Five years ago I was busy artificially inseminating sea urchins and painstakingly mapping the movements of Macquarie University’s resident ibises across campus as part of a biology degree. But then the glorious Good Reading magazine invited me to start reviewing books for them after I’d published a short story in their sister magazine for high school students, SpineOut. At the same time, I got involved with the university student magazine after cornering the divine Benjamin Law when he visited campus and interviewing him for a feature story. 

A pivot was afoot. I could get free books? And earn money for writing about them? And make a job out of asking insanely smart people insanely stupid questions? Sold. I dropped my syringes and left my lustful sea urchins to their own devices. I switched my science degree to a double major in journalism and creative writing, started working as the editorial manager for Good Reading and officially joined the team of the student mag, Grapeshot, which I ended up running for a year as Editor-in-Chief. 

Through my gig at Good Reading I met and interviewed some exceptional writers. I had cake with Jackie French sitting in her lush valley home, one of her famous wombats nestled somewhere in a burrow beneath us. I spoke with the man who sells a book every nine seconds, Lee Child. I sat in the gutter outside a high-end restaurant with a hot new thriller author so she could smoke as I interviewed her, and cried in a hotel lobby with an investigative journalist who had just snuck out of North Korea.

I fell head-over-Birkenstocks for books and the people who make them. In my role as Marketing & Publicity Executive at Simon & Schuster I feel seriously lucky to be part of this great industry and championing brilliant Australian books.

If you’re at uni and keen to get into the publishing industry, I can’t recommend getting involved with your student magazine enough. You learn far more than what you do in tutorials and make contacts that pay off with opportunities years down the track. Complete short courses on LinkedIn Learning about social media marketing or metadata. Pitch reviews and author interviews to magazines like Good Reading and Kill Your Darlings, or write them for your own blog. Read widely and keep tabs on what’s selling across the Australian market but don’t be afraid to cultivate an expert knowledge of a specific genre too. And leave your lit snobbery at the door – without Fifty Shades of Grey we can’t have Shuggie Bain. In my experience wearing your enthusiasm on your sleeve and trying to meet as many people as you can in the world of books and publishing is the best (and most fun!) way to get a foot in the door. (Speaking of, Foot in the Door is a great podcast series of interviews with Australian publishing professionals that’s a fantastic resource for more info.) Good luck! 
 

Who would have thought that working in a bookstore would be helpful in landing a job in publishing? I worked at a Dymocks store for nearly five years, and the longer I was there the more I started to learn about the relationship between bookshops and publishing houses. This is what inspired me to pursue a career in an industry that was committed to bringing books to market. Eventually I landed my current position as a Sales Coordinator here at Simon & Schuster. But it all started with that initial question: how do I find a way to get into publishing? Working at Dymocks certainly helped. I used it as a place to actively listen and learn as much about publishing as I possibly could. But I still found it overwhelming trying to figure out how to land a job. After all, I was just a bookseller. Where did I even start?

The first thing that I focused on was finding a way to apply my current skills to any available positions. It was daunting thinking about the fact that I hadn’t worked in a publishing house before. I saw it as a barrier between me and the industry. But, by focusing on what aspects of my experience I could apply to different positions in publishing, I started to see opportunities open. For instance, my admin skillset allowed me to focus on applying for jobs that mainly required admin experience. It didn’t matter that I hadn’t worked at a publishing company before because the hiring process came down to finding out how the skills I already had could be used in the company. Break down your current experience and I am sure you will find the right piece of the puzzle that will help you see where you belong in publishing.

The job interview process was my biggest learning curve when it came to trying to get into publishing. The publishing job interview is crucial when trying to find a job. After all, it’s the interview itself that can make or break whether you get the job. The best way you can prepare is by doing a lot of research about the company you are applying for. This is where my experience of working in a bookstore became an advantage in this part of the process, because my day-to-day duties already gave me some background knowledge of the companies I was applying to. So, I did my research and I prepared how my previous experience could be applied to an industry I hadn’t worked in before. It came to a point when I was confident that I could pitch how my abilities would make me an ideal employee. And based on the feedback I got after landing my current role, I am glad that I focused on this part of the job-hunting process. 

So, while trying to get into publishing might seem intimidating, I hope that breaking the process into steps that focus on using your previous skills will help you. And if you are figuring out where to start, don’t turn a blind eye to working in a bookshop. It’s a great place to learn and you never know where you might end up. I certainly didn’t. 

Typical of nearly everyone in the publishing industry, I was a huge reader from a young age, and carried the habit of always having a book in my bag through highschool and into uni. When I finished my HSC, I had absolutely no idea what sort of job I might like to have, and so instead simply picked a degree that felt prestigious and impressive. I studied Arts/Law, only ever really enjoying my literature courses, but it truly didn’t occur to me to consider books as a career until I’d nearly finished my studies. I worked as a student editor on the Australian Year Book of International Law, and started to get an inkling that this might be something I’d like to pursue. 

