Bridget Shine
Bridget Shine is chief executive of the Independent Publishers Guild (IPG).
The IPG is a flourishing membership body and charity with more than 600 members and a combined annual publisher turnover of £1.1billion. The IPG represents companies from all areas of publishing, including trade, children’s, education, academic, professional and specialist sectors. The IPG provides resources and events to help its members become better businesses and publishers.
Since joining in 2004, Bridget has led a doubling of the IPG’s membership and numerous new initiatives including the launch of a Skills Hub of training and professional development resources, and the annual Independent Publishing Awards. Before joining the IPG, Bridget worked for both large and small publishers, as well for a literary agency. Bridget was shortlisted for the title of Chief Executive of the Year at the 2017 Association Awards.
Bridget is currently reading Politics on the Edge by Rory Stewart, having already been a huge fan of the podcast’s ability to showcase agreeing disagreeably. She’s also been enjoying Sea Pools for swimming holiday inspiration and Colleen Hoover’s books for a look into the recipe of a successful commercial fiction book.
‘we have to work hard to make sure that we’re relevant to everyone, whatever their company size or publishing genre.’
Tell us a little bit about your role at the Independent Publishers Guild.
I’m responsible for overseeing the strategy of the IPG. We have 600 active members and we represent independent publishers of all shapes and sizes –from international heavyweights, to medium-sized owner-managed companies, to start-ups. We exist to help our members thrive, and we do that in really practical ways. I like to think that we reflect the best of the independent publishing community. We are a supportive network of publishers helping one another and there’s a real sense of generosity and willingness to share. Some of the most popular sessions at our conferences are the publisher case studies where we share best practice on key topics. We also have wonderful collective stands at both London and Frankfurt Book Fairs with more than 100 exhibitors at LBF. On top of that, we run the Independent Publishing Awards, which celebrate the commercial and cultural contribution that independent publishers make to the UK. We have DEI and sustainability action groups and also do a lot of training. We’ve just provided a general overview training course on AI in publishing that was really well-attended. Because we serve so many different kinds of publishers through our body, we have to work hard to make sure that we’re relevant to everyone, whatever their company size or publishing genre.
‘Ultimately it comes down to training staff to make sure everyone understands the value and need to make your books discoverable.’
Speaking of, you’ve just held a super successful Autumn Conference with its biggest audience yet - congratulations! How have you seen independent publishing change through your career and what are your hopes for the future?
I’ve seen lots of acquisitions by bigger companies in my time at the IPG – lots of stellar independent publishers have been bought up. Just last week it was announced that Hardie Grant UK had been bought by PRH to sit by Ebury. I have really mixed emotions, because we have such a close relationship with many of our publishers so we feel sad that we are losing them from the community, but I’ve seen this trajectory time and time again and often new independents are born, as a consequence of an acquisition. To give you an example, two of the senior management team at Woodhead Publishing (an academic publisher that was bought by Elsevier) set up Burleigh Dodds and are now back in the fold and thriving. You often see people who have worked for an independent publisher that has been sold go on to start something else, either a publisher or as an industry service provider. We often joke that the IPG should get commission from the Awards as many companies who’ve won an Award category have gone on to be acquired by a larger publisher – and possibly that IPG Award win influenced the sale price! I’m kidding, of course.
In terms of changes, there’s been a need to embed more of a data-driven understanding across the whole industry. Ensuring data is the best it can be is an area that can level the playing field for independent publishers and bring their excellent publishing to light. Ultimately it comes down to training staff to make sure everyone understands the value and need to make your books discoverable. Online sales represent a high percentage of volume and most people don’t really know who the publisher is when they’re buying online, so ensuring you’ve got good data so people can find your books in the first place is really important.
‘When you want to nurture your talent, you really want people to feel that they are a valued member of the team.’
What are three things you think independent publishers do better than traditional larger publishers, and what’s one thing you wish they’d do better to remain competitive?
Agility is the one that immediately springs to mind: that ability to take a decision and move forward with it in a very short space of time. If you’re in charge of bringing change to a company, it’s like trying to turn around a speedboat, not a cargo ship. I do think that an important part of being an independent publisher is creating a culture where people enjoy doing really good work with good systems and processes, but at speed.
I would also say that author care is a particular strength of most independent publishers. An experience that stands out in my memory is when I worked for a start-up independent publisher. I signed an author who had previously been published by a big publisher with some success (his book had been reprinted 17 times!). After working with the author for a while, he said to me, ‘Bridget, I never had this attention to detail with my previous publisher.’ Frankly, we weren't doing anything different to what we did with all of our other authors, it’s just that our books were essential to our success. We really took the time to nurture each author and make them realise just how central they were to everything that we did.
The other thing that I think is standout for independent publishers is their international focus. There have been years when the UK book trade has underperformed while on the international sales front, it’s been a fantastic year for independents. Publishing – wherever you work – is a people business, and our international relationships are crucial.
Taking a step back, this all comes down to good content. Independent publishers can take real risks and they’re not under the same kinds of pressures as the bigger players. Of course, they can have cash-flow challenges and they have to balance the books, but they don’t have the same sort of shareholder pressure. There is a freedom to being an independent publisher, being able to experiment and to try new things.
