising with authors, writing cover copy, assisting Production with reprint corrections, and clearing permissions. The candidate must have a minimum of one year’s editorial experience. The deadline for applications is Friday 18th December.
• Sage Publications, an academic book and journal publisher in business, humanities, social sciences and STM, is looking for an Editorial Assistant. The successful candidate will be working on Sage’s STM journals and the role will involve providing support to two editors, arranging meetings and taking notes, and supporting the launch of new journals. The position is based in London and the closing date for applications is Thursday 10th December.
• Are you passionate about children’s books? HarperCollins is looking for an Editorial Assistant to join their award-winning Children’s team. The position will involve tasks such as, liaising with authors, preparing rejection letters, monitoring submissions, copy writing sales and marketing material, proofreading jacket copy, preparing prelims, and sending cover proofs to authors. The role is based in London and the closing date for applications is Friday 11th December.
• Taylor & Francis Group, a leading academic publisher, has numerous Editorial Assistant vacancies in the following subject areas: Business, Management and Accounting, Geography and Tourism, and Sociology. The roles will involve managing the peer review process, drafting author contracts, preparing manuscripts for handover to production, and writing promotional copy for marketing materials. These positions are all based in Milton Park, Oxfordshire, and the closing date for applications is early January 2016.
• Edward Elgar Publishing is seeking an Assistant Editor with a keen interest in social sciences to join their academic book publishing team. The position will involve guiding proposals through the peer review process, handling contractual arrangements, and other administrative work. The role is based in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, and the deadline for applications is Friday 11th December.
• Profile Books, a London-based non-fiction publisher, is offering eight-week, full-time internships. They are currently accepting applications for positions opening in May 2016. The internship will cover all areas of publishing including administration, publicity, marketing, and editorial. All interns are paid the London Living Wage. Interviews will take place in January 2016.
• Little, Brown Book Group is running an Editorial Work Experience scheme for graduates looking to build up industry experience on their CVs. Placements last two weeks and will cover all aspects of entry-level work in the publishing industry.
• Little Tiger Press, a small children’s publisher based in London, is offering work experience placements in editorial, design, and marketing and publicity. Unfortunately the placements are unpaid, but expenses of up to £10 per day are covered.

As always, if you do decide to apply for any of these opportunities and would like some advice on how to write stand out covering letters and CVs, please feel free to get in touch: pathwaytopublishing@gmail.com.

October’s Job Vacancies and Internship Opportunities

Job vacancies

• Cambridge University Press is seeking a Designer to work on their English Language Teaching (ELT) books. The role involves creating cutting-edge covers, text layouts and digital concept designs. The position is based in Cambridge and the closing date for applications is Wednesday 28th October.
• The Children’s Group within Quarto Publishing is looking for a Design Assistant. The chosen candidate will be working on their children’s fiction and picture books and should have a thorough knowledge of InDesign, Photoshop and Acrobat. The deadline for applications is Friday 23rd October and the position is based in London.
• Bluebird, an imprint of Pan Macmillan which publishes wellness and lifestyle books, is advertising for a Junior Publicist. The role involves planning PR campaigns for Bluebird titles across all media platforms and building relationships with media contacts to maximise publicity. The position is based at Pan Macmillan’s King’s Cross office and the closing date for applications is Wednesday 21st October.
• Floris Books, an independent publisher based in Edinburgh, has a vacancy for an Editorial Assistant. The successful candidate will be editing and proofreading manuscripts, helping to maintain editorial schedules, assessing manuscripts, liaising with authors, and briefing design and production on cover designs and cover blurbs. The position is based in Edinburgh and the closing date for applications is Friday 30th October.