Once I’d tried a couple of paralegal jobs (and watched friends of mine suffer through clerkships at private firms) I confirmed my suspicion that I had no passion for that sort of work, and decided to instead try to get my foot in the door at a publishing house. I applied for so many roles at so many different companies, and had barely any understanding of how the industry worked – I look back at some of the answers I gave in interviews and cringe! However, I eventually landed a job as the Sales Coordinator at Simon & Schuster. Sales wasn’t where I’d pictured myself at all, but it ended up being such a great position to start to get an understanding of the industry as a whole, and I later moved over into the Editorial team. 

My advice to anyone who wants to get into publishing would be to take any entry-level job you can get, even if it’s not in the department you see yourself working in long term. Understanding all parts of the industry will make you better at whatever job you end up in – it’s all useful experience, and it demonstrates that you’re willing to work to prove yourself! I would also recommend volunteering at a student newspaper or even interning at a print publication, if you can (I know the flexibility to take on unpaid work is a privilege, and not possible for all). Anything to demonstrate your enthusiasm for publishing, and give you a practical edge over other young candidates. Finally, some gentle networking never goes astray! A friend of a friend worked at a bookstore and tipped me off about the S&S job. It’s a small industry, so making connections with other booksellers/editors/designers will keep you in the loop to hear about job openings – even if only so you can use their Books+Publishing logins! 

I grew up as a bookworm, my spine constantly curled under the weight of my school bag bursting at the seams with overdue library books - but I never really connected my love of reading to a potential career in publishing until I started my writing course at university. In my mind, I always wanted to be the one writing the books – not one of the people behind the scenes, bringing the book to life, expertly editing, designing, and publishing a work to be displayed on bookshelves around Australia and the world.

I really thought writing was the best way to be involved with books and to immerse myself in the literary community – but when I became editor of my university magazine, I got a taste for the behind-the-scenes action. I loved writing, but there was something so different about being on the other side of a work that isn’t your own – so many potential avenues open up before you, endless opportunities and ideas that, for some reason, you just can’t see in front of you when you’re the one with pen in hand. I loved it. And that’s when the thought first occurred to me – I could be an editor – and maybe that would benefit me as a writer, too. I could do both!

When I started chatting to fellow classmates about their career plans, it seemed like publishing was on everyone’s wish list. It made me nervous – I had heard of how competitive it was to get into publishing, and now I was seeing first-hand the high demand. It seemed like an impossible summit, a huge mountain that hundreds of eager and willing University students were scrambling up all at once, desperate to reach the peak first. I thought I needed to do a Masters in publishing if I had any hope of standing out.

As I was looking into a Masters course, I saw a job opening for a book marketing company called Better Reading, and thought it sounded like a great opportunity to get more involved with books – the perfect job to supplement my Masters course. When I landed the role, I learnt that on-the-ground experience is more valuable than lessons in theory. At Better Reading, I got a unique glimpse into the world of publishing, and had the incredible privilege of working directly with Australia’s major publishers. It didn’t take me long to realise that a Masters wasn't the only pathway into publishing – what I was learning at Better Reading couldn’t be taught in a classroom or relayed to me through notes and textbooks. You had to be in the thick of it, you had to be connecting the dots in real-time. 

Through Better Reading, I connected with Simon & Schuster Australia, and was hired for the role of Marketing and Publicity Executive. It wasn’t the editorial role I thought I wanted, but I knew it was a priceless foot in the door, and felt so fortunate to have been offered the opportunity.

Two and a half years later, and I could never imagine NOT working in marketing and publicity. My role is incredible – I get to work directly with authors, develop connections with key media across Australia, attend book events and festivals, and come up with creative ways to tell readers about our wonderful books!

I know a lot of people (myself included) feel strongly about what they want to get out of publishing, but my advice is – be open to anything. Publishing offers such a diverse range of roles and opportunities. No two days in publishing are the same, and really, whether you are in marketing, editorial, publicity, or sales, one key aspect of the job remains constant – you get to work on some of the best books you will ever read, with some of the most talented and passionate people you will ever meet. Take any opportunity you can to get involved in books early – whether it be working part-time at a bookshop or volunteering at writers’ festivals, all experience is valuable and respected by people in the industry. Another nugget of advice would be to expand your reading as much as possible to truly develop an understanding of the market and what consumers are interested in. Read books by Australian authors, young adult books, non-fiction books, commercial books, books by international authors, niche interest books, books you see recommended on social media, fanfiction, short stories, manga! All books have something special to offer. If you're at university, try and join writing groups or book clubs where you can connect with other book-loving people, and try to get involved in any uni publications. Nothing teaches you about the publishing process quite like having to build a magazine from scratch and then send thousands of copies to print....