Category: My Job in 5

Lynda Cooper, Lecturer in Publishing, is at the helm of this week’s My Job in 5 detailing her role working with students at the University of Plymouth.

• Describe your role
  As Lecturer in Publishing at the University of Plymouth, I work across our BA and MA Publishing degrees. Apart from giving lectures and tutorials, there is also lots of research, planning, and marking in the background. To keep our courses current, I spend time reviewing industry trends and helping students to make industry contacts and investigate employment options too.

• What do you like best about your role? 
  I love working with our students – they are passionate, talented, and knowledgeable, and it is a privilege to inform and inspire them about the publishing industry. The campus itself is a fantastic place to be; we have one of the only working letterpresses in the country, and the publishing team is based within the School of Art, Design, and Architecture, so there’s a very creative vibe. It is great having to stay close to new developments as well – my background is in digital publishing so I am always looking for ways to weave this into the modules. Plus, as anyone who knows me will testify, I do like a captive audience!

• What new projects or titles are you working on at the moment? 
  We are in the process of finalising our plans for the next academic year, so I am working closely with colleagues to pin down details for each course. I am particularly excited about a brand new module called ‘The Power of Publishing,’ which will focus on some of the ways in which publishing has changed history. It will be a chance to engage with topics such as sustainability, diversity, and gender equality, and I know the students will get really fired up – we’re just debating the final reading list now.

• What skills do you need to be a lecturer?
  Working knowledge of the industry is essential. Aside from that, I need confidence to deliver lectures clearly, and the creativity to make them interesting. As with any job, good organisation and flexibility help too.

• What advice would you give to those looking to work in the industry?
  I get to answer this question most days! There are lots of possible responses, but my favourite is: be interested in the business of publishing. It’s a commercial enterprise, so you need to become informed about the industry as a whole to in order to deliver profitability for your authors and company. That means understanding sales models, routes to market, rights, and digital opportunities as well as loving books and magazines (although that still helps). And of course, I’d recommend taking a degree in publishing, too!

Find roles in publishing with Jobs in Books.

PR and Marketing officer Kim Osborne shares what it’s like to oversee the digital presence at the Roald Dahl Museum.

1. Describe your role.

I look after the Museum’s digital presence, including our website and social channels, creating content to promote all aspects of the Museum’s activity. This includes our events programme, Café and retail offer. I’m also the in-house designer for the Museum, creating our printed and digital marketing content, and designing everything from menus to school resources for the various departments across the Museum.

2. What do you like best about your role?

It’s a pretty varied role and one that touches on all areas of the Museum.
I might be meeting with the Collections team to plan some blog posts, taking product photos with the Retail team, creating some films for Facebook, and designing wall graphics all in the same day. There’s never a dull moment, and always something new to get your teeth stuck into. It also helps that I get to work with a great team in a great Museum.

3. Which new projects or titles are you working on at the moment?

We’re currently focusing on the Museum re-opening (we were closed over the summer due to a flood), then looking towards promotion for our October half-term and Christmas events. We’ve also got some new exclusive Roald Dahl products for the Museum launching soon, including a new Museum edition book – but I can’t tell you which one yet! We’ll be promoting these on on the run-up to Christmas.

4. What skills do you need for your role?

Certainly creativity! My background is in graphic design which has proved to be a very useful skill to bring into this role, but you also need to be a good timekeeper and be able to switch between various projects frequently. There’s often a tight turnaround, and lots of projects vying for attention so keeping on top of things is essential. Good communication skills are also fundamental – not just with your audience, but with the various teams and suppliers you work with.

5. What advice would you give to those looking to work in the industry?

It’s always useful to see what other organisations are doing online so keep an eye on their pages and try to keep up-to-date with new ideas and ways of doing things. You could also start creating your own content; set up your own blog or make some videos – developing your skills will always add more strings to your bow.

Find marketing jobs, such as PR and marketing officer roles on Jobs in Books by clicking here.

Andrea Philpots is highlighted this week and details a bit about her role as Art Director at Egmont Publishing.

