Wiley Posts Summer Internships

Looks like Wiley in Indianapolis will once again be offering several editorial internships this summer:

• IT
• Sales
• Consumer Dummies Editorial
• Consumer Dummies Acquisitions

The IT posting mentions a stipend but the others don't (that doesn't mean that they won't pay something; you'll have to ask to find out for sure). Each posting says that the internship is "structured" and lasts 10 weeks. (I'm an ISTJ on the Myers-Briggs scale, so structured is really good in my mind.)

I've said it dozens of times on this blog, but I'll say it again: An internship is an excellent way to get valuable experience, paid or not. It also can sometimes get your foot in the door for something permanent once you graduate.

Wiley Seeks eContent Conversion Specialist

I keep Wiley's job postings on my RRS feeds and ran across something very interesting this morning. The Indianapolis office is seeking someone to convert its print materials to electronic formats. Check it out:


Responsible for assisting with the production of all eContent produced by the Indianapolis Composition Services department. This will include conversions from the page layout application directly to eContent such as XML, ePub, Kindle, etc. It will also entail the usage of XSLT to transform exported content into the appropriate format for compliance with Wiley’s version of XML and other eContent requirements. In addition, this position will assist with training people in eContent conversion methods as needed.

Requirements include a working knowledge of XHTML, HTML, and CSS and an exposure to XML (including schemas and DTDs). Knowledge of XSLT would be ideal. Prior work in a publishing environment would be a plus. Must also have a minimum of a 2-year technical degree. The successful candidate must also be self-motivated and have the ability to multi-task in a deadline-oriented environment. Written and verbal communication skills must be a strength, especially the ability to clearly communicate technical ideas to non-technical colleagues.

I have been thinking for a while that the brave new world of publishing will begin to require people who can do conversions like these. Now we know what a job like that would look like. The fact that Wiley is hiring someone on staff to do it instead of outsourcing it indicates that they understand the importance of making content available in multiple e-formats--and that they realize there's enough work to keep someone busy all the time.

This looks like a good opportunity for a tech/design whiz to get in on the ground floor of something big--and something that is likely to evolve and change a lot in the coming years.

Don't Miss Digital Content Day @ Your Desk

At a time when company budgets are being slashed, resulting in a world of hurt for conference organizers all over, here's an idea that makes sense: The Publishing Business Virtual Conference and Expo (aka Digital Content Day @ Your Desk) on October 29. Not only do you not have to spend money on a flight to New York and a hotel room, but the conference itself is free, too.

There's a full slate of sessions related to the brave new world of online content, including topics such as digital rights management, e-book pricing, print on demand, and the Book Rights Registry resulting from the Google Books Settlement (see the full agenda here).

So how does this virtual conference work? You just register ahead of time and then log in from the comfort of your own office on the morning of the conference. And the coolest part? Just like any live conference, there's an exhibit hall. You can browse the offerings of various vendors and even possibly win donuts and ice cream. And what's better than that?

Story of Hope: Marian Uses Online Social Media to Land an Awesome Job

I met Marian Schembari through Twitter last week. She discovered my blog and was excited to find someone else who has been writing about getting a job in publishing. So she followed me on Twitter, I followed her back, and we ended up chatting over e-mail. I checked out her blog and was mightily impressed: Here was someone who had used online networking sites in an innovative way to break into the publishing industry—at a time when, let's face it, jobs are hard to come by.

So I asked her to tell her story here. Check it out and get inspired!

I really wanted to get into publishing. Like, a lot. Never mind that the industry is slowly dying, the economy sucks, I had zero experience and the pay is (and always will be) crap. No, I'm a book lover, and in my naïve - but enthusiastic - mindset, I thought that was all I needed.

So I spent the three months after my May graduation carefully editing my resume, crafting the perfect cover letter, and applying for every single job at every single publisher in New York. I stalked mediabistro and bookjobs, made a ton of contacts and... well, that was pretty much it. I had one interview in 3 months.

I got bored of that real fast. Even though I was working all day every day, I just felt like I was waiting... So I took out a ton of books (of course) from the local library on finding a job, marketing yourself and personal branding. I designed a website with my resume, references and writing samples. Then, with Facebook's enormously helpful targeting options, I was able to post an ad on the profiles of people at places like HarperCollins, Random House, Penguin, Rodale, Macmillan, etc.

