CGC Oakgrove 4.0

Publishing

Sector Outlook A career in publishing isn’t just about editing a book or journal. The industry employs people in a wide variety of roles such as marketing, production, publicity and rights. The sector needs graphic designers, illustrators, lawyers, accountants, app developers and more to ensure the business grows in this digital age. The work is just as varied. You could find yourself proof reading an academic journal, commissioning an author on a new novel, developing a social media campaign for a publication or analysing book sales. Over 360 million books are sold in the UK with 42% sales coming directly from stores. The total market including expor ts of books and digital media is wor th £3.4 billion to the UK economy. Despite a fall in digital sales the market is buoyant and was up by 5.9% in 2016. The sector is dominated by a number of big players such as Pearson, Penguin Random House and Reed Elsevier. Around 80 UK businesses have revenues of over £5 million. There is a growing number of small publishing agencies (less than 5 staff), up by 14% since 2012 to 1790 companies. It’s wor th knowing that regionally 750 businesses are located in London, followed by the South East (470) with the Nor th East having just 40 VAT registered publishers. Around 200,000 people are employed in publishing industry with 1 in 4 working on a freelance basis. The industry needs people with a multi-skilled approach. Having a technical ability in proof reading is insufficient without IT skills and an understanding of variety of desktop publishing tools. Being able to multi task, prioritise your work and manage a variety of project deadlines is impor tant to the sector. Most entrants have graduated with an English degree but science students can find a place in more technical/research publications. There may also be apprenticeships oppor tunities in creative/ digital media, administration or finance with some companies. Look out for work experience and internships with publishing houses via social media, newsprint or websites to get your career star ted.