Challenges in an extraordinary year

There is no escaping the fact that the Covid-19 pandemic has badly damaged many publishing businesses. In a survey of nearly 130 Independent Publishers Guild (IPG) members in October−November 2020, nearly three-quarters (71%) said that they have seen their print sales fall in the last six months. The closure of bricks-and-mortar bookshops, the collapse of Bertrams and the cancellation of festivals, launches, conferences and other events cut off important sales channels. There were severe problems throughout the supply chain, and more than two-thirds of independents say they have experienced distribution challenges of some kind in the last six months.

These challenges have been echoed around the world. With so many retailers closed, widespread delays to printing and freight and the abandonments of the London and Frankfurt book fairs, both exports and rights sales have been compromised.

This has led to around one-third (32%) of publishers reporting problems with credit control. Aside from the consequences of failures of businesses like Bertrams, some IPG members reported that some customers are taking much longer to pay, which puts cashflow − a concern for small businesses in particular at the best of times − under more pressure.

All these difficulties have prompted over one-third (37%) of publishers to take advantage of the government’s furlough scheme, and some IPG members have taken government-backed loans, secured grants or found other types of financial support to sustain them through the pandemic.

Reasons to be cheerful

But while 2020 has brought unprecedented threats, it has also highlighted the resilience of publishers. The independent sector has always been resourceful and agile in responding to challenges and finding the upsides − and this year they have grasped opportunities in two areas in particular.

The first is on the digital side of publishing. While print sales have been reduced, half of IPG members (51%) said that their digital sales have increased in the last six months. With the physical supply chain so slow, publishers have been selling more ebooks and investing in ecommerce platforms that help them trade direct with consumers. Independents have been very creative in their online marketing too, using websites, social media and video-based events to fill promotional gaps. Publishing’s migration to digital sales and promotion was already well underway, but the pandemic has compressed change that might have taken years into a matter of months.

The second positive development in the year of Covid-19 has been the evolution of working habits. Nine in ten IPG members (88%) say their switch to home working has been successful, and video conferencing and cloud-based technology have helped to maintain productivity while improving work-family balance for a lot of publishing professionals. A new flexibility in working styles is very likely to endure long after offices properly reopen.

Home working doesn’t suit everyone of course, and it brings with it the challenge of keeping people engaged. The pandemic has reminded us that publishing is very much a people industry, and that all staff − especially those who have been furloughed for any length of time − need to feel connected to their work, motivated by a purpose and empowered to do their jobs.

This has made online events like the IPG’s Virtual Spring and Autumn Conferences, where people can connect with others and feel part of a community, very important. It makes the work of the Publishing Training Centre even more important too, and the very successful switch to virtual delivery of courses has been crucial in helping publishers to maintain their skills and learn from one another.

Looking to the future

If we can maintain our connections in these and other ways, there is good reason to be confident about the future. Over half of IPG members reported that they feel either very optimistic (9%) or quite optimistic (47%) about the next six months, and only 15% are pessimistic. There is still a long way to go before publishing returns to anything like normal, and some things in the industry will have changed forever. But with the support of the IPG, PTC and others, we feel sure that independent publishers will not simply survive the pandemic but thrive again afterwards.

Bridget Shine is chief executive of the IPG.

For more about the IPG, click here. 

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.

Redundancy is commonplace. For some it may be a blessed relief after months of uncertainty or being stuck on furlough, for others it may just add salt to their wounds.

Redundancy is a huge shock. It is described as one of the top ten stressful things you might encounter, compared with bereavement and divorce. Nowadays, there’s little stigma in being made redundant, but it does not reduce the personal and emotional stress that losing your job, your regular income, and your daily routine brings.

Some companies offer outplacement counselling, but many in the industry don’t know where or who to turn to. Losing your job in such a way can be soul-destroying and demoralising.

If you do find yourself in this position, here are some tips to help you pick yourself up.

Stay motivated, no matter how hard

Lockdown can make being at home all day feel even worse. If you are stuck indoors, it is easy to lapse into despondency, so it’s important to maintain a daily routine: get out of bed in the morning, get dressed, eat properly − and don’t sit and watch TV all day. It can also affect your relationship with your partner or housemates, especially if they still have a job to go to, whether they are working from home or a different location.