Internship opportunities

• Jacqui Small Publishing, an imprint of Quarto Publishing based in London, is offering an eight-week editorial internship. The placement will involve gaining picture permissions, editing text and liaising with authors. The deadline for applications is Tuesday 20th October with a suggested start date of Monday 26th October. For more information please contact Hannah.bugg@quartouk.com.
• Story Terrace, a book publisher specialising in biographies, is seeking a part-time editorial intern for a minimum of two months to support their managing editor in London. The internship will involve assisting with the editing of books, writing blog posts and updating their website. Travel expenses and lunch are paid, and the closing date for applications is Monday 19th October. Applications should be sent to Emily McCracken, the managing editor, at emily@storyterrace.com.
• Sheldrake Press, a London-based book publisher, is offering publishing traineeships. The placements will cover all aspects of publishing, including editorial, sales and marketing, production and rights. Travel and lunch expenses will be paid and the closing date for applications is Friday 6th November.
• Sweet & Maxwell, one of the UK’s leading legal publishers, is running an editorial work placement scheme. Placements involve supporting editors, proofreading, copy editing and administrative support, and usually last two weeks. Sweet & Maxwell are looking for applicants interested in undertaking placements throughout November and from mid-January 2016 onwards. If you’d like to apply, send your CV and covering letter to smg.workplacementscheme@thomsonreuters.com.

If you do decide to apply for any of these opportunities and would like some advice on writing stand out covering letters and CVs, please feel free to email me: pathwaytopublishing@gmail.com. I’m more than happy to help!

Internship and Job Opportunities (and lots of them...)

Job opportunities

• Jessica Kingsley Publishers, whose books cover subjects such as autism, social work and mental health, is looking for a Production Editor. The position involves handling manuscripts through the entire production process, including liaising with copy-editors, proofreaders and indexers. The role is based in their London office and the closing date for applications is Wednesday 30th September.
• Usbourne Children’s Books is seeking a full-time Editor/Writer to work on all stages of their award-winning illustrated books for children. The ideal candidate must be able to write flawless, grammatical English. The position is based in London.
• Cambridge University Press has a vacancy for a Journals Production Administrative Assistant. The role involves sending proofs out for typesetting, assisting with production schedules and routine administrative tasks. The position is based in Cambridge and the closing date for applications is Wednesday 30th September.
• The leading international academic publisher, Taylor & Francis is advertising for an Editorial Assistant to work on their Psychology list. The position involves preparing manuscripts for handover to production, drawing up contracts, writing cover copy, and managing the peer review process. The role is based in Milton Park, Oxfordshire and the deadline for applications is Friday 2nd October.
• Interested in book design? Palgrave Macmillan is looking for an Assistant Designer for a period of 9 months. The position involves preparing jacket designs for a range of professional and scholarly monographs. The role is based in Palgrave’s King’s Cross offices in London and the deadline for applications is Sunday 27th September.
• Egmont Publishing is advertising for an Editorial Assistant to work on their fiction titles. The position involves providing administrative and editorial support to the fiction team and includes tasks such as updating publishing schedules, writing copy, proofreading, checking proofs and liaising with authors. The role is based in London and the closing date for applications is Friday 25th September.

Internship opportunities

Here are a few publishing houses you might like to approach if you’re looking for internships/work experience:

• Old Castle Books is offering short-term unpaid work experience placements based at their Harpenden office in Hertfordshire. Successful candidates will be involved in all areas of the publishing process, including market research, developing sales material and updating websites. Travel expenses are covered.
• The London-based children’s publisher, Little Tiger Press offers work experience placements in editorial, design, and marketing and publicity. Typical tasks include reading new picture book submissions, writing press releases, and publicity research. Placements usually last two weeks and expenses are covered.
• Intellect Books, an independent academic publisher based in Bristol, offers graduate work placements to current undergraduates and recent graduates. Interns are tasked with updating databases, proofreading and marketing. Placements are unpaid and usually last four weeks.
• Quarto Publishing Group is offering an 8-week internship with a start date of Monday 28th September. This is a rotating placement which involves work on their three imprints: Frances Lincoln, Aurum Press and Wide Eyed Editions. You will gain experience in editorial, publicity, marketing and sales, and will be working closely with their Editorial Assistants. The internship is based in London and is unpaid, but expenses are covered. If you want more information or want to apply for this role, email Hannah Bugg at Hannah.bugg@quartouk.com.

I’d also like to add that I’m not in favour of unpaid internships, but I understand how useful this kind of industry experience can be. When looking for internships, please do consider setting a limit on how much time you’re willing to work for free.

If you do decide to apply for any of these opportunities and would like some advice on writing stand out covering letters and CVs, please feel free to email me: pathwaytopublishing@gmail.com. I’m more than happy to help!

