As someone who is fairly junior in the publishing world (assistant at a literary agency), the thing I try to remember is that everyone is here because they love books. So don’t waste a ton of space in your cover letter going on about that passion. Focus on the skills you bring in and what you hope to gain—like databases, client relations, project management, etc. Skills I brought from my other careers and made me look more valuable.
Something also important to consider, from someone who was in publishing for several years. It is an incredibly unstable business. Imprints are closed every year, rounds of layoffs are common, and you’ll find yourself out of a job more than once. And getting back in can be just as hard. I love publishing, I do, and I loved the many years I worked there, but now as I’m desperately trying to find employment again, the instability of the business compared to others is something to consider.
That’s what happened to me. I also acquired a book for a publisher that Murdoch closed after merging Harper with Collins. As the only former staffer to leave publishing, when the author contacted me two years later concerned his book was never presented for sale but merely printed, I was able to take his side in a lawsuit and he won his suit but ten years of book research and writing went down the drain. The Murdoch lawyers for some reason after being gagged and promised a job and then laid off thought I would side with them. One of my prouder moments. That author sent me a Christmas card every year until he died.
I highly recommend University Presses! Here's the Association of University Presses job list: https://jobs.up.hcommons.org/ . People are interesting and friendly. If you're in college, get a student worker job or internship at your university press, you can see all elements of the publishing process from acquisition to editing and production to marketing. Having a varied background is very helpful, and you will benefit by being interested in many fields. I work in publicity, but had experience in urban planning, local government communicatiosn, and freelance writing for weekly newspapers in Philadelphia and Richmond, Virginia before I came to publishing in my 50s.
I started out working at Harcourt in San Diego. I got a job in the very not sexy imprint of Professional Pub which did the big accounting principal books (GAAP Guide) —there were 2 other interactions. I mainly did marking, before carving out a little niche handling the CPE (continuing professional education)… I said it wasn’t sexy.
Then a very coveted job in Children’s books opened up. I was one of the first to know because the mail guy insisted on giving me the mail for children’s and I’d become a giant pest to one of the secretaries there. I then started my dream job after 2 years in Pro Pub.
Then when I moved back to NYC I saw a job listing for S&S and one of the exec editors was the former President I worked for in San Diego. That’s the other thing about publishing you will see the same people at different houses. So always be nice. An intern I knew became a director of foreign rights, 2 years later…
I love books and was merged out in the late-1980s publishing mergers. I had a newborn, a wife who wanted to stay at home (we both wanted that), so I left book publishing, developed some marketing chops in other industries, and weirdly drifted into the early days of CD-ROM software publishing, far more lucrative than books. And far more innovative and exciting. I wrote five books of my own and in my late-50s founded my own small book press. So my advice is to take what you can from every opportunity, realize you are not the smartest person in the room, network and build up skills that allow you to handle new adventures and job losses when you need to. If you want to write, not working in book publishing will free you up to pursue that as a hobby that might possibly one day provide some income.
The woman who founded the small publishing house that published my memoir went to a publishing course before stating her own small press in 2022. Who knows how many get started...some do succeed.
One thing I’d say is that it IS incredibly hard to switch tracks once you start in a particular direction. It’s easier to do so in indie publishing, but not the big five. It also takes a while to get promoted, so you have to advocate for yourself. Raises are paltry. You don’t have to go to NYU for a publishing course. CUNY has one & it is much cheaper!
I feel like being a publisher "happens" along the way. For instance: A wannabe author, like me, gives it a try. The dream most interns I have is about being in acquisitions, finding great books and new talent. I tell most young people who want to embark on publishing to know how to sell books, that is, learn how to do what is hardest, make yourself indispensable at what we need the most when it gets to the end of the day. I love publishing, but it's very hard, and course why it's called work. I try to post thoughts on publishing every couple weeks, yours are very good, thanks
I worked in scientific journal publishing at Elsevier in San Diego (formerly Academic Press). I think what helped me most to get my foot in the door was to ask for an informational interview. A friend of mine knew an editor at Harcourt (Academic Press was part of Harcourt), and I was able to arrange an interview with her in order to simply learn more about publishing. We had a great conversation, and she also gave me a copyediting test. She wrote to me after the meeting to encourage me to apply to Academic Press. I never knew if she assisted me in some way in the background; however, successfully completing her copyediting test and learning more about journal publishing gave me the confidence to apply to a position in that side of the business.
