A Look into Life as a Publishing Intern at Floris Books
by Floris Books • 21 April 2022 • Internships, News • 0 Comments
It can be daunting when you are first starting out in the publishing industry. There is a lot of information to take in and it can be very difficult to know where to start, where you want to be and how to get the most out of an internship. But just try to remember that the industry is full of people who want you to succeed and are always willing to help. I have written a wee piece on my experience as a publishing intern at Floris Books as a way to help other publishing hopefuls like myself.
A Little Bit About Me
I am currently studying the MSc Publishing course at Edinburgh Napier University. I have an undergraduate degree in English Literature and History from Glasgow University and it was during this course where it became my dream to develop a career within the publishing industry, specifically in Scotland.
I knew just how hard it can be to get hands-on experience in the industry and to get the opportunity to intern at Floris was extremely exciting. The Scottish publishing industry is dynamic, diverse and fiercely independent and I could not think of a better company to begin my Scottish publishing journey with. Also – here in Scotland, you are never too far away from a gorgeous loch or mountain, so what is there not to love?
What I Got Up to At Floris
My internship took place in the marketing department, a vibrant, busy and extremely creative team, who help champion and promote Floris’ diverse list of books. Whilst the beginning of the placement was remote, I did manage to come to the office on numerous occasions to work with the team which was an incredible experience.
I was lucky enough to work on various marketing projects for Floris’ beautiful children’s titles such as Mama, Crafting Magical Window Stars, A Billion Balloons of Questions and Velda the Awesomest Viking. I prepared an email bulletin for their Astrid Lindgren collection, created press releases, designed social media images on InDesign, collated research on influencers, helped with AI sheets and even got to craft my very own Magical Window Star.
What I Learnt During My Internship
The team at Floris is dedicated and generous with their time despite being extremely busy! I came to this internship with the idea that marketing in children’s books was the route for me and whilst this experience has further solidified this desire it has provided me with a fantastic insight into the workings of an entire publishing house. Being a smaller, independent publisher the Floris team works together closely and all chip in to help each other.
There are so many different elements to a publishing house and at this stage it is a privilege to be able to take the opportunity to learn as much as possible from every department, even if you do have an inkling to where you would like to be. I definitely know now more than ever before that this is the industry for me and have learnt skills that I could transfer to any department. An internship can help you learn so much about the industry and your own capabilities.
5 Top Tips for Publishing Hopefuls
- Push yourself out of your comfort zone. Be open to learning new skills and taking risks. Speak to other departments and see if you can help with anything.
- Ask as many questions as possible! No question is a silly question and as I mentioned publishing folk are some of the friendliest people you will ever meet.
- Write a list of goals you want to achieve and continue to add to this during your internship.
- Keep a diary and take time to reflect on what you have learnt. This is great to refer back to once you have finished and are looking for new opportunities.
- Last but not least – enjoy your time at your internship! You can be nervous, it can go extremely fast and, whilst balancing a course and/or other commitments, you can be very busy. But it is such a valuable and unique experience.
Floris Books recruit annually for current publishing university or college students. Keep your eyes peeled on their Twitter and Facebook.
For more information visit Jobs at Floris.
