Writing and Publishing: A Good Career or Dying Industry?

As a college or potential college student, perhaps you are thinking about pursuing a career in publishing, or how to choose a career, but you are worried…is it worth it? With today’s social media and technological gadgets such as the Kindle or the Nook or the iPad, is there even a need for books anymore? Or are they becoming obsolete?

The truth is, yes, books are becoming more and more obsolete. However, that doesn’t mean that they are suddenly going to disappear. Believe it or not, there is still a demand for print publishing. The big publishers are still cranking out textbooks and selling them to schools, and magazines as well as novels are still around. Now, of course, in addition to that, eBooks, media cards, websites, and curriculum portals are all available in e-format. So while the publishing industry is absolutely at a crossroads, publishers are holding up both the media as well as print sides to their audiences.

So you might be thinking, what does this mean for me? Well, the good news is publishing offers a lot of opportunities to new graduates. And if you think “publishing” and think of yourself sitting in a cube reading for eight hours straight or drowning in paperwork, while this may be true for some editorial or writing jobs, you aren’t limited to only these tasks. Some publishing careers include:

• Graphic Designers
• Project Managers
• Editors (Editorial and Production)
• Sales/Marketing
• Proofreaders
• Writers
• Administrators

Again, the realm for these positions is very large. You could work in textbook publishing, custom publishing, magazine publishing, media publishing, art/design, journalism, and the list goes on. Now that you know that there are a lot of great opportunities in publishing, let’s talk money. As far as salaries, editors, graphic designers, project managers, etc. can make anywhere from $35,000 - $70,000 annually. If you are near the city or are willing to commute, you could work for one of the big publishers such as Pearson Education, Houghton-Mifflin Harcourt, Cengage Learning, or even the New York Times, or the Boston Herald.

All in all, a career in publishing is not a waste of time. Hopefully you found these pointers helpful on how to decide on a career. Or if you still aren’t sure, you could always shoot for a communications or English degree, and decide to go into writing or publishing afterwards. Most publishers look for students with a degree in English, Communications, or relative field. So don’t feel like you have to pinpoint it the moment you take your first step onto a college campus. You’ve got time to decide. And remember, education is never wasted.