How do I get freelance design work for major publishers

October 11, 2024 10:39 AM

Following up from this question, I'm trying to find freelance design work with major publishers, but I'm not really sure how to get noticed. I've done a lot of freelance typesetting for the Folio Society, which was set up by one of my lecturers at Reading University just after I graduated, but other than that, the only freelance work I've done has been on self-published books, through Reedsy.com.

DK and Hachette both have databases of freelancers which you can add yourself to on their websites, so I've done that, but I haven't got a response. I've also sent my CV and portfolio to every publisher I can think of, but none of them have replied. I've had interviews for permanent jobs with a lot of them, and many of them said they were very impressed by my portfolio, so I think my work is good enough. A few of them also said they would keep my details on file for future freelance projects, but nothing ever came of it. I feel like just speculatively sending my CV to publishers isn't the best way to get noticed, but I'm not sure what else to do.

posted by Chenko to Work & Money (2 answers total)

I wish I had better proactive advice. I think sending your work to hiring managers or whatever contact you can find at publishers is still solid and I would recommend following up periodically and respectfully to remind them of you. Unfortunately the job market for designers is still pretty atrocious, so please don’t take this too much to heart. It’s not personal — the creative industry took a gargantuan hit the past year or so and is (hopefully…) very slowly recovering.
posted by throwitawayurthegarbageman at 7:04 PM on October 11

Have you tried reaching out to other freelancers who already have an “in” with publishers? Especially maybe those with a similar style? I feel like there may be an opportunity when a freelancer is offered a gig but can’t take it for some reason, and perhaps could counter with a, “I’m not available but maybe X would be a good fit for this project?”

I am a freelance writer for some of these companies and truth be told I think I only get gigs because I’ve done gigs before and someone says, “knownassociate would be good for this.”

Best of luck!
posted by knownassociate at 6:56 AM on October 12