Two Weeks at Penguin: Work Experience
From 3rd - 14th November this year I was on a two week work experience placement at Penguin Books in London. Since around my second year at university I'd been considering a career in publishing; I think if you study English, the standard question seems to be 'oh, so do you want to teach?', and if you say you don't, it's 'so you want to be an author?'. I wish I were good enough at creative writing to be an author, but alas, I'm not, so reading, editing, and promoting other people's work seemed like an ideal alternative. So once I graduated I started applying for work experience placements and entry level jobs, and it quickly became clear that experience was the most important thing; even if job specifications stated that experience wasn't necessary, having some under your belt would definitely help you on your way. So when Penguin responded to my letter and offered me a two week stint at their offices in London, I said yes straight away.
Some examples of the things I did during my placement are:
- Collecting and distributing post
- Sending educational materials to schools
- Creating promotional displays
- Creating social media content for seasonal releases and promotions; Beatrix Potter was a huge focus while I was there, and every month a different book of hers was celebrated. I worked on The Tailor of Gloucester and came up with ideas for how to promote these classic stories to a new generation of young readers.
- Helping to plan the launch party for an upcoming Young Adult novel
- Reading manuscripts; I read the manuscript of a new novel to be released in Spring next year, and over my two weeks at Penguin I came up with ways to promote it on all social media platforms including things like Instagram and Buzzfeed, and ways to engage a new audience. The author of the book is a first time author, and so promoting a book by an unknown writer is a lot more challenging than someone such as John Green who already has a such a huge following.
- Offering feedback on the manuscript itself; how I responded to it, what I thought of the way the major theme of the novel was addressed (I'd never read a Young Adult novel quite like it), and whether it avoided being a cliche.
- Sat in on digital marketing, editorial, and PR meetings
- Researched and wrote about the influence of Alice in Wonderland to celebrate it's 150th birthday - including its impact on original publication to it's relevance today, its place in popular culture, the transition of Alice as a character in terms of how she is represented, how she has been depicted on screen and in art, and how she has transcended age and gender to become a literary and cultural icon.
- Taking photos for Twitter, Facebook & Instagram
What I enjoyed most about this placement was being able to make genuine contributions to projects. I think when you think of work experience, you imagine making tea, putting stuff in envelopes, and generally doing the donkey work that nobody else wants to do. Yet even though there was obviously a certain amount of general admin stuff, the variety of tasks I was given made my time there so interesting and useful. The manuscripts I was given to read and come up with ideas for was a full two week task and it was great to have something ongoing to work on while I was there, and going to meetings was a great way to get a real insight into how publishing houses work, rather than someone just telling you. I obviously had some idea of how a publisher worked, but really didn't know how much advance planning, early mornings and late nights, travelling, and hard work was involved. On my last day I had a small meeting with the editorial, marketing, and PR assistants and got the opportunity to ask any questions. They were all so helpful and gave me lots of useful advice for job applications and interviews (one of them had 4 interviews before she got her job), and talked me through the whole publishing process, from the acquisition of a book, through proofreading, editing, commissioning cover artwork, marketing, press, to publication day and beyond.
I absolutely loved my time at Penguin and it gave me a real idea of what it would be like to work in that environment full time. Despite the hard work and often long days, everyone there had such a genuine passion for their work and it was great to be working in that kind of atmosphere. The days went quickly and I was never bored or stuck for things to do. I commuted from home for those two weeks which was expensive and a little tiring (although I wasn't as tired as I thought I'd be), but I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I also got to take home two free books every day from their pulp shelf, so that was a HUGE perk. Below are a few of the books I chose:
If anyone is looking to gain experience in publishing, my only advice would be to not give up. It sounds obvious, but before I got this placement I'd sent my CV and covering letter to pretty much every major publisher, but they're so oversubscribed for placements that it's impossible for them to offer everyone the experience they need. It's just a case of constant applications, letters and emails until someone gives you a chance. Don't be afraid to be persistent and stubborn. I work full time but my work were kind enough to give me these two weeks off because I'd applied for the placement before I started at my current job, but I've had to accept that if I managed to get another placement I wouldn't be able to have the time off again, and I guess I'd have to make a decision. That's what's difficult about work experience; you need a job, but then when unpaid opportunities like this come along, having a job makes it difficult to get time to go. I'm just taking things as they come at the moment, enjoying having a job to keep me going, and seeing where things go.
I hope this was somewhat useful for anyone considering a career in publishing :) I still haven't completely ruled out an MA so who knows where I'll end up.
As for this blog, my aim is to post twice a week (Sunday and Wednesday). I'm really gonna make an effort to keep this up and come up with good ideas for posts rather than just my own ramblings.
Steph :)
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