FYI to anyone looking at postgraduate publishing courses… Look into international courses in English-reader markets.
I completed my MA Publishing course in the U.K. paying (at the time) the equivalent of one year’s tuition at NYU for my *entire degree* tuition as an international student.
Is it a pain that there’s no FAFSA to study internationally, so you have to rely on scholarships and/or savings? Yes. Absolutely. It was a lot of savings for me. You can get work on a student visa but there are parameters, so plan ahead to make the most of your time.
But did I also work around the fact that regardless of where I studied I’d have high rent and a few unpaid internships? Yes, and it is 100% the way I’d recommend for anyone to pursue their publishing degree.
PS: the reason I said English-reader market is for maximizing the transferability of the course to the U.S. publishing market.
University presses are a thing, too! Pay will also not be great and there may even be fewer jobs available, but it’s a non-NYC option.
I love NYC, but when I started designing books five years ago, I was determined to figure out a way to do so from the Midwest. And so far, I’d say I’ve been fairly successful doing so. But freelance book design is a different track and likely beast altogether than editorial and marketing.
Helpful post! One place people should also have on their radar is Agate publishing academy which is designed to be an affordable entry point into publishing. https://agatepublishingacademy.com
"no one cares if you read Proust" Clearly. "Literary" books, or books bought and read for the writing, comprise a tiny market. Literary insight would be far down the list of skills needed for a job in publishing. Probably even hurt you : )
So sad. Truly. When I began at Little, Brown in the 1980s an effervescent Radcliffe Pub grad joined us assistants in one big room and kept talking about how excited she was to work for Salinger’s publisher. A few weeks into her time, the rest of us plebes in the pink ghetto (I was the sole male) realized she hadn’t read him. And there you have it.
As someone who is fairly junior in the publishing world (assistant at a literary agency), the thing I try to remember is that everyone is here because they love books. So don’t waste a ton of space in your cover letter going on about that passion. Focus on the skills you bring in and what you hope to gain—like databases, client relations, project management, etc. Skills I brought from my other careers and made me look more valuable.
Something also important to consider, from someone who was in publishing for several years. It is an incredibly unstable business. Imprints are closed every year, rounds of layoffs are common, and you’ll find yourself out of a job more than once. And getting back in can be just as hard. I love publishing, I do, and I loved the many years I worked there, but now as I’m desperately trying to find employment again, the instability of the business compared to others is something to consider.
That’s what happened to me. I also acquired a book for a publisher that Murdoch closed after merging Harper with Collins. As the only former staffer to leave publishing, when the author contacted me two years later concerned his book was never presented for sale but merely printed, I was able to take his side in a lawsuit and he won his suit but ten years of book research and writing went down the drain. The Murdoch lawyers for some reason after being gagged and promised a job and then laid off thought I would side with them. One of my prouder moments. That author sent me a Christmas card every year until he died.
I highly recommend University Presses! Here's the Association of University Presses job list: https://jobs.up.hcommons.org/ . People are interesting and friendly. If you're in college, get a student worker job or internship at your university press, you can see all elements of the publishing process from acquisition to editing and production to marketing. Having a varied background is very helpful, and you will benefit by being interested in many fields. I work in publicity, but had experience in urban planning, local government communicatiosn, and freelance writing for weekly newspapers in Philadelphia and Richmond, Virginia before I came to publishing in my 50s.
UPs 🙌 they’re what keeps my freelance book design business afloat
I started out working at Harcourt in San Diego. I got a job in the very not sexy imprint of Professional Pub which did the big accounting principal books (GAAP Guide) —there were 2 other interactions. I mainly did marking, before carving out a little niche handling the CPE (continuing professional education)… I said it wasn’t sexy.
Then a very coveted job in Children’s books opened up. I was one of the first to know because the mail guy insisted on giving me the mail for children’s and I’d become a giant pest to one of the secretaries there. I then started my dream job after 2 years in Pro Pub.
