How to Get a Job in Publishing Part 14

You're doing the work of three people. No-one here understands what I do. I don't get paid to put up with this c.r.a.p. Less talented people are being promoted and I'm getting left behind ...

Stop. Stop it. This is not going to help. What will help is taking control of the situation, doing one of two things and doing it well: stay and sort it out, or leave. Because if you don't do one of those two things and just sit there suffering, it's only going to get worse.

Instead, a.n.a.lyse the situation and then make your decision. Listen to yourself a little: 'No-one here understands what I do.' OK, so if that's true, then what can you do to change that? After all, it's unlikely your boss is going to wake up tomorrow morning or any time soon, slap their forehead and exclaim, 'My G.o.d, I've been so blind! What a brilliant job X is doing!' At least, that won't happen without a bit of help. From you.

Be positive. Be cheerful. Volunteer. Work hard. Smile. Dig in.

'I don't get paid to put up with this c.r.a.p.' Er, excuse us, but that's exactly what you get paid to put up with. Unless what you're talking about is bad behaviour, such as bullying or s.e.xual hara.s.sment for example in which case you need to speak to your manager or HR director immediately, doc.u.ment everything and do not permit the perpetrator to be alone with you in work or out of it then doing stuff you don't like doing is why they're paying you, rather than you paying them. For the great majority of the world's population, enjoying what they're being paid to do is an impossible dream.

Do you have a job/position description? No? Well, why not? Because you haven't been given one? Listen to yourself, and get a grip. Sit yourself down and draft one and ask your boss if they agree with it, and if not can they help you improve it. See? There's something you can do, rather than waiting for someone else to provide the solution to what is after all your problem.

'Less talented people are getting promoted and I'm getting left behind ...' Hmm. When you say less talented, perhaps what you mean is less talented than I am at slaving away in the dark and getting no thanks for it. You obviously don't mean, for example, less talented than I am at being promoted. Well, perhaps you can learn from their skills in this area. Are they sucking up to the boss, by any chance? Good at getting the credit? Always getting mentioned in despatches? If they are, perhaps this explains why they're getting promoted? After all, if their talent isn't the reason, there must be some explanation that's currently eluding you.

Big businesses aren't always the best place to be for shrinking violets. Look at how your business itself behaves. Does that tell you anything about what works in the market? And your boss, are they a quiet achiever who never takes credit for anyone else's work and always takes the blame when they screw up? (If they are, can we come and work for them, please?) So, as we say, decide whether you're going to stay here, play the game and play it better than anyone else or get the h.e.l.l out of there. (Incidentally, your three authors all decided to do just that: get out and work for themselves rather than put up with the c.r.a.p. It's an option.) Of course there's still no guarantee you'll find yourself somewhere where talent is all and self-promotion is useless as a technique for getting noticed ...

3. Miserable?

You hate your job. 'It's not what I thought it was. It's a boring grind. I hate Mondays and Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays aren't much cop either ...'

Oops. Honey, I Took The Wrong Career Path? Or perhaps just: Honey, I Took The Wrong Job? The distinction is important, because while you may have discovered that in fact you're not a sales rep at heart, or an editorial a.s.sistant, you may simply have found a horrible job/boss/company. Every job/boss/company is different, and what is basically the same job can be a whole lot of fun if you're working with good people, have a half-decent boss and are employed by a human company.

Transport the same tasks and responsibilities to somewhere where you're surrounded by zombies, report to the boss from h.e.l.l and work for a rubbish company and it's no wonder you're climbing up the walls.

If that's the situation, you'll leave eventually, so you may as well get on with it and leave now. (Better if you can to line something up, not just because your landlord is curiously fond of getting paid rent, but also because employers tend to be suspicious of applicants not already working.) In six months' time you'll wonder how you put up with it so long.

But be sure first that it really is that bad. See if you have someone whose advice you trust and who's a good listener, and describe the worst thing that's happened to you recently. If they sit there at the end still waiting for the bad bit to come, then it's just possible (though by no means certain) that you've developed some unhealthy expectations of what work ought to be like and how bosses behave in the real world.

