Sing it now, goddess, sing through me

What a year this has been for Greek myths and me! From first picking up Circe by Madeline Miller to being gifted a gorgeous trio of books by my best friend (that's The Iliad, The Odyssey and Aeneid) to again being gifted Mythos by a friend who probably wasn't aware how much he nailed his choice of present, I feel I have plunged straight back into Greek mythology.

And who best to get you excited about the capricious gods than Stephen Fry himself? I can't explain why this man is a living legend, can you? He has an excellent sense of humour and choice of company (give us a bit of Fry and Laurie any day), he is wise and anything he gives his recommendations on is immediately, publicly accepted as worth all your money and time. Have you ever met anyone who didn't like Stephen Fry? I didn't think so.

Mythos is an in-depth retelling of the most well-known, as well as some of the more obscure or less popular Greek myths, from the very creation of earth and foundation of Olympus all the way to... well, it's hard to say. Technically speaking, the linear timeline in the book is created by Stephen himself, but the stories could easily run parallel to each other - the same day that Zeus set his eyes on Semele bathing in the river, Apollo could have been having a musical face-off with Marsyas, for all we know. The point is, individual and connected stories are being told in bite-size chapters, topped with fun subtitles.

What did I like about it?

Only Stephen Fry, with his endless wit and charm, could get away with saying things like "Crimsoning with shame and mortification", or "Such blasphemous acts of lese-majesty seldom went unpunished". His writing style, above all else, carries this book on its wings - it's humorous, it's often satirical, cheeky, hugely enjoyable, and he flaunts a vocabulary that no one else could get away with in a book like this.

I especially enjoyed how he approached dialogue. Here's an example:
'My name...' Thanatos paused for effect. 'My name...'
'I haven't got all night.'
'My name is...'
'Have you even got a name?'
'Thanatos.'
'Oh, so you're Death, are you? Hm.'

Of course, the Greek myths themselves are close to my heart - how can they not be, when they're so full of metamorphosis, tricks, treats, godly battles and jealousy and love and death? It's like an exquisitely enjoyable TV drama with a massive family that's hard to keep track of at its centre. And the enthusiasm that Stephen Fry brings to the text will get anyone excited immediately. He clearly has so much love for the topic and finds so much joy in exploring these stories himself that I couldn't help but be drawn in.

He makes a very interesting point towards the end of the book too about why Greek myths are so enjoyable to him: "Dionysus and Ares were their gods quite as much as Apollo and Athena ... What makes the Greeks so appealing to us is that they seemed to be so subtly, insightfully and animatedly aware of these different sides to their natures."

What was I not massively fond of?

There's little to say here, apart from maybe that I often found it challenging to keep up with all the offsprings and kings and Titans and demi-gods and who was related to whom; but, much like with Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude, I decided to give up trying to keep track and just enjoy the flow of the story. Which is really much easier than trying to remember everyone - although I would love to know how many children Zeus managed to produce in all his prime. My guess is around the high fifties.

There is this entertaining family tree included in the book though:

What's that on the right side you say?

I bet you didn't know.

Overall...

Mythos is such a joyride. It's pure juvenile pleasure in the meddling of gods, the mistakes of humans and hellish punishments. If you enjoy a bit of distraction from your everydays and fancy a trip into Greek mythology, this will certainly fulfil your expectations.

Having enjoyed it so much, I am now planning on plunging into The Iliad during the Christmas break. Also, if anyone wants to buy me Stephen Fry's follow-up book, Heroes, I won't say no.

I feel for the Greeks though. Putting up with such jealous, self-obsessed, needy, merciless divinities must have been a total drag.

9/10

How I Got Into Publishing – Part 3: To infinity!

This is part three of the story of how I got into publishing - a rocky road, for sure, but in this final episode it all comes to a happy conclusion. Click here to read part one or here for part two, if you're not up to date.

Welcome to August 2018 - the final push with which I finally managed to break through the iron door that guards the world of publishing.

