De-Mystifying the Publishing Industry – hints and tips

Frankie Edwards
6 August 2026
Following on from our extremely popular The Next Page masterclass: ‘De-Mystifying the Publishing Industry’ one of our expert speakers, Frankie Edwards has generously provided us with some hints and tips for job applications and interviews, how to build your CV and some excellent resources to help you cut through the jargon and understand it.

Tips for job applications and interviews:

  • Get comfortable and confident saying ‘I did something’ and owning your examples. It’s fine to give examples of group projects but we want to know what you did and how you contributed – not lots of ‘we did this, we did that’.
  • Always, always, always say why and be able to back up whatever your point is with a brief example. You want to be able to demonstrate that you’re competent, thoughtful, adaptable and independent – but not that you’ll go totally rogue, go against the ethos of the company and the expectations of your job, and/or be unaware that there’s loads to learn when you’re starting out.
  • Be OK with the fact that all publishing jobs contain admin, whatever level you’re at. You’ll get to do lots of creative and interesting tasks, but publishing also depends on good systems and structure.
  • Research the company beyond what they publish – do they have a mission statement? What is their outlook, what are they committed to? Do they have employee networks? It’s good to be able to show in your application and at interview that you have a good sense of what the company is about.
  • Getting a job in publishing is competitive and hard, but it is possible and try not to give up if you’re really passionate about it and clear that this is the industry you want to work in. Seek feedback wherever you can – the worst thing someone can say to a polite request is ‘no’ – and be open to adapting your approach to applications and interviews in light of good feedback. It’s unlikely that you’ll get the first job you apply for – this is tough, but normal.
  • Proofread everything and then ask someone you trust to read over your application.
  • You don’t know everything. That’s OK, nobody does, including the people who interview you. A good interview is a balance of showing your skills, aptitude, passion, interests and experience – and your openness to learning and developing. Be confident, competent and curious, not cocky.
  • Don’t worry if you think you’ve messed up a question. Breath, listen carefully the next one. It’s fine to ask for clarification or for the interviewer to repeat the question. Take a beat before answering if you need it.
  • Submit your application on time and make sure you’ve met the full criteria. Don’t assume every application is a CV and cover letter – sometimes it’s a series of questions, or an online form. (Publishing asks for good attention to detail. This is a real-life example!)
  • Take a break. Go outside. Read something fun. Eat something nice. Have a nap. Hang out with people who make you happy.

Here are the some of the kinds of questions you might be asked about in an entry-level publishing job interview. They likely won’t take this exact wording, but these are good areas to prepare for:

  • Tell me about yourself – this isn’t about giving your whole life history, it’s about preparing a succinct narrative to introduce yourself and start to demonstrate why you’re a good candidate for the job/why you’re applying for the role.
  • Why did you apply for this job/why do you want to work for us? – the key words here are THIS JOB – be specific about why you want to work there, back up with examples, have reasons. What is the path between wanting to work in publishing to applying for this role?
  • What are you reading at the moment/what have you read recently?
    • Be authentic here, but it’s also a good idea for some of the books you name to resonate with the kind of books the publisher publishes (this shows you’re a good fit for the role and the publishing house). Do also show that you’ve read something the publisher does publish (ideally a different example to whatever you wrote in your cover letter. It’s also a good idea to show that you’re reading things that feels current and buzzy
    • Prepare 2-3 examples – ideally books published in the last couple of years
    • Have opinions but avoid slagging off a book that the publisher has published (it happens!)
  • What skills/experience will you bring to the role? – think about what skills the role requires – the job description should help you with this. Identify at least three and prepare succinct examples that demonstrate why you have those skills
  • What achievements are you proud of?
  • Do you have any questions for us? – always, always, always prepare questions. Ideally at least one about the role and one about the company
  • Tell me about a time you had to deal with a difficult person/situation
  • Tell me about a time you showed initiative/did something that wasn’t in your remit
  • What would you want to prioritise in the first three/six months of this job?
  • Tell me about the time something went wrong – we want to know how you dealt with something not going well, this is a classic question about problem solving
  • Tell me about a time you had to deal with conflicting deadlines
  • What trends have you noticed in books/publishing recently? – i.e. what is hot and current in books right now? Think about genre, books that are buzzy on TikTok, have won prizes, what do you see on tables when you walk in Waterstones or other bookshops, what can you see riding high in the Kindle and audio charts, how are books being categorised, how are influencers or reviewers talking about books. What is following the trend – and what is breaking through/catching people’s attention that is a bit different?
  • What’s a recent (marketing) campaign that stood out to you and why? – remember, this question is about what a publisher has done to tell a potential reader about a book. Think about the book cover, who is endorsing it, any publicity and marketing stunts you see, where is the book appearing, what social platforms, have you seen digital or traditional outdoor advertising, is there a strong strapline/tagline, is there merch, a big author event tour. Again, it’s good to choose an example of a book that chimes with the publishing house – consider preparing two examples, one book published by that publisher and one that isn’t but feels like the same kind of thing (e.g. for a very literary publisher, consider preparing a literary fiction example rather than just having a romantasy example up your sleeve)
  • What would you do if you encountered a situation at work that made you uncomfortable or you didn’t know the answer? – the answer to this question is always, ask my line manager or a colleague with relevant experience
  • What book would you recommend to a friend who was sad/buy a family member for their birthday/take on holiday – and why?
  • Tell us about a book you read but didn’t love – this could be an editorial about plot or character or maybe you felt the reading experience didn’t live up the cover or the campaign/the buzz

 

 

Ideas for building your CV and experience that aren’t just publishing house traineeships:

  • Read lots and read widely – and read contemporary books i.e. ones that have been published in the last couple of years
  • Be curious about how you’ve discovered about a book – it’s probably not an accident that you’re hearing about it. What has the publisher done to get it on your radar? What spaces are you seeing the book in? What does the cover look like – what do you think of the strapline, the quotes they’ve chosen, the visual identity of the book and the marketing campaign? Why do you think they have made these choices. Who are they trying to reach? How have they created word of mouth?
  • Get a job in a bookshop
  • Any kind of customer service/customer facing job is relevant for demonstrating that you can manage yourself, that you have good people skills and that you’re resourceful, committed and willing to get stuck in – real world experience is good experience!
  • Temp work/internship/volunteer/front of house summer job at a literary festival or for a literary or arts organisation (like Nottingham City of Lit)
  • Book blogging/Bookstagrammer/TikTok etc. – if it’s your passion
  • Speculative approaches to (local) independent publishers who might welcome readers or be looking for short-term admin assistance. Don’t discount academic publishers – even if your dream is to work for a trade press, the experience is relevant and transferrable
  • Get involved with student or local newspapers/online publications, magazine, radio, or some sort of media
  • Attending related events/masterclasses like The Next Page!
  • https://www.writingsquad.com/
  • https://writingeastmidlands.co.uk/
  • https://newwritingnorth.com/

Publishing jargon

Here are a few useful links to help you navigate the language in publishing.

 

 


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