Shape Canada’s Literary Landscape with Book and Magazine Publishing
Shape Canada’s Literary Landscape with Book and Magazine Publishing
Have you ever thought about how much you enjoy the look and feel of your favourite magazine, book or piece of literature? Do you appreciate a writer’s structure or enjoy proof reading and editing your friends’ essays? Well, you may just be well suited for the field of book and magazine publishing. The publishing industry deals with everything from book acquisition, design, production and editing to sales, marketing, and advertising. It also incorporates financial and legal areas. Therefore, there are plenty of jobs available in the field.
There are several steps that are taken before and after a publication hits stores. The process is pretty much the same for both; we’ll focus on book publishing here. In this field, you may be involved as a commissioning editor, who negotiates the purchase of intellectual property rights and agrees on royalty rates. For this job, you must have a knack for numbers, as you will be estimating the potential sales in each market and having to balance the projected revenue against production costs. If words are more your thing, you could work in a publishing house as a copy editor. These professionals may help the author with small rewrites, edit to ensure that a house style is maintained and copy edit for grammar and style. Editors also have the important job of choosing or refining titles and headlines (in both book and magazine publishing). If words and math aren’t for you, design may very well be. This job includes commissioning artists for cover work and selecting photographs, as well as typesetting, dust jacket composition, specification of paper quality as well as binding method and casing. Another creative area of Book and Magazine Publishing is sales and marketing.
Publishing companies often release advanced information about the piece of work to gauge possible sales and measure early interest. It is the job of marketers to see where the most interest lies (overseas, locally, or not at all). From there, they discuss co-publishing deals, reduce or increase printing number (if necessary) or cut the budget. After the publication is printed there is one more stage: distribution. Books are most commonly sold through booksellers and other retailers, while magazines are sold directly through publishers to subscribers and then distributed through other outlets. It is up to the distribution professionals to arrange the details.
To get your foot in the door, the right education is needed. Centennial College’s one-year, post-graduate Book and Magazine Publishing program is an accelerated undertaking that covers all facets of the process. It is one of the most prestigious programs in Canada and focuses on preparing you for employment upon graduation. One of the most hands-on features of the Book and Magazine Publishing Program is an industry field placement at a book or magazine publisher in Toronto, where you’ll acquire work experience, industry knowledge and professional relationships. As well, you will take part in publishing On the Danforth magazine twice a year. To supplement the practical experiences, you will participate in course such as Elements of Publishing Design, Book Production, Magazine Marketing, Online Magazines, Writing for Publication and more.
To apply for the Book and Magazine Publishing program, you must submit an official transcript demonstrating proof of successful completion of a post-secondary diploma or degree program. Centennial College will also consider applicants presenting a combination of partial post-secondary education and relevant work experience. Also, you must attend a program admission session that includes editing exercises, presentation of a portfolio of writing and a resume.
Jason writes an in-depth description of all the different jobs that can be attained within the book and magazine publishing industry. He also provides notes about training required to enter in magazine and book publishing field.