Get out and about

First, get rid of your aggression and emotion – but not with the people around you. Get out of the house every day − do some sport, or go for a run or walk, even if it’s a short one. It’s easy to feel downhearted, useless and unloved, but a simple activity like taking exercise as well as putting yourself first, changes all that. This is why, even during the tightest lockdown, the UK Government allowed everyone outside to exercise. Solitary exercise also gives you time to think, time to plan, and should invigorate you into action.

Remember, the less you use your body, the less your body will want to do.

Keep in touch with your network and friends

Stay connected with people who are working, but remember that they are in jobs and don’t have all day to chat on the phone. Use your contacts in the industry − tell them you are looking for work. Make sure that you sign up for all the trade press, free news bulletins and job alerts.

Try to motivate yourself by spreading out the calls and contacts, so that if you get a rejection letter from one vacancy, you already have an application in for another. Keep your mind focussed on active applications, not rejections.

Accept the highs and lows

Understand that you will feel a whole range of emotions, from total despair to euphoria. Some days will be better than others. Find things to get yourself through the bad days. Remember all those jobs at home that you put off because you were always working late or too tired? Well, now is your chance to do them.

Support and assistance – who to contact

If you feel you have been treated unfairly and need some legal advice about your situation, but you are not a member of the National Union of Journalists, then contact ACAS for immediate advice.

Your local Citizens Advice Bureau can help you reschedule debts if you have to register as unemployed, or StepChange and National Debtline will advise you in complete confidence. Please do not feel any embarrassment when talking to these organisations; they have heard it all and are skilled in getting you out of trouble.

If you have been working in publishing for a year or more, The Book Trade Charity can advise you if you are eligible for a retraining grant, career support or other financial assistance.

At bookcareers.com, we have several ways of helping anyone who is losing or has lost their job. We provide redundancy counselling and career support for companies and individuals. We are currently running two job clubs which are free to join: one for those who are unemployed after having lost their UK book industry role; and one for anyone else looking for entry level roles or trying to break into the book industry.

Looking to the future

As to the future and finding your new job, take time to reassess what it is that you want to do. Redundancy is often when people consider going freelance, but bear in mind that very few freelancers make a fortune; most just earn enough to keep their head above water.

Think about what you enjoyed in your last job, your likes and dislikes.

• Did you like working in a team? Or do you prefer working on your own?
• Do you like sitting at a desk?
• Do you like being in a corporate environment? Or do you prefer to be in an informal workplace?
• What do you want to do in a new job, the same or something different?
• Had you not been made redundant, what was your career plan?
• Where did you want to be in five years’ time? How were you going to get there?

Why should this temporary blip make your career plan any different? You might have to diversify for a while, but any experience is valuable. What better way to apply for a vacancy that advertises ‘must work well under pressure and adapt to change’ than by demonstrating that you have dealt with the personal pressures of change?

Suzanne Collier is a fully qualified Registered Career Development Professional (RCDP) and the founder of bookcareers.com.

Her book How to Job Search in Book Publishing will be published in 2021.

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.

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.

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.

As a salesperson, sales manager and sales trainer for the past 20-something years, I work frequently with people for whom putting themselves forward for something comes naturally. But I also work with non-salespeople, who may find this uncomfortable, pushy, and even a little overwhelming. Having spent 14 years of my career working for the publishing organisations IIR then Informa, I’ve met many such people and have helped them on their career paths within the business.

It’s common knowledge that publishing is a competitive industry, and also one where people tend to stay in good companies. This means that the right opportunities don’t come up often. And when that dream job (or even a tiny foothold low down the publishing career ladder) comes along, it’s important not to waste it. Yes, “sales” is still a dirty word in the UK, but it’s only by putting yourself forward for things effectively that you can get the career you really want.

Here’s my “selling yourself” guide for people who don’t “do” selling.

Know your target company

As early as possible in the recruitment process, you need to ramp up your knowledge of the organisation you’re applying to. Have in mind that you want to know the business better than any of the other candidates, to set yourself up for success. I summarise the areas to focus on in the 3 Cs: 

• Challenges:
  • What’s going on in the industry?
  • What challenges might there be in the next 6-12 months?
  • How will these impact the team you’re going into?
  • How can you make a positive difference to these challenges? 

• Culture:
  • What are the company’s values and beliefs?
  • What’s the working environment like?
  • How are newer staff members treated?
  • Is this a forward-thinking business, or something more traditional? 

• Career path:
  • Who will be on the interview panel?
  • What’s that person looking for in an employee?
  • What comes next after this role?
  • What do you need to do in order to progress? 

