Getting into the publishing industry

In general, though maaaybe not strictly required, it would help to be in NY, Chicago, TO or the like, and be willing to beg for the chance to work for no money, to earn the opportunity to work for like $30,000/yr. There is no shortage of people who want those jobs and they pay very, very little.

I don't know if your background would help or hurt, honestly; I think it'd depend on the person you or your resume ended up in front of.

Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

Have you considered working as an agent? Agents have to have considerable understanding of contractual law, and many of them also help edit their clients books. And you'd get to do a lot of reading, I assure you.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

Ruby, I'm sure that Siri meant well but becoming a literary agent requires far more publishing experience than becoming an editor does. It's not an entry-level position, and having experience working in a legal background does not necessarily prepare you for working with publishing contracts, which are a very particular thing.

From what I've read in this thread, your preferences and previous experience won't necessarily help you get on. Having "a passion for reading (mostly classic fiction) from a young age" is no big deal in publishing: it's ordinary. And I'm afraid that having "plenty of experience drafting and analysing text as a lawyer, and I also enjoy working with people and negotiating" won't help you either: these are not skills which will transfer particularly well, unless you want to work in a publisher's legal department, in which case you still have a great deal to learn.

If you want to get a job in publishing, get yourself an intern position. Then get another and another. These will almost certainly be unpaid, so be prepared to work for nothing for a good while. Expect to get only a very junior, low-paid position if you do get a job; don't expect to ever earn much money. The work is it's hard, you'll work long hours, and you are unlikely to ever get any sort of recognition for your efforts. But it is wonderful, if you're of the right sort.

Old Hack said:

Expect to get only a very junior, low-paid position if you do get a job; don't expect to ever earn much money. The work is it's hard, you'll work long hours, and you are unlikely to ever get any sort of recognition for your efforts. But it is wonderful, if you're of the right sort.

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Yes to all of this. Old Hack is correct.

Hi Ruby Red!

Have you read Alex Bracken's blog? She's a YA author who works in publishing, and she has written a few posts about working in the industry. Here are a couple of helpful posts: The One About Working in Publishing and Ask Alex: Internships.

Best of luck!

Not to pile on the crushing despair, but I started out with a law degree, did a masters in publishing, interned at a Big Six publisher in London and still couldn't get a job in trade publishing - my tolerance for heartbreaking rejection ran out after about a dozen failed interviews.

Ruby_Red said:

Thanks for your honestly

I'm currently applying for work experience positions (they are unpaid) to see if this is really what I want to do, but I'm wondering what skills and experience to talk about in my cover letter if not drafting/editing, negotiating, people skills, etc (these were the skills highlighted as being important for Editorial in a booklet that the publishing house in question made available on their website, explaining what it's like to work in each of their different departments).

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The problem is that if you say you've edited before, and they ask you about that in your interview, you're likely to reveal that your idea of editing is nowhere near their idea of editing, and it will count against you.

By all means talk about the various skills you have: but don't try to stress certain things just because you think it's what they want to hear. When I was looking for staff I wanted people who were interesting, intelligent and capable, not necessarily people who fitted nicely into the right-shaped box. Just be honest about what you like, what you're good at, and what you'd like to learn.

Obviously I need to say something about my skills in my cover letter, I can't just say " I want to know what it's like in publishing". They need a reason to give me the opportunity over someone else.

Also I mentioned a passion for reading because I wanted to indicate why I'm interested in publishing. Everybody in publishing reads, I'm sure, but not all lawyers do and since I'm coming from a legal (rather than publishing) background, I wanted to make it clear that I didn't just wake up and go "I think I'll work with books now" knowing nothing about them

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You can show that you've not just woken up and decided on pubilshing by talking about what else you've done: perhaps you've taken an editing course, or a publishing course, for example.

It's amazing the talent and education of people who would be willing to work free for the opportunity to have their dream job. Remember nothing lasts forever ... that includes the dues paying lean-times ..... so go for it. Nothing worse than absolutely hating the daily grind, been there. celiaboop

Old Hack said:

Ruby, I'm sure that Siri meant well but becoming a literary agent requires far more publishing experience than becoming an editor does. It's not an entry-level position, and having experience working in a legal background does not necessarily prepare you for working with publishing contracts, which are a very particular thing.

From what I've read in this thread, your preferences and previous experience won't necessarily help you get on. Having "a passion for reading (mostly classic fiction) from a young age" is no big deal in publishing: it's ordinary. And I'm afraid that having "plenty of experience drafting and analysing text as a lawyer, and I also enjoy working with people and negotiating" won't help you either: these are not skills which will transfer particularly well, unless you want to work in a publisher's legal department, in which case you still have a great deal to learn.

If you want to get a job in publishing, get yourself an intern position. Then get another and another. These will almost certainly be unpaid, so be prepared to work for nothing for a good while. Expect to get only a very junior, low-paid position if you do get a job; don't expect to ever earn much money. The work is it's hard, you'll work long hours, and you are unlikely to ever get any sort of recognition for your efforts. But it is wonderful, if you're of the right sort.

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Might I hand you a rainbow and a puppy?

Kidding. Kinda. The bolded bit threw me off, though-- most jobs don't get huge recognition? It's about loving what you're doing every day you're at work, yes?

I would bet on it being easier to get into agenting than editorial, AND easier to transition slowly into agenting full time rather than giving up the job that is paying your bills.

If you're willing to live in NYC, that can help tremendously in getting into editorial, but if you're not, and you want to work in fiction publishing, there are a handful of other options (for instance llewellyn is in Minneapolis) but that's it. Conversely, there are probably hundreds of lit agencies and you can find an internship with one and do it remotely.

Almost every agent I know, whose been doing it 5 yrs or less, has another job. Ruby would continue teaching law, so that she can, you know, eat, as she trains to be a lit agent with an established agency.

The fact is, working in editorial as an acquiring editor requires more than a cursory knowledge of editing. The best editors know how to completely deconstruct a novel, analyize the three act structure/rising & falling action/characters/conflicts/pacing/tension... and then write a dozen pages on how the writer can fix it.

As an agent, you can help shape things and improve things but the editor is the one who revolutionizes it. With a law background, a love of books, basic editorial skills, that sounds more like agenting than editorial work.

Just, for the love of god, don't decide you're going to open your own agency.