David C.
About me
| David C. | |
| History | |
| History | |
| Undergraduate | |
| James | |
| 2013 | |
| United Kingdom |
My employment
| Editor | |
| Bloomsbury Publishing Plc | |
| United Kingdom | |
| Large business (250+ employees) | |
| 2015 |
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A day in the life of a Editor in the United Kingdom
My career goals when I graduated
To do something related to written content.
My career history
I started out looking for work locally in Gloucestershire, and basically just emailed any publishing-related company in the area to see if I could get some work experience. I was lucky enough to be taken on by a publishing services company, which enabled me to build up contacts across the industry. This then led to my first in-house job in London (for I.B. Tauris, who were looking for maternity cover) in 2015, which resulted in a permanent job, and 3 years later they were bought by Bloomsbury. I've now been able to move across divisions and departments to take up my current role.
What has helped my career to progress
Building up contacts and persistence.
Courses taken since graduation
I've done a number of courses at the Publishing Training Centre.
How my studies have helped my career
History really helped me to think critically about what I was reading, and how books fitted into broader debates - useful skills for commissioning.
Where I hope to be in 5 years
Hopefully in a more senior commissioning role, with a broader humanities trade list. But really who knows!
My advice to students considering work
Follow your instinct and what really interests you, be persistent and consider alternative routes to where you want to get to, and be open to new opportunities that you might not have considered before.
My advice about working in my industry
Get stuck in, and make a real effort with colleagues (publishing is full of lovely people).
What I do
I'm an editor for the Natural History lists at Bloomsbury Publishing - I commission and oversee the production of new titles.
Skills I use and how I developed them
- Organisational
- Written and verbal communication
- Working in a team
- Building relationships
- Commercial awareness
- Eye for detail
What I like most
Building an effective working relationship with an author, producing a good book that we're proud of, and celebrating success.
What I like least
The volume of admin.
What surprised me most
The amount of responsibility you can be given at an early stage - it was a bit dauting at the time.
Next steps...
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