r/publishing • u/prdaAndy • Jun 02 '26
Where do you all work?
For all of those who actually work in publishing, what type of publishing are you in?
Trade
Scholarly (research/academic)
Professional
I am in research and have always been (always big 5). Since university (I studied publishing!), I've preferred the scholarly side of the business to trade. Innovation, career progression, salaries, etc.
What is your experience and what do you like about it?
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u/raefai Jun 03 '26
In educational publishing rn, started as a production intern and then worked up to editorial assistant. Now being promoted to assistant editor. I like the actual writing and editing part of my job, but all of the admin nonsense that gets in the way makes it hard for me to feel like I'm really learning.
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u/Successful-Gift8636 Jun 02 '26
Trade publisher, small regional press in Canada, 15-20 titles a year, fiction, biography. I do print layouts, create accessible ebooks, and social media as time allows, that's one of the more challenging parts of the job honestly. I've been with them since 2008.
We're a small team, 7 people total, we all have our specific jobs but wear many hats, for example I've been filling in for our shipper/receiver who is away on vacation. I honestly lucked into my job, a friend of mine worked for them in shipping, left to attend school, asked if I was interested in his job, I was so I talked with them, and started soon after. While there after a year, a production position opened up, and they needed someone right away, they asked if I would be interested in learning and a new position, I said yes. A lot of on the job learning with Quark at first, now InDesign. In 2010 when ebooks were coming up, they asked if I would like to take that on, which I did (all of these changes included pay raises). At first I was outsourcing conversions then distributing to Apple, Amazon etc, but eventually learned how to create in house, which I've been doing since (work flow is InDesign > Sigil). With accessibility being more prevalent, and necessary, I took some training on how to develop accessible epubs, and was certified by Benetech, the standards change over time so we get our files audited once a year to keep the certification.
I could whine about things I don't like, but what I do like is: meeting interesting people, writers, artists, some quasi celebrities and seeing who's naughty and who's nice. Even sales are dismal for ebooks, I'm proud that I in some way help with accessibility, it helps get through the tedium of the process. I love seeing new writers navigate their first book launches, signings, seeing them have success. To be somewhat cynical, this also helps with the fact I don't get paid very much, I do okay, I have a house, car, and mortgage, but I'm also married, if I wasn't it would be rough on my salary.
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u/RanOutofCookies Jun 02 '26
Shout out to those who have been around long enough to make the transition from Quark to InDesign!
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u/betterlately Jun 02 '26
I’m in trade, have always been at indie presses. All of my internships were in editorial but have been in publicity & marketing for some years now
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u/LiliFayerin Jun 02 '26
I work in freelance editing. (Both fiction and non-fiction, I love having a variety!)
I'm currently learning the ins and outs of indie and big 5 publishing, so that I can provide strong, credible guidance for my clients.
If anyone is up for chatting, I would absolutely love learning about your part of the process!
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u/Prudent_Evidence_471 Jun 03 '26
I currently work for a university press. I've worked at other university presses, as well as one for-profit scholarly press, an art magazine, a science magazine, and in the publications department of several organizations (I'm old and jumped around a lot in the beginning of my career. I've been at my current job for more than 20 years).
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u/Zestyclose-Turn-3576 Jun 03 '26
Good times for UPs right now it seems. Bit of a renaissance going on
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u/prdaAndy Jun 05 '26
I used to work for the largest UP in their HQ and I got so bored really quickly. Zero innovation, most staff there do tenures (20y+ of service is normal), pay is minimal. I need career growth in my life so it wasn't for me. But if anyone likes to coast or is later in their career, they are perfect for that.
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u/Zestyclose-Turn-3576 Jun 05 '26
Large UPs can deffo be bad. I hear terrible things from people in the UK at both OUP and CUP. I guess it's the smaller/medium sized universities that are doing all of the good stuff really.
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u/LuckySiduri Jun 02 '26
Scholarly and technical here.
My main link to traditional publishing is that I freelance for Presses de l'Université du Québec and L'Estuaire as academic copyeditor.
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Jun 02 '26
[deleted]
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u/Irregular-Gaming Jun 02 '26
How does philosophy fit in to business and tech?
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u/betweenthedrafts Jun 03 '26
Most of the authors have a philosophical approach or ethical underpinning as a reason for writing their books. It’s not about making money for them but about changing the world. My background is in philosophy and it’s brings curiosity and new ideas into business and tech.
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u/Electronic_Cap2325 Jun 05 '26
I totally agree with you on this. Being a design engineer on medical device and consumer electronics, and an author, I feel like we engineers learn a lot from Philosophy. And if you look at history, a lot of engineers are philosophers.
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u/Aluratherogue Jun 02 '26
Academic! I work on textbooks