How could a distributor help a publisher of a magazine that is subscription only? What might the distributor be able to do?

I’m an independent children’s book publisher and a printer we’re working with did not have spine text printed on a run of books, so I’ve had to get stickers with the text to add to the books myself, but it doesn’t look great. I’m wondering if it is likely that bookstores might still purchase the books if I was to take the stickers off or I should leave them on even though it cheapens them.

I’m in the process of looking for distribution and was wondering whether in a typical agreement between a publisher and a distributor, a publisher is allowed to establish direct relationships with bookstores or if that’s not very common and all sales to stores typically have to go through the distributor?

I know there’s no way anyone here can know the answer to this question, but I want to get y’all’s insight/hypotheses.

Back when I interviewed for EA positions, any short “preliminary interview” was always done with HR, then moved onto hiring managers for the “real interview.”

This time, I have a 30 min “preliminary interview” over the phone with the editor-in-chief of the publisher I applied for, and who would be the person I would directly report to.

I’m not sure what we would talk about in such a short “preliminary interview.” The wording makes me feel like we won’t get into the nitty gritty, but I’m not sure. Any insight is greatly appreciated!

I have no idea how tariffs work but if I have my books printed in Canada do I have to pay a tariff to get them shipped to the US?

Going for an interview with Best Version Media for a publisher position. Are they good to work for? Do they pay decently? Any advice

Sometimes when I see people posting about editorial-related things, they put "acquisitions" in front of editorial, or if I ask about editorial work, they'll make sure to specify aquisitions specifically in their answer. My question is, is there another type of editorial? Is there a difference between acquisitions editorial and unspecified editorial? Is working at a publishing house or a lit mag editing pieces for publication considered acquisitions or something else?

I have a total of 6 years of experience in the independent publishing space with a focus on sales, rights, and marketing. But I want to pivot to either a focus in editorial or in working with literary agencies. Will my experience and age (30s) be a hindrance to landing internships? Any tips on how to tailor my resume and cover letter to make it more appealing?

Hey everyone! I'm applying for a job in a major publishing house in my country as an assistant acquisitions editor and I've just had my first interview, which I believe went pretty well and I'm positive that a second will follow.

In theory, this job is a dream job. I love reading and I've always wanted to get into this industry, however some of the things that were discussed somehow bug me.

First, it's the salary. I don't know exactly the amount but what they tried to tell me was that this industry doesn't pay well and they wanted to be sure that I'm willing to leave behind a developing career in my current job.

Second, and most important, is the work-life balance. I'll be working a typical 9-5 that will be full of things to do and when I asked them if we read the manuscripts in the office, they told me that there is simply no time for it. Then, they told me that the publishing house publishes 300 books a year, and my department is responsible for at least 100 of those. That's a huge amount of reading (plus the rejections) to do outside of my business hours. I imagine working at a low-paying job and then spending my afternoons reading manuscripts. And even if I love reading, I'm not sure I want to commit to this reality. Yes, I will be reading some great books prior to everyone, but at the end of the day it's still a job. I know I'm a nerd haha but I do have my limits.

So, fellow acquisition editors, how is a typical day in your life? Do you spend your free time reading submissions? What is so exciting about it that keeps you going?

For my job I regularly have to check ISBNs to verify a book's publication year. I usually use BookWire to search (then other sites if nothing turns up) but on many occasions I have turned up no results on any search platform for ISBNs that publishers swear are active, and I don't know why.

This is pretty common with self-publishers (who are prone to errors) but also happens frequently with big houses like Hachette and Affirm, who will have tonnes of books that turn up results with no issue and then randomly one that does not.

Someone suggested to me that it might be because the book hasn't been published yet but I find books like that regularly. Does anyone know what causes this? Can I advise publishers to prevent it, or is there another way I can check the date attached to the ISBN? (Can't use imprint page).

My book is a story set in India with a global narrative. I’m on query tracker sending my work out to agents in the US and UK. At the same time I’m speaking to agents in India. I’m a little confused if I need to continue with this approach. I’m looking to release my books in both India, US and the UK. Do you need one global publishing company for all these regions or separate ones?

Howdy! Has anyone in here participated in the Columbia (and Oxford) Publishing Program, and if you have, would you be interested in having a more extended conversation about it? I have a few questions about the application process and whatnot that I would rather discuss in depth rather than in a longer thread. I appreciate any help you can provide. Happy reading and writing

Hi everyone ! I am a French student in publishing. To complete my master’s degree my French university wants me to do a three to four-month internship. I wish to do it in a bookshop, big or small, it doesn’t matter. Is this possible to do an internship or a work experience in a bookshop as a foreigner ? Is there anything I need to know about work culture in UK to be able to experience being a UK bookseller ?

I write in Google Docs and am needing to convert my short story to RTF, DOC, or DOCX, but don’t have access to Word. When trying to convert my document to Word (DOCX), it ruins the spacing once I’ve saved it and I don’t know how to get it to display the double spacing.

This is all following the Shunn Manuscript formatting. Does anyone know how to fix this issue or if there’s another platform I can work from to solve this issue? I’d rather not have to reformat it all again if possible!