And I got responses! At least one person from every publisher I focused on emailed to say they passed on my resume, wanted to meet, or even just to say they liked my idea. The encouragement was fantastic, and within a week I had four interviews and a freelance gig.

Of course, advertising yourself to get a job is a little weird, I have to admit. It's one of those stories you hear about people wearing their resume on a t-shirt or taking cookies to an interview. No one wants to be that person.

Except I was that person. And an article written about my search on the HarperStudio blog resulted in a lot of lovely and encouraging comments (many of which said they weren't hiring. Figures). Only two people were cynical, not much liking my use of wording, but the ad generated much more positive feedback than negative, so I'm over it.

After the novelty of the ads wore off, though, I knew I needed something different to get people's attention. So I started a blog, chronicling my search and talking a little about publishing and where it's headed. Then I (reluctantly) signed up for Twitter, which 1 week later landed me a sweet interview at Penguin.

One month later and I'm employed. Long story short, a woman at Rodale saw my ad, emailed me and thought I should consider book publicity. She passed my resume on to an old employer who ran a book PR firm. One thing led to another and I'm now in my third week as associate publicist.

I couldn't be happier now that I'm officially "in" publishing. I also know I'm enormously lucky. The thing is, I don't actually know one person who's gotten a job the old-fashioned way. Sorry HR, but it's true. Plus, it makes for an interesting story. My campaign made me consider a career I had never considered and now I'm loving it. All in all a pretty successful endeavor.

Be Nice to Everyone, Because You Just Never Know

Last Saturday I went to my salon to get a long-overdue haircut. I've gone to my hairdresser, Kevin, for over a decade. He does a good job; however, the reason I keep coming back is that I like him. He's smart, he's funny, he's edgy. He's also got two little girls, one of them my daughter's age, and we share stories of their precocious escapades.

During the conversation he asked whether I could recommend any good DVDs to rent ("Uh, 'Monsters vs. Aliens'?" I offered). Later he mentioned that his wife, also a stylist, had just returned from New York. She was styling hair for a photo shoot related to Fashion Week.

"Funny thing happened," he said, almost casually. Jen had spent the shoot getting chummy with an older woman whom she didn't recognize. They hit it off quite well, so at the end of the shoot she asked the woman, "So, what do you do?" "I'm the editor of Vogue," she returned.

At this point in the story I nearly jumped out of the chair. "Anna Wintour?" I exclaimed.

"Yeah, I guess that's who she was," Kevin said, somewhat surprised that I knew anything about the fashion world.

"Holy cow, do you know who she is?" I yelled. "She's the one they wrote 'The Devil Wears Prada' about." (Suddenly I did have a video-rental suggestion for him after all.)

"Well, she did have a herd following her around," he said.

Anna was fresh in my mind because I have been reading about "The September Issue," which is a documentary about her and a day in the life of Vogue. Various reports have said she's been showing a nicer side lately, possibly related to the movie release. But I never thought she'd spend a moment being nice to a hairdresser from Fishers, Indiana.

My point? I guess I already said it in the title of this post. You just never know who you might run into in the course of doing your job or looking for work. Being consistently nice might help additional opportunities come your way.

A Small Publisher Tackles the Google Book Settlement

Did someone say "Google Book Settlement"? La-la-la, I can't hear you because I've got my hands over my ears and am humming loudly. This has been our company's official stance on the matter since we got the settlement notice in March. But it has begun to dawn on me, if not on anyone else, that we've got to react.

To get everyone up to speed, for five years, Google has been taking books out of libraries and scanning them into its own database. They've now got more than seven million titles on file. The object, it said, was for people to be able to locate information within these books and then to decide whether they want to buy them. But the publishing industry saw it as a violation of their copyrights and dismissed Google's claim that the scanning was protected under the Fair Use Doctrine. So the industry, represented by the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers, sued Google. And before it could go to the Supreme Court, which is where it was surely headed, the parties settled. Johnathan Kirsch, a publishing lawyer, has an excellent summary of this whole matter here.

