A library's children's bookshelf featuring books about lots of cultures

Diversity in Publishing: How Far It’s Come and Where It Needs To Go Next

Diversity, equity, inclusivity—in publishing, these are the terms for publishing and hiring people that aren’t straight, white, cis-gendered men. Diversity has been under discussion in the publishing industry for many years, getting a white-hot spotlight more recently due to scandals, social media, and general growing societal awareness of the need for diversity. Publishing does fairly …

Hands typing at a silver laptop

The Job Outlook in Publishing: Is It as Bad as My Grandmother Tells Me?

As a soon-to-be college graduate, I’m interested in having a job in the next year. And really, I’d like a full-time job. And I’d like to be in the field I’ve spent my time in college preparing to go into. So can I expect to meet those (in my opinion) minimal criteria? What does the …

Yellow background with the cover of "Crazy Rich Asians", which is pink text on a background of gold glitter

Who Benefits When a Book Becomes a Movie?

Turning books into movies is a hugely popular trend in the movie business right now. Production companies love it because so little risk is involved—a fan base is premade, the story has proved it connects with audiences, and it’s easier than generating a plot in-house. It seems like most recent big blockbusters are based on …

Young woman pulling a book off the shelf of a bookstore; the entire picture is dominated by bookshelves and books are stacked on the floor.

Genres on the Market: Which Should We be Paying Attention to?

An essential quality of literature is genre—genres “[come] with certain built-in codes, values, and expectations” and “[help] the author communicate with the audience”. From a somewhat more market-oriented perspective, we “buy certain books because we have enjoyed similar stories in the past.”  But what genres do the best? What books are people buying most? There’s …

Someone writing in a journal in front of their laptop, with their phone and a blue cup of coffee beside them.

Do You Know the Difference Between These Publishing House Departments?

Say you want to go into editorial at a publishing house. What does that mean? There are actually several variations on what you’re probably thinking of as the editorial department in most publishers. Do you know what they all do and which you’d rather work for? My guess is no, if you’re reading this. It’s …

Hands typing at a laptop, with potted flowers in the background and a stack of books behind the laptop screen.

5 Steps to Starting Your Freelance Editing Career

Freelance copyediting is a great career or side-career for certain people interested in all kinds of publishing. There are a variety of reasons people get into it—you get to work from home (or perhaps a coffeeshop), choose your projects, be your own boss, and actually work with manuscripts and authors. But what do you need …

Boston and the Charles River, viewed from the Esplanade

4 Cities with Publishing Scenes–That Aren’t New York

New York City: city of opportunity, business, and insanely high rent. It’s a center for acting, finance–and publishing. Many American publishers are based in or have major offices in New York, and it’s where many international publishing companies have American offices. This goes for everything from magazines to books of all sorts. What’s expected for …

A shelf of various Young Adult books, taken from an angle to make it look endless.

Why are “Casual” Reviewers So Important?

It’s not a secret that authors and publishers rely on places like Kirkus Reviews, the New York Times, and Publisher’s Weekly to say nice things about a book so the publisher can put it on the cover. These official kinds of reviews are understandably important and relevant—publications like the New York Times are trusted, credible …