Introduction: Publishing Q&A with HarperCollins Canada - Part 1

I’ve had quite a few people ask me about the inner workings of publishing and different aspects of it in the last few months. Regrettably, I do not work in the industry but I do have a curious mind that always wants to learn so I reached out to Ashley (Digital Marketing Specialist) at HarperCollins Canada for some assistance.

The two of us have been in periodic contact since I started reviewing Harper Collins books and attending their blogger events a couple of years ago. Recently, Ashley switched roles within the company and I was extremely thankful that she took the time to entertain this idea and forwarded my questions to different members of the team. As someone who is semi-familiar with the process of publishing a book, I also had a ton of questions about the different aspects of publishing and what goes into building a career there. Ashley was able to get a few of my questions answered by her co-workers in Sales, Editorial/Production, Publicity, Marketing/Design and Social Media. I won’t delve into the full-on history of the profession (unless that’s something you may want in a future post) but, in today’s world of books, publishing encompasses everything from acquisition to editing to cover design to marketing to sales and so much more! When you work with a publisher, you’re pretty much getting the star treatment in my opinion. For those of you who are interested in being a part of this field or if you’re interested in getting a book published and want a little more insight into the process, let me introduce you to some new faces at Harper Collins who have fresh eyes on the entire thing. Mary Delong is an Awards and Publishing Assistant. Jesse Dorey is a Creative Assistant in Marketing. Mathew is a Sales Assistant. Alice Tibbetts is a Publicity Assistant. These lovely individuals took some time to answer my questions and I will be posting each of their answers in separate blog posts so that I can expand a bit more on each career and how their role impacts the big picture. So stay tuned for a new installment every Sunday in April!