20 March 2020

1. Get dressed
You can work in your pyjamas, but that doesn’t mean you should! Best to keep some standards I always feel. Plus I got caught out recently by impromptu video call as I sat in a tatty old jumper with no makeup and my hair not done. A good friend goes one better and tells the story of a forgotten meeting where she only managed to salvage the situation because she was dressed and ready to walk out the door as soon as they rang to see where she was.

2. Work the hours that suit you
This is my complete favourite thing about freelancing. I work early then break mid-afternoon when my children come home from school, picking my work up again in the evening. The downside is that I also work weekends and sometimes I don’t know when to draw the line because work is always there.

3. Have an office space
I have a separate office at home which is where I work for the majority of my time. Although I could work on the sofa or the kitchen table I am much more productive when I keep my office and home separate. Even without the luxury of a separate room, it is good to create a space that is just for work and which you can shut the door on at the end of the day. A closed door is also a signal to family and flatmates that you are working and not to be disturbed.

4. Get out more
Don’t just work from home or you will go stir crazy. By Friday I’m ready to talk to PPI callers, invite the postman in for coffee or buy a new set of dishcloths just to have some human interaction. Mix it up a bit – work in a client’s office for a few days, take a co-working desk for a few hours a week or just go and work in your local coffee shop a bit. It breaks up the week and stops the isolation.

5. Be a good salesperson
I don’t’ mean you need to develop the patter and start talking like an estate agent, but you do need to always keep one eye on where the next project might be coming from. It’s all about nurturing relationships with existing clients, not being afraid to ask for recommendations and being prepared to shout about your achievements.

6. Be prepared for the quiet times
Feast or famine is the old adage and it is true – there will be times when you have far too much to do, and other months where you are kicking your heels. Sounds obvious, but make sure you keep money set aside for the quiet periods and have a plan for what to do with them. Don’t panic but do know how long you can go without work before you need to worry, and have a plan in place for generating more business when it does go quiet.

7. Network like a pro
Both virtually and in person. You cannot work for yourself without a website, business cards or LinkedIn profile – how are clients ever going to find you otherwise? Get out and get seen at industry events, this is where you will make contacts and find fellow freelancers to swap horror stories with.

8. Keep your skills up to date
It’s easy to get let behind if you work for yourself. You need to keep abreast of new developments and invest some of your income each year on conferences and training courses. Invest in yourself and you will be rewarded with new and interesting work going forward.

9. Take advantage of technology
When I first went freelance it was in the early days of working from home. I was armed with a fax machine and a dial up internet connection which enabled me to check my emails two or three times a day. Archaic as this sounds now, this was cutting edge back then and enabled me to work efficiently. So what is the equivalent for today’s modern freelancer. Here is a quick summary of some of the key tech tools on which I rely:

• Slack – more efficient communication
• Googledocs for effective collaboration
• Toggl – to track my time per project
• Trello – for planning my to do list and blocking out my time
• Wetransfer for sending big files
• Joinme – for video conferencing, screensharing

10. Enjoy it
There’s no point having all this flexibility if you never sneak a lunch with friends, or a weekday shopping trip. Enjoy the freedom that comes with working for yourself and feel a smug sense of satisfaction that you are not chained to a desk 9am – 5pm.

One route to freelancing as a proofreader is the PTC's Essential Proofreading course. It's the ideal opportunity to learn the all the skills and knowledge required to proofread effectively.

Full information on the course can be found here.

This is an updated version of a blog posted 5 September 2016.

10 March 2020

Imagine the scene. The whole team is frantically busy in the run up to a sales conference. As its manager, you’ve carefully divided up the tasks that need to be done and, so far, you’re on schedule. Then, one of your people admits that he’s struggling with something. What’s your response? Do you:

       a) Sigh, roll your eyes and say ‘Leave it with me; I’ll do it.’ or

       b) Sigh, roll your eyes and just tell him exactly what to do.

After all, you’re under pressure too. But maybe, just maybe, jumping in as a ‘rescuer’ or a ‘guru’ might not always be the best approach. As a manager, getting things done is not your only responsibility, important though that is. You also have to get things done through other people. And that involves helping them to learn and develop along the way. I imagine that the person struggling with his task would not be especially motivated by either response.

If we’re honest, even the most experienced managers among us will default to behaviours we might not always feel proud of, especially when under pressure. It’s entirely understandable. But being a manager means learning to recognise those situations when we need to stop and check our response before acting. It’s about developing the self-awareness to know what our defaults might be and to consider whether they’re really going to lead to the best outcomes.

