Commissioning editor : Training

Few structured graduate training schemes exist in book and magazine publishing, although publishing companies are keen to employ graduates. Training is mainly on the job, supported by short courses run by organisations such as the Publishing Training Centre  and The Society for Editors and Proofreaders (SfEP) . Larger organisations often take a more structured approach to training and have more substantial training budgets.

Postgraduate and professional training courses can provide a valuable background to the world of publishing and may also provide useful contacts. Most publishing courses available through training providers, universities and colleges tend to cover areas such as proofreading, editing and production.

The Publishing Training Centre  offers a range of short courses in editorial management and commissioning skills. Subjects covered include:

• commissioning and list management;
• editorial project management;
• financial planning and decision making;
• managing publishing strategy;
• working with authors.

The Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP)  also provides courses in commissioning book and journal content and journal editorial management.

Publishing Scotland  runs courses on areas such as editorial skills, marketing, design and rights.

Generally, it is the responsibility of individuals to progress their own continuing professional development (CPD) by gaining as much valuable experience as possible and working towards making new contacts. Keeping up to date with industry trends is a more informal element of professional training, with membership of bodies such as the Publishers Association (PA)  and Women in Publishing  being part of this process.