1. Describe your role

As Art Director, I head up a team of designers specialising in creating books for gaming and licensed brands (Star Wars, Minecraft, Roblox, Halo). I ensure we produce the best quality books that represent the brand for the licensor, the retailers and most importantly books that the consumer will love! I work within a budget and often to tight schedules to hit key dates that coincide with retailers, gaming updates and movie releases.

2. What do you like best about your role?

I like that my role has developed & pushed me to do something that I never thought I would be doing when I started out – I manage 3D designers and plan how we’re going to create assets for a new brand at the same time as checking the text layout of a Star Wars novel, it’s very varied and exciting. The brands I work on are constantly evolving, I have to stay ahead of the game and pre-empt everything whilst always thinking outside the box. Every day is different and rewarding, knowing that our books give children that all-important time away from the screen whilst remaining fully immersed in their favourite game gives me great job satisfaction!

3. Which new projects or titles are you working on at the moment?

We’re right in the middle of our 2019 programme and dipping our toes into 2020. Big things coming up include a new instalment of an award-winning Star Wars title; some fabulous Minecraft and Roblox guide books; bold new box sets and a number of super exciting titles which I’m not allowed to talk about just yet!

4. What skills do you need for your role?

Apart from having technical skills and a solid design background, you have to be very organised and passionate, you also need to be able to visualise the end product and make sure everyone is on the same page – there’s a lot to juggle! Problem-solving and finding new solutions is also helpful & key to keeping everything on track. Being innovative and always thinking of the next idea is imperative when you have to be ahead of trends whilst staying on brand. Good communication is vital – I am the link between the team, management, other departments and licensors.

5. What advice would you give to those looking to work in the industry?

Be genuine, passionate, willing and dedicated. If you have all of those and are a talented designer, then you’re halfway there. Then just build on your experience and jump into every opportunity with enthusiasm gaining experience along the way. My team are a very talented bunch, we all work together and have respect for each other’s roles and skills. I would always put experience, passion and an amazing attitude to learn and immerse yourself in a role over having a Masters degree. So get out there, gain experience and don’t forget to do your homework for a role – for instance, I’m always looking out for designers and asset creators that also love to play the games and are already fans of the brands that we work on, it’s simple & something that will make you stand out from the crowd.

Discover creative roles within the book trade, such as art director, here.

Suzanne Kennedy has the spotlight this week as she details what it’s like to be Deputy Sales & Marketing Director at Floris Books.

1. Describe your role.
   I manage a cracking team of three marketers and am currently recruiting for a Marketing Manager. I oversee their campaign work, head up the season planning, budget tightly, liaise with our US distributors, key accounts and reps and input into acquisition meetings and product decisions. I love it!

2. What do you like best about your role?
   The variety and the people – no day is ever the same. The job is both reactive and proactive and intensively planned with much speedy firefighting. The Floris Books team are highly motivated, professional and passionate, all wanting to do the best by our authors and illustrators and their readers.

3. Which new projects or titles are you working on at the moment?
   On my desk today are marketing materials for our new partnership with Historic Environment Scotland, drafts of AIs, a direct mailing and finalising LBF details. We’re launching the fabulous Guardians of the Wild Unicorns this week and starting work on an autumn lead Victoria Williamson’s Boy with the Butterfly Mind.

4. What skills do you need for your role?
   Prioritisation and the ability to re-prioritise when something unexpected lands in the day. Great communication internally and externally. Recognition of your own weaknesses and playing to the strengths of others. Spotting opportunities when they arise and ferreting them out when they don’t.

5. What advice would you give to those looking to work in the industry?
   Know what’s going on in the marketplace. Have a favourite campaign, cover, author, bookshop, short list. Be kind, tenacious, hard working and prepared to network like mad. It’s a small industry. Your peers in your first job may well be your peers for your entire career.

Discover marketing (including jobs like deputy sales & marketing director) roles here.

Doorman Filipe Teixeira from Porto’s most beautiful bookshop Livraria Lello takes over My Job in 5 this week.

1. I provide a warm welcome to all the visitors that pass by the world’s most beautiful bookshop. Our team also provides entry vouchers that deliver our customer’s discount on books in the store. We are also happy to provide our guests with little-known facts and curiosities in the bookshop and tips for our beautiful city of Porto.