It’s also about practice and experience. In this case, the rescuer/guru default would probably get the job done. But a third alternative would be to use a very simple coaching technique: asking questions. Responding with:

       c) ‘What else/other approaches could you do/try?’

might well have elicited all sorts of creative solutions (‘Why don’t I…/Perhaps I could…/I know, I’ll try…’) which would also have got job done, but with the added benefits of encouraging the person involved to (a) think for himself and (b) learn something along the way. It probably wouldn’t even have taken up any more of your time; perhaps even less.

Taking this coaching approach to management can be very powerful for publishers, staffed as they are with intelligent, motivated and ambitious people. In the words of coaching guru, John Whitmore, coaching is about ‘unlocking a person’s potential to maximise their own performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them.’

It’s a collaborative approach to management that balances support with challenge and empowers people to come up with their own solutions. Well deployed, it can really help people develop expertise and confidence – and it’s good for managers’ own empathy, self-awareness and personal development too. It’s an investment well worth making.

There are, of course, any number of coaching models and toolkits that can be employed to support coaching, including Whitmore’s own GROW (Goal-Reality-Options-Will/way forward) model. A quick internet search will give you a sense of what’s out there. In the meantime, you can start to build a more coaching approach into your management practice by deploying some very simple coaching skills and techniques:

1. Resist the urge to tell or direct

Yes, we know you know the answer, but that’s not the point.

2. Ask open-ended questions

Encourage people to come up with their own solutions.

3. Listen actively…

…and reflect and summarise to prove it.

4. Work on your empathy

Walk in other people’s shoes; be open and non-judgemental. Think especially about people who are less like you.

5. Set clear goals

        Stay focused – whether that’s on a particular task, or behaviour.

6. Give feedback

Develop the habit of giving regular, forward-facing feedback, focussed on learning for the future.

If this sounds like a more personal, interactive style of management, you’d be right. It’s a long way from traditional directive or process-oriented approaches. But there’s plenty of evidence that the trust and rapport-building that comes with a coaching approach is at the heart of positive, enabling cultures at work. And that gives us just what we need to drive impact and results: energised and engaged people.

Follow Clare on LinkedIn and X.

18 March 2020

This is my favourite time of the year. Between February and April, The Printing Charity invites those aged 18−30 and working in the publishing, print, paper or packaging sectors to apply for a grant of up to £1,500 to invest in themselves. We receive hundreds of applications and it’s fascinating to learn about the exciting things that young people in our industry are doing and the challenges that they face. This insight helps inform the work of the Charity to ensure we remain relevant.

Inspiring young people to broaden their skills
 
The Print Futures Awards are now in their 11th year and have helped over 500 rising stars progress in a diverse range of roles and careers, from the practical and creative to the highly technical and complex. We urge young people to invest in their own personal development to inspire them to take the sector seriously as a long-term career choice. These awards are not designed to replace employer-training costs, but to offer applicants the chance to undertake training to broaden their skills outside of what is required of them at work.

The Publishing Training Centre (PTC)’s courses are a great example of how young people can improve their skills and every year we are pleased to support a number of Award winners who undertake a variety of PTC courses.

I'm also looking forward to meeting the applicants at their interviews in May/June and celebrating with them at the House of Lords reception in July, hosted by Lord Black of Brentwood, our President Emeritus. The opportunity to meet and chat, and form networks, is a great one and there is always a great energy in the room.
 
Here to help make life better

As well as celebrating new talent, The Printing Charity has a number of other roles. Here to help make life better for people working in or connected to printing, publishing, packaging, paper, and the graphic arts, we have been supporting people since 1827 and our aim is to help those in genuine need through our practical and emotional support. Our welfare team are a friendly voice at the end of the phone to try and help with everyday advice and ways forward when you feel unsure of what to do or find yourself in a crisis. Whatever your situation, our team are here to help support you and feel more in control. Call them on 01293 542820.
 
We also have two purpose-built sheltered homes in Bletchley and Basildon, originally alms houses built to house poor printers and their families. Our homes now offer support for older people in retirement who have worked for at least three years in the sector, or are a dependent of someone who has. The secure and friendly environment allows residents to live independently whilst knowing help is on hand from the home manager.

