By Gabriela Kaczmarek, Rosie Luffingham, Molly Arabella Kirk and Tehreem Malhi
You are currently an Editorial Assistant at 2TN. Could you tell us a little about what this role entails and what your day-to-day responsibilities look like?
During my time as an Editorial Assistant at 2TN, I was the lead editorial contact across eight publication and medical education accounts. I worked alongside the medical writing team and client services team, as well as clients and authors on a global scale. No day was the same during this role, as there were always a number of manuscripts and medical education projects running at once, so it was important for me to keep on top of each project and their timelines so that the team as a whole could deliver high-quality work, meeting the clients’ preferred deadlines.
In terms of editorial responsibilities, I helped to style and edit many manuscripts before they reached production and publication stage, making sure that the correct style was followed for the target journal and helping with the final submission process, which required a lot of attention to detail, making sure that all author names were included, references were styled correctly and all the relevant files were uploaded in the correct order. Our manuscripts were submitted to academic journals such as Wiley and Springer Nature, so it was always exciting seeing the published articles online knowing that you helped to edit them!
We are excited to hear about your upcoming role at Cambridge University Press as a Publishing Operations Executive, starting in September – congratulations! Drawing on the skills and experience you gained at 2TN, how do you plan to adapt to the new challenges and responsibilities of your new role?
Thank you so much! My role at CUP will be working within the English portfolio, a subject I studied at university and one that I am passionate about. I will be focusing on English textbooks aimed at children between preschool and early secondary school, and there will still be editorial-related tasks within the new role. In terms of adapting to new challenges and responsibilities, after working as an Editorial Assistant for the past two years, I have learnt to adapt to a fast-paced, ever-changing environment while balancing a busy workload, which is a helpful skill to bring into my new workplace, as a lot of publishing workplaces are also fast-paced! I will also start the role with a positive mindset and be open to learning new skills to help me progress within the company. It's also important to always ask questions if you're unsure of anything, especially in a new role.
Alongside your full-time job as an Editorial Assistant at 2TN, you have also spent time volunteering. Having previously acted as a Treasurer and Secretary at the Society of Young Publishers North and now as a Secretary and Social Media Lead at Children’s Books North, we would love to know how these separate volunteering roles enriched you personally and professionally?
Since completing my Publishing MA, I have gained so much knowledge and experience from volunteering for two amazing northern publishing networks, and would recommend volunteering to any aspiring publishers. During my time at SYP North, I represented SYP North at a number of northern publishing events, such as the ‘Pathways to Publishing’ event at the Portico Library and the NYALitFest hosted by UCLan Publishing. These events gave me the opportunity to network with a range of publishing professionals in the North, and by networking I've been able to build connections with industry professionals who have given me so much guidance on how to navigate the publishing industry.
Part of my role at SYP North was to help the Chair run the SYP North Mentorship Scheme across 2023/24. I got to see such a range of talent when looking through all of the applications and it was so difficult to narrow the applications down, as I wanted to choose everyone! After a year of volunteering for SYP North, I got asked by the amazing Emma Layfield if I wanted to join the Children's Books North committee. I immediately said yes, as working with children's books is my dream job. In the few months that I've volunteered for CBN, I have met the most talented children's authors, illustrators and publishing professionals in the North and Scotland. CBN is also growing as a network; they are now partnered with Just So Festival and Durham Book Festival, and have lots of other announcements in store, so I've joined CBN at a very exciting time.
As a publishing professional located in the North, you can understand the struggles many of our readers face in finding publishing opportunities beyond London. Could you share any opportunities, events or certifications that have aided you in employment or gaining experience in publishing throughout your career?
I have definitely started to notice a growth in publishing events and opportunities across the North and Scotland in the past year and a half, which is just incredible for all of the aspiring publishing professionals based in these locations! The big publishing houses such as Hachette and HarperCollins now have offices in Manchester, Sheffield and Newcastle. SYP North also hosts networking socials and publishing events across these areas, and some events are also held online so that even more people are able to attend. In recent news, New Writing North announced plans to create a national writing centre in the North East that have been put to the government, which would help train and develop a new generation of local talent. Lastly, there are a number of Publishing, Creative Writing and Illustration courses at universities across the North and Scotland, such as MMU, UCLan, York, Edinburgh and Northumbria, to name a few. The opportunities are growing by the week and I'm looking forward to what's to come for publishing in the North!