Beyond Editorial- what experiences of publishing can be beneficial to a young professional.

Trying to consider what line of work to take on has endless possibilities; many of us are left reeling, wondering where our skills and interests would thrive. Choosing a sector to work in doesn’t necessarily take you any closer to solving this, within the publishing sector alone, there are various positions that would suit a variety of professionals. Are you interested in design or editorial? Contracts or copyright? Are you more of a networker? Do you even want to work with books? What about magazine publishing? The rhetoric’s could take you in any direction.

When considering what I wanted to achieve from a placement opportunity, I had to ask myself all kinds of questions. It seemed the most logical approach would be to find a book publisher willing to take on a student; somewhere to test my editorial skills and ability to create AI sheets succinctly and all the skills I have been developing since beginning my MScs. Instead, I couldn’t help but think of all the things I didn’t know and the majority of that revolved around magazine publishing.

Beyond Learning

Since starting university one of our more frequent guests has been Nikki Simpson, founder of the International Magazine Centre, along with her business, Nikki has an amazing passion for spreading the knowledge of the magazine publishing sector and encouraging as many professionals as possible, new and established, to get involved. While we do have modules aimed towards learning about the magazine sector Nikki has worked closely with the Napier MSc publishing lecturers to provide us with opportunities, such as, attending the IMC Magazine Street conference and running the Magazine week challenge. Not only, is she regularly engaged with students, but she has taken the time to offer an environment where we can explore newly developed skills and our knowledge of publishing, in the format of producing magazines.

Image from https://internationalmagazinecentre.com/magazine-street/2022-2/

The opportunity to work with IMC was a very versatile learning curve; my main aim for the 10 days was to learn more about opportunities within the magazine sector and see where my skill set would fit amongst that. The IMC as a company work on providing training courses and networking opportunities to their curated membership community, which consists of smaller independent magazine publishers. A helping friend to those that cannot afford the luxury opportunities a larger house may be able to; as well as this, Nikki splits her time working with FIPP a larger company similarly offering training and conference event organisation for larger companies globally. Being able to see the comparison of the scale of events really displayed what the most consistent tool we have in every aspect of the sector is, something Nikki mentioned to me from day 1; sales.

The main selling point of being a member with IMC is Nikki, she meets with every potential member 1-to-1 to discuss what it is they are looking to develop and how IMC can support them in their endeavours. For those that allowed me to sit in on their time with her, it was clear how much guidance could be provided and how Nikki was open to finding the workshops and opportunities that would best benefit potential and current members.

Beyond IMC

Working with this organisation as opposed to being placed with a publisher gave me the unique perspective of seeing what gaps employers have within their training and what they are seeking in entry level employees regarding their current projects. A great example of this is when Nikki invited me along to a round table event she was hosting on behalf of the Professional Publishers Association (PPA). I was the only student to attend and was offered a seat at a table with one of the event speakers, Nina Holmes, and the likes of representatives from ‘The Skinny’ and ‘Scottish Field’. The event was based around events and what it takes to develop an idea and see it through, many of the participants of the day felt that this was something their businesses could improve on. It wasn’t easy to participate as someone that could only speak in hypotheticals but Smith, C. & Smith, S. (2016, September) mention in their placement study that often employers are looking beyond technical skills and, “also someone who will ask questions, someone who will take a bit of responsibility, initiative and communication skills “. This event really consolidated this skill for me as something that had become prominent in my work with Nikki.

Beyond networking

I found a lot of trust was built from chatting with Nikki and those that worked with her. If I put forward that I could confidently use WordPress and explore web design, she would provide me the resources and material to update their site. Expressing my familiarity with excel meant that it felt I could be trusted to do some tasks involving setting deadlines for their upcoming marketing plans and client databases. Everything I gained from this placement was from everyone at IMC wanting to hear my opinions and knowing what my strengths were, from there they found the appropriate place for them amongst the organisation.

Overall, choosing a less obvious placement not only managed to expand my knowledge and network surrounding the local magazine industry but also provided me with a uniquely beneficial experience for a soon to be graduate publisher. Gaining contacts now and having examples of my skills put to work via a different approach to the one I have currently been developing, shows within my online portfolio, that I am a versatile young professional. Exploring a variety of opportunities has allowed me to see a much larger perspective of where my abilities fit in, within the publishing sector. So as a young professional who is actively learning and developing a place for themselves within the publishing sector, don’t be afraid to look for experience beyond publishing houses, you have no idea what contacts or skills you will develop that will sell your ability to stand out in a crowd.

Many thanks to Niki Simpson, the International Magazine Centre, FIPP, the PPA, and all those that contributed to my placement experience.

Connect with my LinkedIn to find out more about my projects, experiences, and publishing journey.

Featured image: IMC

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