"One can never have enough bookish friends!"
I opened up questions on blogging in real life a few weeks ago -- if there were any questions at all relating to real life or blogging, people were welcome to ask. (And still are, if you want to ask something!)
Is maintaining a blog a necessary first step for someone who wants to break into publishing? If so, why?
The short answer is no, of course not! Publishing was around long before blogging started. While some bloggers are interested in going into publishing, not all are; just like non-bloggers are interested into going into publishing and some aren't. While it's a good way to understand the industry, there are plenty of other ways to get started!
But rather than rant myself about this topic, I decided to talk to Ksenia Winnicki about blogging, not-blogging and publishing!
You work in Macmillan as a Digital Marketing Associate. What does that mean? What do you do?
My primary role as Digital Marketing Associate is working on social media campaigns for our various books/series/brands. But my work also involves blogger outreach for all of our titles: picture books, middle-grade and teen titles.
How often do you work with bloggers? Do you read blogs regularly, or do you just work with them?
Pretty much every day: whether it’s by mailing out galleys, organizing blog tours, interacting with them on social media, or even just e-mailing them about special features and giveaways. I do try to read blogs regularly, because I’m curious to know what other bloggers are reading, and what books they find intriguing. It’s also a great form of market research, for me at least, because I get to see what books are being buzzed about. But I’ve also become good friends with a few of the bloggers, which is wonderful. One can never have enough bookish friends! But we also like/talk about other things, ie. Doctor Who and anything Whedon!
As somebody in the industry, do you think having blogging experience helps when you're trying to get into the industry?
I think it helps in a way, because, in my opinion, the book bloggers will know a bit more about the various publishing companies and what they publish. But at the same time, there are other ways to try to get into the industry (see my answer below). Keep in mind: We’ve had interns that were book bloggers, but we’ve also had interns that had no previous experience with publishing and they were equally wonderful. As long as you’re smart, savvy, and willing to learn, you’re ok. My love for publishing was sparked by an internship. Who knows? Maybe that could happen to someone else, who previously had no interest in publishing.
Do you have any tips for bloggers who are trying to get into the industry?
Read! It’s as simple as that. If you want to work for a children’s book publishing house, then you should have some knowledge of kids’ books. If see yourself at a romance publishing house, then have some working knowledge of romance books. For instance, even if your blog focuses on historical fiction, but you want to try working children’s book publishing, that’s ok. Again, have some sort of working knowledge of what is out there already.
For non-bloggers and bloggers alike, what can people do - besides blogging - to get their foot in the door?
Internships are the way to go! That’s how I got started, way back in college. I honestly had no idea what I would do with a degree in English, but when I went to an interview for an internship at a publishing company in Boston, I realized that publishing is where I wanted to spend my career. But you don’t necessarily need an internship at a publishing company: you could work/volunteer at a library, or work at a bookstore. I think if you do something with books, you can get your foot in the door. Also, anything that shows you have a love of books!
What do you do to keep up with news in the industry?
I definitely read Shelf Awareness, Publishers Weekly, Mediabistro’s Galleycat, but also Tor.com, io9, John Scalzi’s Whatever Blog, the various blogs run by School Library Journal, plus Robot 6 (for comics/graphic novel news). Sometimes, just going to the bookstore to see what books are on the “New Releases” wall/table helps me to see what the newest trends are.