Young Publishers Tips.

Like many Literature grads who don't really want to let go, I'm trying to get into publishing. I know many people in the same boat, doing the rounds of internships and applications, and I feel their pain. It's truly frustrating trying to break into the business you love when it's so competitive (especially, unfortunately, for Arts graduates). After years upon years of picking up on tidbits, I thought I'd share some hopefully useful tips for anyone in my situation. Please do get in touch if there's anything you'd add, or even feel free to tell me I'm an idiot and going about it in entirely the wrong way.

• Join Society of Young Publishers.

Joining up to the SYP does mean paying £30 if you're not a student, and £24 if you are, but it really is worth it. Being a member gives you access to a pretty niche jobs page, advertising Editorial, Production, Digital and Sales jobs, as well as work experience placements. It also has a calendar of events and meet-ups designed to help people looking into the industry, or just starting out. 

• Frequently browse The Bookseller either online or in print.

The Bookseller is the publishing bible: it details sales trends, job shake-ups and new appointments, and LUCKY FOR US has a massive section of jobs. I can't emphasise enough what a massive help it is: just browsing for half an hour in preparation for an interview will give you a huge boost. For anyone on work experience, ask someone in your department to point you towards their copy - most companies stock pile them, so if you're twiddling your thumbs after making everyone a morning coffee, have a read.

• Follow companies on LinkedIn or Twitter.

A fairly obvious one, but companies often sneak in a tweet or a link to job opportunities. Take note of people they retweet too - don't be afraid to get in touch with someone in a position you aspire to be in; whether that's the Head of PR at a fiction publishers, or a features editor at a magazine. Here's a small shortlist of companies (all fiction/ non-fiction publishing, I'm afraid, as I'm biast) well worth following:

Harper Collins UK

Transworld Books

Random House Group

Quercus Books

Peirene Press

Sceptre Books

Faber Books

Vintage Books

Virago Press

Penguin

Publishing Talk

• Milk your University Resources like an exhausted heifer.

If you're still at university, go to the careers office. Publishing is a big industry, so without a doubt they'll have lots of resources to offer, including copies of The Writer and Artists Yearbook. They'll also have information about networking, CV construction, unadvertised jobs etc. etc. For anyone worried that this ship has sailed because you had fun at university, don't worry. Many offer post-graduation services for alumni, sometimes for a fee, which you'll have to judge whether it's worth it. 

• Learn how to bake, or be crafty and get a friend to help you out.

Being in publishing entails long hours sat at a desk in an office, like most jobs. I don't know if it's a general office thing, but in my experience, in a publishing office, a bit of cake goes down extremely well. It gives everyone an opportunity to take their minds of the minutiae of English Grammar for a few minutes, and a particularly good batch or unusual recipe will make you memorable. Just remember to be hygienic and warn anybody of potential allergy triggers. And resist the urge to revenge-bake, The Help style. Even if you've had the worst possible time. (See my post on my own nightmare internship.)

• Offer your services for free.

Because it's a fairly crap time for all, and arts graduates need cheering up, there are hundreds of culture blogs and sites springing up all over the place, crying out for submissions and editing. Try Artshub's writing and publishing section - there are normally loads of voluntary positions at blogs and sites. It looks great on your CV, you'll get an audience for your work, and you get to talk about (pretty much) whatever you like. Unless it's neo-Nazism, in which case, stop reading this as you don't deserve anyone's advice, and you should be ashamed of yourself.

Best of luck to all, and remember to message or comment if you have anything to say.

When publishing internships go badly wrong.

Like many literature graduates, I want to be a publisher. Not just a publisher; a fiction editor; not the easiest thing to get into at entry level. In fact, fairly impossible. To help myself out as much as I can, like everyone in the world, I've completed various placements at publishing houses. I've made tea, chatted to authors, franked and posted more mail than I can imagine in my head at one time, and, the best feeling in the world, worked on actual people's manuscripts, and months later, seen those manuscripts as lovely bound books, being sold in displays in bookstores or featured on Amazon.

I've had wonderful experiences; but, let's face it, that not great reading, so I'm going to share a nightmare placement with you. I don't want to find myself being assassinated with a hardback style guide, so the company in question will remain nameless. I was floating with happiness at getting the placement - a fiction department at a very recognisable firm, with a list of clients that makes me want to cry.

I arrived early, wearing my most sensible ensemble, with a bag of paper and pens with a face like sunshine, eager to meet my colleagues for the next couple of weeks. I was escorted to my desk, with my email set up, having toured around, clocked the kitchen so I could tea-brew my way into favour. I was sharing a desk island with three young women not a lot older than me, and on receiving a fairly cold and disinterested meeting, I reassured myself they were probably busy, and warm up once I'd proved myself to be the least threatening person they could encounter, so happy and grateful to be here I'd stand pretty much anything. And I almost did.

A sparse morning passed. My offers of making coffee batched were largely ignored, which was fine. And then the office left.
And when I say this, I mean a mass exodus of miserable, unfriendly people. I kept trying to make eye contact with the unlucky guy tasked with looking after me, a clearly hideous punishment distracting him from his real work, who seemed to be one of the few still there. I emailed, asking if there was something I should know..?? Had I missed something....totally my own fault of course...???
'Oh, there's a big meeting on the other side of the city that everyone's going to. You can stay or go. It doesn't matter.'
Right.

At first I dismissed it as a small oversight, no big deal! Not their fault. But then...I was an intern of less than a day, left in a largely empty building by myself. I could have lit my desk on fire and danced naked around it and it wouldn't matter. Actually, thinking about it, that maybe would have go down better than daring to offer people tea, and disturbing them to ask if I could help them with ANYTHING AT ALL.

Two weeks passed very slowly. I worked on some sporadically brilliant things, I must have done reports on every submission they had. I began to hate the fairly evil and catty girls around me, who obviously had never been jobless, broke, terrified, and desperate to make a good impression. I gave up on sweetness and friendliness. Instead of greeting everyone with a smily good morning, not just without reciprocation but without acknowledgement, I sat tight lipped at my desk. At lunch, I got up and went, only to hear them mutter, 'oh, bye then', and bitch about me. I couldn't win. Being nice I was a pain in all their arses, being indifferent I'd proven to be an even bigger insult to them.

What I learned from them, after two weeks of tears, daily entanglements in a newly created inferiority complex and a letter to HR, was how not to run an internship. In fact, I believe after my lengthy discussions with HR, who privately agreed with me that the people of the department were fairly awful,  took my advice that they should stop running my placement. I hope they took into consideration my clause, 'until the personnel got some manners.'


So - if any employers stumble across this: please take it from an intern:

1. Don't leave interns in an empty building. They can sue you.
2. Curt post-its go in the bin.
3. Don't leave interns in the care of people who may be brilliant at their jobs, but are compassionless androids.
4. We're people too. And at the moment, we're very very grateful for anything we can get. Please be nice to us.