2. I love the possibility of meeting people from all over the world and creating meaningful connections. These connections make for great memories! I am a sociable person so I can say it’s probably the job that I have most enjoyed ever having.

3. Our team tries daily to improve by learning new languages and typical expressions from around the world. This can get us closer to our guests that have come from far away and still make them feel welcome. At Livraria Lello, it’s our mission to ensure people feel cosy and at home.

4. We need to be comfortable with hundreds of persons around every day, all day. The ability to be flexible in switching languages is also important since numerous questions are asked simultaneously—sometimes three or four languages at the same time! You have to manage the number of people inside, the entry rows, and always care for individualized needs. We have to be able to have managing skills, be self-confident and funny.

5. I don’t many bookshops that have a team of doormen to give a warm welcome to all our book lovers. We need to be confident and comfortable to be able to create the Livraria Lello experience. You must want to share yourself and take an interest in our wonderful guests.

Discover more unique roles within the book trade, such as bookshop doorman, here.

Francesca Baker, Marketing Communications Manager from Spread the Word takes the helm of My Job in 5 this week, sharing with The Bookseller what it is like to provide well-rounded support to London’s burgeoning writing community.

1. Describe your role

As Marketing Communications Manager at Spread the Word my role is basically that – spreading the word about all the awesome work that we do. Our role is to provide support and opportunities for London’s writers and enable them to get their work out there, with a particular focus on championing writers from backgrounds that are underrepresented in publishing. So I have to tell everyone about this. This includes social media, updating web content, writing articles, interviewing authors for the blog, writing and sending out press releases, liaising with other media outlets, contacting relevant organisations…it’s quite varied and busy!

2. What do you like best about your role?

It’s really nice when I get to talk to an author who has worked with Spread the Word in the past, such as by receiving some mentoring or winning a prize, who then goes on to get a book deal or run a workshop for us. I often interview people like this for the blog, and it’s so nice to see the clear and tangible difference that Spread the Word makes to a writer’s craft and career. It’s also great when events and workshops sell out, and I can see the impact that some social media campaign or outreach to local organisations has had. This means we’re reaching the right people.

3. Which new projects or titles are you working on at the moment?

Spread the Word’s biggest project at the moment is the London Writers Awards. This is a new annual development programme for talented London writers and gives thirty writers from across genres a nine-month programme of mentoring, workshops, critical feedback groups, masterclasses and WritersLabs. My job is to capture some of the great impact that the scheme is having and share it.

We run two Prizes each year – the London Short Story Prize and Life Writing Prize (this one is currently open for entries until February 1st). I love encouraging people to enter, announcing the winner, and enjoying the prize-giving events. It’s so nice to see the excitement that people have when their hard work and talent is recognised.

4. What skills do you need for your role?

You have to be creative, and be able to see opportunities for marketing beyond the obvious. We’ve got a lot going on at Spread the Word, so the ability to be able to manage multiple different projects is key. The ability to write is key – I write event descriptions, interviews, articles, social media posts, press releases…lots of writing! Really, it’s about being a storyteller – finding stories and communicating them in a way that connects with the audience.

5. What advice would you give to those looking to work in the industry?

Have an active social media presence yourself, so you can learn about what works and how to maximise the channels, and can apply that learning to any organisation you work with. Look out for good and bad examples of marketing and think about what you liked or disliked about them, and what worked or didn’t work for you. Write as much as you can. Get in touch with organisations that you would like to work with, and tell them about your skills and what you can offer – even if they are not currently advertising a position. You’ll be front of mind should they start looking.

Discover marketing roles, including marketing communications manager roles here.

Kate Beal, MD and Publisher of Muswell Press, takes the reins of My Job in 5 this week.

