Getting into the publishing industry, NOT in NYC?

College Search & Selection
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<p>One of a couple things I can see myself doing for a living is working for a publishing company (for books- e.g. working up towards being an editor). I know that the best place for this- in the US, at the very least- would probably be New York City, but I really, really dislike cities. Also, I think it's entirely too cold for me. I'm okay with either being cold or being in a city, but I don't want to do both. Are there any good colleges/universities in places convenient to somewhere where I could get into the book industry, or known for getting people into it, which aren't both cold in winter and in a city?</p>

<p>If it makes any difference, my top choice for college if I don't think at all about what I'd do afterward would be UC Berkeley, I want to get as far away from home as possible but also want to avoid the South, and I live in Maryland. (I know I could probably go to my first/second choice, get my degree, then move to a job in publishing elsewhere if need be, but I get pretty anxious socially speaking and am really not keen on just moving to somewhere where I don't know anybody at all. If there's a chance that there's a good university near somewhere else that might work, I'd like to take a look.)</p>

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<p>wulfran, I’m in the publishing business, and while mainstream publishing is definitely in New York, there are publishers everywhere, especially if you’re interested in small presses, creative start-ups, and you’re interested in all kinds of books, not just big-name fiction. There are good small publishers in Portland, Oregon; in the greater Bay Area (Berkeley would be good for that); in Boulder, CO; and in the Chicago area (Sourcebooks is a fabulous and hot publisher). And you’ll find little publishing pockets everywhere.</p>

<p>Two possibilities are UC Berkeley and Reed in Portland (Portland State has a grad program in publishing, too). But you would have to be willing to move to start out, because jobs aren’t easy to find. And of course they do tend to exist in cities, alas. </p>

<p>As a publisher and editor myself, I’d say get as strong an education you can in language arts, including some specific training in editorial skills, technology and social media, and consider summer internships in other locations. Where you get the education itself doesn’t matter that much, just so it’s good. The days of going from one school to one nearby job for your whole life are over, so you have to be flexible.</p>