Publishing hopeful tips from the London Book Fair

The London Book Fair was last week and whilst it focused on publishing professionals, there was much to learn as a publishing hopeful.

I attended my second London Book Fair this month. Last year, I decided to go to the event, not really knowing much about it, but with the hope that it would help me decide whether or not I wanted to pursue a career in publishing.

Having enjoyed it so much and decided to pursue publishing as a career, I attended the London Book Fair again this month. But this time, it was as a publishing hopeful, intending to gain as much advice and knowledge about the industry and work in publishing as I could.

Across the three days, there were many talks, some focused on getting into the industry. There was also a careers clinic for publishing hopefuls, where we got to speak to recruiters from different publishers and ask them questions.

So, as a publishing hopeful, who knows that the industry is quite competitive to break into, I thought I'd share some of the tips and bits of advice that I learnt over the three days of attending the London Book Fair.

Tailor your application

When applying for jobs, it's important to not just use the same application for every role you apply for. You want to make sure that your application will stand out and be remembered. One way to do this is to tailor your application.

Each publishing house is different and each imprint within a publishing house is different. There is no benefit to using the same CV or Cover Letter for all of your applications. Instead, try and work on making your CV and Cover Letter specific to the role.

If you're applying for a marketing and publicity role, then the skills you'll highlight might be different to that of a rights' assistant application. The same goes for if you're applying to Penguin General vs Penguin Children's Books.

In your cover letter, have a paragraph about why you want to work at that specific imprint. State if you particularly like their author list, if you've read any of their books recently, and what you can bring to that role.

Be authentic to yourself

This bit of advice is for those who run bookish social media accounts, such as Bookstagram and BookTok. I've only recently started a BookTok, and it was refreshing to hear other content creators' thoughts about this at the London Book Fair.

Demonstrating your passion for books is key as a publishing hopeful because it shows you actually want this career. However, if you are a bookish content creator, one thing that kept being shared as the most important piece of advice was to be authentic.

If you are true to yourself and show authenticity, it's more likely that you'll grow a following, a community, because people will value you as a person and as a reader. So, when highlighting your extracurricular bookish activities, ensure that you are authentic and aren't just copying others and what's trending.

Being you is a powerful tool.

Don't underestimate any experience

At the London Book Fair, I met many publishing hopefuls. Some were graduates, some were completing their publishing masters and others were currently working in a completely different industry and wanted to make the switch.

I'm currently a part-time student with experience in remote journalism, and I often wondered whether or not I needed to have experience in an office or working in person. But that is not the case.

So, whatever experience you have, delve deep into what it actually entailed and what you got out of it because all experience is good experience. You will have gained many skills from your experience and they will be transferrable to different industries, like publishing.

Don't think that if you worked in a supermarket or in retail it won't be relevant to publishing. Everything is relevant, so don't underestimate it.

Don't be afraid to ask questions

I like to say that I am a confident person and in a professional setting, I can be. But there are times when I do get a bit shy, however, being at the London Book Fair certainly made me confident.

One thing I learned from that is not to be afraid to reach out and ask questions. If you're a publishing hopeful, I'd recommend joining LinkedIn because you can ask to connect with publishing professionals. I'd also recommend the Publishing Hopefuls Facebook group.

Once you start making connections within publishing, it can be easier to ask someone if you can pick their brain. If you have questions, don't be afraid to ask someone in the know who can help. Yes, they might not have the time, but at least you've asked and shown your interest.

Be passionate and resilient

The publishing industry is a very competitive industry. I know a lot of people who applied to hundreds of different jobs before getting their foot in the door and I know a lot of people still trying to apply for publishing jobs, a year in.

But if there's one thing I've learnt recently about being a publishing hopeful, it's that we need to continue being passionate and to also be resilient.

Applying for jobs is tiring, especially when you don't hear back from each recruiter you've applied to. However, whilst it may feel easy to give up and take the rejection to heart, it's necessary to keep going.

Every rejection is another opportunity to build experience and learn. We're not all going to get the first five jobs we apply for, but we need to keep going.

So be passionate and be resilient.

If you're a publishing hopeful like me, I hope these five tips can help you. They are things I've learnt recently from being surrounded by publishing professionals, and hopefully, they can help us all break into the world of book publishing.

Until next time...