That settlement has not yet been finalized (and the DOJ has started an antitrust investigation); however, publishers and authors are being directed to get online and claim their books from the database. Then they will be eligible for a cash settlement ($60 per book) and can get their cut of Google's future proceeds from making the content available online. Publishers can also decide how much of their books they want available to people who search online--from nothing at all, to snippets, to 20% of the book, to the whole shebang.

But oh, the burden this puts on small publishers who have been in business a long time and have a huge backlist. First and foremost, they've got to wade through all the information of the settlement itself and make decisions along the way, such as whether to opt out or participate in the settlement, which levels of access to allow, and how to inform their authors. (They aren't getting much guidance from the AAP, and there are so many strong and conflicting opinions from the experts.) Then filling out the necessary forms will take untold hours of research and labor, which really can't be spared when everyone is working with a skeleton crew these days.

Some may decide that the settlement money isn't worth the effort that will go into claiming it. However, I believe publishers still need to get out there and claim the copyright to their titles. Otherwise, Google will use the content for its own ends and make money from it, and will not owe the true copyright holders a dime.

And so I begin the process of slogging through 678 of my company's titles that Google has in its database and prioritizing our next steps for each. I'd love to hear other small publishers' experiences and opinions on this whole mess.

Friday Field Trip!

At lunch today, I got an offer I couldn't refuse. My coworker needed to go to the Pearson offices to pick up something for her spouse. She invited me and another coworker along for the ride. Of course, I've spent plenty of time there bugging my hubby. But he's not even there today--along with a good percentage of the employees, who were enjoying their privilege of working extra hours during the week so that they can take off summer Fridays. (Quite honestly, it's the thing I miss the most about working there.)

This time I was struck by the cool professionalism of the place--more than just a notch or two above the small company where I work. Covers of so many exciting books were all over the walls. For a moment, I was envious (okay, maybe I still am).

As we went down the rows, I read the name tags: some unfamiliar, but many I had worked with before. The names even included some of my blood relatives and a guy I knew in elementary school. Familiarity is nice; too much, however, is not.

Soon, the object of our quest was retrieved and we were back in the parking lot. We dined at La Margarita, one of my favorite haunts when I'm on that side of town. It was nice to get out of my daily routine and shoot quickly down memory lane.

Pearson Now Tops List of World's Biggest Publishers

My post last year on the subject of how the world's publishers stack up against one another is perhaps one of my most consistently popular posts (not because it was any stroke of genius on my part; it's just a popular subject and I have wicked-good SEO).

Last year, Pearson was #2 on the list, behind Thomson. According to this article on Bookseller.com, Pearson has taken over the top spot, with more than 7.4B in annual revenue. Here are the world's new top 10 publishers. (I've taken Bookseller's list and converted the euros to dollars.)

1. Pearson (UK): $7.4B
2. Reed Elsevier (UK/NL/US): $6.7B
3. ThomsonReuters (Canada): $5.1B
4. Wolters Kluwer (NL): $4.96B
5. Bertelsmann (Germany): $4.38B
6. Hachette Livre (France): $3.17B
7. McGraw-Hill Education (U.S.): $2.6B
8. Grupo Planeta (Spain): $2.59B
9. De Agostini Editore (Italy): not available
10. Scholastic (U.S.): $2.2B

You can see the whole list of the world's top 50 publishers here.

Bad Vibes: Longstanding Hip-Hop Magazine Shut Down

Every day we hear of another print publication shutting down--declining ad revenue cited as the primary cause. So it was not out of the ordinary to hear that Vibe magazine is ceasing publication immediately after 16 years. But what stopped me cold this time is the fact that Vibe is owned by the same private equity fund that owns us. I'm not drawing conclusions here; I'm just sayin'.

Up to 50 people are losing their jobs. The magazine's original founder, Quincy Jones (who was already having a bad week), is making noises about buying it back and putting it exclusively online.

If I hear anything more, I'll update you in the comments section.

Tale of Woe from One of Harcourt's Vendors

Freelance editor Katharine O'Moore-Klopf pointed me in the direction of this really depressing article from the New York Times. To sum it up, Inkwell Publishing Solutions did a lot of editorial work for Harcourt's textbooks. Now that Harcourt is in trouble, it's not paying its vendors. So Inkwell has gone belly-up, leaving approximately 50 freelancers scrambling for their very survival.

