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 Katharine Easterby, Senior Production Editor at Liverpool University Press.
What did you do before this job and how did you get your current role at LUP?
I did a PhD in English Literature at the University of Liverpool and taught at degree level and in continuing education. I also did various administrative jobs. I was Management PA at an historic library, part of the fundraising team at Liverpool Philharmonic, and worked in student finance in a college. I was also a library assistant for many years.
After I finished my doctorate, I realised that I didn’t want to be an academic (which would have been the natural next step) but knew that I wanted to work in the arts and education. While I enjoyed aspects of all the administrative jobs that I did after studying, I ultimately realised that I missed working with the written word and being in a university setting. I therefore thought a career in academic publishing would be a great fit for me and decided to apply for an entry level role at LUP. Fortunately, I got the job and worked my way up from there.
What career or job did you imagine for yourself when you were at school?
The job I thought I’d have changed throughout my time at school. My list of possible careers definitely didn’t include working in production. I wouldn’t have even known what production was back then! It just goes to show that it’s not always necessary to map out a strict career path. It might be the case that a job you’d love is out there, but that you don’t yet know it exists.
What does your job entail? What does a typical day look like?
As Senior Production Editor, my main responsibilities are quality control for journals and ensuring journal issues meet publication deadlines. I work almost solely on journals, but many production editors deal with books as well. My day typically involves handing over author manuscripts for copyediting and typesetting and checking final files before sending them for print and online publication. I also liaise with authors and editors and attend various meetings. Some of my work is related to new journals. For instance, I do costings and work with colleagues to finalise cover designs, journal templates, and style guides.
I’ve also found ways to expand my role to develop my skills and make my work even more varied. For example, I’ve been Sustainability Co-Lead at LUP and have worked in a team of colleagues in the Association of University Presses to devise a learning programme.
What skills did you bring to the job? Where did you learn these?
Organisational skills are vital in my role, especially when working to meet publication deadlines. In many of my previous administrative jobs, I’ve had different time-sensitive things all competing for my attention. This taught me how to prioritize tasks. During my PhD, I had to learn how to balance my time between doing the research that would get me the degree and doing extra things that would enhance my CV. All of this experience has made me very organised.
The ability to write well and pay close attention to detail is also really important in a production role, for example, when emailing colleagues and checking journal issues before publication. Again, these are skills that I’ve developed in my previous administrative jobs and when writing my doctoral thesis. The knowledge of academic writing conventions I gained as a postgraduate is also very useful in my role.
What is your favourite part of your job?
I love paying attention to detail and so really enjoy checking files before publication. I also find meeting deadlines really satisfying. Working in production is also nice because you get to see content before it’s published.
What advice or tips would you give for anyone interested in joining the publishing world?
When applying for your first publishing job, it’s important to be able to demonstrate your love of the written word. It’s also vital to have strong administrative skills as these are what you’ll be using every day in a publishing role. If you can’t get a publishing job immediately, get an administrative job in any field so that you can show an employer in publishing that you’ve got strong written communication and organisational skills and good attention to detail.
I also recommend getting some work experience or an internship in publishing as this would demonstrate your enthusiasm for the industry to a potential employer. It’s also a good opportunity to learn more about the various roles that are available. Don’t worry if you don’t know exactly what area of publishing you want to work in from the outset as, once you have a job in the industry, there’s generally scope to move around departments. That’s certainly what I did!
When looking for publishing jobs, good places to explore are The Bookseller and the websites of individual university presses. As soon as possible, look at job specifications for roles that appeal to you and write down the experience you have that meets the criteria, providing examples. This will give you something to draw on when you write your first application. If there are gaps in your experience, work out an action plan for how you’re going to fill them.
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