But where can you find answers to these questions? Internet searches, Glassdoor, LinkedIn…the web is certainly a good place to start. Performing a STEEPLE analysiswould also yield useful results.

You can be a little proactive as well, though. Is there someone on LinkedIn who works for your target company that you can contact and ask for some advice? Many people are happy to help out others, but they’re rarely asked. And of course, some of these things you can’t find out until interview day, so make sure you’ve got your questions prepared.

Know yourself

To sell yourself into a job, it’s vital that you have a clear picture of your own knowledge and skills. To do that, there are 3 questions you should ask yourself: 

• What am I really good at?
• What makes me unique (if anything)?
• What is the combination of my answers to questions 1 and 2 that makes me the best person for the job at this company? 

Sell yourself

Most junior job candidates (and many senior ones) go to interviews and do three things: 

• Answer questions
• Ask questions
• List their experiences 

The top candidates, who position themselves well for the job, do one more: they tell the interviewers why they are the perfect candidate. You can do this by using your knowledge of the target company and of yourself, plus my favourite sales question: so what?! 

It might work something like this example: 

Know your target company

“Dear interviewer, I know that the COVID-19 crisis has led to a sharp drop in advertising revenue in the industry.” 

Know yourself

“As a teenager, I earned some money proof-reading documents for local businesses. I started by having to market my services on a very small budget.” 

Then, imagine the interviewer wondering “so what?” and finish off your “pitch” as follows: 

Sell yourself

“What this means to you, dear interviewer, is that I am used to working in an environment where budgets are tight. I also understand what advertisers are going through, wanting to get their messages out without breaking the bank.” 

By using this approach, you’re showing the interview panel that you: 

• Care enough to have done your homework
• Are able to articulate your skills clearly
• Understand what the company is going through at the moment and how you can help 

Because, if you think about it, the only reason an organisation is going to employ someone, is if that organisation feels they will benefit from that person’s experience, attitude, and skills. You, and many of the other candidates, probably have the experience, attitude, and skills that the employer needs. It’s your job to make your “selling points” crystal clear throughout the recruitment process.

Neil Shorney is a sales and business skills trainer who spent 14 years working for global publishing groups, and now runs a training business with sales at its heart.

At The Literary Consultancy (TLC), we oversee the writing and sending of 500−600 manuscript assessment reports a year. Each manuscript is hand-matched by our team to the editor (or Reader) we feel is most suited to the job, to ensure a ‘best fit’ that will serve the writer. All reports are checked before being sent on by the office. It’s a delicate process, but a hugely enriching one, and one that can be transformative for the writer. To have an editor whose skills and affinities align with the writer and the work giving objective, professional feedback is a gift, and we’re very lucky to have been able to facilitate this process for the last 25 years.

Manuscript assessment – a huge amount of skill

Manuscript assessment isn’t governed by the same rules as copy-editing or proofreading, but that isn’t to say it doesn’t require a huge amount of skill. There’s a great deal we can learn from this process that can be usefully applied to all editorial service provision. Mostly, this comes down to understanding how best to serve both the writer, and the writing.

For our Readers, who are all experienced freelancers with other work either as professional writers, teachers of creative writing in academic institutions, book reviewers or publishing professionals, the feedback process can sometimes feel like it’s happening in a silo. They don’t read each other’s work – we are after all dealing with sensitive information and intellectual property – and so it can be hard to know what’s working well, and to learn from each other.

The same happens in the wider world of freelance editing. Even specific skilled work like copy-editing and proofreading that carry the option of qualifications with organisations like the PTC could have more peer-to-peer learning, to ensure we’re delivering top-notch services that are attentive to the nuances of the landscape and the shifting needs of writers. At TLC we actively partner on research projects with organisations like Kingston University and the Royal Society of Literature (A Room of My Own), to stay up to date with the key issues facing writers today. And we keep a close eye on any trends emerging from our own daily conversations with writers.

Nurturing a strong author-editor relationship

The most important thing is to remember that there is a lot of anxiety when it comes to the writing process. Writers are often dealing with self-doubt, sometimes imposter syndrome, and thinking they have to achieve a certain outcome to have ‘made it’. When they come for feedback, often writers are also looking for validation of their effort. It can be easy to forget this when we are (necessarily) safeguarding ourselves as freelancers, processing incoming jobs and sending out reports and marked-up work as quickly as we can.

