April’s Job Vacancies and Internship Opportunities

Job vacancies:

• Jessica Kingsley Publishers is looking for an Editorial Assistant to join their acquisitions department. The successful candidate will work on various areas of the list, including the autism spectrum, social work, mental health, and counselling. The position is based in London (near King’s Cross) and the closing date for applications is Friday 6th May.
• Bloomsbury is advertising for an Assistant Editor to join their Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack team. The role involves providing editorial and administrative support, fact-checking, writing small sections of the Almanack, proofreading, and copy editing. The ideal candidate will be a graduate with a demonstrable love of cricket. The closing date for applications is Thursday 19th May and the position is based in Hampshire.
• If you’re interested in children’s books, Little Tiger Press has a vacancy for a Sales Admin Assistant to help with customer account management and administrative duties. The role will involve maintaining and analysing sales databases, liaising with customers, and seeking customer engagement opportunities. The position is based in London and the deadline for applications is Friday 6th May.
• Palgrave Higher Education, a publisher of textbooks and educational resources in the humanities and social sciences, is seeking an Editorial Assistant or Assistant Editor to work on their study skills list. The successful candidate will provide administrative and editorial support to editors, manage the peer review process, prepare typescripts for handover, write and edit cover copy, and liaise with authors.
• Hodder Education has a vacancy in their marketing department for an Events and Marketing Assistant. The chosen candidate will assist with a variety of events, attend key events throughout the year, and help set up their sales conference. The closing date is Monday 9th May.
• Dorling Kindersley (DK) is looking for a Publicity Executive to join their publicity team. The role will involve working closely with their global marketing and PR teams, and securing features, reviews and media interviews. The position is based in London and the deadline for applications is Wednesday 4th May.

Internships and work experience opportunities:

• Endeavour Press, the UK’s leading independent digital publisher, is advertising for interns. Successful candidates will assist with social media campaigns, contact authors, proofread and format books ready for publication, and write cover blurbs.
• Dorling Kindersley (DK) has work experience placements available in their editorial, marketing, and design departments. These placements last for two weeks and are based in London.
• Hurst Publishers, a non-fiction publisher based in Central London, is offering internships to graduates interested in pursuing a career in publishing. These internships are available throughout the year and generally last around six weeks. To apply, send your CV and covering letter to Jonathan de Peyer (jon@hurstpub.co.uk).
• Granta Books, an independent publisher of literary fiction and non-fiction based in London, runs a work experience programme for graduates. Placements last four weeks and successful candidates will gain hands-on experience in sales, marketing, publicity, and editorial.

February’s Job Vacancies and Internship Opportunities

Job vacancies:

• Jessica Kingsley Publishers is looking for a Marketing and Publicity Executive to help with marketing campaigns. JKP is a professional publisher who has lists on the autism spectrum, social work, mental health, and counselling. The chosen candidate will be responsible for organising marketing campaigns, attending conferences, and social media marketing. The position is based in London (near King’s Cross) and the closing date for applications is Monday 22nd February.
• If you’re interested in book sales, HarperCollins is seeking a Sales Operations Administrator to support their Sales team and help maintain stock levels. Responsibilities include preparing reports, managing data, analysing stock reports, raising invoices, and updating stock management systems. This role is based in London in the London Bridge Quarter.
• Nature Publishing Group, part of Springer Nature, is looking to recruit an Editorial Assistant. The successful candidate will handle administrative tasks within the Nature Reviews and Nature Protocols team. Specific responsibilities include providing support to authors, checking manuscripts, obtaining rights and permissions, and ensuring databases are updated. This position is based in London, next to King’s Cross, and the deadline for applications is Wednesday 24th February.
• The education publisher, Macmillan Education, is seeking a Part-time Media Assistant to help with the smooth running of their media department. The chosen candidate will assist the Media Producers and Media Team Manager, and will be required to assist on shoots, prepare props, carry out photo research, and help with other project-specific needs. The position is based in London and the closing date for applications is Thursday 18th February.

Internship opportunities:

• Cambridge University Press is offering six-week internships for current or recent Publishing MA students. In their Academic division, there are opportunities available in Marketing, Open Access, and Science Journals. In their Education division, there are vacancies in Commissioning, Design & Content, and Marketing. Interns will be paid a living wage and will need to be available between Monday 16th May and Friday 1st July. The closing date for applications is Tuesday 1st March and the internships are based in Cambridge.
• Hurst Publishers, a non-fiction publisher based in Central London, is offering internships to graduates interested in pursuing a career in publishing. These internships are available throughout the year and generally last around six weeks. To apply, send your CV and covering letter to Jonathan de Peyer (jon@hurstpub.co.uk).
• Oxford University Press has opened its Summer Internship Scheme with a range of opportunities available in different teams. Internships are based in Oxford and will start on Monday 4th July and finish on Friday 26th August. The deadline for applications is Tuesday 1st March.
• Little, Brown Books, a publisher of children’s and young adult fiction, is looking for an Editorial Assistant Intern. The internship will last six months and the successful candidate will gain an insight into children’s publishing. There will be opportunities to learn how to proofread and copy edit, and the role will involve reading submissions and assisting with manuscripts. The position is based in London and the deadline for applications is Thursday 18th February.

As always, 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 get in touch: pathwaytopublishing@gmail.com.

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 & 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!