Opening up the industry through Comma Press’ ‘Publishing Insights Day 2024’

On 6 June 2024, I visited an ‘Insight into Publishing’ day, facilitated by Comma Press Publishing. Comma Press is a not-for-profit publishing company that aims to demystify publishing and make it more accessible for those living outside of London. As part of this aim, Comma Press contributes to publishing mentorships, in collaboration with the Northern Fiction Alliance.

Throughout the year, the company runs an insight day on the publishing industry in June and an insight day on creative writing in November.

The schedule included several speakers with experience in the publishing industry, with the primary focus being on giving insight into the centralisation of the publishing industry within London. The session on ‘Publishing Outside the London Bubble’ covered this specifically, outlining the lack of editorial remit most major publishers possess outside of London.

The speakers, Hazel Holmes of UCLan Publishing, Habiba Desai of Fox & Windmill and Jonathon de Peyer of Harper North, each spoke of their own experiences working within publishing houses in London. They spoke of the economic difficulties of living in the most expensive city in the UK, whilst earning the relatively low wages that are characteristic of the creative industries.

Additionally, they spoke of their experiences of working in some of the ‘Big Five’ Publishers (referring to Penguin Random House, Harper Collins, Hachette Livre, Macmillan Publishers and Simon & Schuster) as stifling and allowing for little individual creativity. Ultimately, they found greater creative freedom and more financial flexibility working outside of London, and, for some of the speakers, outside of the ‘Big Five’ Publishers.

The speakers made key points concerning the necessity of London-central publishing houses opening branches outside of London.

“They suggested that these regional offices should not be an afterthought, but central to the publishing house and to the communities of writer and readers outside of London”

They suggested that these regional offices should not be an afterthought, but central to the publishing house and to the communities of writer and readers outside of London. As well as benefitting those looking to work in the publishing industry, this approach would aid writers outside of London. A greater focus on authorship – where the author is from, where they currently live and where book launches are convenient, for example – would smooth the process for both writer and publisher.

“I have directly felt the lack of opportunities coming from the publishing industry in the North”

As someone who was raised outside of London and the South (in West Yorkshire), I have directly felt the lack of opportunities coming from the publishing industry in the North. Internship opportunities are largely centred in London, with many publishers expecting participants to cover the costs of their journeys to London. Within unpaid internships especially, this creates a significant barrier to entry for those from outside London, especially those with lower economic means. This is especially significant within an industry that relies on unpaid internships and networking as a way of gaining experience and climbing the job ladder.

The rest of the day consisted of talks detailing the inner workings of specific sectors of the publishing industry. These sectors consisted of Editorial (James Keane), Publicity and Marketing (Sam Missingham), Sales (James Benson), Book Design (David Pearson), Starting Your Own Press (Isabelle Kenyon), Rights (Jason Bartholemew) and Agenting (Susan Yearwood). The speakers focused on demystifying these sectors of the publishing industry, delving into the work that goes on within a publishing company and demonstrating the skills needed to work in each sector.

The cost of the event was (£50), limiting accessibility for those without the financial means to attend. However, Comma Press offered discounted tickets for all students and key speaker Sam Missingham personally sponsored two free tickets.