Hitting the bank more often than a Wall Street trader, the piratical punters of the SYP ambled, nay slumped, up the Cherwell in search of distant lands.

 In the time it took to consume hearty portions of their grog rations the cartographers on board duly noted the discovery of the Marston Ferry Road; an occurrence so grandiose in magnitude that the band of swarthy, moustachioed men and women banked purposefully to admire this natural beauty amongst the rolling hills and meadows.

 Avast, the Jolly Roger was raised! Camaraderie swelled amongst the fleet, joyous at the arrival of their destination without loss of limb or life. The booty from previous expeditions to supermarkets was shared out according to want and need and, when each was satiated, the journey home commenced.

 The wind was favourable as experienced hands punted and paddled home in half the time. Crowds gathered. Ropes were thrown landward. Boats moored. The party commenced. Quiche, olives, pastries and Pimms. Pirate songs could be heard on the air in surrounding townships before the sun began to set and the pirate punters became publishers again.

• Preparation of the magazine – Kiddlington
• Typesetting – India
• Printing and distribution (hard copies) – UK
• Online hosting – US
• Ecological footprint (the physical space needed to support enough plants to produce the energy needed to make the product)

The Marlborough Room was packed tighter than the Northern Line at rush hour for the ‘Getting Ahead in UK Publishing’ seminar. Alison Baverstock (Chair) kicked off with a bit of a general knowledge quiz. Unfortunately not one person in the room was able to answer why the date was a special one. Apparently it was the anniversary of the titanic film, I mean disaster. Alison is a senior lecturer on the Publishing MA course at Kingston University. She began her career in publishing before moving into the realms of education and writing. Her first book, How to Market Books is now in its fourth edition and is often referred to as the ‘bible of book marketing’. Alison launched her brand new title, How to Get a Job in Publishing at the end of the seminar.

Planning was the first topic touched on in the context of publishing. In other industries, such as finance and the public sector, a considerable amount of time and money is spent on career planning; management training, for example. It was also highlighted that skills gained in publishing, especially in the smaller independents, are varied and transferable. So if you embark on a lowly-paid career in publishing, fear not, you won't be left with no other options if you decide to take your career in a different direction. Options such as literary consultancies, charities and libraries were cited here. Publishing is essentially entrepreneurial, consistently producing a product to match contemporary needs.

(l to r) Iain Stevenson, Ros Kindersley, Jeremy Trevathan

Iain Stevenson opened with a charming anecdote reflecting the sheer overwhelming feeling of awe at events such as the London Book Fair. Iain is Professor of Publishing at University College London (UCL). Iain began his career in 1977 as Publisher for earth sciences, moving to head up Macmillan Reference Books in 1985. He then jointly founded pioneer environmental publisher Belhaven Press, and acquired and ran Leicester University Press concurrently. In 1997, Iain joined the newly privatized Stationery Office as Publishing Director, and has been involved in publishing education since 1999.

Iain explained that education in publishing was a fairly new phenomena, since just over 20 years ago Oxford Brookes University opened their doors to the first MAs in publishing. Iain concurred with Alison's previous observation concerning the lack of career planning in publishing, and that at least for now, this is something people working within the industry will have to take into their own hands.

Iain submitted that there were three golden rules about 'getting into publishing': First, flexibility. You have to be flexible in publishing, in attitude and skills, and this will make you valuable. A lot of people who start off in say, sales and marketing, might later transfer to the editorial department, or move over to rights management.

Second, developing a sense of professionalism. Publishing is an extremely complex business, that's right, a BUSINESS. A business in which profitability is important, and as such you might develop skills in accounts, or better still, you might learn these skills now in preparation for when they are suddenly needed. Familiarise yourself with balance sheets and costings, know what an ISBN is (you don't need to remember what it stands for, but you need to grasp the concept of how they work and why they exist). Develop a suite of professional skills and continue to build on them. The basic skills such as those mentioned above will always be needed, but publishing is an ever-evolving industry filled with intuition and risk, and the best way to sell books and to promote good writing among authors can change over time too.

