CAREERS IN PUBLISHING Lorna Bleach

About Me I studied BA French & German at Sheffield University. I went on to an MA in Medieval French Literature… …And Im now completing a PhD in the same! I have my own business as an editor & translator. Im also the national SYP Student Liaison Officer, and the Web & Media Officer for SYP North & Midlands.

Publishing Academic Publishing – Oxford University Press (OUP), Cambridge University Press (CUP), Taylor and Francis, Elsevier, and Palgrave Macmillan. Mainly work with journals and research. Current concerns include Open Source journals and digitalisation. Educational Publishing - Pearson, Macmillan, Hodder Education, Heinemann. Publish text and school books. Main concerns are Curriculum & political changes, e-learning, and interactivity & engagement.

Publishing Trade Publishing - HarperCollins, Random House, Penguin, Hachette, Simon & Schuster, Pan Macmillan, Bloomsbury, Faber & Faber and many, many, many more… They publish popular and literary fiction – the books people read for recreation. Main concerns are – e-Books and e-Readers, Google Books, Amazon, Apple, Tesco and the state of the traditional bookshop.

Publishing – Things to know before you get in to it Most people want to be in Trade Publishing. WARNING – not well paid (£17 – £20k starting) But it is a very creative and passionate environment with a close group of individuals working in it. YOU GET FREE BOOKS!!

The story of a book – which jobs for you? Literary Agencies – find new talent, hone their work, submit to publishers on their behalf, and negotiate the most favourable contract for them. Editorial – literary agents dont do as much structure/plot/character editing as youd expect in many cases, and copy-editing and proofreading is nearly always outsourced to freelancers. Editors mainly commission and buy books, budget the project, keep it on schedule, co-ordinate all the different stages. They are the centre of the process for the publisher. Production – actually produce the book (deciding on the paper, design, and format). Decide number of copies to print (size of the print run) Digital – sub-set of production who develop alternative ways of exploiting the content.

Marketing and Publicity – in charge of promoting the book through. Need to know target audience and what they respond to. Sales – work closely with the marketing department. They pitch books to buyers – Amazon/Waterstones. Negotiate numbers and how the book is stocked – product placement and promo offer – actually a good thing! Rights – Languages help here. Books are published by territory, so rights are sold to print books overseas. Often now these include film and gaming rights – think Harry Potter – and many are kept by agents. Legal – ensure contract is sound, deal with permission requests, copyright infringement, defamation and libel cases. The story of a book – which jobs for you? Finance/Accounts - deal with the money, distribute royalties and advances. The sale or return system makes this tricky.

About The SYP You dont have to be young, and you dont have to have a job in the industry yet, either. Its all about making contacts, learning about the industry and getting to the heart of what makes it tick. We aim to assist & inform anyone looking to break in to the industry. We hold monthly events with speakers (for networking and learning) and socials (for drinking). We advertise jobs and share news & views from the industry. Run by a team of dedicated volunteers.

Your Options MA in publishing – increasingly offered across the country. Work placements in the industry – hard to get but worthwhile. Office experience – whilst you look for a job in publishing, it can teach a lot of useful skills. Publishing is everywhere – you dont have to go straight into a job at Penguin. There are less traditional routes that can help to prove your worth. Have a presence – be active on social media & go to events.

Resources Publishing Recruitment Companies Publishers Websites The Writers and facebook.com/thesyp Contacts