As a relative newbie to the world of publishing, there is nothing that I desire more than to meet up with other publishing types. Until now I have managed to ‘connect’ with a good number of publishing people through social network sites, and as a result of my work experience, but nothing compares to meeting people face-to-face in a relaxed environment where you can be yourself, no expectations. So, considering that formal networking isn’t quite appropriate for me at these early stages of my career (what would I have to talk about, the importance of work experience?), the Book Machine Meet Up was the perfect choice.
I first got to know about the Book Machine through Twitter. Laura Austin, one of the organisers, was very welcoming, encouraging me to come along. Luckily, at this most recent meeting on Thursday evening (2nd December) I was only two minutes away from our meeting point at the Hachette building, so despite having another arrangement, I was able to attend for a while and got there nice and early. Bit by bit more people began to join us, and before long there was a nice group of publishing peeps just socialising, chatting and having a laugh. I got talking to a few people; there were many people from Hachette there, some I’d met, many I hadn’t, and also some people that I had seen before and/ or knew through Twitter, but had not connected them as one and the same person until that evening! Despite not staying the whole evening I enjoyed myself; there was a nice, relaxed, friendly vibe that removed the anxiety one can feel when you are still working your way up and have yet to land your first permanent role. The relaxed feel of the evening also meant that I spoke to people I had met before, only in a lot more detail, and I discovered that one of the girls from the Hachette office is actually my neighbour (not next door, but near enough), imagine that!
I first got to know about the Book Machine through Twitter. Laura Austin, one of the organisers, was very welcoming, encouraging me to come along. Luckily, at this most recent meeting on Thursday evening (2nd December) I was only two minutes away from our meeting point at the Hachette building, so despite having another arrangement, I was able to attend for a while and got there nice and early. Bit by bit more people began to join us, and before long there was a nice group of publishing peeps just socialising, chatting and having a laugh. I got talking to a few people; there were many people from Hachette there, some I’d met, many I hadn’t, and also some people that I had seen before and/ or knew through Twitter, but had not connected them as one and the same person until that evening! Despite not staying the whole evening I enjoyed myself; there was a nice, relaxed, friendly vibe that removed the anxiety one can feel when you are still working your way up and have yet to land your first permanent role. The relaxed feel of the evening also meant that I spoke to people I had met before, only in a lot more detail, and I discovered that one of the girls from the Hachette office is actually my neighbour (not next door, but near enough), imagine that!