The third rule to keep in mind when approaching a career in publishing, Iain advised, is to develop a network. Socialise; introduce yourself to people working in publishing, get involved with book clubs and societies like the SYP. This is especially important if you were interested in becoming a literary agent, knowing who does what and for who, and being familiar with commissioning editors’ favoured styles and subjects is absolutely vital.

Ros Kindersley, Managing Director of JFL Search & Selection, began her career as a publicist for Quartet Books before joining the Arts Council for a year. She approached JFL for a new publishing job and was instead offered a job as a recruitment consultant by Judy Farquaharson. Following Judy’s retirement, Ros now runs the company, and with the support of her team recruits for all mainstream publishers and a broad range of organisations including charities, NGOs and major corporates.

Ros was an english literature graduate in the 80s, and perceived the art of publishing through rose tinted glasses and was shocked to find that although different from many industries in countless ways, ultimately publishing is a business, it has to make money, sell books. Ros dispelled the myth that 20-odd years ago, the majority of people in publishing had a private income. Although she admits that the poor wage at least played a part in her decision to leave her career in publishing to go into business with JFL, Ros says she realised that the aspects of publishing she most enjoyed were still prevalent in this job: like-minded people, the thrill of the chase and negotiating.

Ros went on to share her professional recruitment wisdom, touching on key areas like work experience (it's invaluable - if you can afford to do it, do it, if you can't afford to do it, and you're sick of rejection letters staring at you when you walk through the door every evening, use your annual leave). Network; go to book clubs and events, join the SYP or uni groups that are publishing related. Develop skills (depending on what area of publishing you want to get into, these skills will differ, but as asserted earlier, the more flexible you can make yourself the better). Ensure that your CV is immaculate; ask a friend to proofread it, and highlight your achievements and your unique selling points. If you get to interview stage, always follow up with a 'thank you email'.

Jeremy Trevathan, Publishing Director at Macmillan, anchored the meeting. He reinforced what Iain stated earlier about the kind of person you need to be to get on in publishing. Personality goes a long way (as John Travolta once said); intuition and emotion are key factors in the business of publishing, factors that it’s generally advised to put aside in most business contexts. You need to be adaptable, curious and adventurous. You need to be bold enough to submit ideas that are close to your heart, and have the resilience to take the criticism that may follow. You need to be stimulated by having too much to do, and the stamina to cope with it.

Jeremy also reinforced the idea that once you have your foot in the door, there's room to maneuver in publishing. He spent a decade in the production department, before taking a demotion to move into the realm of rights for a further 10 years. He then decided that he'd like to give editorial a try, and 8 years in he's happy there, for now.

A career in publishing can be extremely flexible. It's easier than a lot of jobs to gain part-time employment, and once you have experience and contacts you can freelance pretty easily. Who you know, and who you're on friendly terms with, can mean a lot. It's a sociable job, so if you don't like socialising, you should probably steer clear of editorial and marketing.

Q and A [but really just A because I can't recall the Q]

· Publishing MAs have a severe shortfall of places compared to the number of applicants, so if you're serious about applying, treat it like a job application.

· If you're thinking about getting a nice well-paid job and then moving across to the joys of publishing, it IS possible, but it'll be easier to deal with the shocking salary expectations earlier rather than later.

· You should expect to spend between 6 and 18 months in a low-level position, and that's if you're assertive.

· It's ok to have a glitch (glitch noun informal 1 a sudden malfunction or irregularity of equipment, 2 an unexpected setback in a plan) on your CV, as long as it's nicely cushioned by some impressive work experience and longevity. Just frame it in positive terms of what you've learned from the experience.

· Don't fear your annual appraisal, use it your advantage! Tell your employers why you are an indispensible member of staff and what you have brought to the company. You have to make your own chances and take the initiative in this business.

· It's useful to know digital techniques, but only learn them if you're willing to use them.