4. Close to someone you HATE?

Just as, with any luck, you'll find someone you can turn to and lean on, so at some stage it's highly likely you'll find someone who just rubs you up the wrong way, big time. Whether it's an incompetent boss, a glory-hogging co-worker, a neurotic colleague whom you are forced to share an office with, or just someone who has the ability to make you seriously unhappy, they have the capacity to spoil things for you. If it's making you miserable, it's time to face facts.

Here's the bad news: it usually doesn't get better by itself. Here's the good news: you can move. It's a healthy job market, there are lots of opportunities and you're a highly skilled, attractive a.s.set that any business should be eager to snap up. The best revenge, as they say, is to live well. Go, and don't look back. You won't regret it. No amount of money can compensate for being unhappy.

(Note, though, that we're talking about real, heavyweight, first-cla.s.s misery here, not just mild irritation. If you up sticks every time you come into contact with someone who's a pain, you'll be moving every week. You need to know the difference.) 5. Trapped?

You can't see where your next job is coming from. 'I've been here forever, or so it seems. What's next? I want my boss's job but she's superglued to her seat and looks like being here forever.'

Buy a book we reckon How to Get a Job in Publishing is pretty terrific. Sign up to the online jobsites. Polish up your CV. Ask friends about other possible job vacancies (quietly). Ask for a pay rise and see how it goes. Make triple sure your manager, and their manager, and their manager, all know that you're energetic and capable and keen to move on and up don't take it for granted that they will see you beavering away and know what you're thinking.

If it really isn't going to work out, there's no solution to this one, other than moving or perhaps a.r.s.enic, which is illegal. Publishing is a limited market, and there aren't always too many options for internal promotion. (That's why your boss is stuck for the same reason you are.) Conclusion: have the time of your life Fortunately things are rarely as bad as all that. And when they are, there are things you can do about it. The first thing to do is to decide that it's up to you, not anyone else, to change your situation to get that first job, or your next job, in publishing. And, after all these pages, we could actually have told you just to read this last bit (except you probably wouldn't have bought a book with only one page in it). Here, then, is what we really, really think about How to Get a Job in Publishing ...

For most of us, most of the time, work is just ... well, it's just work. Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans. You get up, you go to work, you do what you're told, you go home. A little bit ho, but mostly hum.

But it doesn't have to be like that, you know. It really doesn't. Look around your circle of friends and family and you'll almost certainly know someone who seems to be more alive and alert than the rest of us, and having an absolute blast the time of their life, quite literally. Take a look at what they do and you'll see why. Try their approach for a bit and see what happens. What do you see?

You'll see someone who takes control because if you don't, no-one else will. It's your life, so own it. There are plenty of rules we live by that aren't rules at all, they're just habits or tradition or customs. If humanity had behaved like that we'd still be living in trees. Someone took it upon themselves to say, 'I've had enough of this; let's try it down there. It could work!'

You'll see someone who's better at learning from mistakes than at not making them. Wisdom comes from experience, and experience comes from bad decisions. If you don't take a risk you won't do anything.

You'll see someone who knows their own worth because if you don't believe, and really believe, that you're valuable then it's virtually certain that no-one else will. It's an odd thing, but true: people tend to take you at your own valuation.

You'll see someone who plans to be somewhere and is in a hurry to get there because the faster you go, the further you get. And since you're going to get there anyway (yes, you are), you might as well get there as quick as you can.

You'll see someone who goes the extra mile: remember how our mate Stuart Jones in Melbourne put it: 'It's less crowded there.'

You'll see someone who's loving what they're doing and doing what they're loving because that's what they've decided is important to them. That bit is much more certain than whether they're earning a ton of money or not. They might be (and it's surprising how much money you can make when you're doing what you're pa.s.sionate about, just because of the energy it brings you). But some of the happiest people we know (ourselves included) aren't particularly well off. And some of the most miserable sods around are loaded. That tells you something. It doesn't mean you can't be rich and happy, and it certainly doesn't mean you can't be poor and miserable. All it means is that if you're miserable, being rich won't take the pain away.

