This blog has so far been dedicated to discussing various facets of the publishing industry and the ways in which people interact with and create publishing content. In this post, I will look at the kinds of people required to make it all possible, detailing the roles and responsibilities found in a typical publishing house. All of these roles would be found in larger publishing houses but, in smaller publishing houses, one person might take on several of these roles. Nevertheless, they are all integral to the publishing process.

When someone says they ‘work in publishing’ the first role most people think of is that of the editor. The editorial department is responsible for many things: a commissioning editor selects manuscripts to publish, assistants handle administrative duties, and copywriters correct works and fit them into the house style. There are ELT editors, researchers, managing and senior editors. This area of publishing is by far the most competitive and forms the heart of a publishing company.

The design and production departments exist as another important arm of publishing companies. For educational publishers, design features less so but is nevertheless important. Those in charge of production are responsible for the quality, cost, and scheduling of the final product. Designers are responsible for bringing the product to life, giving it a fitting design in order to fulfil the marketing requirements.

On marketing, marketers are responsible for making sure consumers want to and actually buy the product that is made. In many cases, particularly in the education field, their knowledge of what consumers desire factors into editors’ decisions to commission works themselves. There are various types of marketing: social media, physical, SEO, email campaigns, and events marketing.

The rights department pushes the content out into various other markets and formats. They are responsible for translations, film, audio, and TV rights, and thus maximize the income a product produces for the company. Much of this work is done at various ‘book fairs’ such as the one in London.

The finance department fulfils another role much in the same vein as the HR (human resources) department. While not directly publishing oriented in nature, these roles help keep the company afloat and running and provide important functions that companies – in particular large companies – can’t do without.

By now it should be evident that the publishing industry consists not just of editors alone but of many roles that come together to create and put out the products we all enjoy and that I talk about on this blog. No one role is more important than the other and all of the roles are integral for making the process work. In my next post I’ll talk more about entering a publishing role if that’s your goal, but until then, we can all admire the diverse world of publishing careers.