<p>Parents, I am volunteering at a HS helping kids with college planning. Our Val is interested in studying publishing and she believes she needs to be in NYC or Boston to do this. We live in a smallish coastal southern town. I fear the cuture shock would be a possible problem. Also she favors a small, unselective school with only 5% taking a publishing major. I am hoping to find a better fit for her, but I don't know anything about publishing. Please offer advice. Thanks</p>
<p>There are people here who are professionals in the publishing industry, whereas I am not. However, DD’s BF desperately wanted to be in publishing, and she chose Hamilton’s program. She graduated in 09 and is currently employed in the publishing industry.</p>
<p>What kind of publishing? Digital? Or, a more traditional journalism major? </p>
<p>Any financial considerations?</p>
<p>Small and unselective with only 5% in her major? </p>
<p>So all the Northwesterns and Columbias of the world are out.</p>
<p>You may want to contact a poster named Bromfield. I think, though I am not sure, that she has worked in the publishing industry.</p>
<p>Thanks- I think she can get a good bit of scholarship money and possibly financial aid. So far she has not ruled out any college, that’s why I asked for college suggestions to get her the best info possible. I know so little about the industry-where the jobs are, what colleges turn out the best candidates and which programs are highly rated etc.
PS I think the more traditional publishing/journalism is what she has in mind
Any more ideas?</p>
<p>I don’t know if small and unselective is the way to go in publishing/journalism–she’ll probably need contacts and an established network to get a job. Maybe she should consider something bigger like Syracuse–Newhouse; it’s pretty great for the field of media in general, (but not as high stress as a Columbia/Northwestern) and she’d probably get a decent FA merit/scholarship package.</p>
<p>Momasita, do you mean that she wants to work in book publishing? </p>
<p>Generally speaking, you don’t need any sort of degree in journalism/publishing/communications to find a job in book publishing. You don’t have to go to college in Boston or NYC, though that can help as far as finding internships while you’re still in school. And although they’ll help, you don’t have to have contacts or an established network to find an entry-level job in book publishing. A degree from a very well respected school can help a lot, but that doesn’t mean HYP-or-else; people in the field tend to know about schools your dry cleaner hasn’t heard of. Working in a bookstore can help, but it’s not essential either. </p>
<p>The essentials for landing an entry-level job in book publishing include a very good undergraduate education, a love of books, a strong sense of what makes a good book, a rough sense of how the industry works (which you can glean from reading industry journals, available in the library/online, maybe reading one or two books about the industry, and paying attention to publishing industry news in print media and online), and a willingness to learn as you work very hard, for very little money, quite probably in NYC.</p>
<p>PM me if you have more specific questions.</p>
<p>Emerson College in Boston.</p>
<p>I am a book publisher with a background in journalism. First, I would say forget traditional print journalism. Don’t even think about it. There are good multimedia journalism programs out there.</p>
<p>As for book publishing, I would recommend a strong undergrad liberal arts degree with a focus in English/writing, getting very involved in EC magazines, publications and internships, and considering a grad program in publishing, like the ones at NYU, Portland State and Emerson. </p>
<p>I cannot stress strongly enough working on writing skills, even if the student doesn’t want to be a writer. It is a business of words, and whether you’re in the editorial, marketing, distribution or even financial side of the business, you need to be a strong, clear writer. I’m amazed at how marginal the writing skills are in so many grads of high-end schools.</p>
<p>Even if you fear culture shock, if she’s serious about publishing things will be easier and cheaper if she’s in New York or Boston in terms of finding internships which will be really, really important. Also she would have to move their after graduation most likely so she would be more familiar with the area already/have contacts/be better prepared if she went to school there. </p>
<p>HOWEVER I think publishing is really one of those things where 1) you don’t need a degree in journalism or anything “publishing-related” to go into and
2) not an interest that survives past first year. A lot of kids go to college thinking “I’m good in English, good in writing, would like to work with books, don’t think I’d be a professional writer, maybe I’ll be a publisher!” </p>
<p>Then they actually get to college, get exposed to a lot of new things, and suddenly it’s goodbye publishing, hello anthropology grad school programs. </p>
<p>I’m not saying your D is fickle (I don’t know her) but “publishing” often tends to be one of those general interest, don’t really know what I want to do with my life (and who should at 18 really), kind of answers. So maybe not the best thing to base a college choice on?</p>
<p>researching4emb’s point about writing well is absolutely critical. No matter where your degree is from or how many internships you’ve landed, your writing skills need to be very strong.</p>
<p>The OP is working with a HS student (not her own D) in a small southern town who is the class VAL. The girl says she is interested in publishing, but doesn’t seem to want a “highly competitive” environment. The OP doesn’t know much about it. </p>
<p>We know next to nothing about the student in question making it difficult to give advice.</p>
<p>Previous posters are correct about the skills needed in any area of this field. Writing skills are essential, as are communication and people skills, in general.</p>
<p>My concern is that desire for an “unselective” school and what that translates into. This field is highly competitive–not for those who are timid or unsure of themselves.</p>
<p>I also think that this young woman should not narrow her focus too much. All related media fields undergo rapid changes as technologies evolve. Even something like the venerable NY Times will probably be unrecognizable in a few years. Magazines, newspapers, book publishing houses, television, radio and cable networks have all undergone major upheavals in the last decade and more changes are on the way. </p>
<p>If you’re looking for any type of media education at this point, I think you have to be flexible and understand that what you learn in a classroom today may be obsolete by the time you graduate. That’s also why I believe that a school like Syracuse/Newhouse that is at the forefront of media education and is constantly adapting the way it approaches passing on the necessary skills to succeed in this ever-changing environment is the best bet. I would not recommend going to a small “unconnected” school or any school that is still only offering a traditional journalism major. It will, in fact, be useless at some point soon.</p>
<p>thanks I agree with you all- I think she should apply to a larger school in case her interests change or in case she hates the north, cold, big city. I just wanted to at least make sure that this smaller school was known for publishing and it appears to be as someone has mentioned it. She is a confident, go-getter and in that regard I am sure she will do well anywhere…however as Val she has a lot of options that I hate to see overlooked.
Great advice, Thanks to all! I will pass this along to her.</p>