Publishing
Brief Overview
Books, newspapers, and periodicals continue to entertain, educate, and bring us the news we need to be informed citizens. They are an outlet for critical thinking—informed and otherwise.
The industry is overwhelmingly centered in New York City. Mass-market book publishing resides in a decreasing number of large corporations, some of them parts of giant worldwide entertainment conglomerates. Each of them publishes under many imprints, the publishing world’s term for brands. Academic and scholarly books are mainly produced by publishing houses connected to universities. There is also a huge market for technical books for almost all occupations, from bricklayers to software engineers.
Bookjobs.com offers a great overview of the book publishing industry. Additionally, you can match your talents, interests and goals in with the unique identity and product line through Bookjobs’ publishing houses profiles. Finally, check out the list of internships and jobs.
Many mass-market magazines such as Time, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, and Vanity Fair are also published in the Big Apple, so are many of the special-interest magazines published by outfits such as Hachette Filipacchi (Woman’s Day, Elle, Car and Driver, and Metropolitan Home).
However, while many of the thousands of trade magazines are also published in New York, a good number are published in the centers of their respective industries: Variety is published in Hollywood, and numerous computer magazines are published in and around Silicon Valley by companies such as CMP Media.
Magazine Publishers of America provides both key industry and career information, as well as
Helpful Tips
Notre Dame students have interned and obtained full-time positions with publishing houses such as Simon & Schuster, Random House, Hachette Book Group, Houghton Mifflin Company, and Mcdougall Littrel Publishing.. Although some of these organizations come to campus for information sessions, very few conduct interviews on campus. These positions can be very competitive and it’s important to review multiple sources for internships and network. Obviously, the best way to get the full-time opportunity in book or magazine publishing is to intern in the field. In fact, a couple of internships would be most helpful. Many students have interned for the Notre Dame Magazine or Ave Maria Press during an academic semester. Talk to as many people and alumni as you can about the publishing field. Build your network of contacts – even for the internship!
Remember, this is an industry that hires in the spring (even late April and early May) for full-time and internships. Some of the larger publishing houses have early January/February application deadlines. You may find December application deadlines for some of the magazine publishing internships through Magazine Publishers of America. It is highly likely that you may not have your publishing job in hand at graduation, but with the network of publishing contacts and internships you’ve built during the past two years, you will most likely nail your opportunity very shortly after gradation, especially if you go to New York to take your job search to a new personal level.
Bureau of Labor Statistics
The Vault
Networking
Tips for networking with family, friends, and Notre Dame alumni. Learn how to obtain access to the Irish Online alumni database. Notre Dame graduates who have landed their publishing opportunities after graduation will testify to the importance of networking, particularly in this field! You may have to bite the bullet and go to New York after graduation (without the job in hand) to extend the network you’ve already created and meet with key people in person.
Professional Organizations
Professional organizations provide excellent contacts for networking and informational interviews. In some cases they may post jobs and internships on their websites.