Right then, that's pretty much it. As you can tell, you've come to the end of this book, and it's time for us to part ways. We hope you've enjoyed it as much as we've enjoyed spending the money we earned writing it (though since you've been paying attention you'll have realised that it wasn't really all that much). By the way, you didn't think we really meant all that stuff about how publishing isn't glamorous and s.e.xy and warm and moist and gorgeous, did you? We keep on trying to be all grown-up and serious and tell ourselves it's a business and it's all about the money. It isn't, of course. It's the best flip-pin' career and the best industry going, is what it is. Just don't say that in your job interview. After all, if it were only about the money we'd all go off and be lawyers, and then where would we be? Doesn't bear thinking about.

Remember to enjoy yourself. Publishing is one of the entertainment industries, and if you enjoy yourself, you'll love what you do.

(STARR JAMIESON, SALES COORDINATOR, WALKER BOOKS AUSTRALIA).

One last thing before we knock off and then we really do have to be going. You'll have noticed that we quote lots of friends and colleagues and their wisdom along the way, and we thank them very much for it. Now we'd love to hear your story, and even more so if it's about your first or next job in publishing, how you got it and what advice you'd give others. Then perhaps in the next edition you'll find your own words of wisdom quoted. Do drop us a line, please. We'd really love to hear from you.

* Alison: [email protected]

* Susannah: [email protected]

* Steve:

More reading.

Richard Templar, The Rules of Work A Definitive Guide to Personal Success, Pearson Education, 2002.

1 Pearson Education, 2002.

Appendix 1.

Glossary of publishing terms.

There's a whole language people in publishing use try and find out as much as possible before you start about the publishing process and the language that accompanies it! I was initially baffled by terms like rights, permissions, pub date, binding, jacket . . .

(AMY BLOWER, RIGHTS SALES MANAGER, PEARSON EDUCATION, UK).

When you head off to a job interview, it's a great idea to know what publishing terms mean, and particularly the marketing jargon commonly used. Reading this glossary, based on the one in Alison's How to Market Books (Kogan Page, 4th edition, 2008; reproduced by kind permission of the publisher), will help.

above and below the line The traditional distinction between different sorts of advertising. 'Above the line' is paid for (eg s.p.a.ce advertis.e.m.e.nts taken in newspapers or magazines). 'Below the line' marketing involves no invoice; it is normally negotiated in a mutually beneficial arrangement between two or more organisations. The usual result is an augmented offer to the consumer (more than just the product being sold), often with a time limit. The distinction between 'above' and 'below the line' is blurring as techniques get used in combination; some marketing agencies are now offering 'through the line' services. The origin of the term is the line at the bottom of the invoice that separates what has been done from what is owing as a result.

advance notice (or advance information sheet, AI) A single sheet giving brief advance details of a forthcoming publication. Usually circulated six to nine months before publication, it is sent to anyone who needs the information bookstores, reps etc.

advertorial Advertising copy that masquerades as an editorial feature.

affinity marketing Marketing based on choices made by the consumer that indicate that they like/are likely to be attracted to products and services related to those for which plans are being made. Penguin's promotion of fiction t.i.tles on the back of Galaxy chocolate bars is an example of affinity marketing in that both products (a good read and a bar of chocolate) are a.s.sumed to appeal to the same person. The proposal becomes particularly effective if the two products can be enjoyed together (read while you eat chocolate).

answers Shorthand used on a publisher's or distributor's invoice to show the status of particular t.i.tles ordered by a bookseller and not immediately available. The most common abbreviations are: artwork Typesetting and ill.u.s.trations were conventionally pasted on to board to form artwork which could then be photographed to make printing plates. Today most artwork is produced on computer and despatched online.

backlist Older t.i.tles on a publisher's list that are still in print.