The Start of a Career: My First Six Weeks as an Editorial Assistant at Palgrave Macmillan

With a dry mouth, sweaty palms and shaking hands, I sat in the reception at Palgrave Macmillan, waiting to embark on my career in publishing. I had mixed emotions; from excitement and eager anticipation, to nervousness and a crippling fear.

What if I’d made the wrong decision? What if this industry wasn’t for me? What if I ended up hating the role?

That moment was six weeks ago. And those fears – those last minute shreds of doubt – they did not become a reality.

Instead, six weeks from that moment, I can now say that my decision to go into publishing and accept the role at Palgrave has been the best decision I’ve made in a long time. Choosing this career path may have meant completely going against what my parents wanted, but despite how agonising it was, I'm glad I made that choice because, finally, I made a decision – a decision that was right for me.

The past six weeks have been a HUGE learning curve. From meeting the editorial team and starting to build good working relationships, to being introduced to authors and becoming a part of the publishing process for their titles – I’m really surprised at how much I’ve learnt at Palgrave already. I now have a real appreciation for the work that goes into the publication of each and every book.

But just in case you’re wondering what my role as an Editorial Assistant actually involves, here are just a few of my main responsibilities which I’ve been getting to grips with during my first six weeks in the role:

• Managing the peer review process – As Palgrave is an academic publisher, their book proposals go through a peer review process in order to ensure that material is of a high quality and is suitable for publication. Managing this process involves approaching academics in the field to supply us with reviews of book proposals. I also organise payment for academics who provide us with reviews (either in cash or in books). This is a task I really enjoy; it’s interesting to read the feedback from academics and see whether a book idea is actually viable.

• Preparing manuscripts for handover to Production – This is probably the most important and time consuming task I’m responsible for. When a manuscript comes in from an author, it is my job to prepare it for handover to Production. This involves checking that all permissions have been correctly obtained (on images, tables and figures), preparing the handover forms for Design and Production (including the chosen cover image), checking the word count and that all chapters are present, assessing the quality of the language to allocate the correct level of copy-editing required, and putting together the prelims. This can be a lengthy process, but it’s so rewarding to hand a manuscript over to Production and then see the book slowly start to take shape.
• Cover image research – All of our standard monographs generally have an image-based front cover design and it is one of my responsibilities to carry out image research and get authors thinking about potential images for the cover of their book. I would say this is definitely one of the most fun parts of my job. It’s going to be so exciting to see a book published with a cover image I’ve researched and found myself – hopefully this moment won’t be too far away!

• Proofing, editing and finalising cover copy – Most of our authors write the cover blurb for their book themselves. Once we’ve received this, it is my job to proof and edit the cover copy, and then get it finalised by my line manager. The finalised cover copy is sent to Design to lay up on the cover proofs which I then have to check again one last time. As someone who’s always enjoyed proofreading and copy-editing, this is one of my favourite tasks. I find it extremely satisfying to correct book blurbs and make sure that cover proofs are error free.
  
  

As you can see, my responsibilities as an Editorial Assistant are extremely varied, but that’s what I enjoy most about my role. Although this does make it stressful at times, it’s rewarding to work so closely with authors on all aspects of their book and see it evolve into the final product.

If you are considering applying for an Editorial Assistant position, I hope this post has given you more of an insight into what a role like this would actually involve. Academic publishing is such a rewarding and fascinating industry, I really would encourage you to just go for it!

New Opportunities in Publishing...