Something similar happened here in Indy about six years ago. A packager declared bankruptcy and many freelancers got just a fraction of what they were owed. (Somehow I got lucky and got my money just in time.) The lesson we all learned is to never let a client owe you too much. If they owe you money and it's more than a month overdue, you might have to refuse future assignments until you are paid. You have to go with your gut, of course. You don't want to risk being seen as a troublemaker. But you also have to be able to minimize your losses in case the worst happens, as it did for the Inkwell people.

The Great Travel Book Controversy

Here's an example of a story I might not have known about had it not been for social media. I am a "fan" of Frommer's travel guides on Facebook because I have edited their books off and on for 13 years. Yesterday Frommer's posted a link to this blog post from Arthur Frommer himself, the nonagenarian who once traveled Europe on $5 a day (these days, that will buy you a can of Pepsi). The problem? A bookstore chain in Britain has signed an exclusive deal with Penguin to stock only Penguin travel titles (including the lovely DK Eyewitness Guides and the Rough Guides).

But what makes this bad is that the chain is WHSmith, which has a monopoly on stores in all British airports and train stations, not to mention its huge "high street" presence (Brit-speak for the stores you see on the main road through towns). So you can see why Arthur is mad. His Frommer's books are being pushed off the shelves of 400 stores.

You can google it and see the media reactions, most of which side with Arthur. The public is being denied freedom of choice (and coverage of many destinations). Many publishers are being hurt and jobs are at stake. Penguin (part of Pearson) acknowledges that it's a sweetheart deal (but at a 72% discount, they are going to have to sell a lot of books to make up for such an unprecedented concession--good thing those Eyewitness Guides are expensive and are probably printed overseas, bringing down their unit costs).

As always, though, it's the comments on the media stories that shed the most light. (You have to love those Brits for their polite, insightful, and grammatically correct comments!) The point has been raised that smart travelers do their research ahead of time and don't buy overpriced books at the last minute in airports. Others have commented that by limiting their selection, WHSmith will lose sales.

However it turns out, you can bet American publishers and booksellers will be watching. None of us would like to see B&N making exclusive deals with the competition.

More Media Reaction to the New Playboy CEO

Indianapolis is now officially abuzz with the news of former Macmillan CEO Scott Flanders's appointment to the top job at Playboy Enterprises. On Sunday, we saw this jaunty sketch on the front page of the Indianapolis Star's business section. What would be better, it asked: Flanders's new job, or that of a beer taster in a brewery?

And just now MediaBistro linked to yet another interview with Flanders in Folio magazine. What is striking about this is his firm belief that the print version of the magazine will rebound. I'm skeptical.

Scott Flanders: The New "Boy Next Door"

I'm checking the calendar because it surely must be April 1st. Multiple sources, including the Chicago Sun-Times, the Associated Press, and the acrid OC Weekly are all confirming that Scott Flanders, former CEO of Macmillan USA, will be taking over as CEO of Playboy Enterprises as of July 1.

Flanders, a lawyer and accountant, skyrocketed to prominence here in Indianapolis in the late '80s and early '90s as president of Que Corporation, which through a series of mergers and acquisitions he parlayed into a 1,500-employee operation that encompassed a dozen imprints under Macmillan Computer Publishing and Macmillan General Reference. It all came crashing down in late 1998 when Pearson bought Simon & Schuster and found itself in possession of Macmillan. Amid rumors of book-cooking, Dame Marjorie showed him the door. We feted him with a washtub full of beers in the lobby of the "castle in the cornfield" offices. I told him he was going to do great things and that I would be watching him.

He's spent the last decade moving among bigger media circles such as Sony and Freedom Communications, and all the while the shadow of new media has continued to overtake his efforts. So now, today, he's landed at the Playboy mansion. Sounds like the folks in the OC are glad to see him go. I continue to watch and wait for those great things.

Thanks for the heads up to my friend Linda, always the best source of inside info!

Wiley Is All a-Twitter

Just this morning I had a reader asking me about Wiley's journals division (about which I know nothing). And then I log into Twitter and see a tweet from Ellen Gerstein (@elleinthecity) pointing me to this list of Wiley's official tweeters on Julia Lampam's blog.