barcode A machine-readable unique product code. The barcode usually appears on the front cover of a magazine and the back cover of a book, and is used for stock control and sales.

benefits In a marketing context, benefits are the advantages that come to the user/purchaser from a product or service's features (see 'features'). Too much publishing copy is feature-rather than benefit-orientated, but the market is far more interested in what the product will do for them than in how the publisher has set up its specifications. For example, product features of a guidebook might be lavish ill.u.s.trations or high paper quality. The benefits to the reader, however, might be that it provides a lasting souvenir of the holiday, really gives a flavour of the place to be visited before they get there, or stands up well to use throughout the trip because it is well made. Similarly a picture book for very young children may offer attractive ill.u.s.trations by a well-known artist, but be appreciated by a grandparent because it makes a welcome present that they can enjoy reading together.

binding How the pages of a book are held together and presented: paperback, hardback etc.

blad Originally this meant a section of a book printed early to help in the promotion, and shown as a sample. Today blads can consist of marketing information about, a random a.s.sortment of pages from, or a synopsis of a forthcoming publication, and do not necessarily const.i.tute a distinct section.

bleed Printed matter that extends over the trimmed edge of the paper; it 'bleeds' off the edge. To obtain a bleed in a magazine ad, you have to book a full-page s.p.a.ce.

blog A blog is a user-generated website where entries are made in journal style and displayed in reverse chronological order. The term blog is derived from 'Web log', but the word also gets used as a verb, meaning to run, maintain or add content to a blog.

blurb A short sales message for use in leaflets or jackets.

body copy The bulk of the advertising text; usually follows the headline.

boss The person paying (or approving) your wages. Never forget this.

bottom line Financial slang referring to the figure at the foot of a balance sheet indicating net profit or loss. Has come to mean the overall profitability, for example: 'How does that affect the bottom line?'

brand A product (or service) with a set of distinct characteristics that make it different from other products on the market.

break-even The point at which you start making money. In a publishing context reaching break-even means that sufficient copies of a publication have been sold to recover the origination costs. The break-even point in a mailing is reached when enough copies have been sold to recoup the costs of the promotion.

bromide A type of photographic paper. Producing a bromide is a one-stage photographic process on to sensitised paper or film which is then developed. PMTs are routinely produced on bromide paper but alternatives now include acetate or self-adhesive paper.

budget A plan of activities expressed in monetary terms.

bullet point A heavy dot or other eye-catching feature to attract attention to a short sales point. A series of bullet points is often used in advertis.e.m.e.nt copy both to vary pace and to engage the reader's attention: * good for attracting attention * uneven sentences and surrounding s.p.a.ces draw in the reader * bullet points enable you to re-state the main selling points without appearing over-repet.i.tious buyer The person within a retail or wholesaling firm responsible for selecting/ordering stock. Large shops will have a different buyer for each department.

b/w Abbreviation for black and white.

card deck (also called business reply card mailing or cardex mailing) A collection of business reply cards, each offering a separate sales message to which the recipient can respond by returning the card concerned. Handily, recipients often tend to pa.s.s on individual cards to others they know may be interested. Often used for selling technical, business and professional t.i.tles.

cased edition A book with a hard cover, as opposed to limp or paperback.

centred type A line or lines of type individually centred on the width of the text below.

Type on a t.i.tle page can also be centred on the page width.

character 1. An individual letter, s.p.a.ce, symbol or punctuation mark. 2. A person with poor social skills.

