Books to Help You Develop Your Publishing Career

Whether you’re an entry-level worker in the publishing industry or you’ve been in publishing for a long time, here are some books to help you develop your publishing career.

From learning more about public speaking, on managing up, coaching and mentoring others or being your own hype person. These are the books I’ve read and highly recommend to others.

Books to help you develop your Publishing Career

How to Own the Room by Viv Groskop

If you’ve ever wanted to improve or develop your public speaking abilities then read How to Own the Room by Viv Groskop. Viv has a fantastic sister podcast alongside this book that offers advice from public figures, many of which have quotes included in the book. From improving your confidence to practical tips like how to breathe and stand, this book is a great place to start developing your public speaking skills.

#StandOutOnline: How to Build a Profitable and Influential Personal Brand in the Digital Age by Natasha Courtenay-Smith

Slightly outdated, but with some perpetual lessons about digital promotion. If you want to develop your own brand online or improve an author/publisher, then read #StandOutOnline. It includes practical tips about SEO and how to improve DA scores but also explains the importance of having a brand in the current digital age.

Flex: The Modern Woman’s Handbook by Annie Auerbach

For those looking for more general advice – particularly women as the name suggests – then read Flex. I listened to the audiobook a while back and it was a great way for me to reconsider what actually works for me in terms of the hours I spend working, whether I’m a morning or an evening worker, what I want from my career etc.

Brave Not Perfect: Fear Less, Fail More, and Live Bolder by Reshma Saujani

This is a great book about needing to get over the fear of letting people down. If you’ve ever had imposter syndrome at work, either as a woman or just in general, then this is a great book for you. With practical tips on how to see past the imposter syndrome, to stories and advice from others who have experienced it.

The Discomfort Zone by Farrah Storr

Farrah Storr is a talented editor who wrote this book about getting past your discomfort zone and not playing it safe. Have you ever stayed in a job because you’re afraid that you won’t like or won’t do well in the next? Then you need to read this book! It will help you see that the biggest and scariest decisions we make are the ones that offer the most learning and rewards. Playing it safe is boring and won’t lead to change.

How to Not Always Be Working by Marlee Grace

I read this during the lockdown and it helped me to see past the idea of constantly being on and being productive. We need a break to function and be creative. This book offers practical advice on how to wind down and have those conversations about productivity with our co-workers and superiors when needed.

It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy at Work by Jason Fried

I read this book a while back but found it really helpful for finding ways to deal with stress. Reminding ourselves that ‘it’s only books’ only goes so far when it feels like our inboxes are a bin-fire and everyone is chasing us for work. It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy at Work shows the toxicity of workplace ‘calm’ activities, and how best to use your work hours to get work done and not work outside of them.

The Multi-Hyphen Method by Emma Gannon

And finally, for those of us in the publishing industry with lots of side hustles and creative ideas, read The Multi-Hyphen Method. This non-fiction book is great at showing us how to create and maintain side hustles if they’re what we want to do. Instead of suffering a 9-to-5 job to pay the bills, it offers solutions for creating the job you actually want, whether that be a part-time role with a creative side hustle, a full-time role with mini hustles or just a life of hustles.

Whatever you’re struggling with at work, be it over-creativity, imposter syndrome or a fear of speaking up, these are the books I recommend to help you develop your publishing career.

For more resources to help with your publishing career, visit my Publishing Hopeful’s Toolkit.

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