This is a good way for Wiley's various divisions to promote their books and their brands. But it's also a good way for you to get the inside scoop about who they are and what they do. I urge you to follow as many of them as interest you.

Chronicle Books Goes on a Press Check

I've had many colleagues go on what is known as a press check: You travel to the printer (which could involve up to eight hours in a car, in the snow, while you're sick) to be there when your book (or catalog) is on the press. Then you check it for color and other errors as each section prints. Somehow I've always been lucky enough to avoid these gruelling trips--possibly because I'm not a designer, but more likely because I rarely work with four-color books. I have gone on a few printer visits, where you get to tour the facility, have a nice lunch, and be on your way. A press check is a whole different beast.

So thank heavens for Liz and Anna at Chronicle Books in San Francisco (whose catalogs I luuurve). They went on a press check and documented it with photos--so we don't have to.

JIST Is on Facebook

I'm happy to report that JIST Publishing is now on Facebook. Our awesome publicist, Selena Dehne, has set up a page for us and is updating it with all sorts of useful information on careers, our authors, and our books. Look us up and become a fan!

DK Books Headed for a Dreaded Restructuring?

I have long admired Pearson's Dorling Kindersley from afar. I'm a highly visual learner and their books are filled with magnificent photos. I find the photo approach especially effective in the Eyewitness travel guides because it gives me a real feel for what I will see at my destination. (No disrespect to my friends at Frommer's: When I want solid travel-planning details on hotels and restaurants, they're still my go-to.)

So it's sad to see this report from Bookseller.com regarding the possibility of a restructuring at DK.

Thanks to @mviolano for the heads up.

Apress Moves Offices from California to New York

Berkeley computer book publisher Apress has posted this announcement on its website:

Apress, the leading publisher of books on emerging technologies announced the full implementation of a revolutionary, scalable, technology-based publishing process that will be unveiled at Tech Ed 2009.

The new publishing system is largely based on the collaborative tools, SharePoint and Biztalk, and features document check-in and monitoring, automated scheduling, integrated financial analysis, seamless information creation and delivery, and enhanced billing, invoicing and contract controls.

Apress further announced the relocation of its offices to the Springer office in New York City to unify the Apress workforce and to implement the new workflow system. With the move to New York, Apress will be closing its current office in Berkeley, California.

If you have any questions, please contact us at contact@apress.com.

Uh, yes, we have questions. What of those people in Berkeley? Have they been laid off? And what about the freelance editors who have worked for them for many years (my friend Linda included)? Will someone from Springer be in contact with them? Will they continue to receive assignments?

Tee-Hee: Publishing Careers Are Glamorous

It's not even 9am and already my day is made: Alison Flood and Lindesay Irvine at the Guardian in the UK have put words to my own musings about how the media glamorizes a career in book publishing. Read their quick and fun summary of some well-known examples here. It seems Sandra Bullock is about to star in a new romantic comedy in the role of an editor. (I got excited, but then saw that they think it looks dreadful.)

Ah, yes, the world at large thinks what we do is so exciting. Nevermind that most of us never work with "celebrities" (and those who do often find them to be insufferable). Nevermind that the bulk of the jobs in publishing are repetitive and constrained by so many "rules" as to kill all semblance of creativity. Thanks to Jackie O, a career in publishing is deemed to be the ultimate party, and just the right place for a lady with brains and style.

Well, you know, there's still a lot to love about working with books and words and ideas and smart people, so don't get me wrong. Just know that, as with most other careers, the reality is a lot more down-to-earth than the fantasy.

But oh--what's better than a bookish movie with Hugh Grant in it?

JIST Featured in Publishers Weekly This Week

A week or so ago, Publishers Weekly contacted us about doing a feature story on our company. The result is this very good article, published today.

Everyone's looking for a bright spot in publishing these days, and they thought we might be it. And yes, our trade sales have been doing very well since the beginning of the year because people need our books more than ever. But the article only nods to the elephant in the room: Trade is really only a relatively minor part of our business. Our school and workforce development customers are suffering badly and passing that along to us. Nobody here feels as if we're in the catbird seat, at least not yet.