The balance is hard to strike, and it’s a lot to ask of a freelancer, especially if you’re a sole trader. That’s why we set up the Being A Writer platform, which focuses on helping writers to cultivate creativity and build resilience, empowering them to develop a toolkit to better navigate an industry that is trying to change, but which still isn’t completely transparent to the average person jotting down ideas in a notebook.

Three key factors for excellent editorial service

It can be good to have some touch points to keep things on track and delivering at the highest possible level. For us, there are three constants to providing an excellent editorial service, and they are based on a solid understanding of:

* What writers say they want;
* What writers actually need; and
* How to navigate the gaps in between.

The advantage of working at consultancy level is this mix of bird’s-eye view (the landscape, the market) with on-the-ground, face-to-face contact with writers (the personal, the holistic). We regularly bring our freelance pool together, previously at our offices but more recently online, in order to share learning and establish best practice that then gets embedded into TLC’s editorial guidelines, which get updated every three years or so. These include our key reading principles, which touch on both editorial points, and how to handle and manage expectations and anxieties. That’s where we come in as a consultancy, too; as a second layer to help make sure this process is as supported as possible, for the writer and for the Reader.

A little TLC goes a long way

There are some things that are consistently true about best editorial practice, and some things that feel newer, around identifying barriers that we might not as an industry have always been attuned to. It’s critical in this environment of hope and rejection, fear and ego, that we understand that what we are doing as editors is so much more than mechanical. We are supporting creative writers’ dreams, bringing them in line with the visions the writers have for them, within the parameters and expectations of an at times brutal market. We could all do with a little more TLC in our lives, I think, and I truly believe that editorial practice is enriched when we remind ourselves of this.

Aki Schilz is director of TLC, the UK's first and leading manuscript assessment service.

Follow TLC on Twitter @TLCUK.

Around the world

In the UK, the publishing and book industry is recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic. Coronavirus caused bookshops to close, publication dates to be pushed forward, and had a huge impact on teaching and learning. With Bertram’s collapsing into administration, the impact was most felt on independent publishers, already suffering from the loss of bookshops sales. But shops are now open, Amazon is selling books again, the bigger publishers are posting better-than-expected results, and there is a bonanza of new autumn titles.

In the US, the AAP reports a decline of 4.2% in revenues comparing the period January−June 2019−20. Whilst sales of consumer books have increased year on year, and ebook and audio download revenues are up, education sectors have suffered the most. Overall, the UK and US industries are faring much better than in other places around the world.

African countries have perhaps been hardest hit by the pandemic. Their book markets are 90% educational, with a heavy reliance on print. With schools closing, the market has shrunk considerably. This has advanced the need for digitisation of Africa’s educational sector, which has begun in some countries, but is recognised to be a huge priority for publishers and governments alike.

India saw a complete halt in the market for six weeks, including online sales via Amazon and Flipkart. A cyclone in Kolkata wiped out bookstores and publisher warehouses. A new education policy may mean a new curriculum, and could also affect the already devastated educational books market.

In the Far East, where many bookshops are now open again and online book retail is growing, distributors are still reporting a big decline in book sales to bookstores. It’s a market where customers like to feel books before they buy, but people are still afraid to enter shopping malls and stores.

The Middle Eastern publishing industry has another problem: its reliance on book fairs to sell to the consumer. Every country in the Arab World has a book fair which caters to the general public and local professionals, such as teachers and librarians who use the fair to buy their year’s supply of books. No book fair has taken pace since the Casablanca International Book Fair in February 2020, leading to a complete wipe out of sales for Arab publishers.

The new normal

Book fairs around the world have come to a standstill, and most are experimenting with an online presence, both for content and rights trading. Two recent examples are the Moscow International Book Fair and the Nigeria Book Fair. The Tbilisi Book Fair in Georgia had a physical presence in September. For the Frankfurt Book Fair in October, there will be an ambitious online offering, including matchmaking tools.

The other major impact for international trade has been the cost of freight. Some distributors are reporting air-freight prices increasing threefold, making it unsustainable and affecting new titles reaching the market and stock control. In markets such as New Zealand, this is having a positive impact for domestic publishers, whose books are often overshadowed by big names imported from the UK and USA. Ultimately, this will impact the consumer, who will be faced with shifting to digital editions where possible, or increased pricing.

On a more positive note, we have had a summer of online literature festivals beamed into our living rooms. For those who would love to travel to the Jaipur Literature Festival, or experience the Hay or Edinburgh Literature Festivals, the world has opened up. Authors are gaining global audiences in ways they could not imagine in the physical world. Whilst digital may not replace the actual festival experience, for authors, it has its advantages.

