As part of the Edinburgh Napier MSc Publishing programme I was given the opportunity of a two week work placement at Luath Press Limited. Luath Press is an independent publisher, located down a small alleyway off The Royal Mile. As a Canadian living in Edinburgh having a view of The Castle on my walk to work was definitely a great way to start my first work experience.
After climbing over 150 stairs from the Grassmarket, fellow intern Stephanie proceeded to lead me up another three stories to Luath’s top floor office, where I was introduced to owner Gavin MacDougall. Gavin gave me a brief rundown of the company and my duties before I was immediately put to work. Rosie Stephen, head of PR and Marketing at Luath, asked me to draft a marketing plan for one of Luath’s latest texts Hush! The Child is Present, a memoir by author Mary J. MacLeod. As a marketing hopeful this was exactly the type of task I could get excited about.
Marketing was not the only area I had the chance to be involved with. Over the two weeks I spent at Luath I was given the opportunity to do everything a publishing student dreams of: from reading the ‘slush pile’, to designing an AI (advanced information sheet), event invitations and even a mock cover. I was also able to practise my proof-reading, looking over a collection of essays with my trusty red pen and researching important dates for a Timeline that was to be added to one of Luath’s new history books.
My favourite days were spent helping Rosie in marketing and looking over the multitude of texts Luath produce every month. I was able to edit author interviews and learned how to use iMovie. I posted on Youtube using my well practised social media skills to use. I greatly enjoyed my time at Luath and learned a lot from this work experience that could not be gained in the classroom. It was amazing being able to put into practice all I had learned this year on the course.
The work placement module was what I was most excited about upon choosing Edinburgh Napier’s publishing course and it did not disappoint. Luath’s size made it the ideal company to start with, I had the opportunity to get to know my colleagues and learn from their years of experience. I also had the opportunity to work in every department and see how a publishing house functions on a day to day basis. I ended the placement happy and excited to begin my career back home in Canada. Thank you Luath!
