I'm an outsider in UK publishing

[ButternutSoup]

Hi all, I'm a 42-year-old South African woman and am planning to immigrate to the UK with my husband. I am applying for an ancestry visa through my British-born grandmother - holding thumbs!

I'm a writer and copy editor and my experience is in media and publishing. In the last few years I've specialised in editing academic and legal books.

Nabbing a good job in the small and insular South African publishing world is all about who you know. It has taken me years to build my career after getting an entry-level job through a friend who worked at a magazine publishing company. To this day I am grateful for that lucky break.

I've been wondering if things are the same in the UK media/publishing industry. If so, I'll need to do some serious research into editor associations and specialised recruitment agencies. If any UK people have any tips for me, I would greatly appreciate it.

PS: My husband is a web designer, so he'll probably get a job more easily. Even so, any tips in this regard would also be much appreciated. Ta!

Not quite the same thing but I used to do a lot of freelance sub-editing work and got many of my assignments through Penny Lawson at Folio Recruitment (https://foliorecruitment.co.uk/). I think she is mainly London based but definitely worth contacting. I am long out of the game now and only worked on magazines, so I don't know the situation in book publishing these days.

Thank you so much, this is exactly the kind of info I was looking for! I've checked out the site, this agency seems great. I spent a good few years sub-editing (we call it copy editing) in magazines and enjoyed that, too.

Totally OT but is “holding thumbs” like “fingers crossed”?

I'd recommend looking at the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading.
It's more for freelance editors but lots of info there about publishing companies and probably possible to get advice on what you need. Some decent editing courses as well if you need to work on any areas.

Haha yes it is! Your question has made me realise that if I want to write and edit in the UK I will need to become familiar with the slang, idioms, etc!

Fantastic, thanks a million.

For recruitment, check out firstly The Bookseller jobs section (and take a subscription to read up on industry news), then also the agencies advertising on there e.g. Inspired Selection, Redwood etc.

Tap up your contacts in SA for contacts in the U.K. You’re right there’s a big element of who you know, but people are happy to help usually.

Susanne Collier at Bookcareers helps career changers or mid stage career people so would be great to talk to in your situation I’d think.

There might be more academic focused things I’m not aware of too, hopefully someone else might advise!

Also, when you start looking for jobs think of your SA focus as an asset and market yourself appropriately i.e. it’s not a bug it’s a feature as your web dev might put it. You’ve got vital experience in SA slang and general knowledge about what’s hot or not in that market so you should draw on that when looking for roles.

Good luck!

Ha ha yes, that is why I was asking! Good luck OP, hope it all goes well for you.

My Dutch and German colleagues hold thumbs instead of crossing fingers.

(Can't help with publishing though.)

Are you b2c or b2b? B2b is easier to find I think in the UK if you're a specialist. Incidentally I edit two b2b mags for the African market 😅

Thank you!

Oh yes, good idea!

Nonetheless, I am tickled to learn this!

I've done both, but thanks for the tip about pursuing b2b in the UK.

About you editing b2b mags for the African market - quite a coincidence to meet you here! I guess we really do live in a global village now.