Cheshire labels Old-fashioned format for labels. Cheshire labels are presented as a continuous roll of paper which is cut up and pasted on to envelopes by a Cheshire machine. Still sometimes used for the despatch of items bought on subscription, ie where customer loyalty is established.

closed market Closed markets are created when local selling rights are sold to a particular agent. Booksellers in an area that is part of a closed market must obtain stock of t.i.tles from the local agent rather than direct from the original publisher. This arrangement is under threat from the Internet, which knows no geographical boundaries.

coated paper Paper that has received a coating on one or both sides, eg art paper.

colour separations The process of separating the colours of a full-colour picture into four printing colours (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black abbreviated to CMYK and not CMYB), done either with a camera or electronic scanning machine. The separated film may then be used to make printing plates.

compet.i.tive differentials What a company is good or bad at; the things that set it apart from its compet.i.tors.

controlled circulation A publication circulated free or mainly free to individuals within a particular industry, advertising sales paying for circulation and production costs. Much used in medicine and business.

cooperative mailing (or shared mailing) A mailing to a specialised market containing material from several advertisers who share the costs between them.

copy Words that make up the message, often used of material prepared for advertising or newspaper features.

cover The difference between success and failure.

cromalin proofs See digital proofs.

cut-out An irregularly shaped ill.u.s.tration which requires handwork at the repro stage of printing.

data See media.

database marketing Building up increasingly complex information about your customers in order to serve their needs more precisely and sell more to them in the future. The long-term aim of direct marketing.

database publishing Publishing from information stored on a database. Can be a fast method of producing complex material or material which dates quickly.

die-cutting A specialised cutting process used whenever the requirement for a cut is other than a straight line or right angle (ie when a guillotine cannot be used). A metal knife held in wood is punched down on to the item to be cut. Many old letterpress machines have been adapted to form die-cutting equipment.

digital proofs Digital proofs are of two broad sorts high-res (short for resolution) or low-res. High-res proofs are made from the final printing files, normally PDFs. There are a number of quality levels. At one extreme, they may be little more than the sort of colour prints you would get from an office laserjet printer; and though they may look fine, they won't necessarily represent the printed product very faithfully because they are produced in a fundamentally different way. To get closer to this ideal, most printers use special laser printers which are calibrated to the platesetter (the device that exposes the printing plate) in a very direct manner. Digital cromalins are this sort of proof; high-res, calibrated proofs which can be used to check for colour before the item is printed. Low-res proofs, by contrast, are for position and content only, and are made using standard office equipment.

direct costs Costs attributable to a specific project, as opposed to general overheads or indirect costs. For example, the printing bill for producing a particular t.i.tle is a direct cost; the photocopier used to copy proofs that are circulated is an indirect one.

direct marketing The selling of services directly to the end consumer including e-mail, direct mail, telemarketing and house-to-house calling.

direct response advertising Advertising designed to produce a measurable response, whether through e-mail, mail, telemarketing, s.p.a.ce advertis.e.m.e.nts etc. This compares with direct promotion, where material is sent directly to the market, which may, or may not, produce a direct response back.

disintermediarisation An interruption in the former process of doing things. For example, authors who offer their content direct to users, by self-publishing or publishing through their websites, are changing the usual sequence of intermediaries (publishers, distributors and booksellers); this is a process of disintermediarisation.

display type Large type for headlines, usually 14 points or more. (Sales people are usually the display type.) distributor In magazine publishing, the company blamed by the publisher for not getting the magazines to the right place at the right time, and blamed by the newsagent who didn't order them in the first place.

dues (also called arrears) Orders for a new (or reprinting) publication before it is released. Publishers record the dues and fulfil orders as soon as stock is available. Checking the dues of forthcoming t.i.tles is a good way of finding out how well the reps are subscribing particular t.i.tles in bookshops, and hence of estimating sales.

dumpbin Container to hold, display and stock in retail outlets; usually supplied by the manufacturer to encourage the retailer to take more stock than might otherwise be the case. Most are made from cardboard, to be a.s.sembled in the shop. Supplied free but on condition that a stock order to fill it is received, too.

duotone A half-tone shot printed in two colours. This is a more expensive way of printing a photograph than simply using a single printing colour, but can add depth and quality to the image presented. It is usually printed in black plus a chosen second colour. An alternative effect can be produced by using a tint of the second colour behind a black and white half-tone.

ELT English language teaching.

embargo A date before which information may not be released; often used on press releases to ensure that no one paper scoops the rest. Often regarded by the media as applying to everyone else.