· If you are applying for a job in London and you live outside the capital, it might be an idea to use a friend or relative's address when applying for jobs.

Melanie Wilson

Thursday 13th March 2008 saw the launch of the Goldfish online journal at the Swedenborg Institute in London. When I first heard about it, I naturally assumed that it had something to do with the credit card company, so I wasn’t quite sure why I’d been told about it. But it only took a few minutes’ research online to find out that Goldfish is actually an online repository for compositions from the MA in Creative and Life Writing at Goldsmiths College, University of London.

Since I run my own literary website in my spare time (Authortrek.com), I am always on the lookout for talented new writers, so I quickly decided that I must attend the launch night. I’d previously been to the Swedenborg Institute for the launch of Legend Press’s second short story anthology, Seven Days. It’s a great place to hold a launch, being well lit with veerings towards neo-classical design that make any reading look classy. Looking at the name badges in the reception area, I was very impressed to see that a variety of literary agents and publishing bods would be attending. I’m naturally quite shy and find it difficult to approach people at such events until after I’ve had a few sips of wine, but there were a few ‘meeters and greeters’ there, such as Amy Sackville, who soon put me at my ease and told me more about the event.

Then it was down to business, as eight writers from the course read from their work. Amy Sackville read an intriguing excerpt from her yet untitled novel about the Artic. Ben Holden had everyone gripped with Mynatour, a poem about a man transformed into a starling. Patrick Hudson revelled in his rich literary voice as he read from his novel, Everybody is the Star of Their Own Movie. There were some extracts from the Life Writing students, which, although they were read well, I wasn’t quite so interested in, as my main focus will always be fiction. Although I’m fairly well-read, this is the first time that I had contact with Life Writing per se, and I couldn’t really see the application for it, aside for some probable cathartic release for the author (all the Life Writing extracts were far too humorous to be considered as Misery Lit!).

Just as I thinking about leaving, Roxanne Bibizadeh discerned my intent and intercepted me. Many writers are self-effacing and too shy to promote their work, so it was refreshing to see so many new authors such as Roxanne ready and willing to endorse their writing, and this self-belief must obviously derive from the tutors at Goldsmiths. Roxanne told me that the extract she had read out was a short story about the widow of a suicide bomber – which surprised me, as I had evidently missed these details. However, the great benefit of attending a website launch was that I could check out her excellent story The Bride of Death online, and not feel so stupid after all when I discovered that the most salient parts of her story had not been in her extract.
All in all, it was a great night. Indeed, I was in the presence of one author when an agent came up to her to congratulate her on her work and to ask her for a submission. That was, after all, the whole purpose of the night. Everyone was having so much fun that hardly anyone wanted to leave for the pub! I also made some great contacts on the night, and will be undoubtedly watching the progress of some of these great writers in the future.

Kevin Mahoney, with photos by Isha Marquez

Sarah Jones reports from the first Speaker Meeting of 2008

Alison Baverstock’s first book How to Market Books, is often referred to as the 'bible of marketing' so we were grateful to her for leading the marketing workshop at the SYP conference. She began by raising the point that it is hard to make the word ethical make sense in this context – is ethical marketing an oxymoron? In many ways perhaps it is – in the world of marketing where departments spend huge sums of money where the benefits or effects are not easily quantifiable.

However Alison argued that in today’s climate where younger generations are growing up increasingly ethically aware, which will in turn lead to a new band of consumers who are more demanding on businesses, no department will be left unaffected.

Alison urged us, as young publishers to take responsibility for this change. She touched on the issue of author treatment, and being respectful and paying fair amounts for work. She also urged us to be discriminating about the kind of books that we actually publish. For example, don’t we have a moral duty to provide quality goods, and to not make assumptions about consumers? (She used the opposite example of the influx of ‘ghost-written’ celebrity biographies that are currently saturating the market and are often pulped after poor sales).

