Work placement at H&H

We were delighted to have Emily, an A-Level student, join us for a week of work experience recently. Here's what she had to say about her time at Hubble & Hattie ...

"To say I was nervous on the long walk here on Monday morning would be an understatement. I was anxious to meet everyone at Hubble & Hattie for if I didn't fit in or the team didn't like me, and I also didn't want this experience to change my mind about my plans to make a career in publishing. After spending a week with the production team, I can now say that this is something I definitely want to do.

"Once I had spent a good five minutes trying to find the building itself, I arrived to a warm welcome from Kim. She immediately went and made us a cup of tea — something I don't think I've stopped drinking all week — and then gave me a tour of the building and introduced me to the friendly team. 

"Throughout my time here, I have been given an insight into exactly what goes on within a publishing house, everything from author submissions to proofreading the final draft for printing. The amount of time and effort that goes into producing a book of H&H's standards, the endless checks back and forth between editor and author, still baffles me. I don't know how the team managed without the VCR, which happens to hold every piece of information you would ever need about every book Veloce and Hubble & Hattie has published. 

"I was shown how detailed the editing process is, from copy editing to line editing, as well as how the layout and the image resolution can either make or break your book. I learnt how to keep track of the accounts, how marketing through different companies, advertisements and social media expands the popularity of books, as well as how each book is packaged and sent to customers from the warehouse. I also managed to see how chaotic things become when a delivery turns up a day early!

"The team at H&H are some of the nicest, most genuine people I have met, as they made me feel welcome within their workplace and were almost always joking around about something or other. A huge thank you to Kim who has looked after me during my time here, and always made sure that I had something to learn or do, other than just drinking tea! Another big thank you to Rod and Jude for allowing me to come to Veloce and experience the business first hand, and thank you to the rest of the team who gave me their time and showed me exactly what they all do.

"Despite my original worries, Hubble & Hattie has not put me off from getting my degree and becoming an editor; if anything it has confirmed it for me. It feels like I have been here for a lot longer than five days, and I wish that I could restart the week and do it all over again, and not go back to school!"

Thanks again to Emily for joining us, we're glad you had a great time and wish you luck for your future in publishing!