The Bookseller.com

17th May 2008

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Wanted: digital all-rounder

01.02.08 Hannah Davies

Book worm or web geek? The Bookseller asks what attributes candidates will need to fulfil publishers’ digital aspirations.

Last year, Amazon launched its Kindle e-reader, the print-on-demand Espresso Book Machine arrived in book stores, and online networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace entered publishers’ marketing plans. But digital roles are still relatively new, so what do publishers look for when recruiting their new e-book manager, digital rights expert or tech developer?

Georgina Atwell, Dorling Kindersley and Rough Guides online director, has developed the two brands’ web presence and online content over the past two years. She believes that if publishers offer an appealing job package, recruiting digital specialists from outside the publishing industry is a recipe for success.

“It’s easier to train someone to have publishing knowledge than to take someone from a publishing background and make them more aware of the digital world,” Atwell says. DK and Rough Guides recruited their online development producer, Aine Fearon, from AOL, while their head of online development, Jeanette Angell, came from the BBC.

Web literate
Aryn Hurst-Clark, director at Bearing Partnership, a specialist in digital recruitment for publishing, agrees. “More and more we are seeing people transfer from other industries that have had a few more years of investment in digital,” Hurst-Clark says. “Some of the more progressive publishers implant people with good digital skills into teams where those skills can be transferred—an essential process for changing the culture to be more accepting of the medium and, more importantly, not afraid of it.”

Although Atwell is keen on bringing in digital skills from outside, she herself joined Penguin through its graduate scheme six years ago; she moved on to spend two years in its digital licensing department before becoming online director. “The company has been fantastic at filling in gaps in my knowledge. It was a new area for them so I was a guinea pig,” Atwell says. “Now as online director I talk to them about what is going on digitally in the outside world.”

Michael Bhaskar, digital publishing executive at Pan Macmillan, and self-confessed “web geek”, is proof that bookish types can possess digital skills. Bhaskar started out as a temp at literary agency Rogers, Coleridge & White, where he developed an interest in the rapidly changing nature of publishing.

Subsequently, Bhaskar was appointed by Pan Macmillan last June through its graduate recruitment scheme to fill a digital role, helping Pan Macmillan to implement an e-book programme, and making the company more aware of digital issues. He says: “I didn’t have any experience in digital publishing, but it wasn’t much of a disadvantage, because when I started nobody else within trade publishing had a huge amount of experience of digital either. Every week things change completely and you have to re-orientate yourself.”

Making history
Bhaskar believes publishing knowledge is equally as valid as a tech­nology background, so long as candidates have a genuine interest in the internet, an understanding of the latest web developments and strong project management skills.

Creativity is another vital attribute, he says. “This job is so fluid and fast-moving. You have an idea, and it’s genuinely stuff people haven’t thought about doing before. You feel like you are making history in a very small way; making a great cultural transition.”

Young blood
Recent graduates are potentially strong candidates for digital roles too, Atwell adds: “We’ve taken on a lot of our people straight after their degrees; they have enthusiasm for and knowledge of the digital world, particularly of MySpace and Facebook. They bring ideas and inspiration into the team.”

With digital publishing, adaptability is at least as important as experience. “You need to be an all-rounder,” Atwell says. “Editorial and design skills should be matched with technical understanding and a lack of fear of technical developments.”

Bhaskar also points out that diplomacy with colleagues and authors is an essential charateristic for digital pioneers. “There are a lot of people who are sceptical about it all and think we are trying to kill off books. Also, we are often a burden on people because we create a new work load, so diplomacy is important.”

 

THE IDEAL DIGITAL CANDIDATE

A passion for the internet, probably a MySpace and Facebook fanatic

Enthusiasm for both print and online—sees things “inline”, rather than “online” or “offline”

Understands digital developments inside and outside publishing

Creative, initiates innovative and interactive digital publishing projects

Excellent project manager, works independently to deadlines

Diplomatic—can persuade reluctant publishers and authors about the benefits of digital

digital Hannah Davies job