Publishers are senior managers in publishing houses. They can also be known as publishing managers or publishing directors. Owners of small presses or chief executive officers of large publishing houses are also sometimes known as publishers.

Publishers' responsibilities vary according to the size and nature of the organisation, but can include:

• managing departmental managers and teams of staff
• cordinating the work of various departments
• working closely with managing and commissioning editors
• developing publishing strategies and marketing plans
• monitoring editorial quality
• working within an agreed business plan and financial forecast .

Publishers of small presses may take responsibility for some of the roles dealt with by departmental managers in larger houses. They may develop, manage or commission a list of authors. This could involve:

• liaising with literary agents
• encouraging authors
• discussing contracts and timings
• predicting sales potential.

Information about independent publishers is available on the Independent Publishers Guild website. The Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers has information on publishing within the not-for-profit environment (eg learned societies and university presses). General information about the publishing industry is available through the bookcareers website. See the Further Information section for contact details of all these organisations.

Hours and Environment

As a publisher you are likely to work irregular and often long hours, including some evenings and weekends.

You will be office-based and spend a lot of your time in meetings. Depending on the size and location of the publishing house you could be involved in a considerable amount of travel around the UK and overseas.

Skills and Interests

To be a publisher you should:

• have good commercial awareness and market knowledge
• be assertive 
• be self-disciplined and highly motivated  
• have management skills 
• be diplomatic and and have good negotiating skills
• be innovative and dynamic
• have an understanding of budgeting and financial management.

Entry

As a publisher you will need extensive experience of managing teams, and understanding of financial management and budgeting. You may have a background in marketing, advertising or editorial work. They are likely to be graduates or postgraduates.

Most publishers have a degree or postgraduate qualification. You are likely to find degrees in publishing, media management or information management particularly relevant,  but English, media, marketing or business management may also acceptable. You can get details from the Publishing Association website - see Further Information below for a link to the website. 

Please check with colleges or universities for their entry requirements.

If you already have a degree in any subject you could do a postgraduate diploma in publishing part-time or full-time. You might be able to do an intensive courses over 16 to 25 weeks at some universities or higher education colleges. You could also consider a masters’ course in publishing studies, information management, interactive media, printing or production. These last one year full-time, two or three years part-time or can be completed through distance learning - see Publishing Association website for further details.

If you are interested in educational publishing it may be useful if you have teaching experience.

Training

You may receive some training in-house but it is likely that you will be expected to already have extensive training and experience.

You can do relevant training courses through the Publishing Training Centre and the Institute of Publishing. These cover areas such as:

• commissioning and acquisitions
• rights and contracts
• editorial management
• design and production.

The Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers also offer a range of courses on three levels: introductory, intermediate and senior management. These cover:

• editorial processes
• production IT and e-publishing
• finance and business management
• marketing and copyright.

You can get details from the Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers website - see Further Information below for a link to the website. 

Opportunities

As  you gain experience as a publisher you may have the opportunity to move from a small operation to a larger one; you could even become a company director. You could use your experience of business management, advertising and marketing to move into other kinds of business. 

If you have extensive knowledge of the industry, good contacts and the necessary financial resources you may be able to start your own publishing company.

There are increasing opportunities in digital or e-publishing.

Annual Income

These figures are intended as a guide only.

You may be self-employed and have profit-related pay or draw a salary. The salary will depend on the volume of sales of your publishing house and your position within the company.

Average earnings for publishers are between £38,000 and £41,000 a year. 
For some publishers, earnings may nearer £25,000, depending on the profitability of the company. 

Further information

45 East Hill
Wandsworth
London
SW18 2QZ
Tel: 020 8874 2718 29B Montague Street
London
WC1B 5BW
Tel: 020 7691 9191 South House
The Street
Clapham
Worthing
West Sussex
BN13 3UU
Tel: 01903 871686