Lorna Berrett, Fiona Carr and Louise Marie Hutton, mentors on the 2024 ALPSP Mentorship Scheme

 

 

 

 

 

 

For many mentors in the ALPSP International Mentorship Scheme this year,

it was their first time taking part. However, our mentor cohort is varied in

levels of professional experience. Taking part in the mentorship scheme is not

just about what you can do for your mentee, but also what you can gain from

them. Whether you’re still early in your career or are well-established, the

mentorship scheme can help you meet new people, expand your networks, and gain

fresh insight into a familiar industry with the support of the ALPSP behind

you.

 

 

 

 

Expanding horizons by Louise Marie Hutton

 

 

Since I began my publishing career in 2019, I feel very lucky to have

worked with some incredibly thoughtful and kind colleagues who mentored me

across various aspects of my career. Due to their impact, I decided to join the

ALPSP Mentorship Scheme as a mentor, rather than a mentee. Despite my worries

that my lack of managerial or professional mentoring experience would be a

hindrance, I wanted to offer constructive advice or even just a sympathetic ear

to a fellow publishing professional. The benefits to joining the award-winning

ALPSP mentorship scheme are plentiful, but for me personally, I relished the

opportunity to work with someone outside my usual networks.

 

 

 

 

 

Other than ALPSP, I don’t belong to any other professional organisations

or networks where my connections stretch beyond my immediate colleagues. The

benefit of networking through the ALPSP Mentorship Scheme is that not only was

I paired with someone in a different area of publishing – journals vs books –

my mentee worked for a society in a different subject area. Throughout the

course of our mentorship, it was fascinating to hear about how different our

roles could be despite working in the same industry. I established a very easy

rapport with my mentee; it felt like a really mutually beneficial relationship

where it seemed we both wanted to connect with someone outside of our daily

‘work bubble’.

 

 

 

 

 

Beyond the relationship with my mentee, I really enjoyed the connections

made with other mentors. I’ve been fortunate to be part of a super inspiring

group of mentors and feel my horizons have been expanded even further by my

inclusion in the mentorship programme.

 

 

 

 

Beating imposter syndrome by Lorna Berrett

 

 

I signed up for the ALPSP mentoring program because I wanted to get more

involved in the publishing community beyond my own company and get some new

perspectives. However, even with many years in the industry, I still wondered

if I had what it took to be a mentor. Classic imposter syndrome!

 

 

 

 

 

My assigned mentee was from a different function within publishing and

was growing in their career. What did I have that could support this bright and

dedicated individual, I thought? But I recalled when I moved from managing

people doing a job I had done, to managing people who did something else, it

meant I learned new things and so did they. This was mirrored in my mentoring

experience.

 

 

 

 

 

Although my mentee and I have different jobs, I realised that the

experience I had in managing teams, managing upwards and exposure to business

strategy was useful and transferrable. Discussing specific scenarios also

helped me reflect on what I’d done in the past, what I’d learned, and how I

might deal with those issues again in the future. Sharing experiences of both

what can work and what can go wrong is always useful and even just talking them

through can be helpful.

 

 

 

 

 

The opportunity to see another point of view, in depth, from a different

department was incredibly valuable to me. Hearing their perspective on

publishing issues and learning about the demands and priorities of another role

gave me some new insights. I probably appreciate some of my colleagues and

their challenges a little better as a result!

 

 

 

 

 

The Mentorloop platform and the practical focus on goals and real-world

issues provided a great structure. This framework was especially helpful at the

start to set goals and expectations, to reflect, and to build in transparency

and trust. This helped us create a safe space for both mentor and mentee to ask

questions and test out solutions to the various issues that we discussed. It

was a positive experience for us both that we plan to continue.   

 

 

 

 

New perspectives from an old hat! by Fiona Carr

 

 

I first joined the world of scholarly publishing quite unwittingly at

the age of 21 when I just needed a job right out of university to pay the

bills. That first job was a Permissions Assistant at Elsevier, back when rights

departments churned through piles and piles of written requests that arrive by

post (or fax!) to reproduce content from books and journals. Fast forward to

now some 29 years later and I’m very fortunate to have worked for some

incredible companies, have met and built up relationships with lots of great

colleagues and peers across the industry.

