OXFORD

PUBLISHING
Publishing is a commercial industry like any other, and
offers roles across a full spectrum of business roles. The
There are over 8,000 publishing companies in the UK,
with the three largest companies (Penguin Random
House, Hachette Livre, HarperCollins) taking around half
of total UK sales. Other large employers include Pan
Macmillan, Pearson Education, OUP, Bloomsbury, Simon &
Schuster and John Wiley & Sons, with many other smaller
independent publishers.
The Publishers Association website (www.publishers.
org.uk) provides lots of information on the industry, roles
and careers. Generally, the processes of publishing are
divided into editorial, design and production, marketing,
distribution, contracts and rights, and administration.
to Editorial or Publishing Assistant, from Copy Editor to
Web Developer as the rapid growth of online and digital
publishing drive change across the industry.
There are also literary agencies, which act as intermediaries
between trade publishers and writers. Normally working in
books with authors, convincing publishers to buy them, and
dealing with contracts and media enquiries –and, of course,
reading lots too.
Salaries in publishing can be lower than other sectors, but
their passion for the industry.
GETTING IN AND ENTRY POINTS
A few publishers run formal graduate schemes, including
Cambridge University Press and HarperCollins. Most,
marketing, and the majority of people in publishing start
in administrative positions and work their way upwards.
One common entry role is to work as an Editorial Assistant;
this role may involve many duties, including preparing
scripts for handover to publishing services, chasing readers’
reports for new book proposals, drawing up and sending
out author contracts – as well as doing market research and
commissioning book proposals in consultation with their
editor.
For any job, a demonstrated interest in the sector is
extremely important, and having relevant work experience
can be a real advantage. A few large players, such as
Penguin and Oxford University Press, offer formal internship
schemes, but outside these make speculative approaches
to seek work experience, and working in a bookshop will
give you useful insights into the market.
CareerConnect is a useful source of vacancies for jobs
and work experience in the sector. Key external job sites
include The Bookseller, Oxford Brookes’ list of publishing
jobs and internships (they run an MA in Publishing) and
the Independent Publishers Guild (IPG) job board. Many
agencies, do not formally advertise vacancies, which means
you need to get in touch speculatively to enquire.
Clarissa Pabi
Senior Digital
Marketing Executive,
Penguin Random House
“Publishing can be right for anyone, and
don’t ever think otherwise. Editorial is
just the starting point - publishing also
involves creative ideas, production, rights,
sales, digital sales, finance, law, PR,
marketing, art design.”
EXTRA-CURRICULAR IDEAS
+ Join the Society of Young Publishers. Run by young
professionals in the sector, it holds regular networking
nights in Oxford.
+ Demonstrate interest by joining other related student
societies, such as the Society of Bibliophiles.
+ Gain experience by working for a student publication,
eg, the Oxford Student, Cherwell, Isis, Bang! and so on.
Many offer experience in editorial and technical roles.
+ Attend the London Book Fair in April: a huge exhibition
aimed at the publishing industry, it’s a great way to learn
more about the sector and build your network.
+ Offer to help in your department or College, for
example, to support the production of conference
materials and reports, internal documents or
promotional material.
MORE INFORMATION:
www.careers.ox.ac.uk/publishing
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