This blog post is one of a series of Q&As with staff working at Liverpool University Press. We hope through these blog posts that prospective employees and those interested in joining the publishing industry can find out more about LUP and the career paths our staff have taken along the way.
Here we speak with Ellen Appleton, Digital Sales & Marketing Coordinator at Liverpool University Press.
What did you do before this job and how did you get your current role at LUP?
After completing a BSc in Zoology and an MSc in Evolutionary Biology at the University of Liverpool, and while I considered what to do next, I began working in a bookshop. As a Bookseller, I had first-hand experience of the whole book ecosystem and the lifecycle of a book from front-of-store hardback to paperback publication, to backlist. I saw which books were published (and when) as well as which books do well (and which don’t). In this role I spent time both on the shop floor and back of house on operations. One of my responsibilities was working on the accounts business (selling to schools, libraries, and other organisations), this experience really helped when making the move into publishing.
With my bookselling, accounts, and operational experience, I got a job in the international team of a US publisher working on both academic and trade books. In this role, I was lucky enough to be able to gain experience in several departments, starting out as a Sales, Marketing & Rights Assistant before moving on to being a Marketing Executive (and still helping with sales and rights where needed!). Working in a relatively small team representing a US-based publisher in the Rest of World (ROW) market gave me a very broad understanding of the industry. I was able to gain experience in all aspects of the business, as well as travel to bookfairs to meet people in the industry from around the globe and learn about how different territories operate.
In December 2024, I joined the team at LUP.
What career or job did you imagine for yourself when you were at school?
At school I was keen on perusing a career in STEM. In Sixth Form, I studied Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Maths. Although I have always been an avid reader and lover of books, I had never considered publishing as a career option. Only when I started work as a bookseller – after spending four years completing two science degrees – did I start to realise that working in books was an option that I wanted to explore.
What does your job entail? What does a typical day look like?
The focus of my role at LUP is marketing and selling digital collections to libraries. These collections are bundles of content (typically eBooks and journal articles). My role (as with many jobs in publishing) can be very seasonal, so my tasks can change depending on the time of year. My tasks and marketing strategy are also adaptive, changing based on market trends and targets. On an average day, I might work on an email marketing campaign, provide customer service to librarians, and prepare marketing materials for a conference. In addition to my daily tasks, I have annual tasks such as preparing license agreements for the year ahead and creating our collections catalogue. Long term projects include developing and launching new digital collections.
I am a hybrid-worker, spending two days a week in our Cambridge Street office with my colleagues, and three days in my home office with my cat, Pecan.
What skills did you bring to the job? Where did you learn these?
I have repeatedly found that the skills developed during my STEM degrees are readily transferable to publishing. I process and analyse data every day at LUP. Working in bookselling developed my commercial instinct and knowledge of the publishing industry from the point of view of a commercial buyer and retailer (and gave me the opportunity to spend time surrounded by books). My marketing skills, industry knowledge, and contacts were developed further in my previous role with a US publisher. I have been lucky enough to work with lots of great people who have been very generous in sharing their knowledge and skills.
What is your favourite part of your job?
I really like the creative aspects of my job, like designing email campaigns, flyers, and website pages. I enjoy talking to librarians; it’s great being able to provide them with scholarly resources that benefit both students and faculty. I do also really enjoy working on spreadsheets and data!
What advice or tips would you give for anyone interested in joining the publishing world?
Working in bookselling (or even just spending time in local bookshops) can teach you a lot about the publishing industry. Notice what type of books end up where (e.g. supermarket shelves, airport shops, high street bookshops, charity shops, libraries), the similarities (or differences) between books of various genres, and which publishers and imprints produce what type of books, how they market and sell them, and at what price. Observing these trends can give you valuable insight into books as commercial objects and their audiences.
Don’t underestimate the value of data skills. No matter what area of publishing you pursue, you will no doubt have to handle a lot of data, whether that be sales data, book metadata, or stock inventory. Maintaining and sharing good quality data is key to success in publishing.
There are lots of different roles within the publishing industry to suit a variety of different skill sets, and there is abundance of resources available online which can help you decide which area of publishing might suit you best.
Learn more about careers at LUP on our website >
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