Publishers have also sought solace in their communities. Local groups such as language publishers in India now meet regularly to discuss shared opportunities. A global network has emerged through a Facebook group I helped co-found called “Publishers Without Borders”. Publishing has always been a collaborative and social business, and the pandemic has only strengthened that sentiment.

What will emerge from this experience? Will we see a fast-track shift to digital consumption of books? Will local print-on-demand replace the shipping of physical books around the world? Do we need so many book fairs to carry out our business trading? Will literature festivals now be a digital-only phenomenon? We can be sure that we are all in this together, and there will always be a need for high-quality content. Publishing and bookselling around the world will continue to innovate and serve the reader and will be stronger as a result.

Emma House is Managing Consultant of Oreham Group and a Trustee of the PTC. Follow Publishers Without Borders on Facebook.

With the vast majority of publishing people currently working from home, flexible working has become the norm and we’ve all had to embrace a more agile way of doing business. But have you ever been tempted to go one step further and set up on your own?

Back in 2017, I took that plunge, stepping down from my role as Editorial Director at academic publisher Rowman & Littlefield International to set up my own business. Parrot Street Book Club is a subscription book club for children aged 5 to 11. Each month we send our subscribers a brand-new book to keep, along with an activity pack with games, puzzles, facts, craft activities and more, all inspired by that month’s book.

My new venture is quite a departure from my old life. In a few short months, I went from commissioning academic monographs to buying and selling children’s books. But as it turned out, the skills I had acquired in my editorial career set me up very well for launching Parrot Street. So, what is it about publishing people that makes us such good entrepreneurs?

We are agile

Whatever your role, whether you work for a small independent publisher or a bigger organisation, the chances are you’ve had regular exposure to many areas of the business you work in. Even if you are early in your career, you will understand much more about how your business works than you might realise. As publishing employees, we have to be agile, often assuming a range of creative, financial and operational responsibilities.

We’re used to building business plans and we know how to get to the nub of what makes a project unique. I commissioned hundreds of new titles in my editorial career. For every book I commissioned, I had to run a Profit & Loss, assess the market, and build a brand. The original business plan for Parrot Street and the brand identity we have built for our children’s book club were devised in exactly the same way, albeit it on a larger scale.

We are expert networkers

Publishing is a collaborative business and publishing people thrive in a supportive environment. We’re all used to networking and to working in multidisciplinary teams. As an editor, I collaborated with authors, academic readers and in-house colleagues from across the spectrum of our business. I learnt very quickly that being a good editor is as much about building communities as it is about commissioning good books.

Those people skills came into their own when we launched Parrot Street. Having the confidence to reach out and to be persuasive is essential for getting any new initiative off the ground. I had spent 15 years building a community of authors, readers and collaborators around my publishing lists. We applied the same principle to Parrot Street, building a community that includes parents, teachers and children, as well as authors, illustrators and publishers.

We are creative, passionate – and we don’t give up!

Being a successful entrepreneur isn’t just about paying close attention to the numbers (although that’s important, of course!). It’s just as much about being creative, having ideas, and being prepared to experiment. Publishing is a creative industry. We work with words, images and ideas on a daily basis. And we tend to be passionate about what we do, which matters enormously when you are running your own business.

An entrepreneur must be prepared to take risks – and to fail. Every book I published had an element of risk attached to it. For every bestseller, there is the book that bombed. We’re used to taking those risks and bouncing back from them, and that has set me up very well for life as a small business owner.

As any independent publisher or bookseller will tell you, running your own business is hard work, but publishing folk are resilient. At Parrot Street we regularly collaborate with independent publishers and other small businesses (shout out to our friends at Firefly Press, Old Barn Books, Wacky Bee Books and Knights Of, amongst others). They all work exceptionally hard and care about what they do. They’re my favourite people to work with.

If you’re tempted to strike out on your own, but aren’t sure if you’re ready, remember not to underestimate how much you already know about running a business from your current role. Have the confidence to use your network, connect and surround yourself with supportive people. And, of course, make sure you really care about what you do and why you’re doing it. For my business partner and me, it was our belief that every child should be a reader and that we could help them discover the incredible, inspiring and diverse array of children’s books and authors out there that drove us forward.

Go for it and good luck!

Sarah Campbell is co-founder of Parrot Street Book Club. Follow them on twitter or Instagram, @parrot_street.