Thread by @KathMSchmidt, So, you know I spoke to college students last week about book [...]

So, you know I spoke to college students last week about book publishing? I have some takeaways that I want to share bc I fully admit parts were eye-opening to me. Thread:

I was one of 4 people on a panel. Moderator was head of HR/Diversity/Inclusion for one of the big 5. That’s all I’ll say. I was the most senior person on the panel (which was not all that diverse—not shocking).

The questions were straightforward. However, it was how some things were framed by HR person that mortified me and truly hit me about why publishing is considered elitist, exclusive, etc etc.

Caveat: I haven’t worked for a big 5 in quite some time and any time I did, I did not go thru traditional HR process. I was either poached or I called the publisher myself (That was 2005). Still, I know how HR works. Plenty of interviews. Dealings. Firing/hiring.

Now to the panel. We introduced ourselves and how we ended up in publishing:
-Masters in Writing, now an editor
-English Major, Columbia Publishing Institute
-English Major, Denver Publishing Institute
-Me: English Major/Rutgers Newark/Fan of Jackie O as editor.

Also me: thought I’d be an editor but the pay was terrible so I took a publicity assistant job at indie publisher that was advertised as: must love pop culture, must have good sense of humor. It paid $10K more than the Ed assistant jobs (late 90s).

I digress. The others did internships. HR person said internships are everything. Let’s stop right there. No, they’re not. I couldn’t afford to do one and lots of students still cannot afford to do them. Don’t ever listen to that line. Here’s why:

As I said on the panel, having work experience in food industry, childcare, office asst, etc tells me so much more than a publishing internship: you handle conflict, you answer phones, you deal with kids/customers. All of this is very hard work. Never discount it.

By saying internships in publishing are necessary, you are leaving out a large swath of candidates who can bring life AND work experience to the job. No publishing people should limit possibilities like this.

There was one person on panel in subrights (jr level) who told the students if they want to go that route, they need to show how many languages they speak. WHAT. No. No. No.

I can speak a little Spanish, a little Italian, and a little French. I understand each language pretty ok. But: I’ve booked foreign book tours and tried to acquire foreign rights. You don’t need to be multi-lingual.

Next: student asks if you start out as a marketing assistant can you switch to editorial. This is where I got upset with the HR person’s answer because it was so wrong.

HR person said: “Oh no, no. If you start in marketing, you can’t switch to editorial or else you’ll have to start all over again. Publishing is really an apprenticeship. Stay on the course you started.” NO NO NO.

I interjected. I told the students my path: publicity, freelance pr/marketing, Associate Publisher, Literary Agent, and now, publicity+acquisitions+marketing. SKILLS ARE TRANSFERABLE. Shoot your shot. Do not let people’s limited thinking limit you.

This part really bothered me coming from HR at a big 5 who is supposedly working on inclusion/diversity. Person also said, “You are going to be an assistant for a long time.” Isn’t this the exact thing publishing is trying to change? Really disappointing.

What was eye opening to me is that here’s an HR Exec from the big 5 who has the oppty to frame publishing as a welcoming industry but is doing the exact opposite. This is not at all where the industry should be. Your town halls mean nothing if this happens.

One student asked if teaching experience could help in getting a publishing job. HR person said no, not really. What are we doing to these students? Limiting them. Publishing industry must look at what is being said to students by ppl who rep their companies.

I told the students I’m open to mentoring & informational interviews. I was the only one to do so. A bunch have reached out & I’m more than happy to talk. I’m always happy to answer questions! It’s called paying it forward. It’s called wanting better for the future.

Here are some things I mentioned that students may want to do for their resumes:
-Work at a bookstore
-Involved w student newspaper/mags
-Tutoring
-Waitress/hostess
-Customer service
-Work at law office
-Retail (other than bookstore)
-Temp experience
-Camp counselor

End of thread. All I can say is that I will try very hard to make sure people feel like they can work in book publishing and don’t feel excluded or limited.

One more thing. Here is my work experience before publishing:
-Cashier at Drug Fair (like CVS)
-Cashier at Blockbuster
-Customer service rep at loan servicing center for a bank
-Telemarketer for pharma companies
-Legal assistant for 2 law offices
-Hostess/Waitress
-ESL tutor

I kept waitressing on weekends the first year I worked in book publishing because I needed to help my parents with bills, pay for my car, and pay back loans. No shame in that. It’s real life. I lived home until age 27.

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