Week after week after week, I’d been pouring my heart into cover letters to amazing publishers – the big ones, the small ones, the obscure ones… Each cover letter took up a few hours, and I tried everything, from talking about all the great things I’d achieved at work to how big a Christmas cake I could bake. (I’m not kidding. I genuinely wrote that into a cover letter.) Have I gone a little insane? Maybe, reader. Maybe.

But finally, in early August, I got invited to interview for a role in marketing, and this sounded just great. So I did what I’d become an expert at at this point:

• I followed the company on all social media accounts, and I Googled all the people in the marketing team. I followed them on Twitter too, I looked them up on LinkedIn, I checked the company website for bios. (Top tip: my now-manager mentioned how I had been the only applicant to have followed them on Twitter, and this definitely won me some brownie points.)
• I learned the company history inside out. Their mission, their development, the main topics they publish on; I collated definitions of even the most basic things. I searched through countless articles on The Bookseller website and was totally up to date.
• I read through the job description about a hundred times, underlining key things to mention in the interview – and lined up specific examples to demonstrate how I met those requirements.
• I collated at least four questions to have on hand because everyone knows you simply must ask questions in an interview – and not lame ones, but actual, factual questions. Use this to demonstrate all the research you’ve done. But also, think of it this way: they’re interviewing you as much as you’re interviewing them.
• I identified and researched their main competitors.

On this occasion, I got my interview mojo back, fortunately; and the interviewers were very friendly and accommodating too. We had a great talk, and I was soon invited back for a second round. This involved collating a full-blown marketing plan for a specific book on a topic I knew absolutely nothing about.

Note that I arrived to this round with four copies of the marketing plan printed out – one for each interviewer, one for me and an emergency copy, should one of them rip on the way there. Over the top? You may think so, but guess who got the job? Me. I did.

So now that you know all the pains of my publishing journey, here is a summary of resources, tips and links that I found particularly useful in my search.

If you're still at uni, get yourself a part-time job at a book shop, because publishers will absolutely take note. You'll be learning about books all the time, you'll know all the new releases and be up to date with the industry.

Buy the Writers' and Artists' Yearbook. It is a fantastic resource and will get all the relevant publishers on your radar. And by all means, send unsolicited emails to publishers that you like - just make sure that, unlike me, you tailor them to each company. Yes, it's a b*tch - but it might just get you a response. Have a look at their catalogue and name-drop a few authors and titles. Mention some factoid you found on The Bookseller.

Subscribe to The Bookseller. This ad is not sponsored by The Bookseller. Also, you'll only need to pay for it until you get a job; most publishers have a corporate subscription so you'll get it for free. Win.

Go to all the publishing events. London is constantly buzzing with great opportunities, so get out there, talk to people – without intimidating them – and connect. I once simply walked up to a speaker following a panel discussion at an event, introduced myself, asked them about their company/job/thing they just mentioned (having done my research of who would be on the panel!) and obtained a business card. Bosh.

My best sources for finding relevant events were and are:

• Waterstones events

• Eventbrite - search for 'publishing' or 'book' or 'book launch'

• BookMachine

• Social media

When applying for jobs, don’t be picky. Don’t go in with an ‘editor or nothing else’ mindset. That’s what I wanted originally, but then I learnt more, I got into marketing, and now I actually prefer it to editorial.

Here are some of the sites I used to search for jobs:

• IPG

• The Bookseller

• Hachette Careers

• Penguin Careers

Besides these, it's worth checking individual publisher websites; some of them might post jobs on there before sending them anywhere else. I regularly checked Pan Macmillan, Profile, Unbound and Egmont as their job pages seemed to update regularly.

Get yourself on Twitter. The publishing community lives and breathes Twitter - not only will you be able to connect, self-promote and get free advice, but you can also find smaller events directly recommended by marketers, publishers, editors and more. 

A note on recruitment agencies

There are two major recruitment agencies that specialise in publishing in the UK: Inspired Selection and Atwood Tate. They didn’t really know what to do with my overly colourful CV, but they’re free to register with and you’ve got nothing to lose, so do it.

Their criteria for forwarding CVs to employers is very strict and unless you meet the job description to the letter, you probably won’t get shortlisted. But, sadly, as everyone and their mums is constantly emailing them to see if there are any jobs going, it’s no wonder they can’t always help. If you’re the right person for the job though, they’ll find you and put you forward for sure.

