With the end of university drawing increasingly closer, the prospect of having to find a job and choose a career is something that starts to become reality rather than just a distant thought in the back of your mind (even if you wish it could just remain the latter). So over the Christmas holidays last year I started to email some publishers based in London to try and gain some work experience in publishing. However, although I did receive a range of responses none of them led to anything certain and I decided to focus on my university work and exams for a while because I didn't feel like I was getting anywhere. After exams had finished and I'd moved back home for the summer I decided to give it one last shot, there was one publishing house I hadn't yet applied to - Penguin. Unexpectedly, the morning after I sent my application off I received an email offering me two weeks work experience in the publicity department with the Penguin Press imprint. Needless to say I jumped at the opportunity.
Penguin is based at 80 Strand in London; a large, impressive eight storey building that is fronted with an old archway - just what you'd expect really! On my first day I was
very nervous as I waited in the Penguin reception for Matt (the publicity assistant) to come and collect me. But I needn't have been nervous because all of the team I worked with where absolutely lovely and very welcoming. I was shown around the building, given my ID pass and told more about the role of the publicity department and what I'd be doing during the two weeks. I'm happy to say that I was kept very busy: sending out books to journalists, cutting out and filing news coverage, writing/editing press releases, putting together material for the department's noticeboard, answering enquires via email and of course some basic admin tasks. I'm sure I've missed some things out, but you get the idea. I also got to sit in the departmental meetings and the larger scale Penguin Press meetings with editorial, marketing and sales which helped give me the bigger picture and an overview of the various stages in publishing.
Before I started work experience I was concerned about commuting to London everyday and whether I'd find an office based job engaging... But by the end of the two weeks I'd got into the routine of travelling too and from London everyday and I was never bored in the office because there was always so much to do - plus publicity involves arranging events with authors beyond the confines of the office which is nice as I thrive being around people. I learnt so much from the people I was working with during my time there and gained some invaluable advice that I hope will help me in the future. The fact that the people at Penguin genuinely love what they do is definitely very infectious, I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at Penguin and if I can get a job in publishing after university (particularly in London) I will be absolutely thrilled. On a side note, the Penguin offices are a great environment to work in: bright, airy an filled with piles of books (you'd expect nothing less) and is one of the coolest work spaces I've ever seen! Publicity is a department I'd never considered before and work experience showed me the range of roles there are within publishing beyond editorial - which what most people associate with publishing. I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for opportunities in either of these departments. My main advice for anyone wanting to go into publishing would be to remain open minded and if you get offered work experience, make sure you ask lots of questions! I've found that the more you put into these experiences, the more you'll get out of it. Not only did I gain knowledge due to the whole experience, I also gained confidence and independence.
While I was at Penguin somebody said to me: "People who want to work in publishing will always end up working in publishing". Publishing
is competitive and difficult to get into but if you're willing to work for it, you'll get there eventually. So, to anybody who is struggling to get some experience or a job in publishing - keep trying! There's certainly an element of luck and timing with these things and persistence pays off in most cases. I'm glad I now have an aim for after I finish my degree because in all honesty university was always the furthest point in my life I'd planned up to and it's comforting to have at least
some idea of what I want to do in the future.
P.S. Everyday I walked past a super cute little coffee shop called 'The Fleet Street Press' and one lunch time I decided to treat myself to a homemade brownie and a latte, if you're ever in the area I'd definitely recommend it. I also got some free books during my work experience (perks of working for a publishing company) so thank you Penguin - especially the Penguin Press Publicity team!
If you have any questions feel free to message me.
Laura
Song:
Shine by Years & Years
Twitter:
@lauraskelton_
Instagram:
lauraskelton_
Tumblr:
www.marvellousvictory.tumblr.com
