ABOUT

Tell us who you are!

Hello! My name is Aaliyah and I'm a 25-year-old working in the marketing department of a children's book publisher!

So what do you actually do?

I specifically work in the Trade, Schools, and Libraries Marketing Department which means that the main goal of my job is to get our books and all our marketing materials into as many schools, libraries, and bookshops as possible.

A lot of my job involves working closely with our designers to create posters, bookmarks, classroom resources, etc but most of my job requires maintaining partnerships with organisations such as The Reading Agency, Centre for Literacy in Primary Education and the National Literacy Trust while always (trying to be) on the lookout for new partners to collaborate with, and new ways to get our books in the hands of kids, teachers and librarians!

What has your career path been?

Well after graduating with a degree in English Literature I knew the only 9-5 I actually wanted was working for a book publisher. This, of course, felt like an unattainable ambition but it was one of the few long-term careers I could imagine for myself.

But I had another dream I wanted to chase first. My plan A, my absolute ambition. I wanted to write a novel and have it published and begin a career as a full-time author. So I got a job as a part-time tutor and spent the next year and a half writing and re-writing my novel. By the time I reached my second year as a tutor, I was working a lot more hours and my dreams were beginning to feel increasingly distant.

Eventually, I summoned up the courage to pitch my novel to agents and waited months for a response only to receive silence from some and rejection from the others. I hit a pretty low place at this point. It had been two years since I had graduated and I was working a job that I was now completely ready to move on from but was struggling to believe I was capable of anything else.

Then I came across Creative Access, a social enterprise that works to help people from underrepresented groups begin careers in creative industries. At this point, I had accepted that I needed to think seriously about a stable job, and my dreams of being a bestselling author had to take a back seat for a little while. I constantly scrolled through Creative Access' Twitter account for job postings and one day saw a tweet about a paid intern opportunity for the PR & Marketing Department at a children's book publisher. I applied, went through a couple of rounds of interviews, and somehow, somehow got the job. I'll never forget the moment I read the email. It was the rare and incredible feeling of a dream actually coming true.

In September 2019 I began my internship, and I could not believe my luck! The job was the standard intern work, mostly lots and lots of mailings. But I was given the opportunity to share my ideas and did my absolute best to work as efficiently and as effectively as possible. As a result, I was given work opportunities that were beyond the scope of an intern, but this allowed me to further prove my capabilities. I said yes to every task and never turned down any opportunity to stand out (even though it made me uncomfortable to do so sometimes) but it was all worth it.

Five months into my internship I was offered a permanent position as the Junior Trade, Schools & Libraries Marketing Officer. It felt like the anxiety and uncertainty of the two years following graduation had been entirely worth it at that moment. I could not believe that I, a visibly Muslim woman had landed a full-time, permanent position at a Children's Book Publisher!

Even now, almost two years later, I have little 'pinch me' moments. Yes, work certainly has its tedious and stressful moments, but what job doesn't? Knowing that I get to work with books, and people who love books is what keeps me going on the days when I can't find a crumb of motivation. Maybe I'll never have my own novel published, or maybe I will. Either way, I've had a dream come true, and the daily privilege of working in the only industry that feels right for me.

What is the best part of your job?

The really special thing about my department is that we get to work with charities and are able to donate books and marketing materials not just to schools and libraries but also to hospitals, prisons, and anywhere else in need of a book boost!

Why do you do your job?

Well, one of the main reasons is my incredibly lovely manager. Not only is she very hardworking and does a fantastic job, but she's also very kind and supportive and never gives me a hard time about anything. The result of this is that even on the days when I really don't want to do any work, I know I owe it to her to try and tick a few things off my list. She always comes through for me, the least I can do is ensure she can depend on me to come through for her.

The second reason is knowing that I'm working what was essentially my 'dream' job. I don't think any 9-5 is ever going to be exciting and productive every day, but if I have to work full time then what better work could I, as a lifelong bibliophile be doing than spreading the love of books far and wide?

Not to mention there is something rather magical about children's books.

One piece of advice for someone starting in your role?

Don't undermine the importance of the little (and often boring) tasks, as they are what allow the big promotions to be a success!

Any parting words?

I think it's important to understand that no job is as glamorous as it may seem from the outside looking in. Every job comes with its hard or boring days!

Also, never take a great manager for granted.

Check out Aaliyah’s socials below!

DAY IN THE LIFE

It all begins with Outlook! I log onto my emails and give them a quick scan for anything urgent before beginning at the oldest email and working my way up to the most recent. I file away the emails that don't need to be actioned but are good to have around for information purposes, I flag the emails that can be actioned later on in the week, and the remaining emails in my inbox are those that need to be actioned ASAP. I then write all my tasks in my notebook and begin working my way through them. I'm a terribly notorious procrastinator and usually get distracted halfway through completing a task so sometimes I have to be very firm with myself and not pick up my phone until I've crossed an important item off my list! I have the 'Forest' app which can be useful.

My tasks range from writing briefs for posters, bookmarks, discussion guides etc. to keeping on top of all the promotions I am running with our partners, and ensuring I have everything ready for upcoming promotions. For example, I work with Toppsta (a children's book review website) to get our books and resources into 50 schools every month. This means ensuring we're actually creating marketing materials for a title, ensuring we print enough quantities, having the materials sent from our printers to our mailing house, and then having them sent from our mailing house to each school. The schools then share their reviews and displays on social media which I then share their pictures/reviews and the statistics provided by Toppsta in our monthly board report. On one occasion I thought I had completed each step only to realise a few weeks later that I forgot to actually have the items sent from our mailing house to the schools! This is why it's so important to never undermine the importance of each step in a promotion.

I have meetings on Monday and Tuesday mornings which can sometimes be frustrating as I often lose any momentum I managed to summon up but I am very lucky to only have about 5/6 meetings a week and my time is mostly my own. While I do go into the office a couple of times a week, most of my colleagues still work from home full time which means our meetings are all via zoom (which is fine with me!).