Malissa Kent Talks About Careers in Publishing

Malissa Kent, a 2007 graduate of Knox College, never imagined she would be working for a Fortune 500 company. She recently came back to her alma mater to conduct an informational session about the University of Denver Publishing Institute. DPI has been welcoming Knox College students into its summer session for years. The four week intensive graduate level program focuses on all aspects of publishing from editing to marketing to small press and magazine publishing to career preparation to enter the industry.

For Malissa, meeting with authors, agents and publishers was incredibly rewarding. To see every step of the process from manuscript to galley to store copy brought to life the process of publishing and revealed the varied specific job opportunities that exist. "The program starts with a giant box of homework, you get a manuscript that you have to read as an editor before classes even begin," she says, "You read, create a platform and market your book, do promos, create and justify a budget all the while learning from professionals."

Now working for Amazon as a Copyright Evaluation Specialist in Seattle, Malissa also talked about her current role on the Digital Text Platform content review team and the e-book industry she finds herself in. Every step along the way helped illuminate and make possible where she is. "Knox helped me get into the Publishing Institute and the Publishing Institute helped me refine and focus the skills I learned at Knox and better market myself for a career in publishing. Getting temp work at Amazon opened up the possibility for full-time employment."