Books, Magazines, Newspapers, Directories...The Publishing Industry is all around us. But do you know what it is like to be working in the world of Publishing? Read below to find out.
What are the jobs really about?
Producing and Distributing Print Media
Jobs in the Publishing Industry are diverse, but generally contribute towards one or the other part of the production and distribution process, which starts from identifying or selecting the story to be printed and ends once the published material reaches the hands of the consumer.
This Publishing Industry includes a variety of jobs like editing, proofreading, researching new ideas that the public would like, reading manuscripts, developing story outlines, identifying and liaising with talented writers, communicating with your readers, graphic designing etc. Additionally, you could also find jobs in the Publishing Industry that focus on its commercial aspects such as marketing, distribution, law, finance, technology, sales, advertising, publicity etc. You can also work in the Publishing Industry as an Agent for a writer or a group of writers, responsible for liaising deals with Publishers.
Find out about the different Careers in Publishing.
Apart from Books, the Publishing Industry also includes the production of other print media like Newspapers, Magazines, Directories, and Journals etc. However, in the context of this article, we will focus only on the Book Publishing Industry.
Why do people work in the Publishing Industry?
Literary Passion
The main motivating factor behind people choosing to work in the Publishing Industry is that they’re passionate about reading, writing and communicating through the written word. This can be in the form of a Newspaper, a Magazine, a Book, an E – Book, a Comic and so on. The Publishing Industry gives professionals an opportunity to work in a career related to something they’re passionate about and regularly witness and be a part of the different stages that any literary work goes through before it is published as a final product in the form of a book, a story, an article etc.
It is also important to keep in mind that a lot of amateur or unsuccessful Writers end up joining the Publishing Industry as they realize that they’re a better fit in slightly technical roles like Editing that also require a bit of creativity, rather than a completely creative an unstable profession like writing.
Find out about the Top 7 Creative Careers.
What is it like to work in the Publishing Industry?
Changing Industry
The Publishing Industry is currently going through a phase of transformation; printed books are being replaced by their digital versions. With more and more people preferring to read E – Books rather than buy printed books, the entire nature of this industry is changing. As a result of this change, lots of traditional jobs like printing, supplying etc. are being phased out, whereas a lot of new jobs like technology experts, Engineers etc. are coming up.
Find out about the different Online Careers.
Additionally, the upcoming concept of ‘Self Publishing’ (in which writers decide to publish their own books/e – books) is expected to also affect the Publishing Industry in several ways in the future.
Due to these changes, the future of the publishing industry is uncertain and nobody can predict what business will be like 10 years from now. This results in a lack of job security and added stress amongst employees. Professionals who will manage to succeed in such an industry are the ones who can multitask and are willing to learn new concepts and constantly update their skills.
Competition
The Publishing Industry is not an easy industry to get a job in. This is primarily because a lot of people who are interested in writing and are passionate about books choose to join the Publishing Industry while the numbers of job opportunities are miniscule in comparison. Professionals who manage to get a job in this industry are the ones who have excellent communication and language skills and who can network with other professionals easily.
Low Salaries
Working in the Publishing Industry generally involves entry – level salaries that are on the lower side as compared to what growing industries like the IT sector offer. However, it is important to keep in mind that your salary and increments will depend on a variety of factors including the size of your publishing house as well as your knowledge, skills and attitude. Professionals who are hard working and have the right skill set end up becoming successful and being paid well for their services in the due course of time.
Find out about the Top 7 Money Making Careers.
Responsibility
Professionals in the Publishing Industry are constantly required to make very important decisions and there is always a lot of money at stake. These can include decisions such as whether this book/story should be published or not, whether the marketing should focus on youth or children, how many copies should be published and so on. Publishing a book costs a lot of money and a bad decision can result in huge losses for the Publishing House. People who succeed in this profession are the ones who do not give into pressure and think carefully before taking a decision while keeping audience tastes in mind.
Detail Oriented
A majority of the jobs in the Publishing Industry are in editorial roles such as Editor, Senior Editor, Copy Editor, Proofreader etc. Working in such roles involves paying attention to a lot of details in a book/story such as spelling and grammatical mistakes, offensive words and lines, false claims and so on.
It is the responsibility of the professionals working in the Publishing House to ensure that anything they print is free of mistakes and is not offensive or derogatory towards people of any particular community. This means that they have to go through hundreds of pages of manuscripts and check for mistakes while never losing track of the big picture. Professionals cannot afford to take such tasks lightly as a mistake in the printed material severely damages the reputation of both, the Publishing House and the Writer.