• Want to start a career in book design? Headline Publishing Group is seeking a Junior Designer to join and support its Creative Department. The role involves assisting with the production of cover visuals and preparing artwork for production. This position is based in London.
• Saqi Books, an independent publisher of general interest and academic books on North Africa and the Middle East, is offering eight-week part-time internships to committed individuals interested in publishing. The placements are based in London and involve working in editorial, marketing and publicity.
• For anyone interested in journals publishing, Cambridge University Press is looking for an Editorial Assistant to work on their Humanities journals list. The role involves providing administrative support to a team of editors. This position is based in Cambridge and the deadline for applications is Saturday 29th August.
• Little Tiger Press, a publisher of children’s books, is looking for an Editorial Assistant to work on their picture books. The chosen candidate will be expected to write cover copy, proofread material, conduct market research, and carry out general administrative duties. The position is based in London and the closing date for applications is Monday 24th August.
• Peter Lang, an international academic publisher, is offering a four-week work experience placement for a graduate or postgraduate student interested in publishing. The role will involve working in publicity, marketing and sales, and will also provide an introduction to production and editorial workflows. The position is based in Oxford and the successful candidate will need to be available from Thursday 10th September to Friday 9th October.
• Oxford University Press is advertising for a Marketing Assistant to join their Education Division. The chosen candidate will assist the team with a range of sales and marketing activities. The position is based in Oxford and the closing date is Monday 31st August.

The Latest Publishing Job Vacancies This Week...

• Eager to work in children’s publishing? Andersen Press, a successful publisher of children’s books, has an opening for a Publicity and Marketing Assistant. The role involves working on events, press campaigns and marketing. The position is based in Central London and the deadline for applications is Monday 10th August.
• The Taylor & Francis Group is seeking an Editorial Assistant to work on the Routledge Mental Health books list. This role would involve tasks such as handing manuscripts over to production, writing copy and commissioning peer reviews of proposals and manuscripts. The position is based in Milton Park, Oxfordshire and and the closing date for applications is Friday 31st July.
• For anyone interested in rights, Oxford University Press is looking to recruit a Rights Assistant to join their Rights Department in the Translations and Reprints Team. The role is likely to involve drafting contracts and rights research. The position is based in Oxford and the deadline for applications is Sunday 2nd August.
• Palgrave Macmillan, a leading global publisher in the Humanities and Social Sciences, is advertising for an Editorial Assistant to join their Scholarly Division in the Economics and Development Studies team. Key responsibilities include managing editorial processes and the peer review process, preparing manuscripts for handover to production and liaising with authors. The position is based at their new King’s Cross offices and the deadline for applications is Wednesday 5th August.
• Lion Hudson, a publisher of adult’s and child’s fiction inspired by the Christian faith, is seeking an International Sales Administrator to support the sale of their books to distributors and publishers worldwide. The position is based in Oxford and the closing date for applications is Friday 14th August.
• If you’re looking for a role within educational publishing, Hodder Education is looking for an Publishing/Operations Assistant to support their Publishing and Editorial teams. The position is based in London and the deadline for applications is Friday 31st July.

Internship & Job Opportunities...

First of all, here are some graduate job opportunities I’ve come across this week:

• Do you have a passion for children’s books? Make Believe Ideas, a small children’s publisher, has an exciting opening for an Editorial Assistant/Junior Editor. The position is based in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire and the deadline for applications is Friday 31st July.
• Cambridge University Press has an opening for a Production Assistant (12-month contract) to help provide administrative assistance to their Academic Production team. The position is based in Cambridge and the deadline for applications is Friday 24th July.
• If you’re interested in STM publishing, the Institution of Engineering and Technology is looking to recruit a full-time Editorial and Production Assistant (contract ending in December 2015) to manage the journal peer-review and production processes. The IET’s offices are based in Stevenage, so this is a great opportunity for anyone who lives in Hertfordshire or Bedfordshire.
• SAGE Publications is looking for an Editorial Assistant (Research Methods). This position is based in London and the deadline for applications is Friday 31st July. (To see the details of this position click on the link above, then just scroll down and click on the ‘view all open job positions’ link.)

If you’re looking for publishing internships, here are a few opportunities I’ve found recently:

• Profile Books, a non-fiction publisher based in Central London, runs an eight-week, full-time internship for graduates which is now open for applications. The internship involves working in editorial, administration, marketing and publicity, and all interns are paid a living wage.
• If you’re interested in academic publishing, Rowman & Littlefield International is offering a 6–8 week editorial internship starting in late July/early August. The intern will carry out editorial tasks and provide support to commissioning editors. This is a paid internship based in Kennington, South London and the deadline for applications is Monday 20th July.
• Plexus Publishing, a publisher of illustrated non-fiction books, is looking for an Editorial Assistant Intern to provide administrative and editorial support to their Editorial Director. The internship is based in Clapham, London and the deadline for applications is Friday 31st July.