Then when I moved back to NYC I saw a job listing for S&S and one of the exec editors was the former President I worked for in San Diego. That’s the other thing about publishing you will see the same people at different houses. So always be nice. An intern I knew became a director of foreign rights, 2 years later…
I love books and was merged out in the late-1980s publishing mergers. I had a newborn, a wife who wanted to stay at home (we both wanted that), so I left book publishing, developed some marketing chops in other industries, and weirdly drifted into the early days of CD-ROM software publishing, far more lucrative than books. And far more innovative and exciting. I wrote five books of my own and in my late-50s founded my own small book press. So my advice is to take what you can from every opportunity, realize you are not the smartest person in the room, network and build up skills that allow you to handle new adventures and job losses when you need to. If you want to write, not working in book publishing will free you up to pursue that as a hobby that might possibly one day provide some income.
The woman who founded the small publishing house that published my memoir went to a publishing course before stating her own small press in 2022. Who knows how many get started...some do succeed.
One thing I’d say is that it IS incredibly hard to switch tracks once you start in a particular direction. It’s easier to do so in indie publishing, but not the big five. It also takes a while to get promoted, so you have to advocate for yourself. Raises are paltry. You don’t have to go to NYU for a publishing course. CUNY has one & it is much cheaper!
I feel like being a publisher "happens" along the way. For instance: A wannabe author, like me, gives it a try. The dream most interns I have is about being in acquisitions, finding great books and new talent. I tell most young people who want to embark on publishing to know how to sell books, that is, learn how to do what is hardest, make yourself indispensable at what we need the most when it gets to the end of the day. I love publishing, but it's very hard, and course why it's called work. I try to post thoughts on publishing every couple weeks, yours are very good, thanks
I worked in scientific journal publishing at Elsevier in San Diego (formerly Academic Press). I think what helped me most to get my foot in the door was to ask for an informational interview. A friend of mine knew an editor at Harcourt (Academic Press was part of Harcourt), and I was able to arrange an interview with her in order to simply learn more about publishing. We had a great conversation, and she also gave me a copyediting test. She wrote to me after the meeting to encourage me to apply to Academic Press. I never knew if she assisted me in some way in the background; however, successfully completing her copyediting test and learning more about journal publishing gave me the confidence to apply to a position in that side of the business.
FYI to anyone looking at postgraduate publishing courses… Look into international courses in English-reader markets.
I completed my MA Publishing course in the U.K. paying (at the time) the equivalent of one year’s tuition at NYU for my *entire degree* tuition as an international student.
Is it a pain that there’s no FAFSA to study internationally, so you have to rely on scholarships and/or savings? Yes. Absolutely. It was a lot of savings for me. You can get work on a student visa but there are parameters, so plan ahead to make the most of your time.
But did I also work around the fact that regardless of where I studied I’d have high rent and a few unpaid internships? Yes, and it is 100% the way I’d recommend for anyone to pursue their publishing degree.
PS: the reason I said English-reader market is for maximizing the transferability of the course to the U.S. publishing market.
University presses are a thing, too! Pay will also not be great and there may even be fewer jobs available, but it’s a non-NYC option.
I love NYC, but when I started designing books five years ago, I was determined to figure out a way to do so from the Midwest. And so far, I’d say I’ve been fairly successful doing so. But freelance book design is a different track and likely beast altogether than editorial and marketing.
Helpful post! One place people should also have on their radar is Agate publishing academy which is designed to be an affordable entry point into publishing. https://agatepublishingacademy.com
"no one cares if you read Proust" Clearly. "Literary" books, or books bought and read for the writing, comprise a tiny market. Literary insight would be far down the list of skills needed for a job in publishing. Probably even hurt you : )
So sad. Truly. When I began at Little, Brown in the 1980s an effervescent Radcliffe Pub grad joined us assistants in one big room and kept talking about how excited she was to work for Salinger’s publisher. A few weeks into her time, the rest of us plebes in the pink ghetto (I was the sole male) realized she hadn’t read him. And there you have it.