1. Describe your role

I am the joint MD and Publisher with my sister Sarah Beal at Muswell Press. After many years of working for some of the best and biggest independent publishing companies in the UK we decided to be our own bosses and have the freedom to publish exactly what we want and the books we love that match our values, purpose and creativity. We work very closely with our authors and with a brilliant, small but committed team of freelancers on design, editorial and publicity. So running a small Independent with a full-time team of two means that my role is really varied and covers all aspects of the publishing business. A typical day starts with looking at sales figures and then I am thrown into whatever needs to be done, from writing and sending material to our sales team in the UK and Export, reading new submissions, catching up with our authors, re-writing our five-year plan, organising ebook promotions, updating Nielsen, to running to the Post Office to send off yet more proofs.

2. What do you like best about your role?

Flexibility. We publish books that some of the larger publishers wouldn’t look at with their decisions made by committees. We just publish the type of books we love to read and the type of books we know will have a market, and it is a pleasure to work on these books and to work with the authors across all the traditional publishing departments. The worst thing about my role is the challenge of creating thinking time to plan for mid and long-term issues. But the very best bit is when the finished copies arrive and look great – that makes all the hard work worthwhile.

3. Which new projects or titles are you working on at the moment?

We are currently working on our Autumn 2019 publication schedule; acquiring new titles and commissioning a new Biography/Travel series. The two titles I am mainly working on at present is our recently published A Beer in the Loire, having just reprinted I am looking at new sales, marketing and publicity opportunities. The other book is Close to the Edge, a brilliant new thriller by Toby Faber that we are publishing in April 2019, where we are working on the marketing materials and PR plan for the UK and Export markets.

4. What skills do you need for your role?

Experience and calmness. We have to problem-solve as we go along. It is easy for us to be creative and innovative but we have also had to create a good structure and critical path to allow us that freedom. Communication skills are also vital as is the ability to work quickly. Finally, you need to have no shame and be prepared to ask for advice when you need it. Publishing is a generous industry and friends and colleagues are always happy to help.

5. What advice would you give to those looking to work in the industry?

Don’t think you need an MA in publishing to get into the industry. Apply for internships at publishers that pay a fair wage and try to experience work in all departments to see what suits you best and what you are best at. Work in the sales department will show you the harsh reality of the industry and work in the editorial department will teach you where some of the magic is made. Work hard, ask questions and be vocal. The industry wants new talent and is in my experience a nurturing environment.

Discover publisher roles here.

Lily Mac Mahon, Editorial Assistant of Classical Studies and Archaeology at Bloomsbury Publishing, shares all about her new role.

1. Describe your role

I am the editorial assistant of Classical Studies and Archaeology at Bloomsbury Publishing. My main job is to oversee the publishing schedule of each book from the initial drawing up of the contract, to overseeing the progression of the manuscript, and finally to preparing it for production. A normal day generally involves responding to emails from authors, proofreading manuscripts, sending out books for review, building a website, and various other tasks which come my way.

2. What do you like best about your role?

Professionally, the best part of my job is working in editorial with books I really enjoy reading, as I studied Classics at university. On a more personal level, I feel very fortunate to work with such lively and intelligent people. This is not just true of my colleagues, but also of the authors I get to work with.

3. Which new projects or titles are you working on at the moment?

Our list at Bloomsbury is ever-expanding, especially with the recent acquisition of I.B.Tauris Publishers. I’m always excited to see new manuscripts come in which are part of our Classical Reception series, as they generally have such a fresh approach to the subject. For example, we recently published a volume of essays on Frankenstein and Its Classics which looks at the influence of Greek and Roman literature on Shelley’s work. Also, I’ve just been working on the manuscript for Looking at Ajax (edited by David Stuttard) – it is a privilege to work on titles that have such an excellent level of scholarship.

4. What skills do you need for your role?

As an editorial assistant, I think you have need to be highly organised, have a good eye for detail and an ability to learn quickly. One skill which is often overlooked in editorial is the ability to relate to people. Most of my day involves being in contact with authors and as an editorial assistant, it is also your responsibility to cultivate harmonious relationships.

5. What advice would you give to those looking to work in the industry?

If you’re looking to get into the industry, the key is to get some publishing-related experience on your CV. Volunteering at organisations is just as good as doing internships, especially since the latter are quite difficult to get. Network as much as you can, join societies and make sure to attend literary events where you’ll meet other publishing professionals. And lastly, persevere!

Discover editorial assistant roles here.