Success! How I Secured My First Job in Publishing as an Editorial Assistant

My hunt for my first job in publishing officially started when I finished university in May, and after trawling through publishers’ websites, sending out triple-checked covering letters and CVs, and interviewing at a few pretty big academic publishing houses, I’ve recently accepted my first publishing job at Palgrave Macmillan as an Editorial Assistant. I feel like my hard work has finally paid off and I cannot wait to take the first step in my publishing career in a couple of weeks’ time.

But just in case you’re wondering how I reached this point (and how you can too), here are some of the most important things I did which helped me land my first publishing job:

Researched the industry

Technically, the process began for me during my first year at university three years ago when I was already considering the possibility of a career in publishing. Knowing very little about the publishing industry at the time, I decided my first step would be to start doing some research. The first, and by far the most useful, book I came across was How to Get a Job in Publishing by Alison Baverstock, Susannah Bowen and Steve Carey. This book provided me with the introduction to the industry I really needed. It discusses all the different types of publishing (trade, professional, education, academic, journal and magazine) as well as the different job roles within publishing (editorial, sales, marketing, production and rights), helping you to find out which areas of the industry might best suit your skills and interests. It also has some great advice on how to find internships, write flawless covering letters and CVs, and impress in interviews, as well as lots of useful tips from professionals inside the industry. So this book really is a great place to start if you’re eager for a career in publishing – it definitely helped me land my first job in the industry!

Completed internships

After reading the book mentioned above, I realised that completing an internship or gaining work experience was a must if I wanted to have any chance of finding a job in this notoriously competitive industry. I was lucky enough to complete two editorial internships at a small academic publishing house during my summers away from university, and these placements really were invaluable. Although unpaid, interning gave me a thorough insight into the editorial side of academic publishing and helped me catch the eye of prospective employers when I started applying for jobs after university. They were also a great way of proving my unwavering commitment to the industry.

There are a few things to think about, however, before you start applying for internships or work experience. First, these placements are often unpaid, so they might not be an option for everyone. Second, as tempting as it is, don’t just apply for every single opportunity you come across. You should think about which type of publishing you want to go into and which department you want to work in. Yes, any experience is good experience, but it will be much more valuable in the future if it’s an area you actually want to work in! You might want to look for marketing internships at non-fiction trade publishers, for example. So once you’ve considered what areas you’re interested in, try and find a handful of small publishing houses within these areas (don’t just go for the big names), see what internship/work experience opportunities they offer, and tailor your covering letter and CV for every role you apply for. This method brought me some great results and gave me lots of relevant industry experience.

Created standout covering letters and CVs

Once I’d completed a couple of internships and finished university, I was ready to start applying for full-time jobs in publishing – this meant creating the perfect covering letter and CV for each role I applied for.

With my covering letter, I didn’t want it to look like I was just sending out the same standard letter to each publishing house. So instead, in every letter I sent out, I not only highlighted my relevant publishing experience, but also emphasised my knowledge of, and interest in, the particular publishing house I was applying to. In my covering letter for the position at Palgrave Macmillan, for instance, I mentioned a title of theirs which I’d read at university and I also congratulated them on the success of their new Palgrave Pivot book format. So your covering letter should demonstrate both your suitability for the role and your interest in the publishing house. Is there a title of theirs you recently enjoyed reading? What excites you about this particular publishing house? Have they won any awards recently? Make the publisher feel like you really want to work there. Just think, if you were reading the hundreds of covering letters that came in for one vacancy, what would impress you?

Alternatively with my CV, I made sure to draw attention to my relevant editorial internships and include detailed descriptions of what these placements involved. I also referred back to the job description for each role I applied for to see what specific skills they were asking for and then added examples of where I’d previously demonstrated these skills to my CV.

So make your covering letters and CVs stand out by tailoring them for every role you apply for. Although it is time consuming, making an effort like this will really increase your chances of being invited to an interview. It’s definitely worth it!