Finally she made the point that in marketing there is often a trade-off between being environmentally friendly and getting the job done. Sometimes an email just won’t suffice so posting flyers is important. What about the waste of paper from the books that don’t sell? The carbon footprint of flying across the world to attend conferences?

Obviously things won’t change overnight but if young publishers can even make the smallest changes to respect authors, respect consumers and respect the environment then the world of publishing will be better for it.

by Kate Hind

In the literary agent workshop, Pat White gave a fascinating insight into the role of a literary agent and their place in the publishing industry today. Entering publishing as a secretary for Simon and Schuster in the late 1950's, Pat moved into their rights department before moving to London where she remains to this day as a director of Rogers, Coleridge and White Ltd looking after the children and illustrated list.

White began the workshop by asking delegates what they thought the role of a literary agent was before giving her own definition - a gatekeeper between author and publisher who is somewhat of a solicitor and a nanny for the author, delivering both good and bad news. Therefore, excellent communication skills are key for any literary agent.

These people skills are paramount, especially when it comes to talking authors through exactly what has been offered in a deal. In doing this, it is important for any agent to establish why a publisher has offered the deal they have although in her experience she has not always found publishers forthcoming with this information.

As well as being a good communicator, White believes that an agent has to have a broad spectrum of knowledge and needs to know aspects of the industry like production and publicity. In agenting, however, people often become specialists and Pat believes that to be an agent one must develop their own sense of taste.

Backing her own tastes is one of the things White loves most about being an agent but told delegates that an agent is basically a sales person with no editorial input and this is why the author-editor relationship is vital as editors spend less and less time on books.
White was also keen to dispel the image of the literary agent as a money-grabbing mercenary, highlighting that often the highest deal offered to an author is not necessarily the right deal and other factors must be taken into account.

In this respect, she described her frustration at the trend for handing out large, unearned advances to authors as when these are not justified and sales do not meet expectations, subsequent smaller advances can greatly damage the author's happiness and an unhappy author is an agent's worst nightmare.

Overall, this workshop gave those in attendance an interesting glimpse of an agent's life and increased their understanding of this oft-misunderstood role.

By Tommy Douglas

Leander Reeves began an interesting and entertaining magazine publishing workshop by telling delegates that success in the magazine business was very much dependant on the type of personality each individual possesses. 

With a decade's experience working in the magazine publishing industry and now lecturer in the subject at Oxford Brookes University, Reeves expertise was evident as she gave those in attendance a rundown of magazine publishing today. 

The industry was in good health, she said, highlighting the fact that the majority of British adults still buy a magazine on a regular basis, especially women and those in key demographic areas. These magazines are read on average by 4 people and for 54 minutes each. 

As such, magazines perform several functions for their readers; offering a shared society, sense of belonging whilst also representing a form of tension release. 

To flourish in this industry, Leander told delegates that certain basic skills are required including planning, writing, production, design and the ability to market and promote. 

Therefore, for anyone wishing to enter magazine planning she urged them to see their career like a game of chess, viewing each position or development experience as a move towards a desired goal. 

The best preparation, Reeves suggested, is to develop a personal website and utilise this to build experience as when it comes to looking for employment, magazines look not just for qualifications but proof of what an individual can actually do. 

This is the reason, she insists, that gaining skills in Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign, QuarkXpress and Dreamweaver are essential for anyone entering the world of magazine publishing so they can cope with the broad spectrum of work this involves. 

Overall, Leander Reeves presented a highly entertaining and informative workshop that provided many valuable insights into magazine publishing whilst giving delegates a clear idea of the requirements for entry into this industry.

By Tommy Douglas

The SYP Committee arrived recently at London's Trendy Bar Red on Beak Street in style as the wine flowed and various young publishers got talking to existing members of the Committee - with a view to perhaps taking the roles that will be vacated in January.  Angie Solomon from the Committee was the organiser, and by all accounts, much fun was had by all.  Newshound, of course, remains doggedly impartial.

See what I did there?

NH

We are live.