Cover letters

Research is key. Here's the opening paragraph of my cover letter:

"Ever since I read about the piece of recent news late last year, I have been closely following the company’s activities. Company’s impressive 30 years of consecutive growth and its target to publish over 260 new titles in 2017 alone showed a robust and successful business. I am especially interested in the variety of company’s lists and the uniqueness of certain imprint. I am an avid reader of the company blog as well."

Remember: specific. Examples. Always. Use case studies. Demonstrate what you can do. Example:

"Having completed an introductory certificate in marketing at the Cambridge School of Marketing on my own initiative, I was able to rely on my knowledge to build our reputation, and within a year I succeeded in raising our readership from this number to this number, collaborating closely with our sales and marketing teams."

Money makes the world go around. Publishing is a business. Its ultimate aim is not necessarily to change the world with great books (although that too, hopefully) but to make money. In your cover letter, think about how YOU can help the company make money. Such as:

"What especially draws me to marketing is the widening range of channels marketers can use today to manage campaigns, and the challenge of making the most of a set budget in the smartest ways possible. I was especially keen on reading about company’s cool initiative in 2016 – it seemed to me a completely unique and engaging idea. I believe further cool idea would be an excellent initiative going into the Christmas peak period, for example."

For interviews

The job description is an actual goldmine. That's the stuff they want to hear, so focus on that. Learn the key things by heart. Genuinely.

At interview stage, arrive to the location 20 minutes early - no more, no less. But don't go bothering your interviewer yet. It honestly shocks me that some people think it's okay to arrive to an interview an hour early. It's so incredibly rude.

20 minutes gives you enough time for a security pee, to fix your hair and to read through your notes one last time. Hide out on the street and only enter the premises/ring the doorbell three to four minutes before the scheduled interview time. This shows that you're early, but not too early. Trust me. 

Remember to have questions at hand to show interest and demonstrate your research.

Finally…

If you have any questions – I mean it, any at all – ask away. Ask me, ask the person you meet at the next event, ask on Twitter. There’s a whole, friendly publishing world out there ready to help.

Good luck, you guys.

How I Got Into Publishing - Part 2: The Interviews

This is the second part of my publishing journey - an account of the peaks and many, many, many troughs that finally got me my role at a publishing house; one that I love. Click here to read part one and click here to read part three.

Stage three: The First Breakthrough

You know how it is with job hunting: nothing happens for months, and then it all happens at the same time. I got my first publishing interview invite from a massive publisher for a six-month position in the sales operations team, and I was over the moon. Meanwhile, another massive publisher emailed me back after an application for a sales assistant position, double-checking whether I was happy with the pay they were offering. I emailed back seconds later to confirm (note: sales was not what I’d set out to do. Sales was an opportunity. Be picky later.) ... and never heard from them again, sadly.

I'm normally very confident at interviews and, having prepared for hours, I am not lying when I say this was probably the best interview I’d ever done. Not only did I connect immediately with the people interviewing me – they were nice, in a good mood and very welcoming – but I had done my prep right. 

I left on a high. Super high. But guess what? I didn’t get the job. I cried for 20 minutes when I found out, and it pretty much shattered any confidence I had built up. Here’s the feedback I got:

“It was a real pleasure to meet Vera and she interviewed really well. Unfortunately the successful applicant had slightly more directly relevant experience for the role. We felt that Vera was a great candidate and would love to keep her CV on file should any future opportunities arise…”

Fair enough, right? Even though I was already pretty experienced in several fields, this was unfortunately not one of them. Still, it stung pretty bad.

Lesson: It's all about the prep. From LinkedIn pages through company ethos and history to frontlist and backlist, look at anything and everything. It's better to go over the top than under-prepare. (Even if, in the end, it turns out someone had more experience, you will have left a great impression.)

Stage four: Interviews - the bad ones
After the first breakthrough, I managed to secure three interviews that all went downhill, for different reasons. They all had a lesson for me in the end, but getting there cost me a lot of money, time and effort, and they all came with a large cup of disappointment, obviously.

