The publishing industry has been doing a great job ever since it started. It is one of those industries that have contributed significantly in producing and disseminating information to the masses and making them informed as well as educated. Whether it is the education related to technical, scientific, history, and geography, or the entertainment, scientific, medical, and any other sectors, the publishing industry has helped the world's population to thrive and contribute to the society by reading articles. Being an important source of information to organizations, and commoners, the publishing industry offers lots of career opportunities in the form of writing and editing, art and photography, sales, promotion, and marketing, general administration, and other production related occupations.
The publishing industry is involved in printing materials for producing books, magazines, novels, etc. as well as online publications. To start production, they need written contents. These contents are written by writers, authors, and freelancers. Hence, there is a huge scope for writers and editors in this industry.
Writers are hired to write articles, stories, and other types of content for publication. They write content for magazines, story books, calendars, greeting cards, and any material that has to be published. Besides the printed materials, writers also produce information for making CDs, online publication, and other electronic format. As a writer, one can work in the publishing industry for offline or onine publication such as the internet.
Before the printing process begins, the content or information needs to be corrected and ensured there is no grammar, spelling, and punctuation mistakes. Printing information riddled with mistakes will not send a proper message to the masses. That' why the publishing industry employs editors. These editors are given the responsibility of assigning tasks to the writers, reviewing, re-writing, or correcting articles written by the writers. With the newspaper industry, they are expected to produce editorials. When working for a company producing magazines, they have to produce columns. In book publishing, they are entailed with the tasks of purchasing and selecting materials, coordinating with the authors, and producing the final product. Most importantly, the editors have to ensure that the printed materials are as per the set guidelines and the published materials reach to the target audience in time.
Designing and Photography Career in Publishing
The publishing industry cannot function without designers, artists, and photographers. These occupations are as important for the industry as the writing and editing occupations. The designers and artists use their skills in complementing the written information or material with eye-catchy layouts, fonts, and by merging the content with engaging graphics. They make the content and graphics flow seamlessly so the readers face no difficulties in understanding and following the content.
Certain books and magazines need real pictures to complement the written materials. Photographers do this job perfectly. They are briefed by the art director on the kind of pictures they need to click for the story or publishing materials. These photographs could be for magazine covers, inside and back cover as well.
Sales, Promotion, and Marketing in Publishing
The publishing industry has to promote, market, and sell their products to earn revenue. To do this job, they hire advertising sales agents. These agents visit businesses and deliver them presentations on how advertising with their company can help them gain more customers. They create a monthly, half-yearly, or annual package for advertising brands with their publications. To ensure the sale of the printed materials, these advertising sales agents and promotion managers visit several organizations and fetch subscriptions. Moreover, they also have to plan strategies to generate new readers, which can directly contribute to the sale of their products. When these professionals are working with a book publishing company, they also arrange press meet and interviews with the authors. Other sales agents have to visit schools, public and private libraries, and bookstores to promote and sell their books.
General Administration in Publishing
Just like any other industry, the publishing industry too need administration in order to ensure daily functioning of activities. So they hire computer or network specialists to configure, install, implement, and troubleshoot new technologies. To maintain proper records of vendors, suppliers, and clients, they hire clerks. Another occupation that is necessary to keep a check on the income and expenses of the publishing company is accounting. The publishing industry hire accountants to maintain bookkeeping records. They also need highly experienced professionals to serve as a chief executive and handle the copyright and license issues related to publication.
Other Production related Occupations in Publishing
The publishing industry needs production managers who can fix and monitor production schedule. These production managers work closely with other teams and ensure timely production of the publication. Their major responsibility is to set and meet production deadlines. Besides, maintaining the quality of the printed materials, cutting down printing costs, and overseeing the complete production operation is also their duty.
Another profession that supports in the production of the publication is the prepress technicians and printing machine operators. The former makes the printing plate ready to be used on the printing machine and the latter run the printing press. In addition, the publishing industry also needs drivers to transport their products to clients located at distant places.
If you're interested to join the publishing industry, you have to be ready with relevant education, experience, and a professional resume for job hunting. So keep browsing our website since we have produced several resume samples that can help you in gaining an entry in the publishing industry.