Jamie Csimbok

1. What does your job entail?

My job focuses on preparing books to be published, which entails handling scheduling, ensuring that the measurements of the books are accurate, as well as the design, and getting the book to the printers on time. My work puts me in contact with people from all over the world, which is one of my favorite aspects of working in publishing. 

2. Did you always want to work in this field, and if not, what changed?

I knew that I wanted to go into publishing, but I didn’t know specifically what aspect of the field I wanted to pursue. I believe that when most people think of publishing, they only think of the editing process, but not all the other moving parts that go into it. When I worked at Barnes and Noble, I realized that I wanted to work in the administrative side of publishing instead of the editing. 

3. How did you find out about this job?

I found my current job through a normal job search since it was a very new position in the company. They admired my cover letter and the work that I had done previously at Barnes and Noble. 

4. What is your favorite part about this job and what do you find the hardest about it?

My favorite part of the job is seeing the physical results of my work. I love the feeling of seeing a book that I had worked on as a completely finished product. I consider communication one of the hardest parts of my job, especially since I have to be in contact with multiple people, some who are even in different time zones. I have to ensure that I receive responses from everyone in a timely manner in order to produce a book by the expected deadline. 

5. What advice would you give to someone who wants to go down a similar career path that you are on?

My biggest piece of advice would be to apply to everything and anything. Sometimes the most unexpected things can turn out to be a great opportunity for you. Internships can be helpful, but they are not completely necessary. What’s most important is that you take every opportunity you can and go for the thing that you love. It can take a lot of patience, but it will eventually work out. Nevertheless, it’s important to learn to work through rejection and mistakes. Take the opportunity to grow from them.