Resume template · Updated October 2026
Publishing industry resume template
Short answer
Henrietta is a good match for publishing resumes: it is the most conventional layout of the seven and prints education straight after experience, where an English or humanities degree and an editing certificate sit naturally. The fictional sample is a production editor at a Minneapolis nonfiction press who spent four years as a bookseller and buyer, with titles delivered to the printer, freelancers managed and metadata kept clean.
Download the publishing sample
Imogen is a fictional production editor. Replace every detail with your own before you send it.
The files are made in your browser by Resumity's own exporters, from this sample. The builder opens it as your own resume: click any line to replace it. Free plan, no watermark.
Why Henrietta suits a publishing resume
Henrietta is the classic business layout: left-aligned name, black and grey hairline rules and education right after experience. Publishers still read resumes closely for writing and detail, so a quiet page with no colour suits them, and the education placement keeps a literature degree or publishing course near the jobs it supports.
Second choice: Leslie. Leslie also puts experience before skills and adds a centred blue header, a little more polish for publicity and marketing roles at a publisher.
What goes in each section, in Henrietta's order
Henrietta prints its sections in a fixed order, the same in the PDF and the Word file. Here is that order for this sample, and what to put in each section.
- Professional Summary. Say your department (editorial, production, design, publicity, marketing, sales, rights, contracts) and the list you work on: literary fiction, nonfiction, children's, academic, magazines. Publishers hire by list and department, and the summary is where a careful reader decides whether you know the difference.
- Work Experience. Count titles and schedules: books per season or year, printer dates met, budgets per title, freelancers managed, rights deals closed, publicity booked, sales against forecast. Name the stage you own between acquisition and bound book, because editorial and production staff are judged on different things.
- Education. Henrietta prints this straight after experience, which suits a field where English, history and language degrees are common and publishing courses or editing certificates are a recognised way in. Add a dated certificate as a second entry.
- Skills. The grid has no labels, so the first column should carry the core craft (copyediting, proofreading, production scheduling, metadata), the second the software (InDesign, Acrobat, Word track changes, a title management system) and the third how you work with authors and freelancers.
The sample resume as text
The same content as the files above, so you can copy a line or compare it with your own.
Imogen Hartley
Production Editor, Literary Nonfiction
Minneapolis, MN | imogen.hartley@example.com | (612) 555-0108 | linkedin.com/in/sample-imogen-hartley
Production editor at an independent nonfiction press, taking about 18 titles a year from accepted manuscript to printer files. Four years as a bookseller and nonfiction buyer before publishing, so jacket copy and metadata are written with the shop floor in mind.
Experience
Production Editor, Northfield and Pine Books, Minneapolis, MN (04/2022 to Present)
- Manage about 18 titles a year through copyedit, typesetting, two proof rounds and indexing; 17 of 18 met their printer dates last year.
- Hire and brief a pool of 12 freelance copyeditors and proofreaders, with a style sheet for each title built on the house Chicago style.
- Enter and check title metadata, including BISAC codes, descriptions and contributor bios, before it feeds the ONIX file sent to retailers.
- Keep the permissions log for quoted text and images, clearing rights before each book goes to press.
- Route cover copy through editorial, marketing and author approval on a fixed weekly cycle.
Bookseller and Nonfiction Buyer, Loring Lane Books, Minneapolis, MN (06/2018 to 03/2022)
- Bought nonfiction for an independent bookstore, about $180,000 of stock a year.
- Hosted about 40 author events a year, from local debuts to touring historians.
- Wrote shelf-talkers and the staff picks in the weekly newsletter.
Education
Certificate, Editing and Publishing, Twin Lakes University Extension (12/2021)
BA, English, Prairie Hill College (05/2018)
Skills
Production scheduling, Copyediting and proofreading, Chicago style, Metadata and BISAC coding, Permissions tracking, Freelancer management, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Word track changes, Excel, Author communication, Negotiating deadlines
How to make the sample yours
Name the list and the titles
Give the kind of books and a few published titles you worked on, with your role, unless they are unannounced. Editors and managing editors look them up.
Show metadata skills
BISG publishes the BISAC Subject Headings that publishers use to categorise books, and EDItEUR maintains ONIX for Books, the international standard for communicating book product information electronically. If you assigned codes, wrote descriptions or fixed feed errors, one bullet helps for production, digital and sales roles.
Translate bookselling, teaching or journalism
Booksellers know what sells and how books are shelved; teachers know reading levels and curriculum; journalists know deadlines and line editing. Lead the older role with the part a publisher uses, as the sample does with buying and author events.
Name the style guide you edit to
Say which house style or style manual you work from and whether you build style sheets for freelancers. It tells a managing editor you can slot into their process on day one.
Switch the role, keep the structure
Editorial assistants lead with submissions read, reader reports and author contact; publicists with campaigns, events and coverage; rights staff with deals and territories; sales staff with accounts and sell-through.
Keywords to keep where they are true
Terms this kind of resume is usually searched for. Use the posting's exact wording, and only for work you have done.
- book publishing
- production editing
- copyediting
- proofreading
- production schedule
- Chicago style
- style sheets
- freelancer management
- metadata
- BISAC
- ONIX
- permissions
- manuscript
- InDesign
- title management
Mistakes to avoid
- A single typo. In publishing it can end an application, so have someone else proof the final page.
- "Love of books" as your main qualification. Show titles, schedules and the work you did on them.
- Unannounced titles or confidential advances on the page.
- Leaving out freelance editing or proofreading that shows the same skills.
How the sample PDF reads in text extractors
We exported this sample with Resumity's PDF exporter in Chrome on 2026-10-29 and read the file back with three open-source text extractors. This shows whether software that turns a PDF into text can recover it; it is not a test of any commercial applicant tracking system. How we test templates.
| Extractor | Name, email, phone | Headings | Bullets intact |
|---|---|---|---|
| pdf.js 4.10.38 | All found | 4 of 4 | 8 of 8 |
| pdftotext (Xpdf) 4.00 | All found | 4 of 4 | 8 of 8 |
| pypdf 6.13.0 | All found | 4 of 4 | 8 of 8 |
Frequently asked questions
How do I get into publishing without experience?
Look at entry roles in editorial, production, publicity and sales, and show transferable work: bookselling, editing a student publication, freelance proofreading, library or teaching work. A publishing course or editing certificate helps but is not essential.
Should I send a reader report or editing sample with my resume?
Only if the posting asks, which many editorial roles do. Keep it separate from the resume and say in your summary or cover letter that one is available.
Do I need a degree in English to work in publishing?
No. Many publishing staff studied English or humanities, but science, business and language graduates are hired too, especially for specialist lists, sales, rights and digital roles.
How do I list freelance editing work?
As one entry, "Freelance copyeditor and proofreader", with a date range, the number of titles and the types of client. Name publishers or titles if you are allowed to.
How long should a publishing resume be?
One page for most roles up to managing editor or senior publicist. Publishers and directors with long lists can use two.
Will applicant tracking systems read this Henrietta PDF?
The sample PDF read back with its contact details, all 4 section headings and all 8 bullets intact in three open-source text extractors (pdf.js, pdftotext and pypdf). Commercial systems such as Workday, Greenhouse or Taleo were not tested, and each employer configures its own.
Guides and templates for this resume
Sources, checked 29 October 2026
We opened every page below on that date. Pay, rules and requirements change, so check the source before you rely on a detail.
- Book Industry Study Group: Complete BISAC Subject Headings List (standard subject codes used to categorise books, hosted by BISG)
- EDItEUR: ONIX for Books (the international standard for representing and communicating book industry product information in electronic form; current releases 3.0 and 3.1)
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