I submitted a short story that was accepted for publication in a literary journal. The contract seems standard and only refers to the story I submitted. The story is very similar to a chapter in a novel I'm writing (The largest difference is the novel is third person, and the shorty story is first. There's some other smaller differences, but a lot of the language is very similar).

Could the short story publication be a problem for pursuing traditional publishing of the novel? I only ask to see if I need to re-write the novel's chapter.

Hi everyone!

I’m wondering if anyone would have information on summer internships. I have scoured Google/LinkedIn etc but haven’t found anything new recently.

I am ideally looking for a remote internships and any further advice on cover letters/resumes (or literally anything that might help) would be appreciated.

Thank you!!

I’m specifically wondering about the Denver Publishing Institute, NYU Summer Publishing Institute, and the Columbia/Oxford programs.

Hi! I bloomed late in life so to speak and only started college last year. My DREAM job is to work in publishing. My question to you, dear readers, is 36 too old? That's when I'll graduate with my Master's hopefully. Indie publishing isn't off the table, in fact, it's encouraged. I just want to work in the literary sphere.

I’m an education writer and editor (textbooks) and have zero to do with the publishing process. What courses or certificates can I do that are accurate, informative, and look appealing on a resume?

I notice that QuryTracker has a very obivous "AALA member (Yes/No)" designator on all listed agents. Why? is that meaningful?

Hey everyone! I was wondering if anyone knew of a good podcast that talked about the publishing industry from a non-writer pov? From my very brief google search it looks like most publishing pods are from writers for writers about how to get published, but I kinda want something that is about demystifying the editorial or production side of publishing.

Hello everyone! I'm an undergraduate student currently in my last semester of my English degree on track to graduate in May and I was wondering if anyone had any advice for when it would be appropriate to start applying to editorial assistant jobs? I don't know if this makes any difference but I also currently have an editorial internship with a publishing company that will run until the end of April.

I've always written poems and although I'm no Mary Oliver I'd quite like to collect them all and leave them for my family, they might like to read them when I'm gone.

That sounds morbid but I have stage 4 cancer and will die in the next couple of years or so, hopefully I'll live as long as possible, but I am where I am.

Can anyone point me in the direction of where to get help on this? Is there a vanity publisher who'll print bind one copy of (lets call it) my anthology? I only want/need one.

I know this does sound a bit daft, and I know everyone thinks they're a poet, I just think they sound like me and I thought my family might like to have them.

I'd be very, very grateful for any advice at all. Thank you!

Hi all,

I have been working for a literary agency as an assistant for one year. I get to do a lot of editorial work through reader's reports from queries and client submissions, as well as developmental edits on manuscripts and proposals. I really enjoy the job but I am not sure if I want to become an agent. My question is whether this experience would be helpful when applying to Editorial or Managing Editorial entry-level positions at all since it is not very long.

Thanks!

(I read the sidebar and I think this is ok with the rules, but if not, mods, let me know.)

I'm nearly done writing a Christian children's picture book, and have gotten a verbal agreement from a very small Christian publishing company to publish it with them. I need to propose a royalty rate that makes sense – both for me, and for them (it's run by friends, so I'd like it to be fair for all parties).

I will be writing, illustrating, laying out the book, contacting the printer, adding it to their website, and sending orders in the mail. They will be paying for the books, taking them to any conferences they're already going to (to promote and sell the book), and the book will be marketed alongside their other ones.

The real benefit for me in this is that it gives legitimacy to the book. Buying Christian books can be a bit risky if you don't know the author from before, so having the publisher's logo will help people trust my book.

That being said, what royalty makes sense for my case? They gave 15% to someone who translated a different book, laid it out, contacted the printers, and sent orders in the mail. Does 25% sound reasonable for me, or is it too high/low?

I have tons of marketing experience - over 13 years across digital agencies and B2B marketing. It’s always been a dream of mine to venture into marketing for books. Unfortunately I know nothing of the industry or how to break into it. Any tips on how I can pivot? I am based in the US.

Hi, guys, I'm totally new to IS and wanted to ask if I submit my book to IS, I noticed it's submitted to Findaway Voices which distributes audiobooks. So how does it work if I want to hire someone from Findaway Voices to create an audiobook for my new book that I submit to IngramSpark? I can't find any information on this from their webiste.

About 2 years ago I wrote a book of poetry, but I also wrote others. I got my book copyrighted and I wanted to publish it under my own name so I started an llc publishing. But I haven’t done anything with it. One thing that is my passion is writing, being alone, poetry and the ancient way of life. I’ve been at a standstill because I lost motivation and in my mind it seemed easy and simple. But I am not social so I have no community and no friends. I am Hebrew so my writings may bot grasp the masses. I want my writings to be in multiple languages I never know who it may touch. I thought this could have been my purpose but my first book is copyrighted but still not published. I would love any feedback or advice. As this is all new to me, even taking the step to be vulnerable and explaining a little of what my issue is. Thank you for reading and your time and patience.

I’m considering going back to uni to study law with the idea of working in media/IP law.

I was just wondering if anyone has any insight into what opportunities there are for working in law for publishing houses, or what it’s like if this is something you do.

I have two degrees already, one in English and the other in Publishing, so I have some knowledge of the industry, but I’m not based in the US or UK.