Interview with Alison Baverstock: How to Get a Job in Publishing

Ahead of the SYP’s seminar at the London Book Fair on 15^th April, we talk to Alison Baverstock (Author and Senior Lecturer in Publishing Studies at Kingston University) who will be chairing the discussion, about her route into publishing, and gain some expert tips for anyone at the start of a career in the industry.

 

 

 

At the beginning of my final year at university, I overheard someone at university talking about working for their father’s literary agent during the summer holidays and thought it sounded fascinating.  I read The Truth About Publishing by Stanley Unwin and decided this was the career for me.   

 

 

 

By a very circuitous route!  To get started in publishing I took a job with direct marketing consultancy IBIS and received an excellent training in both direct marketing (then in its infancy) and how publishing works.  I made lots of contact with London publishers (the area I was dealing with) and got a job with first Heinemann and then Macmillan.  I am married to a soldier and, as time went on, we ended up travelling and moving house a lot.  But the brilliant thing about publishing is its flexibilty: you gain a skill set that you can use anywhere, on all sorts of related projects (volunteer for the Curriculum Council in Northern Ireland, writing for a garrison magazine in Germany), and publishers are happy to freelance work out.  And as we moved, and I accumulated experience, I also wrote about publishing (How to Market Books and 15 other titles).  It would have been much harder to be a freelance merchant banker married to a soldier!

 

 

  

Curiosity. Today publishing is all about matching format to market, whether you are supplying business information to professionals or leisure reading to women likely to be of a certain age.  You will almost always end up working for markets you don’t necessarily understand or even particularly empathise with, so an ability to interest yourself in whatever you are dealing with is vital.  You need flexibility for all the same reasons, and a good memory for names and faces helps hugely.

  

 

 

Money. Most students emerge from university with huge debts. Taking an MA in Publishing (if that is their chosen route, and I help run one at Kingston) is expensive, and parents can be loathe to shell out more money so some people move back home and job hunt, others survive in cheap rent accommodation and take work experience that they hope will grow into a paid job, supporting their chosen route with part time paid jobs.  And I have huge respect for the maturity of young people today, who have to deal with much tougher financial realities than when I was a young publisher.

  

 

  

An understanding of how the industry fits together, practical experience of doing the job (from work experience placements) and a wealth of excellent contacts within the industry.

  

 

  

Present a good CV. One that is error-free (a fatal sin for anyone trying to get a job involving communications) shows real commitment and makes the person receiving it think you would be interesting to talk to (be specific about your interests, and don’t just say you like reading).  Have good interpersonal skills for the interview – lots of eye contact and an ability to answer the questions you have been asked.  Good manners are an important but often undervalued asset.  

  

 

  

You will find out about all sorts of markets you know nothing of right now. For example, I got particularly hooked on publishing products for dentists during one job I took on as a consultant.  I became fasincated by their buying habits, their immense love of good images, and determination to remain up-to-date in their field.  If I had stuck to my comfort zones, I would never have known.  As a publisher with a broad experience of the industry you also accumulate masses of general knowledge – and can be a real asset on a quiz team!

  

 

   

I am looking forward to this enormously. The seminar should be great fun, and the opportunity to launch my latest book (How to Get a Job in Publishing) at the party afterwards is great – after all, I used to be a member of the SYP (but sadly no longer qualify).