The thing I wish that they’d do better – and I think this is a challenge for every company but especially smaller independents – is training. When you want to nurture your talent, you really want people to feel that they are a valued member of the team. You need to be able to demonstrate that you want to help them grow professionally, while also helping your business to flourish. Leaders should acknowledge the importance of supporting staff development. At the moment, when budgets are tight, training is usually the first thing that goes by the wayside. This is where the IPG has really tried to step in – we have a free online training portal for our members called the IPG Skills Hub. We also have a cost-effectively priced training programme, as I previously mentioned. We also have a dynamic mentoring programme. A lot of larger publishers have in-house mentoring, which is of course incredibly useful and vital, but we try to pair mentors with mentees outside of their publishing house. All kinds of publishing levels in our community ask to be mentored and often they end up becoming really good friends with each other! Our members are all over the UK – from the top of Scotland down to the very tip of Cornwall and we are trying to do our bit to help people wherever they are in the country.
That’s an interesting point – we’ve seen so many publishers open up more regional offices recently. Is there something they could learn from the way that the IPG have always had to operate?
Some of our members may have worked for someone else’s publishing company in the Southeast but then want to move back to where they’re from or have a different need to relocate so they set up their own business. The regional focus has always been key for us and ensuring that our offering was truly regional used to occupy a lot of my headspace. Historically the IPG Spring Conference – which is a 2-day conference – was always held outside of London. During Covid, we had to pivot really fast and started hosting virtual conferences and events. One of the consequences was that lots of our regional members started saying to us, ‘It’s so fantastic, I can access everything online if I can’t make it.’ We sometimes get feedback that places that aren’t as well connected can be quite hard to get to, even if they’re in the middle of the country, and so this year, with the cost of living crisis, we made the decision to have the Spring Conference in London and the attendance was just phenomenal. Streaming is still really important and we’re now reaching people in ways that make the conference more accessible to them, especially for those who are neurodivergent.
‘Diversity of voices is why it’s so important to have a group of independent publishers.’
What is the importance of having a group of independent publishers together within the wider publishing landscape?
Diversity of voices is why it’s so important to have a group of independent publishers. As I mentioned earlier, independent publishers are able to take risks and to really nurture authors. Look at OneWorld, an independent family-run publisher, who have won two Booker prizes in the last 10 years. They took risks and published books that other publishers had turned down. Independent publishers also have specific expertise as well and can really lead the way in their field and in a particular area - like Jessica Kingsley did with her authors and books on neurodiversity and autism (Jessica Kingsley Publishers is a former Independent Publisher of the Year winner, and now sits within Hachette). There are many more publishers coming through the ranks with other kinds of content, but I think that the ability to lead in a particular area is another huge strength of independent publishers.
Is there a particular culture in indie publishers that you would put down to a specific kind of leadership?
From my experience, I would say – and I hope it’s true – that people who work for independent publishers have a sense that they can be themselves. There are, of course, core rules but there’s a certain freedom to how people can express themselves and there is less rigidity. I think people have to like working in a fast-paced environment and have to be happy to step up and embrace change because they will have much more responsibility than their counterparts at bigger publishers.
All of these qualities really must come from the leaders because they define the culture. Leaders of independents – and especially smaller ones – are often firefighting. At the moment, it feels like a really exciting time. There are more female leaders in independent publishers than ever before and it’s interesting to see how this aligns with societal changes. We’re thinking a lot more about sustainability, flexible working and how to nurture talent within an organisation.
For me personally, the really obvious thing is childcare and I do think that there is a greater deal of flexibility when working for an independent publisher. I’ve always tried to lead by example and I know of several independent publishers who are committed to recruiting and accommodating part-time working mums with young children. I’m a mother and believe me, there are times when it is hard to juggle! I think it’s important to ensure that women don’t get sidelined, when they return from maternity leave. I’ve heard of many women being given less demanding roles when they return and I think it serves as a good reminder that we have a duty to nurture our talent. One of my obsessions is the next generation of independent publishers – we call them Gen I – feel supported so we’re rolling out a plan in 2024 to make it happen.
‘it’s easy to fret over things but just always trust your instincts, and stay true to what you want to do.’
What was the most pivotal moment in your career so far? And what piece of career advice do you wish you could give to your younger self?
I would say this, wouldn’t I… the moment my career changed is when the publisher I worked for joined the IPG as a member. I was the Publishing Director of a start-up. Taking a company to profitability is one of the most thrilling, exhausting and exciting things I’ve experienced. But the game-changer for me was joining the IPG and being introduced to a community of super smart and generous-minded publishers who I could turn to for advice – and friendship.
In terms of career advice that I wish I could give to my younger self: I would say, trust your instincts. It will all come good. I’m an impatient person and I think that it’s easy to fret over things but just always trust your instincts, and stay true to what you want to do.
Finally, tell us about a woman in publishing who inspires you.
As I’ve mentioned before, it is an exciting time to be in independent publishing, there are so many amazing women. Kate Wilson at Nosy Crow set up a business that’s just over 10 years old, now turning over more than £20 million per annum. Amanda Ridout set up Boldwood Publishing 3 years ago and now it’s winning all the awards. Diana Broccardo at Swift Press is publishing brilliant books. Setting up a successful publishing business is not without its challenges so I have great admiration for all these women. I also think about the second-generation of independent publishers – inheriting a business from your parents, like Helen Kogan at Kogan Page, has its own set of issues, but there are lots of role models to look to at the moment.
All of these women are inspirational but I also want to give a nod to the women who have come before me. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus left an impression on me. She highlighted what it must have been like in that era for many women – and it wasn’t that long ago. For example, the challenges of childcare, running a business and the unwanted advances. One of my first bosses was a woman called Elaine Greene, who set up Greene and Heaton Literary Agency. She was slightly scary but super smart. I learned a lot from her, how I deal with people today is based on my time working with her. But truly, all the women I’ve mentioned are incredibly inspirational.
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