The video interview
You know how I said I’m really confident at interviews? This doesn’t, unfortunately, apply to videos. You don’t get direct feedback from the person opposite you, so you’re just talking to yourself; you have no idea how you’re doing, really. There’s a little timer in the corner showing how many seconds you have left and, worst of all, you have to watch it back right afterwards. I found it very difficult to get into an interview mindset while at home, despite having showered, dressed and put on make-up. I babbled. And I was insanely nervous for no reason at all - I actually had shaky hands.

The worst thing about this though was the feedback:
“There were a huge number of applicants and the few shortlisted candidates have more relevant experience for this particular role.”
This is fair enough feedback too, but notice how they say 'huge number of applicants' - to me this sounds like almost everyone who applied got invited to the video stage. So, the pride I felt for being invited to interview (if only virtually) was shattered, and it sounds like they could have potentially just taken a better look at my CV instead of putting me through all that.

Lesson: I'm still recovering from the shock of video-interviewing, but practice probably would have helped here. Before the interview, you can always film yourself talking. 

The 'connection lost' interview
Soon after, I was invited to interview for a small, independent publisher – a part-time position, but a proper editor role. Exciting. I knew the team was going to be small and the job quite scary, but it sounded like my current role as a niche magazine editor – except with books.

Alas, they met me in a noisy café, were constantly looking at my CV on their phone, barely had any questions and essentially told me nothing about the role. They didn’t make eye contact, didn’t seem remotely interested; I was glad to be out of there. To be honest, I was sorry to have wasted my time, which clearly wasn't valued. A week later I got a generic email from one of the other team members telling me I didn’t get the job.

Lesson: An interview gone south is much like pizza. When it's bad, it's still pretty good (experience).
Luckily, right before this interview, I received another invite, so I wasn't too down after what happened. This was for a marketing role at an ex-indie, for a very niche topic, but still sounded challenging. And I like a challenge.

The disappearing act
Before approaching the finish line though, I had one last interview with another large publisher – this was for an international sales assistant position.

The person who interviewed me liked me well enough and a day later I was invited back for a second round with a director. We clicked immediately and I also got the feeling I was the only one up for the role; they clearly needed someone fast. I was confident I’d get it.

Unfortunately, as it turned out, some movement had been happening since the job posting went up; my original interviewer was leaving the company, so I’d be working with someone completely different. I waited to hear back, but... you guessed it. Never heard from them again.

Lesson: Sh*t happens.

See you soon for part three when things get better, I promise.

How I Got Into Publishing - Part 1

I'm taking a little break from reviewing books to share my journey of getting into publishing, for anyone who is on the same journey, or those hoping to be soon.

As most of those in this boat will know, getting into publishing is notoriously difficult, and I found it immensely useful to read other people's tips on it while working at it myself - there is no such thing as too much advice, and you can always filter out what you need. So here's the truth and nothing but the truth; hopefully, fresh graduates, career changers and anyone wanting to work with books will find this useful. Read part two here and part three here.

When I finished university, I had no idea what I really wanted to do, but despite having studied journalism and creative writing, I genuinely never considered that there was such a thing as 'working with books' (unless you mean being a bookseller in Waterstones, but that didn't seem relevant). So first things first: if you love books, YOU CAN work in publishing and help make books happen. Probs the most important lesson of all.

But I didn’t know and I wanted to get stuck in, so I applied for pretty much anything that came my way that involved writing. All the while, someone out there was publishing the books I bought every week, to be consumed in one or two sittings...

The first time it finally occurred to me that I could work in publishing, I was on my third job - all different things, from bid writing to editing a magazine, but all involving some sort of copy editing and writing. So finally, in March 2018, I decided that I would get into publishing. Easy, right?

➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤➤

Stage one: Scattergun

I attacked this challenge just like my previous jobs: I looked for job postings, sent my box-standard CV and my cover letter, waited to be snatched up. It was a good letter, mind you; it had landed me employment every time before. But the difference was, this time I had a set aim. I wasn't just firing into the air, but was hoping that something would come back that I actually wanted. The letter covered all my skills - charm, wit, language skills, the lot - but it wasn't relevant. And when a month passed without any result, I knew I had to change tack.

