Change in Perspective Leads to Publishing Career- An Interview with Sierra Swanson

January 30, 2025

Erin Cantrell:  How was the transition from an undergraduate student in Knoxville to someone working their way up in the publishing world? How did you eventually move into a Publicity Assistant with Atria?

Sierra Swanson: I would say that my transition from being an undergrad in Knoxville to moving to NYC to work in publishing was not a typical experience! During my undergrad I actually thought that I never wanted to work in publishing because a lot of professors, and those with experience in the before-COVID publishing world, expressed the difficulties of working in the industry. I also had plans to teach abroad at that time and was really committed to seeing that through before starting a career, but I graduated UTK in 2020 and was left completely blindsided. Towards the end of my at-home senior year, Dr. Stillman recommended I look into the Summer Publishing Institute at New York University and apply to their first virtual program, which I did and luckily got into. During that program I was still convinced the world was going to go back to normal and I could still teach abroad, but that time never came and I ended up working at my local Target as the world slowly opened back up. I didn’t consider moving to NYC as an option until NYU announced that the graduate publishing program was opening back up and accepting applicants. I spent my early 20s stuck in a house with all of my opportunities seemingly out of reach, until that email came through so I applied, got in, and moved to NYC one month later. I got my job as an Assistant Publicist at Atria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, in my last semester of my Masters program and worked my way up to where I am today as an Associate Publicist.

EC: What was your introduction into publishing?

SS: My introduction into publishing was during the NYU Summer Publishing Institute. It’s an intensive program that brings you face to face with leaders within the publishing world. I grew a fascination with magazine publishing in particular from that program and applied to grad school with dreams of working for some type of music/fashion magazine, but I would say my actual education of what publishing was as an industry post-covid came during my masters program. Each class in the curriculum is taught by someone who currently works in the industry and is considered a leader in their field. I took classes focused on publishing that ranged from Introduction to Marketing to Financial Analysis to Video Editing. There is so much more to do within this industry than just editing books and I never realized that until I started my program.

EC: What does a normal day look like as a Publicity Assistant? Are there any jobs that you do that people would not normally consider publishing jobs?

SS:  I got promoted to an Associate Publicist after my first year at my job and, to be honest, there’s not many differences between a day in the life as an assistant vs. associate. As an assistant, I learned the bones of being a publicist by working primarily on helping my boss create press releases, brainstorming pitching ideas to the media, sitting in on meetings to learn, and the basic timeline of a publicity campaign for a book. I was also in charge of my department’s administrative tasks, which can feel like busy work, but if you like to organize things like me it’s kind of satisfying. Now as an Associate Publicist, I handle publicity campaigns for my own books on top of still assisting my boss and doing the administrative tasks. So, the main difference is that I have my own assignments now. One particular part of my job that is unique is that I help manage and create videos for our Tik Tok account called Atria Mystery Bus (check us out!). Being a publicist is a very creative job, which is the part I like most about it. No campaign is the same and every pitch needs to be different, so I’m never bored. Some days can feel long like any job, but mostly I can say that I thoroughly love my job–which is a unique idea in and of itself these days!

EC: How did your education from the English department at the University of Tennessee help you in your career field? Are there any specific people who impacted that trajectory of your life?

SS: My education from the English Department at the University of Tennessee helped me in my career field because it taught me how to write and understand context from a literary and professional standpoint. As I mentioned in the previous question, my job is incredibly creative with my pitches. If you enjoy creative writing you would 100% enjoy being a book publicist. Between pitching, writing galley letters, making press releases, and every other task required for all of the various genre books that you are working on you need a creative mind. You need to be able to grab someone’s attention right away with your words and make them want to read your book. Professionally, my undergrad education taught me how to speak and write emails. It seems like a very basic task, but honestly most of my friends who work in finance and technology fields don’t know how to write a basic email. Having a foundation in English is so important for any field, but especially publishing. Specific people who I would love to mention impacted my trajectory from my time at UTK would be Dr. Stan Garner, who ran the English Department’s trips to NYC. That trip and program was the first time I had ever visited NYC, and I fell in love with that city. I mentioned in the first question that Dr. Robert Stillman is the one who introduced me to the programs at NYU, so I owe him a lot in the trajectory of my life. I genuinely wouldn’t be where I am today without his guidance and I am incredibly grateful. I would also like to thank my mom, Dr. Victoria Swanson, who still supports me on my journey. For obvious reasons, I was never her student but because of her I fell in love with books at two-years old and had unwavering support throughout the various ups and downs of the undergraduate experience. Many of my professors such as Dr. Chris Hebert, who encouraged my creativity; I wound up meeting my best friend in Dr. Hebert’s class. Dr. Erin Elizabeth Smith was instrumental in helping me develop a strong voice as a writer. 

EC: What skills or experiences from your English degree have you found unexpectedly helpful in the publishing industry or the administrative side of publishing?

SS: Hands down writing and reading and being able to articulate myself. Half of a career in publishing is the knowledge of what it means to work in the industry, and the other half is actually working in it. Those papers I couldn’t figure out how to write as an undergrad now help me get through creative blocks at work and the office hours I was nervous about going to, prepared me for the discussions I have with my colleagues to this day. Through my English degree I also learned how to work around my learning disabilities and figure out the skills necessary to go about my work life.

EC:  How has your experience with writing and editing in an academic setting influenced your approach to working with authors?

SS: Most of my communication with authors is discussing the publicity campaign and reaching out whenever the media requests interviews/ features. We typically have two Zoom meetings throughout the process, and the rest of my communication happens over email. I write and read every day in this job! 

EC: What advice would you give to a student wanting to pursue a similar career in publishing?

SS: My advice is that the publishing industry post-covid is very different from the before times. Don’t get jaded on publishing based on one person’s experience; go to the English events at UT–I learned a lot from attending those. Also, look into all the different facets of the industry. In my experience, most people want to be editors (which is great!) but there’s not much talk about the other amazing careers available. It’s a highly competitive and multi-faceted industry, so be open-minded in considering the various career paths in both book and magazine publishing.