Luath Press – Publishing By Degrees

Storytelling in Action at Luath Press

During my placement at Luath Press, I had the opportunity to test my publishing knowledge in a fast-paced office setting, and to feel that I made significant contributions to the company’s publishing process. From assessing and cataloguing newly submitted manuscripts, to designing covers, to preparing final proofs for print, I was able to take part in a very wide variety of tasks, and I feel that I have learnt a great deal.

In my first week, I had the opportunity to devise a marketing plan and to draft cover ideas for a series of artbooks by photographer Alex Boyd. This I enjoyed a lot, since it challenged me to use my Creative Suite skills in a practical setting. Returning to Luath a few weeks later, I was pleased to discover that my idea to market Boyd’s three forthcoming books
in a visually similar manner had been carried through.

In both weeks I also carried out a degree of research and social media planning and built a database of publicity contacts for in-house use. I was shown the ins and outs of ONIX software and learnt about mail systems and newsletter distribution, things which had only been touched upon in the classroom. I also discovered quite a lot about the process of organising ePub files for print and ensuring authors remained happy with any proposed layouts (not always an easy task!).

Out of all the tasks I undertook, what I took the most pride in was the opportunity to use my editorial skills in assessing newly submitted manuscripts… Continue reading “Storytelling in Action at Luath Press”

Nine Days at Luath Press

Walking up the Royal Mile on the first morning of my placement at Luath Press, I had a dreadful feeling that I’d forgotten everything I know about publishing. Would I have to bluff my way through the next two weeks? Would I be exposed as a clueless fraud? Turns out I didn’t need to worry…

The first thing I learnt was how unfit I am, and after walking up what felt like hundreds of stairs, I found myself sitting breathless in Luath’s office, learning all about the company’s history from director Gavin MacDougall. It was a relief to find another student starting work experience at the same time, and we were each given a very helpful checklist of tasks we were likely to complete during our time. As Luath host work placements regularly, they were well prepared, and reading through the list I was excited to complete a range of marketing, publicity, and editorial tasks.

During my nine days at Luath, I got the opportunity to see how a small team work so hard on multiple books at once. Everyone always seemed so busy, and there was always work to be done. I had the chance to work on so much, from drafting marketing plans, AI sheets and press releases, to putting together a newsletter, to creating events posters and invites. Some of this felt familiar to me, and some of this was completely new, but with access to the shared drive, featuring Luath’s super extensive Wiki, and templates for pretty much everything, getting down to work was made fast and easy. The feeling that I would be out of my depth soon faded.

Of course, there were challenges – they’re part of the experience. … Continue reading “Nine Days at Luath Press”

Work Placement at Luath Press

I recently completed a two-week internship for Luath Press, an independent publishing house on the Royal Mile. Committed to publishing well written books worth reading, Luath Press publishes across a variety of genres and topics. I had waited all year to secure a placement and was pleased to hear I was going to get the opportunity to spend time at Luath. I eagerly trekked through the pouring rain on my first day and arrived, breathless and drenched, ready to get to work. I’d spent the past year learning about publishing and it was time to see if my education had paid off. Continue reading “Work Placement at Luath Press”

Work experience at Luath Press

Luath Press – learning about marketing, editorial work and the importance of day-to-day tasks in a small publishing house.

After a space opened up on the Luath Press waiting list at short notice, I found myself preparing to go on placement a few days later. I was delighted to get the opportunity to see what Luath Press was like for myself, since a friend of mine had really enjoyed a placement with them a while beforehand. When she showed me the A4 checklist of varied tasks that the team gives to people on work experience, I became determined to apply for a placement with them and experience it first-hand. Over the course of my two weeks at Luath Press, there was certainly a lot to do. Continue reading “Work experience at Luath Press”

My Placement at Luath Press

Over the two-week Easter break, I was given the opportunity to complete a work placement at Luath Press, a small but established publishing house based here in Edinburgh. Named after Robert Burns’ collie Luath, the press is located just a few steps away from Robert Burns’ first lodgings on the Royal Mile. For a small, independent publisher, Luath publish across a diverse range of genres; they cover fiction and poetry in their titles, as well as art, history and guidebooks — their sole aim being to publish well-written books worth reading.

On my first day at the placement, I was greeted by Jennie, who has been taking care of events and publicity at the press, while also running a second-hand bookshop in the nearby West Port area. Jennie guided me up to the office, which is based on the top floor of the building, and is brimming with stacks of books and paper. Continue reading “My Placement at Luath Press”

My Placement with Luath Press

I was very lucky to spend my placement working with Jennie Renton, who works freelance for Luath Press. My placement was a little different from other Luath placements as I was based at Jennie’s second-hand bookshop Main Point Books. I had my own little office to work in and Jennie made me feel at home straight away. My love of bookshops was also catered to, and I had to force myself away from the shelves of beautiful old books to concentrate on the job at hand.

Jennie was always eager to hear my opinion on everything from book covers to blurbs, and I completed a whole host of different tasks, gaining practical experience in both editorial and marketing. As I want to go into editorial, I got to spend the majority of my placement… Continue reading “My Placement with Luath Press”

An Office with a View: My Placement at Luath Press

Located just a stone’s throw from Edinburgh Castle on the Royal Mile are the offices of Luath Press. With views of the Royal Mile on one side, where you could watch tourists take selfies during your lunch break, and panoramic views of the city and the Forth of Firth on the other, you definitely feel as though you are working in the heart of Edinburgh.

On my first day of my two week placement at Luath Press, the director Gavin MacDougall talked me through the history of the publishing company and the wide range of books on their lists, which range from poetry to fiction to history and more. I was introduced to the lovely team and then it was time to get to work.

I was given the opportunity to work on a wide range of tasks, from marketing to editorial and everything in between. I wrote blurbs and created AIs, proofread texts, added event listings to the website. I also conducted research for potential new books. One of my favourite tasks was getting to look at some of the manuscripts that had been sent in. Luath Press accept manuscripts for consideration so I had the chance to read some interesting manuscripts for potential publication, from poetry to historical fiction.

It was wonderful to get some experience in aspects of publishing I hadn’t worked in before. I feel like I learned a lot during my work placement and it was very beneficial to my career development. Thank you to all at Luath Press!