Publishing Sector
The publishing industry incorporates all forms of print media and online and digital publishing. There is a range of roles available and the most popular jobs include editorial, marketing and design. Less well-known areas, such as production, rights (or licencing) and sales, may attract less competition. A significant number of opportunities in publishing are in non-fiction, including academic, children’s school literature, English language and Reference materials.
Online publishing is fast growing part of the sector - see the UK Association of Online Publishers)
How do I get a job in publishing?
Most graduates get into publishing through work experience and then entry level 'assistant' roles. There are very few graduate schemes or formal internships in publishing and they tend to be run by major publishers e.g. Macmillan, Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Hatchette.
Top Tips:
- Try to get as much relevant experience as possible, for example, getting involved in student publications, and student media, starting your own blog or editing a public blog, working in a bookshop, securing work experience with a publisher.
- Volunteering is another way to obtain relevant experience, including volunteering at literary festivals, such as Manchester Literature Festival.
- Look out for opportunities to gain experience such as the Pearson Student Advisory Board.
- Join relevant societies such as the Society of Young Publishers who run events in Manchester and run mentoring schemes.
- Most work experience opportunities and entry-level graduate jobs aren't normally advertised, so use networking and speculative applications to find out about hidden job opportunities
Do I need a Masters in Publishing?
Doing a Master’s is not essential as work experience is the most important thing, but it can be useful to demonstrate your commitment and give you an excellent understanding of the industry.
- Search for postgraduate study courses
- The Society of Editors and Proofreaders Has a list of publishing courses in Higher Education
Sites with information on the Industry:
- Creative Industries Council Overview of the UK creative sector
- Publishing Training Centre Useful careers information and training courses for the publishing industry
- Publishers Association Career profiles as well as vacancies
- Target jobs Outlines the few formal routes into the industry through graduate schemes and internships
- Periodical Publishers Association Trade association for the UK magazine and business media industry. Also have accredited courses in magazine publishing
Finding work in publishing
Sites with advertised vacancies:
- The Guardian Publishing vacancies
- Oxford International Centre for Publishing Studies
- The Bookseller Weekly trade magazine for the publishing industry
- Bookcareers Independent careers consultancy, specialising in the book industry
Examples of Publishers in Manchester:
- HarperNorth is a division of Harper Collins and based in Manchester and sometimes run careers events.
- Publishing NorthWest Information on small independent publishers in the region.
- The Northern Ficton Alliance Eleven independent northern publishers who work together to represent themselves and their authors internationally whilst promoting regional diversity in publishing
- Manchester University Press Academic book publisher
- Cillian Press Independent Manchester based publisher, specialising in literary fiction and novels
- Carcanet Literary publisher specialising in poetry
- Comma Press Literary publisher specialising in short stories
