| Back to Home > Bulletin Board > Beginner Issues > Topic: Book Publishing Genre Mobility |
Topic: Book Publishing Genre Mobility
| Author | Message |
| umeshu | Posted – 3/3/2008 12:04:00 PM | show profile | email poster I'm getting ready to apply for first job, and really prefer book publishing trade in fiction for adults. I've also toyed with children's and adolescent books, but really believe adult will be the eventual goal. However, I have a pretty solid opportunity to work for good $$ at one of the--if not THE--biggest names in children's books, BUT as an editorial assistant in the classroom library and special collections division, NOT trade. It is not the arena in which I want to focus my career, but the person encouraging me to take the job emphasizes the importance of a "foot in the door" in the publishing biz. I also need the $$ and it's about twice more than most entry-level jobs. The question is, honestly how much mobility is there in the publishing industry? I know securing a first job is all- important, but how important are the specifics of that job? In other words, will this job help, hurt, or do neither for a potential future in adult trade? (I am a graduate student, but have no internships or prior job experience except work at an undergraduate journal.) ------ AB |
| JimmyG | Posted – 3/3/2008 4:21:07 PM | show profile If you hold out until your perceived "dream job" opens up you may be waiting a long time, particularly in this economy. I'd say that if a good offer is on the table to take it. Establish yourself in that position, then try to move laterally within the company to the trade side. Many companies prefer to move or promote people from within than fill slots with new hires. Even if you have to switch companies to get into trade publishing, you'll have more professional publishing experience on your resume than if you temp for the next two years while looking for other work. I managed to leverage a job at a pre-license real estate education publishing company (with the addition of some eclectic side work along the way) to get a job with a consumer book publisher. I leveraged that into an editorial job at a consumer magazine. |
| umeshu | Posted – 3/5/2008 11:39:40 AM | show profile Thanks!! That's great to hear! Yes, I was thinking that moving laterally might be slower than if I started off in a "dream job," but slower is better than never, and I actually am beginning to think I might be happy in the position for a couple of years. Thanks for sharing your experiece! It has calmed my mind. |
