Networking in Publishing - A Personal View

To Network: To cultivate people who may be useful professionally



Xplore Publishing Image: Networking



I've been researching the publishing industry for over a year now - ever since the idea was floated as a possible career path - and there's one aspect I struggle to champion and enact: networking.

As a relatively compact industry everyone seems to know everyone else. Quite the dilemma when you're not only new to the table but when you currently live the wrong side of the North/South divide and travel and accommodation is too expensive to consider an unpaid internship.

Of course I have heard the popular saying "it's not what you know, it's who you know" but I've always approached it with caution and viewed such situations with the attitude of concerned resignation - a sort of "it's not the best reality but that's life and we may as well get on with it" philosophy.

This is not to say that I've never made use of connections; I got my first job through my best friend, and I then went on to recommend my boss hire our other friends. I got my brother his first job and my father his first post-retirement job. So, I'm not a stranger to the power of networks. However, I would say the positions I gained with no prior knowledge of, or connections with, other employees feel the most satisfactory. I was the best candidate and so I was chosen (I say this quite modestly).

After my first internship (achieved due to a good CV and cover letter) I was advised to build my network and to exploit my contacts. Maybe it's because I'm too British, or just a little introverted, but I don't like asking for things, I don't like to put people out, and 'exploit' sounds far too pushy and dictorial.

This also meant I had to get with all the social media sites (not a bad idea for others looking to enter publishing) and I have now tripled my digital presence by creating, or re-investing in, social media. This is more time consuming than you might first assume but hopefully it'll pay off; especially as I  heard from a recent graduate that the first thing employers look at is your LinkedIn profile.


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Admittedly, not all networking sounds that bad, and at least with publishing its expected. Also, unlike the stereotypical networks between politicians and big business it's not an exclusive 'golfer-only' club. In fact, my confidence in networking within the publishing industry has grown since realising contacts are there for friendly, professional advice and not brown-nosing; and more importantly publishers seem happy to share experiences and welcome new members into the fold.

I was of course encouraged to network when I found out that wine is often available at events and you always learn something new (about publishing, not wine). So with this in mind, and a wary enthusiasm, I'm off to exploit, exploit, exploit.

To this aim, hello lovely reader! How about clicking one of these cute little share buttons, or treating me to my first subscriber? Or maybe just add a comment about your experiences of networking, any tips to share?