Publishing operations roles in Audio

The Publishing Operations team are the colleagues who ensure you are able to find, download and listen to the very latest audiobook that's been in your wish list, from your favourite retailer.

"[They] ensure you are able to find, download and listen to the very latest audiobook."

Working with multiple internal teams in both audio, our print publishing houses and external teams such as streaming services and international publishers, they are brilliant communicators and project managers.

Being involved in many stages in the lifecycle of an audiobook, they are responsible for managing schedules, coordinating cover art and populating the all-important metadata that catalogues the title for both publishers and retailers, which in turn helps consumers access the audiobook – essentially, they keep the whole show running!

If you’d like a job in publishing operations, you’ll need to be:

• a brilliant problem-solver
• a great multi-tasker
• have excellent relationship management skills
• "Responsible for managing schedules, coordinating cover art and populating the all-important metadata... they keep the whole show running!"

The function of operations within the audio division at Penguin is best understood as project management, with each of the almost 1000 yearly titles passing through our hands, giving us a holistic understanding of all aspects of the production process. As the publishing operations assistant, I am primarily concerned with managing the bibliographic metadata for our titles, from acquisition through to retailer distribution and beyond! I work with editorial, marketing and publicity and sales to coordinate announcements, the design teams to adapt the print covers for audio editions, and of course my pub ops colleagues oversee the production process as a whole.

Working on a complex, ever-evolving schedule, you need a sharp eye for detail and excellent critical thinking skills. Foresight underpins my daily responsibilities, striving to think five steps ahead, anticipating my colleagues' needs and being ready to lend an extra pair of hands or ears to whoever may need them! The nature of this role requires you to be agile, responding to challenges in a fast-paced environment. No two days are the same, so prioritisation skills are a must to be able to categorise and re-organise ad-hoc tasks as they appear.

As a Publishing Operations Assistant in Audio, your next steps might be Publishing Operations Executive. The grounding knowledge gained in this role also puts you in a perfect position to pivot towards other roles within the audio division in editorial, marketing, or the studio.

- Bridie Lonsdale, Publishing Operations Assistant

As Publishing Operations Executive for BBC Audio, I primarily work with the BBC Audio Editorial team by project managing BBC Audio titles through our master schedule and sending them to freelancers for mastering and proofing. I’m also responsible for preparing titles for delivery by checking chapter metadata and audio files once they’ve been returned by the proofer, and liaising with the Digital Distribution team to send the files to retailers. Once titles have been delivered, it’s then my responsibility to solve any Audible or general retailer queries and supply new files if necessary.

I work across several different titles, all working to important and sometimes tight deadlines, so organisation, prioritisation and time-keeping are key skills to have. As I also work with many different teams, both inside and outside of the company, on the day-to-day, it’s crucial to have great communication skills to build up those key relationships that are vital to my role. Also, as I spend quite a lot of my time putting out fires (metaphorically of course!) problem-solving is a necessary skill that I’ve developed a lot throughout my time in the role, and having the ability to work well under pressure is key when solving these problems, as some can be very time sensitive.

The progression for Publishing Operations Executive for BBC Audio is really interesting because there isn’t necessarily a straight-line upwards, but the role gives you important skills and experience that could lead you onto many different paths. Our pub ops team is very small but there are multiple places to move within the audio team, such as studio and editorial, which would be well suited to the transferable skills.

- Holly Roff, Publishing Operations Executive, BBC Audio

As well as working closely with the Publishing Operations Assistant and Manager to bring together all the moving parts in the publishing process, I also work with the audio editorial and studio teams, the digital distribution team, and our contacts at Audible to help guide the audiobook through its critical path; from acquisition to publication and any aftercare post-publication.

Good communication skills and being a critical thinker are essential as you are often bringing lots of teams, people and moving parts together to collaborate and create a publishing plan that works for everyone. Audio is an incredibly fast-paced environment so being able to clearly communicate what you need as well as listening and taking on board the needs of others is vital to a smooth publishing process.

The typical next step would be moving up to Publishing Operations Manager. However, doors are open for many roles in audio and publishing because being in operations not only gives a wide understanding of publishing, but also lots of transferable skills. Jobs in production, sales operations and digital distribution are an option, as well as other jobs in the audio team.

- Amber Kassianou-Hannan, Publishing Operations Executive

The Publishing Operations Manager is responsible for overseeing our publishing schedules and timelines, and works heavily on process creation and maintenance, ensuring all our audio publications are hitting key dates on the critical path, as well as working within the audio senior team on wider audio strategy.

My role leads the operations team, who are working with multiple internal teams in both audio and the print divisions on a daily basis. The team are responsible for managing publication schedules, coordinating the creation of audio cover art, populating metadata, supporting on master sales agreements with US publishers and other retail partners.

This is as well as working with our in-house studio team to manage the flow of audiobook files into the business, and subsequently ensuring the components of every audiobook are delivered to retailers on time and to the appropriate specifications and industry standards.

Working across a complex and very changeable schedule, the role requires great communication skills as well as a keen eye for detail. Organisation and time management are key, as is creative problem solving and a solutions-focused attitude!

- Shannon Ellis, Publishing Operations Manager