A Masters in Bookography

Someone called Eng dropped by my blog and asked a question I'm not really too sure how to answer. There may well be readers out there who know a lot more than me, so I throw the floor open to you.

I was wondering if you could impart sound advice with regards to getting a Masters in English. I'm really interested in all things books, am an avid reader but have no desire to be a novelist in the future or even a serious writer.

Will obtaining a Masters in English be of any benefit in paving the way to working with books (not actually writing them, if there is what are the options? ), aside from the fact that I am interested in doing it cos well, im interested...?

Would you recommend any particular learning institution (locally or otherwise ) that offer it part time?

Sorry if it seems like a whole list of very *duh* questions but I figured you would be in the know for things like this and I would appreciate it greatly if you could enlighten me some :)

My answer is that I know that she should contact the British Council and other foreign missions for information. Some of the MFA Creative Writing courses I've looked at in Australia and the US include components in editing and publishing. (I'm thinking of doing a PhD - probably in Australia - focusing on these areas.)

I guess that most people who go through academic courses in creative writing don't end up as published writers anyway. Even the famous UEA Creative Writing M.A. sees a tiny minority of its graduates scooping lucrative contracts - my guess is that the rest end up in the publishing industry somewhere. Many very successful editors are "failed" writers.

I guess that another sensible approach would be to contact publishing houses and bookstores (locally and overseas) and ask them what kinds of jobs they have going and what kind of qualifications you need to have.

In the end, there was not a single Malaysian applicant forThe British Council's The Young Publisher of the Year Award which was a great pity. You might consider applying next year but you would need to get some industry experience first.

Malaysia needs publishers, editors, agents, enlightened booksellers every bit as much as it needs writers. I wish you all the best, Eng!