Publishing

Source: https://www.york.ac.uk/students/work-volunteering-careers/options/sectors/publishing/ Parent: https://www.york.ac.uk/students/work-volunteering-careers/options/sectors/

Within the publishing industry there are many roles available and a wide range of skills needed. While an appreciation of literature and a love of books is a good starting point, commercial awareness and an understanding of business is vital in this highly competitive, multi-million-pound industry.

Science graduates seeking a career outside the lab can find rewarding roles in science communication and academic publishing.

Find out about publishing

Key resources

• How to get into publishing on the Prospects website
• Prospects' generic job profiles:
• editorial assistant
• publishing copy-editor/proofreader
• publishing rights manager
• science writer
• writer

Research the sector and keep up with current issues by reading:

• trade news like The Bookseller for publishing
• The Publishing Post weekly newsletter, covering industry news, careers advice and entry-level job listings in publishing
• information from the Association of British Science Writers and the Science Comms JiscMail mailing list for those interested in science writing
• Look at publishers' websites to increase awareness of the sector. For example, Springer Nature, for information on academic / journal publishing, and an interesting section on AI in publishing

Use of AI in publishing

While AI can be used for some routine tasks in publishing, critical judgement and communication skills will remain important. AI may help with initial proofreading, data analysis and initial content creation for marketing. You are likely to need a good understanding of prompt engineering, copyright law and IP, and an awareness of potential bias in AI-generated content, alongside editorial judgement, creativity, relationship building and subject knowledge.

• The Bookseller: AI won't steal your publishing job - but it will change it (Nov 2025)
• Springer Nature: Artificial Intelligence

What skills do I need?

Jobs in publishing are varied and the specific skills will depend on your role. Skills can include:

• communication
• negotiation
• working to deadlines
• organisation and planning
• project management
• graphic design
• attention to detail

For more information about professional skills and how to develop them, see the York Strengths Professional Skills page.

Work experience

Experience is essential if you want to work in publishing. You should think about:

• writing a blog and being active on social media by following and engaging with publishers
• organising your own work experience by making speculative applications - try small local publishing houses
• applying for advertised internships, bearing in mind that these are very competitive (see jobs section below for websites)

• networking, which is very important in the creative sector as many jobs are discovered through word of mouth

• Many publishers are based in London. If you don’t have access to accommodation in London, but want to take advantage of work experience opportunities there, use The Spare Room Project, which offers publishing interns a spare room in the house of a publisher. The Book Trade Charity also offers support for interviews and internships.

• Many publishers now offer internships and traineeships to people from underrepresented backgrounds. Creative Access advertise opportunities for BAME candidates and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.
• Penguin Random House virtual work experience (online course) provides a good introduction to publishing
• Research individual publishers for details of their summer internships.

Find jobs

Publishing jobs are advertised:

• on websites like BookBrunch, Jobs in Books (The Bookseller) and The Society of Young Publishers (SYP) (only available to members)
• on publishers' websites
• Independent Publishers Guild
• Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers
• Creative careers club - entry level jobs in the creative industries including publishing
• through word of mouth and speculative applications

There are also a small number of popular schemes with large publishers:

• Penguin Random House summer internships, early career roles, and The Scheme for under represented groups (lower socio-economic background or BAME - see website for details)
• Cambridge University Press
• Community of Literary Magazines and Presses' (CLMP) Jobs with Publishers and its LinkedIn page

Find out more about applying for jobs.

What can I do at York?

There are lots of things you can do right now at university to help you get the skills and experience for a career in publishing:

• Start networking by reading about York graduates on the York For Life platform and sending questions to people working in publishing.
• Keep an eye out for relevant events to build your skills and meet potential employers.
• Join a student society and get involved - as well as having fun, you'll be developing skills such as teamwork, organisation, project management and more.
• Look for other opportunities to develop your creativity, communication and time management skills. Check our volunteering pages for ideas.
• Check for internship opportunities in York through York Internships, advertised on  Handshake
• Consider a placement year to get twelve months of real-world experience.
• Listen to relevant episodes of our What do you actually do? podcast
• Get involved in enterprise activities to develop your commercial awareness. Afterall, publishers are business first and foremost

More resources: people to follow, podcasts, blogs

Connect with York graduates

Join York for Life to connect with our global network of alumni. Start building your own network - find people from your course, look at different careers, ask questions and request a mentor.

Use LinkedIn to make connections, follow organisations of interest, and find out what York graduates are doing. Find out more about using LinkedIn and networking (how to build your network).

Other Networks

LinkedIn accounts to follow:

• Bookcareers.com
• Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP)
• Society of Young Publishers
• The Publishing Post
• Wonderful Recruitment & Development

Podcasts

Keep up to date with the sector and learn about the types of jobs available with these podcasts.

Relevant episodes of our What do you actually do? podcast:

• Get into book publishing, with Helen Barton

Blogs

• The Guardian books blog + publishing