The best advice comes from people who actually do what you want to do. Danielle Poiesz, Editorial Assistant at Simon & Schuster, was kind enough to share her experiences and tips with the rest of us…
How long have you been in publishing?:
I’ve been in publishing for about three years. I’ve been in editorial for the past two and was in sales for my first.
Describe your job:
I work in the editorial department at Pocket Books. I assist two fantastic senior editors, working mostly with women’s 
fiction and romance, with some political non-fiction, true crime, and women’s health titles tossed into the mix. I’m also the editor for Pocket’s Ellora’s Cave Romantica anthologies. I’m not sure how to describe “briefly” what I do! I help see a book through the entire publishing process, from acquisition to publication, working with the author, agent, and all departments in house (production, art, interior design, publicity, subrights, etc.). I sometimes get to do the fun stuff like developmental and line edits, but other times I’m focused purely on the logistics.
How did you find this job? (i.e. job board, contacts, good interview, etc):
I found the posting for my current job in Publishers Lunch. I got my resume and cover letter all in order and contacted a friend of mine who works at Simon & Schuster, and she sent my application in directly through HR. I had two great interviews and voila!
What were your previous experiences?:
Prior to working Pocket, I worked at St. Martin’s Press as their wholesale sales coordinator. I assisted the director of wholesale sales and worked as the liaison between the 10 or so sales reps and the company.
What was the job hunt like?:
The job hunt was brutal, and was for most people I know who want to be in publishing. It’s a difficult industry to break into! So many people want to do it, but the number of available jobs keeps shrinking. After I graduated college and moved to New York, it took me six months to find my first publishing job—and I had already been hunting for three months at that point! I must have applied for at least 200 jobs before I was offered one. And of those 200, I can count the number of interviews I got on both hands. Brutal. It’s the only word for it.
Like/dislikes about your job:
I like pretty much everything about my job. Of course, every job has tasks you’d rather do without, but for the most part, I’m happy with my position. The only thing that really is difficult to get used to is the speed of movement in publishing. The editorial ladder in particular is a very tall one, and it takes a long time to get up each rung. But that’s the nature of editorial, and a lot of the industry in general. So I just need to learn to be patient ;) Not my strongest suit, but I’m getting better!
Tips for people who want to get into publishing:
The first tip would be not to give up. It’s a daunting job hunt with a lot of rejection, but if it’s what you want to do, just keep at it. Obviously, do something else in the meantime to make end’s meet—I did temp work to pay the rent—but keep going. Keep trolling the job boards (I found bookjobs.com, Publishers Lunch, and specific publisher sites to be most helpful) and keep applying.
My second tip would be to network as much as you can. Mediabistro.com sometimes lists events and mixers, so if you can, go to those and start getting to know people in the industry. Those contacts are going to be key. It’s much easier to get a job in publishing if your resume comes from the inside as opposed to into the big pile of resumes brought in from a website.
Thirdly, and perhaps the most important lesson I learned, is not to pigeonhole yourself when applying. For the first several months of my job hunt, I applied only for the exact job I wanted. I was very focused on getting a job in editorial, but I learned quickly that editorial is the most difficult department to break into without any experience. Everyone wants to be in editorial. While I’m glad I put so much unfailing energy into what I wanted, I realized (later than I would have liked) that sometimes you have to take a step off your planned path to get yourself onto it. In other words, get your foot in the door however you can.
I didn’t really start getting interviews until I began applying for jobs that were perhaps less than ideal for me, but that were in the industry and going to be a useful experience. I took a job in sales, despite not wanting to BE in sales, because I could learn about the industry, work with different departments, and get a solid, well-rounded background. And that’s exactly what I did. I didn’t really enjoy my first job in publishing–it wasn’t what I wanted to do. I didn’t enjoy making Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations, but I did it anyway. And I must say, it’s probably one of the main reasons I got my current job. I had experience that a lot of people applying for the job didn’t have. So, all I’m really trying to say is don’t be too picky about your first job in the industry. Of course, some departments are easier to transition from laterally than others (for editorial, the hardest transitions are probably managing editorial and production), but for the most part, getting any experience on the inside is going to help!
Top 3 favorite books of all time (and none of them are allowed to be classics!):
Saved the hardest one for last, huh? Let’s see, non-classic favs tend to vary for me, with the exception of my number one, which is THE ALCHEMIST by Paolo Coelho. Right now, my second and third would probably have to be THE GIRLS GUIDE TO HUNTING AND FISHING by Melissa Bank and THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE by Audrey Niffenegger.
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