Into the Heart of Publishing I Went

Everyone has this fantastical idea of what publishing is. 

A busy office with piles of paper everywhere. A buzzing atmosphere where it's books books books. 

The truth is it's not like that at all.

I started off my publicity work experience at the Penguin Random House group trying to work out the travel system of London.
As most of the people who read this blog know, I am the least coordinated or travel conscious person around, so tube systems and train times are not my forte.

However, going to work every morning, rushing for the tube and getting annoyed with the slow walkers and the barging businessmen made me feel like a true Londoner.

When you walk into the Random House offices you are met by very fun red swivel chairs and a receptionist who is never off the phone. That's where the glamour ends, I'm afraid.

The offices themselves look like any other offices; desk, chair, computer, paperwork. Apart from the shelves and stacks of books that rest against every wall and get in everyone's way.

When I thought of publishing I thought of author events and meetings about books and being the first person to see the next big book cover. However what I failed to remember was that I was in fact there for only a two week work experience placement and therefore unimportant.

But don't fear, I have not turned my back on publishing. In fact, I loved almost every minute of being the publicity assistants lackey. I got to make Showcards that would be put up in bookshops across the country and Press Releases that would be sent to every big newspaper and magazine around.

Everyday I listened to the assistants and the publicists on the phone to travel companies, booking Eurostars and hotels and talking to authors about the gritty details of their books so they could organise appropriate interviews.

And it just gave me the motivation to want to be that person. The one calling the author or going on business trips and book tours with them, or being the author themselves, being asked the in-depth details about my book. It ignited the passion and motivation within me to jump up the gear, to do something I really want.

By the end of the placement I realised that publicity was maybe not my avenue. I want to be connected with the author and the book so much that I feel like its my child as well as theirs. That's why I've made the decision to try and pursue a career in editorial, and in particular children's.

But I would not have given up that experience for the world. Those two weeks were more important than I can express. It will help me get a job in the future, it has motivated me to do better, and it has taught me invaluable information. I recommend that anyone interested in the industry should apply.

Not to mention all the free books I got given at the end of it.