Prepared thoroughly for interviews

Averill Chase, a now retired publishing professional, gives the following advice to publishing interviewees: “sell yourself – no-one else will”. I loved coming across this quote. It made me think, how well could I actually talk about me? Could I explain how suitable I was for an editorial assistant position persuasively and effectively? The starting point for my interview preparation was, therefore, to focus on ME. This meant making sure I could talk positively about myself and could discuss in detail all my skills and experience relevant for the position. I practised this simply by talking to myself out loud!

Once I was confident that I could sell myself well, I spent the rest of my time doing more research on the publishing house. I made sure that I’d read a few of their titles, that I could demonstrate a familiarity with the list I’d be working on, and that I was aware of their new and innovative projects. I also researched the company’s values and memorised their mission statement so I could make brief references to these during my interview.

Next I prepared a list of questions ready to ask the interviewer. These included one about the job role, one about the interviewer’s own publishing career, and one about the publishing house itself. Some questions I asked were:

• What will be my biggest challenge in this position?
• What’s your own experience of working at this publishing house in terms of career progression and company culture?
• Are there any areas of your list which you’re currently trying to develop?

My final bit of interview prep involved guessing questions that might come up and having answers ready for them. You can read more about this in my previous blog post: 5 questions likely to come up in a publishing interview.

Started writing this blog!

Finally, I think setting up this blog whilst job hunting actually helped me secure my first publishing position. During my second interview at Palgrave Macmillan, I was asked whether there were any projects I was working on outside of university, giving me the perfect opportunity to talk about my blog. The interviewer seemed really impressed when I explained how I was writing about my pursuit of a publishing career whilst trying to help other people with similar aspirations to me. So this blog might have just set me apart from the other candidates I was up against! If you’re thinking about setting up a blog related to publishing, reviewing books is a great way to show that you’re keeping up with the latest and most popular books gracing the shelves.

So they were some of the most important steps I took which helped me land my first job in publishing. Maybe they’ll do the same for you!

Career Opportunities!

Here are some entry-level job opportunities I’ve come across recently:

• Endeavour Press, a leading independent digital publisher of fiction and non-fiction based in London, is looking for a full-time Editorial Assistant. The role involves proofreading and formatting manuscripts, writing copy, and commissioning titles. The ideal candidate will be able to start immediately.
• Are you a fan of contemporary literary fiction and classics? Alma Books, an award-winning trade publisher, is looking for a Marketing Assistant to help develop digital and print campaigns. Their offices are based in Richmond, Greater London and the closing date for applications is Friday 17th July.
• If you’re interested in the contracts and rights side of publishing, Thames & Hudson has a great opportunity for a Contracts Assistant to support their Legal & Business Affairs department. Their offices are based in Holborn, London and the deadline for applications is Monday 13th July.

• BioMed Central, a scientific publisher who is owned by Springer and specialises in open access journal publishing, is seeking an Editorial Assistant to join their Journal Editorial Office. The role will involve tasks such as managing the peer-review process and communicating with authors, reviewers and editors. The position is based in London.

• Macmillan Science and Education is looking for an Editorial Assistant to join their Nature Reviews Department. The role will involve providing support to authors, reviewers and editors, as well as other administrative tasks. The position is based at their new King’s Cross offices and the deadline for applications is Wednesday 8th July.

5 Questions Likely to Come Up in a Publishing Interview

After spending the last month applying for editorial assistant job vacancies, I’m pleased to say that a lot of my time recently has been taken up by interviews at a few (pretty big) academic publishing houses.

During these interviews I obviously met a wide variety of professionals in the industry (editors, assistant editors and publishers) from all different publishing houses, but there was one thing I noticed that didn’t vary quite so much: the interview questions.

I found that certain questions just kept reappearing; some I’d envisaged (thankfully) and pre-prepared answers to, others completely stumped me the first time round. So to help you prepare (and preparation is key), here are five questions that I think are extremely likely to come up in a publishing interview and my advice on how to answer them:

1.      What led you to wanting a career in publishing?

This is an obvious question that is bound to come up, but an impressive and original answer needs preparation. Try to come up with something that isn’t just, “I love reading” – that’s not enough. Think about the type of publishing you’re trying to enter into. Why does that particular area interest you? For me, academic publishing became an interest at university after researching lots of literature essays. I got a real buzz out of finding useful, up to date and high-quality scholarly titles, so being a part of the publication process for cutting-edge academic research genuinely excites me. If, alternatively, you’re interested in trade publishing, where, when and why did that interest start? An influential book in your childhood? Or maybe there was one book that changed your outlook on life. The point here is to be original – this is much easier than you think when you’re pursuing a goal you feel really passionate about.