Initiatives keeping the sector alive today

Another important aspect of our work is keeping the heritage and craft skills of our sector alive today, by offering support to various initiatives that help to promote these, including Designer Bookbinders and The Queens' Bindery Apprenticeship Scheme. Designer Bookbinders Transferring Design initiative aims to increase the number of students taking up the craft and entering the profession with bookbinding tuition. The initiative launched in April 2019 as a pilot scheme at colleges and universities already offering printing, design, illustration, and 3D studies, with professionals from Designer Bookbinders invited to run one-day, show-and-tell sessions to introduce students to the craft. As Gillian Stewart, a 2019 Print Futures Winner, says: "Bookbinding is increasingly difficult to learn, with no full-time courses in the UK and apprenticeships incredibly hard to come by. This means that the support I've had from The Printing Charity makes a huge difference. I'm also very keen to share any skills that I learn through workshops and teaching, meaning that I can help others looking to learn!"
 
Through all our activities, we aim to make life better for people and find ways to extend our reach and impact.

Sophie Kirby is Head of Education & Partnerships at The Printing Charity.

You can keep up to date with its work by visiting the Rising Star Awards page or on social media, @printingcharity. Its support line is available on 01293 542820.

27 February 2020

It’s that time of year, when Year 11/Year 12 students at secondary school start panicking about their work experience. Most do theirs in the summer holidays, when GCSEs are over. It can be done as one block of two weeks, or two blocks of one week with different employers.

Work experience isn’t mandatory, but the UK Government recommends that all pupils spend two weeks in a work environment. It also helps when applying to university or college, and starts young people thinking about career options. For some subjects, like Medicine or Law, it’s becoming almost a prerequisite to have done work experience at a relevant employer when applying to university.

If you’re interested in doing your work experience in publishing, here are some helpful tips to get you started.

Connections aren’t what they used to be

As publishing aims to become more diverse and inclusive, many companies no longer take referrals. Gone are the days when you could ask a friend of a friend to secure you a work placement. This is a good thing, as publishing needs to open up and be considered by everyone as a job option, not only those with connections.

That said, it can still be a route into an unpaid one- or two-week stint for those who are determined to ask around. If you haven’t already, invest in or borrow a copy of the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook from your local or careers library (Bloomsbury, £27.50). It’s a great resource for researching publishing companies you like, as it lists them all with full contact details. You can then follow up online or by contacting the publisher directly to see if they do have any schemes or consider requests.

It’s worth asking smaller publishing houses, with fewer employees, about work experience, especially if you live outside London. They will be more likely to consider you and it’s a great way to find out about the business. The fewer people in a company, the more you’ll be exposed to, and the more you’ll learn.

How to sell yourself

Focus on publishers who publish books in areas you love, subjects you’re studying, or want to study in future. Your enthusiasm will show in your communications and application. It will also help you, should you be successful, as those are the areas that you’ll be working in.

Remember to list all your skills, even if they seem basic. It’s helpful for a would-be employer to know that you can use Word, Excel or PowerPoint. Include details of any relevant experience that you have, whether it’s paid work, unpaid work or leisure activities. If you write a blog, make videos, run a fanzine, or design computer games, let people know.

School will probably have asked you to create a CV. If not, you’ll need to prepare one. You may want to create a profile on LinkedIn too.

Different application routes

Most of the big publishers don’t offer Year 11/12 work experience - among them Bloomsbury Publishing, Hachette (Hodder), Pearson, Simon & Schuster and Springer Nature (Macmillan, PanMacmillan). Others offer places via an application process, such as PenguinRandomHouse. HarperCollins advertises any openings on twitter, @JobsatHarper.

If you’re not already following publishers on social media, then you should. Don’t forget LinkedIn, as the HR department will post openings there and you can follow companies to see their posts.

Internships, apprenticeships and others

Some of the larger academic publishers like Cambridge University Press offer internships or apprenticeship schemes. These are designed for people over 18 who want to get into publishing, and work full-time, not those studying GCSEs or A’ levels. Companies need to pay people who do work for them, even a short time, either the minimum wage or the London Living Wage.

Work experience is exempt from this, so you won’t be paid for your time. Some companies cover travel expenses - it’s worth asking if that’s the case. Insurance can be another issue. Many employers only have cover for staff aged 18 years and older. If you are 15 or 16, then it may be too much trouble, and too expensive, to extend that cover for one person just for a week or two.

Don’t give up!

Publishing companies employ around 30,000 people in the UK. That’s tiny compared to the 2.9m who work in retail or the 1.2m in the NHS. There are many other organisations that publish books, magazines, websites and other content, as well. Do consider approaching them as the skills are transferable and much of what you learn will apply to publishing as well.

There’s nothing like work experience to give you a taste of what work is like. When you find it, make the most of it. And hopefully one day, you’ll be in a position to offer it to youngsters like yourself.

Good luck!

Petra Green is Head of the PTC. She has hosted Year 11 work experience students at previous employers and attends careers evenings in schools to advise those interested in a publishing career.