Although we are a wee company, we try and support those who are just starting out in their publishing career whenever we can and offer work experience to students. For the past ten weeks, we’ve had the pleasure of having Emma in our busy but friendly office. She has been helping with both marketing and editorial tasks and has been getting a flavour of what it is like to work in the book industry.

Before her placement finished, she wrote this post for us which we hope will give you some more information of what our company is like and offer encouragement to anyone looking to pursue a career in this industry.

Over to Emma…

I must admit I was slightly nervous ringing the doorbell for the first time at the Bright Red office in Edinburgh. What could I, a publishing student with little experience of the industry, offer an already highly successful, independent educational publisher? I shouldn’t have worried though, as soon as John answered the door and showed me round the office, my nerves were instantly calmed. I was introduced to Jo, Bright Red’s Marketing Executive who knows about everything social media, catalogues and campaign related, to Laura, who as Development Editor is all about editorial and is constantly working on exciting new material, along with Alan, one of Bright Red’s Directors alongside John. They all instantly made me feel welcome, and I knew I had nothing to worry about.

Bright Red is a publisher I’ve been aware of for a long time. Their Standard Grade Chemistry Study Guide is probably the only reason I made it through the chemistry exam, and a stressed out 15-year-old me definitely spent many hours poured over their study guides, willing all the helpful diagrams and handy study hints to stay in my mind. Bright Red is still a big name in our household with my younger sister just starting her journey through studying and exams, and I’m sure a Bright Red study guides will be with her every step of the way.

Who was to know that so many years after I was using Bright Red Study Guides myself, I would be sitting in their office, looking over guides which cater for the new curriculum, which will go on to help other students across Scotland. As the creation of new study guides revolves around the work carried out in the Edinburgh office, I was right in the middle of all the action; whether it be the phone ringing from schools placing orders or deliveries of new editions coming in.

As a small, independent company, I felt really engaged with the day-to-day running of the business, listening in on what was going on and even being given the chance to do some proofreading, marketing and work on some upcoming titles. It was also such a pleasure working with the team, learning about their journey in the publishing industry, and gaining lots of hints and tips on how to make it. Alongside all the publishing advice, I now also know where to get the best baked potatoes in Edinburgh, and have increased my daily coffee intake – an essential part of being in the publishing industry.

One of my first roles at Bright Red was to help Jo with her social media campaign in the run up to exams, working out what kind of content would suit Bright Red’s audience. It was fun thinking up tweets, but also eye-opening on how much work goes on behind the social media marketing process and how it is an important part of any business to build relationships with their audience. I also had the chance to do some proofreading for an upcoming title, allowing me to brush up on my use of proofreading marks and making me realise how much attention to detail goes into making a Bright Red Study Guide.

I have had a great time at Bright Red and as the world, and publishing industry continually changes, you can rely on independent educational publishers such as Bright Red to provide high quality, useful study guides that will help students all over Scotland through their school life and to success in their exams. I am grateful to Bright Red for letting me take up some space in their office, for spending time talking me through publishing processes and for being on hand to give me lots of advice, hints and tips for getting into the industry.

Thank you Bright Red!