Case studies: Junior desk editor: Becca Allen

Becca graduated from the University of East Anglia with a BA in English Literature in 2009. She was promoted to junior desk editor at Constable & Robinson in March 2012 after two years as an editorial assistant.

Before graduating, I wrote to every publishing company I could think of to ask for work experience. Luckily, one company, Simon & Schuster, kept my details and when a receptionist vacancy came up, they called me to interview and I got the job. I made sure people in the office knew I wanted to move on in publishing - I helped out in the rights department on an ad hoc basis, helped out with marketing and publicity events and also did final top-and-tail proofreads for editorial when they needed an extra pair of eyes. Then I saw a vacancy advertised for an editorial assistant and applied. Two interviews later, I was working there.

I'm not sure how relevant my degree subject was in getting my job. It obviously shows that I am passionate about literature and have a certain level of intelligence, so it probably helped, but I don't think a degree is the be all and end all these days. You also need to have a good work ethic and CV. When Simon & Schuster hired me as a receptionist, they said that what had made me stand out was the fact that I'd worked at Topshop part time while studying, so they thought I'd present a stylish and organised front to visitors. And then when I applied to be an editorial assistant, I had no editorial experience to speak of but they said they liked my work ethic and enthusiasm.

I handle various titles at the same time, from manuscript to final proofs for printing. We use freelance copyeditors and proofreaders as we are a small office, so on a day-to-day basis I could be liaising with freelancers and authors, reading through the proofs or manuscript myself and collating author corrections with the freelancer/proofreader corrections, updating the editorial schedule for the team or organising indexes and illustrations if needed.

My role has developed from editorial assistant to junior desk editor by taking more responsibility and workload, and having to ask fewer questions. My career ambitions are to keep going up and hopefully gain enough experience to work as a commissioning editor, choosing which books to publish and really getting your teeth into them and giving them a good old edit.

The most enjoyable aspect of the job is being a part of really exciting new books, helping to make them perfect and getting to read them before anyone else. Challenges include resolving any difficulties with authors if they happen (not often), working under tight deadlines and sometimes a fair amount of pressure.

Getting to know authors and helping them in this amazing creative process is really great, as are the other people in publishing that I work with. It's good to be connected to an industry I love so much; it has given me the confidence and insight to get on Twitter and to start my own blog, Becca Likes Books , where I review books, which means even more free books.

If you're looking to get into publishing, get a part-time job while you study - in a bookshop, at a hairdresser's, in a call centre... it doesn't matter. Get work experience if you want, but remember that this doesn't automatically qualify you for a job. Be prepared to work hard to get into the industry, either doing unpaid work experience or being a receptionist. Stay passionate about books and keep up to date with what's going on, in bookshops, on Twitter, on blogs. Keep your eyes open for publishing jobs on The Bookseller and take the opportunities when they arise. Finally, if you know you want to get into editorial/another specific area of publishing, the Publishing Training Centre has lots of courses on offer.