2.     Why do you want to work for this particular publishing house?

When answering this question, make sure you show off all the research you’ve done on the publishing house. Find their mission statement, browse their website, see if they’ve been in the news recently, read a couple of their recently released titles. After carrying out this research, what did you find that particularly excites you about the publisher? For me personally, a career at Palgrave Macmillan interested me not only because they’re a prestigious and highly-regarded academic publisher, but also because they’re extremely innovative and forward-thinking with projects like Palgrave Pivot, Palgrave Open and Palgrave Connect. So find something specific that attracts you to this particular publishing house and use it to show your genuine excitement at the possibility of a career there.

3.     What do you think are the main job responsibilities for this editorial assistant position and what skills do you possess which will allow you to carry out these responsibilities successfully?

This was a question I actually quite liked as it gave me the chance to demonstrate two things. First, that I had a clear understanding of what the role would involve (publishers like this), and second, how suitable I was for the position. When preparing for your interview it really is worth going through the job description and finding the main responsibilities you will be tasked with. Once you’ve picked out the main ones, ask yourself what skills will each of these responsibilities require? Then come up with examples of where you’ve previously used each of these skills. So, for example, one of the job responsibilities for an editorial assistant at Palgrave Macmillan was managing editorial processes and the peer review process. A task like this obviously requires great organisation and time management skills, so I took examples from my time as an editorial intern when I often had to juggle a variety of tasks given to me by project editors. So approach this question logically; make sure you know exactly what the role will involve, think about the skills needed to carry out these responsibilities, and have examples ready to demonstrate these skills.

4.     Which publishing houses are our main competitors and are any of them doing something you think we should be doing?

The competitors question came up during my interviews at Cambridge University Press and Palgrave Macmillan. Although I was aware of their main competitors and could easily list them, the second part of the question gave me a slight panic attack. But after taking a few moments to actually think, I came up with a pretty good answer. I knew from my research that academic publishing is currently undergoing immense change because publishers are making the conscious effort to become more digitally focused. This reminded me of the competing eBook digital platforms that numerous academic publishers now offer to universities (Palgrave Connect from Palgrave Macmillan and University Publishing Online from Cambridge University Press). So I based my answers around comparisons of these platforms and came up with some good areas for improvement. Remember, publishers ask questions like this one to test your knowledge of the industry, so it’s a great way to show you’re keeping up with current trends. My advice is to not only research the publishing house you’re interviewing at, but also one or two of their main competitors. Make sure you have an idea of how competing publishers are trying to outdo each other!

5.     Do you have any areas of weakness? If so, what are they?

This is a pretty standard question for any interview, but it was one I’d completely forgotten to prepare for. First off, make sure you actually give them a weakness – we all have more than one. Then, try to emphasise that it is a weakness, but a weakness you’re working on. Give an example of how you’ve recently made an effort to improve in this area. This says a lot about you as an individual.

Ace these likely questions and you might just ace the interview! There’s really no excuse not to have an impressive answer to each of these questions. Preparation really is key!

Career Opportunities for You...

Here are some exciting career opportunities I’ve come across this week that might interest you:

• Are you an avid reader of non-fiction? Profile Books, an award-winning non-fiction publisher based in Central London, has a vacancy for a Marketing, Publicity and Digital Sales Assistant. The deadline for applications is Friday 26th June.
• If you’re interested in academic publishing, Palgrave Macmillan is looking for an Editorial Assistant to support their Language and Linguistics book programme. The position is based at their new King’s Cross offices and the deadline for applications is Monday 29th June.
• A new vacancy at Bloomsbury appeared on their website today for an Editorial Assistant within their academic division. The position involves providing support to editors working on the Classical Studies & Archaeology and Religious Studies lists. The deadline for applications is Thursday 27th June.
• SAGE Publications is looking for a Marketing Assistant to work in their journals marketing team. The position is based in London and the deadline for applications is Friday 26th June. (To see the details of this position click on the link above, then just scroll down and click on the ‘view all open job positions’ link.)
• Are you interested in open access publishing? Oxford University Press has an opening for a Publishing Assistant who will work on their open access monographs and law journals. The deadline for applications is Monday 29th June.