So now, I started firing out unsolicited letters to publishers. I purchased the Writers' and Artists' Yearbook, and emailed any and all publishers based in London - still using a standard cover email though. In the meantime, I subscribed to The Bookseller - the single most important resource when you're trying to break into publishing. It's a literal literary goldmine. 

A month passed, and I'd had one rejection email (from an actual publishing giant, but still a rejection), and a one-liner saying I should check back in September. This from about 30 emails - I'm not exaggerating.

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Stage two: When you're living on your knees you... wise up

It's important to know that while I was chasing my dream job, I was stuck in a nightmare: in a degrading, toxic environment, desperate to break out and struggling increasingly not to leave. It made it all the harder to endure every rejection - although to be honest, I was happy if someone even bothered to tell me I didn't get the job.

March turned into May and I continued to apply for everything. What I understood now though was that there was going to be no workaround. I genuinely had to start from scratch for each application, and do my research, and tailor my letter to suit the publisher. So the scattergun approach turned into one application at a time, spending an hour or so collating notes on the publisher and then writing lots of drafts before I had a half-decent letter.

The secret I cracked here was this: use case studies in your cover letter. This was THE most vital lesson and once I understood it, it landed me my first interview after four months. Use specific examples – that time you led a focus group, that success you achieved, that campaign you devised, even that meeting you took minutes for. Specific. Examples. Always. Demonstrate your skill.

I also purchased The Professionals' Guide to Publishing by Gill Davies. It’s a good base text and I learned a lot about how those already in publishing see the business. It introduces the main parts of a company, how they interact, some case studies and the main elements of each role too. It’s definitely worth reading something like this to help clarify your goals.

Case study: Connecting

Publishing is truly about who you know. I'm not very good at networking though - it genuinely terrifies me. So here's what I tried: having found a publisher I liked in the W&A Yearbook, I looked up the staff. I picked someone who had an intriguing background, sort of similar to mine - it's called professional stalking and it's the good kind - and after a bit of digging, I found their direct email.

I emailed them, apologising for coming out of the blue, but telling them about my situation in a short paragraph and asking for any advice. And reader, they responded. Was it helpful? 

"Publishing is tight-knit and often about who you know so the best thing I can recommend is that you meet people by going to publishing and literary events, self-promoting and applying to whatever is available in hopes of catching a break."

So yeah, nothing I didn't already know - sadly, it's the truth. But hey, people in publishing are genuinely nice and they know all too well how hard it is to get into. (And, let's face it, they're mostly lovely ladies.) So don't be afraid. What's the worst that can happen? This person I hunted down on the dark web (LinkedIn and Google) didn't seem to mind too much, and we're still in touch. ↤

Following the above advice, I also decided to get out there and attend any and all literary events. You actually never know who you will meet, and if it's only people like you there, you will still have met a supportive community that's in the exact same boat as you. 

My crazy hunt for publishing professionals took me to the most random events, including:

• A tiny event in North London with Zadie Smith herself - publicised absolutely nowhere
• The Feminist Book Society's first ever event
• A talk with my favourite author, James Smythe, in the FT building (plus free wine!)
• The Edinburgh Book Festival, where I may or may not have fallen in love with Guy Gunaratne a little

Beforehand I would always look through Twitter to see who was going. 

The most important event of all though, the mothership that anyone young-ish trying to get into publishing should attend, is the Society of Young Publishers' publishing speed dating event. I believe they stage one every year and you have to be absolutely on the ball to get a ticket - it sells out pretty fast - but it was the most eye-opening event I went to, and it was immensely helpful. Basically, a bunch of industry professionals from all segments of the business - editorial, marketing, production and more - endure hours of questioning from starry-eyed youngsters. But this is your chance to find out everything you ever wanted to know, and also to consider which part of publishing you would be best fitted to. I couldn't recommend this event enough.

After this, my job-hunting horizon expanded significantly. We reached the merry month of June at this point though, and I still had no real progress to speak of.

To be continued...