Publishing can often feel like an oversaturated and insular industry. As a graduate looking to enter the industry, even internships can be competitive and scarce. Below, we have listed some accessible ways to gain relevant experience in publishing that look great on a CV. These can be conducted independently of a publishing house, meaning you can gain experience through your own initiative. In the current job market, this may be a great way to start building a strong set of transferable skills to get your foot in the publishing door.
Here are six ways you can gain accessible experience:
- Content creation
- Writing your own book blog
- Working in a bookshop
- Starting a book club
- Attending industry events
- Volunteering at a digital or print publication
Certain types of experience on this list may be more or less applicable, depending on the role you are looking for. Having said this, each will let you hone something different – and the broader your skillset, the better!
Content creation
This is an excellent way to show off your digital skills, commercial instincts and knowledge
of the book trade. Content creation could mean starting your own BookTok or Bookstagram, where you review books, talk about upcoming exciting releases or find a genre niche that you explore through digital content. You may gain a social following, but the key will be consistency; the ability to produce content of a high quality over a long period of time is a directly applicable skill to the publishing industry.
Also, this is a brilliant way to showcase your passion for books, particularly new titles. You may love romantasy, literary fiction or cosy thrillers, and you can explore engaging with and promoting these genres through social media. Honing your own tastes and translating that into enthusiastic content is particularly relevant to sales, marketing, PR and editorial teams, but is important across any role.
Writing your own book blog
Starting a book blog shows you have strong verbal communication skills, with the ability to convince others of your opinion on a title. You could, for example, explore the rise in popularity of the fantasy genre or write about your favourite book series. Similarly to digital content creation, producing consistent content of high quality is important, and writing engaging, attention-grabbing and genuinely interesting blog posts will let you stand out.
Striking the right tone of voice, honing your craft and engaging target audiences are great skills for marketing, editorial, comms and publicity roles.
Working in a bookshop
Working in a bookshop is a great way to gain experience within the publishing industry. This could be either in a volunteer or paid capacity. As a bookseller, you will be highly knowledgeable about classic and new titles. You will be able to give personalised recommendations to customers, upsell titles and work collaboratively within your team. This is a role for people passionate about books and can allow you to gain a thorough understanding of emerging trends and subgenres in order to better meet customers’ needs. Your ability to confidently communicate with members of the public is also a desirable skill, which you can use to increase the sales of the business.
This experience could be gained in a charity bookshop, an indie bookshop or a retailer such as Waterstones. These roles are perfect for those wishing to work in editorial roles, rights, sales, marketing and publicity.
Starting a book club
Starting a book club sounds like a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be complex. It could start with you and a few friends and be hosted in someone’s living room. You could read a different book each month, either decided by you or by vote. You could explore a different genre or specific, niche subgenre.
Opening the event up to the public or hosting the event in a bookshop, pub or different establishment is the next step. Running a book club takes excellent organisation, time management and communication skills. It requires leadership skills and a strong sense of initiative to book a venue, handle communication with attendees and source the books. You may even produce marketing material to promote the book club, as well as add supplementary reading to kick off discussions.
This experience would suit people who want to apply for marketing, editorial, comms, or literary agent roles, which value a passion for books as well as excellent relationship-building and communication skills.
Attending industry events
While many publishing events are not open to non-industry people, there are some exceptions. This could be at the London Book Fair, Hay Festival, Cheltenham Literature Festival or even volunteering at one of The Bookseller’s conferences (FutureBook or the Marketing and Publicity conference). These are great opportunities to network, listen to important industry discussions and enjoy being in the middle of the book trade. With many of these events, there are panels on how to get into publishing, talks on young careers, the impact of AI, as well as more general talks on the direction of the industry. Experience like this will look great on your CV in interviews and demonstrate your passion for the publishing industry itself.
Volunteering at such events can benefit those wishing to go into any role within publishing, as it allows you to gain professional experience and showcase your passion for the industry
Volunteering at a digital or print publication
There are plenty of small presses, zines and magazines that have volunteer opportunities. This could be in editorial, marketing or design and will enable you to get experience in a professional capacity. You can usually find these small organisations through social media or on Jobs in Books. If they are not advertising volunteer roles, you can email them a speculative application or send the relevant team member a direct message enquiring about any future opportunities.
If you are at a university or college, you may be able to get this experience through an in-house publication, such as the university newspaper. This can teach you copywriting, digital fluency and communication skills.
Are you interested in gaining work experience within publishing?
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