 

 

 

 

 

So, how could I possibly benefit from joining the ALPSP Mentoring Scheme

now? Well, I actually benefited from this experience immensely and it only

served to remind me how invaluable such an opportunity to take part as a mentee

right back when I started would have been very helpful! As a mentor in this

year’s program, I really enjoyed working with and getting to know both of my

mentees. It was clear that both were at very different stages in their careers

and had diverse perspectives and goals, but I enjoyed sharing my experiences

and (I hope) giving some guidance and useful tips and tricks that will help

them as they progress. While not continuing with the program in any formal

capacity, I plan to keep in touch with both mentees informally from time to time.

 

 

 

 

 

It also illustrated what an immense challenge it is to come into this

industry now. Not only is the pace of change within the industry moving at an

exponential rate – AI, research integrity, open access to name but a few

challenges. But anyone coming into this industry now is tasked with the added

challenge of what is predominantly a home-working culture. Gone (on the most

part) are the impromptu chats around the photocopier, in the kitchen while

making a brew and just bumping into each other in the corridor! We now have the

daily challenges of working remotely, endless Zoom and Teams calls.

Establishing yourself and getting to know colleagues and peers in this industry

is even more difficult now than it ever was. That the ALPSP Mentoring Scheme

can play a part in helping to overcome these additional challenges will prove

to be one of its biggest strengths.  

 

 

 

 

Testimonial quotes:

 

Louise Marie:

 

 

 

“It was such a joy to be a part of the ALPSP Mentorship Scheme as a mentor. I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to connect with other industry professionals and it really helped to remind me that we all learn from each other, regardless of whether you’re a mentor or a mentee. I enjoyed collaborating alongside some very inspirational mentors and really value the connections made with my mentee, too.”

 

Lorna Berrett:

 

 

 

 

“It was a great experience to get outside the “four walls” of one

company and get the opportunity to talk about the challenges and opportunities

we face across publishing. I’ve learned from my mentee’s experience, reflected

on my own, and built my knowledge and understanding of our business. I’ve

already recommended to colleagues to sign up for 2025.”

 

 

 

 

Fiona Carr’s mentee:

 

 

 

 

“The ALPSP mentorship program was incredibly valuable for my career

progression. It provided an opportunity to set goals collaboratively, and I

often left sessions with a new lease of motivation to focus on my career

development and clarify what I seek in a role. My mentor offered invaluable

advice during challenging conversations in my own organisation and shared

practical tips specific to my current role that I still use today.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the ALPSP International Mentorship Scheme

 

 

 

 

 

 

The scheme aims to connect colleagues across the publishing industry and

provide a wider network of expertise and skills to help foster development and

progression. Open to ALPSP members (as mentees and mentors) as well as

non-members (mentors only), the scheme was the winner of a ‘Most Impactful

Mentoring Award’ in 2024. For more information and to register visit our website.

 

 

 

 

 

The ALPSP International Mentorship scheme is sponsored by Publishers'

Licensing Services.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the Authors:

 

 

 

Lorna Berrett, Director of Marketing,

 

Partner Acquisition & Retention, Taylor & Francis

 

 

 

 

 

Lorna leads the Partnerships Marketing team at Taylor & Francis

working  to attract and engage publishing

partners and editors. Lorna has 30+ years of experience in academic publishing

at T&F, Wiley and Blackwell working across digital product management,

marketing and communications.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fiona Carr, Sales Director – Ringgold, Copyright

 

Clearance Center

 

 

 

 

Fiona is responsible for global sales and account management

of Ringgold Solutions. With 29 years’

experience in scholarly publishing, Fiona’s background is in rights, licensing,

sales and business development having worked at Elsevier, Oxford University Press

and OCLC among others.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Louise Marie Hutton, Commissioning Editor (Books), John

 

Wiley & Sons

 

 

 

 

Louise Marie is responsible for commissioning book content

in Dermatology, Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Paediatrics, Medical Biosciences

and other areas within Clinical Medicine. Louise Marie is also a member of

Wiley’s Women of Wiley group, designed to elevate and amplify the voices of our

colleague community, deliver impactful events and programs, and engender a more

connected workforce.