Dealing with Failure: My First Publishing Interview

Friday. Four days after my interview for an editorial assistant vacancy at Bloomsbury, and I was curled up in bed replaying the interview over and over in my mind after hearing the news that I’d been unsuccessful. ‘Gutted’ was an understatement. Had it really gone that badly? What did I do wrong? With all these thoughts running through my head, I was starting to doubt whether I was capable of ever achieving my goal of a career in publishing.

Then I realised two things. First, that it was time to stop being so harsh on myself and give myself a bit of credit. Applications for the role would definitely have been in the hundreds, so my covering letter and CV must have been pretty impressive to even get me to the interview stage in the first place. Second, that having a meltdown was really not benefiting me at all, so it was time to deal with my interview failure in a more constructive way. This meant being honest with myself about how I felt the interview really went, and led me to writing this blog post.

So, as you’re not always going to get the first publishing job you apply for, here are some steps I took that helped me deal with my interview failure in a more productive way:

Replaying the interview

I got out of bed (eventually) and decided to replay the interview back in my mind – just one more time. This time though, I wrote two lists: one with everything I thought went well, and the other with things that didn’t go so well. I decided to be brutally honest with myself. This meant stopping my tendency to erase the bad bits from my mind and confronting them head on. Unsurprisingly, this process gave me an indication of where I went wrong. On my ‘good’ list I had lots of things relating to the research I’d carried out on the publishing house itself and I was impressed with how I’d been able to talk about some of the titles Bloomsbury’s academic division had recently published. I came to realise, however, that on my ‘good’ list there wasn’t all that much about ME. This quickly gave me the first item for my ‘bad’ list: I didn’t sell myself nearly as well as I could have done.  Although showing my knowledge of the publishing house was great, what I should have done more of was demonstrating my undeniable suitability for the role. The listing process therefore taught me a fundamental lesson about how to better prepare for interviews in the future: practise selling myself!

Moving forward
There’s this great quote from Kamal Ravikant that says, ‘we, as human beings, think we’re thinking. Not true. Most of the time, we’re remembering. We’re re-living memories.’ After all the remembering involved in the previous step, I wanted to stop dwelling on the past and start thinking forward. How could I make myself stand out from all the other candidates I would be up against in my next interview? It was time to try something new. This made me think of a meeting I’d had during one of my editorial internships with the publishing house’s managing director. When given this opportunity I’d decided to ask for some future interview advice, and this was his response: 

“Don’t just research the publishing house on their website. It does show initiative and a certain degree of interest in the company, but it’s also what every other applicant will do. Instead, buy one of their books physically off the shelves, read it, and be prepared to talk about it. Perhaps even bring it along with you to the interview!” 

Ideas like this one really changed my mental approach to interviews; I felt less nervous, more confident, and couldn’t wait to see how interviewers would react to me trying something different. (I actually tested this idea out recently and have just been invited to a second interview – so having the courage to try something different definitely pays off!)

Reminding myself of my worth 
‘Your value does not decrease based on someone’s inability to see your worth.’ I actually came across this quote the day after I found out I’d been unsuccessful and it definitely put a smile back on my face. Receiving a rejection when you’re pursuing a career you feel passionate about can often make you doubt yourself and your abilities, knock your confidence, and make you want to give up on your dream altogether by running in the other direction. Trust me, I’ve experienced this. But the quotation above reminded me not to do this. It reminded me that as long as I believe in myself, remember my worth, and recognise my value, I will, without doubt, achieve my goal. So what if Bloomsbury couldn’t see my value? I still recognise it, and I will make other publishers recognise it too.

So what have I taken from my first publishing interview experience? Not only have I learnt that the interview process is also very much a learning process, the experience has also made me understand the importance of failing. Although I was no doubt aiming to succeed, experiencing failure has actually taught me a lot about myself, shown me what I need to work on, and fuelled my desire to improve in the future. Perhaps the experience wasn’t such a failure after all!