Students in the M.S. in Publishing program not only spend a great deal of time on media websites and reading blogs, but they also create them! We recently asked our students to tell us about their publishing-related online hobbies and businesses. Below, we have selected three examples to spotlight: [Read more…] about Books, Blogs, and Literary Mags, Oh My!
Simon & Schuster
Step Right Up: Publishing Predictions for 2021
“The first book published was the Bible,” announced David Steinberger, CEO of the Perseus Books Group. “And the second book was ‘The Demise of Publishing.’” Laughter ensued as the NYU-SCPS Summer Publishing Institute (SPI) students listened to the final address of the 2011 six-week program. In fact, Steinberger depicted publishing as far from its demise, vibrant and alive with a spirit of adaption and improvement.
Steinberger led students through his own predictions for what publishing will look like in 2021. Despite the ephemeral nature of publishing today, Steinberger—if anyone—is in a great position to forecast future trends for the ever-evolving industry.
Listen up: the future according to Steinberger could become our reality. Here are the Perseus CEO’s predictions: [Read more…] about Step Right Up: Publishing Predictions for 2021
Tips and Thrills: Just a Day in Publishing
“You guys are the future of publishing.” The NYU-SCPS Summer Publishing Institute students heard those words recently from John Sargent, CEO of Macmillan Publishing. As classmates headed off to book industry visits at Penguin Group USA, Simon & Schuster, Open Road Integrated Media, and Workman Publishing, my colleagues and I had the opportunity to visit Macmillan’s headquarters in the historic Flatiron Building on Fifth Avenue.
In his office with a balcony overlooking Madison Square Park, Sargent began his talk to the students as if composing a choose-your-own-adventure novel. He offered to address current issues in publishing, describe the history of the company or volunteer career advice. “You choose!” he said. The CEO didn’t seem at all surprised when the students wanted to hear his tips on a career in publishing. [Read more…] about Tips and Thrills: Just a Day in Publishing
Digital Book World Day Two: Catering to Kids
As a lover of children’s books, I was pleased to find that there were three panels on day two of Digital Book World devoted to this segment of the marketplace. So, once my volunteering duties at the coat check were over, I made a beeline for the first kids’ book panel of the day. (As my fellow NYU Publishing student Thea James noted in her post about day one, hanging up wet and snowy coats wasn’t a bad trade off for the chance to sit in on a conference where registration costs upwards of one thousand dollars!)
Kristen McLean of the Association of Booksellers for Children moderated a presentation of findings from the 2010 ABC/Bowker Pubtrack Consumer Study: Understanding the Children’s Book Consumer in the Digital Age. The study provided many insights into the children’s market and debunked two prevailing myths surrounding teenagers. The first myth is that teenagers are universal adopters of technology and a ready-made market for ebooks. In fact, the study demonstrated that no segment in the teen market shows significant ebook sales (5-6% average adoption compared to about 30% in adult trade). The panelists attributed this to the fact that teenagers tend to adopt technologies that are sharing in nature like texting and social networking. Ebooks with limited sharing capabilities are actually less social than print books, which are readily passed around friendship circles or classrooms. Furthermore, many teens still don’t have access to e-readers, and because not all have credit cards, they rarely shop online for books. [Read more…] about Digital Book World Day Two: Catering to Kids
How I Got That Job (or Internship)
We love hearing stories about how our students turned their internships in the M.S. in Publishing program at NYU-SCPS into full-time jobs—or how their classroom or networking experiences resulted in coveted industry positions. So, we asked a few of our graduate students and one recent alumna to tell us how their program-related experiences furthered their career goals:
From Event to E-Books
by Nicole Passage
In the fall of 2009, the NYU Center for Publishing hosted an event at which Jane Friedman, industry icon, and former CEO of HarperCollins, spoke of her exciting new venture, Open Road Integrated Media (ORIM)—a ground-breaking digital content company that publishes and markets e-books. I was in my first semester in the Master’s program then, and when it came time to start looking for an internship for the spring, I knew that I would apply at ORIM. In January 2010, I interviewed to become a development and production intern for the company and was immediately accepted. My duties during this time were varied, but the majority of my time was spent reading books, writing summaries, and conducting author research. By June, I had been hired to work part-time for Managing Editor (and Center for Publishing Adjunct Instructor) Andrea Colvin: proofreading and copyediting, writing descriptive copy, and managing metadata and schedules. Now, only three months later, I am the managing editorial assistant at Open Road, doggedly performing the tasks mentioned above, and then some–and helping to pave the way for the future of books! [Read more…] about How I Got That Job (or Internship)
A Talk with Simon & Schuster’s CEO Carolyn Reidy
Students in the Master of Science in Publishing program at NYU recently had the opportunity to sit down with Simon & Schuster’s President and CEO Carolyn Reidy as she discussed her career, the evolution and future of publishing, and her advice for publishing hopefuls.“ Publishing requires passion,” she told the group. “It takes people with backgrounds in all areas. No matter your interest or skill, it can be used in publishing.” [Read more…] about A Talk with Simon & Schuster’s CEO Carolyn Reidy
The Final Word: NYU’s Publishing Board Sounds Off
Pathways to publishing can be very convoluted, we learned as members of the Board of Advisors of NYU’S Center for Publishing convened at the Midtown Center recently to tell graduate students in the M.S. in Publishing program about their backgrounds and share their thoughts on the industry.
All Roads Lead to Publishing
As the Board members introduced themselves, it became evident that some of them began their professional careers in divergent fields and had serendipitously landed in the publishing industry. Jamie Raab, Senior Vice President and Publisher of Grand Central Publishing, had originally studied city planning, but wanted to be a diplomat; she admitted that she now exercises her diplomatic skills running her division of the Hachette Book Group. Martin Maleska, Advisory Director to Investcorp, with various holdings in media, initially supervised the construction of polyester plants in Brazil before starting a long career at Macmillan Publishing, Simon & Schuster and other companies. Martha K. Levin, Executive Vice President and Publisher of Free Press, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, fell into a publishing career after exiting law school. David Ball, Vice President of Consumer Marketing for The Meredith Corporation, earned a degree in urban studies before enrolling in the NYU Publishing Program and landing his first job working for The Forbes Magazine Group. [Read more…] about The Final Word: NYU’s Publishing Board Sounds Off
Faculty Spotlight: Who’s New for Summer and Fall?
At the Center for Publishing, we continue to add new courses and grow our faculty of industry experts, so we thought we’d blog about some new faces at the front of the classroom this semester and next fall. For those of you new to our blog, we created NYUPubPosts earlier this summer. While our initial focus was on our Summer Publishing Institute (scroll down to read all about our great speakers and field trips), SPI has ended. Now, we are shifting our focus to our Master of Science in Publishing program. Throughout the year, we’ll be posting about our many events, new courses, faculty and much more—and inviting students and faculty to contribute as well. [Read more…] about Faculty Spotlight: Who’s New for Summer and Fall?