How I learnt to stop worrying and love the book

[dropcap]I[/dropcap] applied for work experience in a last-minute wave of panic before the Easter holidays. I was surprised to receive a prompt reply from Macmillan, a company that has published works from Carol Ann Duffy, C. J. Sansom, Emma Donoghue (author of Room), and the Gruffalo series by Julia Donaldson.

It was a careers’ session at Warwick about Publishing and Journalism that first prompted me to consider Macmillan. A representative from Macmillan gave an introductory presentation that explained the different positions in the publishing industry, bringing my attention to the potential of roles other than editorial.

After emailing my CV and a short cover letter, I was invited to two weeks of work experience with Macmillan. My placement was in the Adult Communications department for Pan Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Ltd. Part of the success of my application was due to the fact that I applied for the first two weeks of the Easter holiday, from March 17 to March 28, when many other universities do not break up for Easter until early April.

I think that many students underestimate their potential and how easy the process of writing a CV and cover letter can be

Pan Macmillan’s offices are in central London, however I was reimbursed for travel within London and received an additional £5 per day for lunch with receipts.

From the first day, I was thoroughly impressed by the lovely offices. As an English literature student, I enjoyed working in an environment that was filled with books. And the books were everywhere: in boxes for mail-outs, on shelves as extras and for consultations, and in piles on people’s work desks.

The marketing and publicity department are involved in organising book signings and launches, setting up press releases, and advertising plans. I continually heard this being described as the more ‘glamorous’ side of publishing. On the placement, I found myself putting together invitation lists that featured some reasonably well-known names.

Of course, I did have also to do many banal, small tasks, as is expected from any work experience placement. These tasks involved sending numerous mail-outs, for example of invitations to press and authors for events, and books to be reviewed by bloggers. My efforts were somewhat rewarded at the end of the placement, when the last package I sent was to myself, containing several free Pan Macmillan books.

Other tasks included putting together lists of emails and addresses of invitees for book events, and updating the events page on the Pan Macmillan website. I researched possible venues in London for events and even ran an errand outside of the office. I worked with Gorkana, Biblio and Net Galley, which I can now put on my CV as website systems that I am familiar with. Overall, I felt that I had a purpose and was given enough responsibilities to kept me busy.

The two weeks gave me a real taste for what life could be like in the publishing world

My favourite task was the opportunity to sit in on cover design and editorial meetings. It was fascinating to hear how much thought and discussion went into the selecting of covers for novels. In particular, I enjoyed the discussions about selecting a new theme of covers for Pan Macmillan’s classic novels. The designers at the meeting presented the group with their ideas and designs, and it was then up to the marketing and publicity people to choose which themes they thought best and most appropriate. All of the designs were simply amazing; the task of choosing only one must have been incredibly difficult. In addition, it was not simply a matter of choosing the most aesthetically appealing: other factors, such as how thick the spines were and how unifying or different the designs for each theme should be, also had to be considered. Approaching a topic like this from a sales’ point of view has shed new light on my shopping experience.

I thoroughly enjoyed the two weeks placement at Pan Macmillan, and recommend the company to anyone interested in publishing. I think I benefitted much more from undertaking two weeks instead of one week, as it gave me more time to get to know the staff. By the second week, I was being trusted with much more important jobs.

I did feel, however, that the experience was not enough to sway me from considering journalism, a career which I feel provides more challenges and active work in the long term. But if you are interested in event planning, marketing, sales, and working with writers, then publishing could be the career for you.

Image Credits: Header (Flickr/Georg Mayer), Image 1 (Ben Mautner).