Ausra Leonaviciute

Sales Manager at "Sofoklis" Publishing House / Publishing

 

What made you choose publishing studies?

To be honest, my best friend encouraged me to study publishing. She was a year older than me, and I was leaving school and didn't know which path was mine and which direction to take in my future. I was always attracted to the world of books, and I felt that I had to revolve around print. So, publishing was number one on my list of choices and that fateful summer, while hiking in the mountains, I got the news of my acceptance.

What was your year of study? Tell us your most vivid memories from your studies.

The study years were very varied in terms of activities and subjects. As I was always attracted to traditional publishing, the most memorable were the lectures on printing, language, history and the unique lecturers. I was also surprised by subjects like accounting or marketing, which I thought I had nothing to do with, but at the end of the course you realise that you have overcome yourself and added a whole new body of knowledge to your baggage.

My most vivid memories outside the lectures were being active at the sports centre, where I had the opportunity to dance, participate in events with the university orchestra and perform at city and university festivals.

How has the knowledge you gained at the Faculty of Communication at Vilnius University helped you in your work?

I started working in my second year. I got a job in a bookshop, where I spent the rest of my studies. Now I work in a publishing house, so I think it's obvious that during my studies I purposely looked for related jobs. Of course, in my current position, I am still learning and learning valuable lessons about publishing processes in practice, but my studies at the Faculty of Communication laid the foundations for this, and it is on this foundation that I am building the experience that I am growing in working in publishing.

What does your working day look like? What are the most important skills in your daily work?

Every working day is very different and that's what fascinates me. From fulfilling book orders, analysing sales, invoicing, to active communication, cooperation with major suppliers, logistics centres, to maintaining the website, creating newsletters, promoting books on social networks, or just talking to customers and making recommendations in the publishing house bookshop. It is difficult to describe everything, because a day consists of many details and many responsibilities, which makes it like a big colour painting. The most important skills are organisational and communication skills, crisis management, cool-headedness and keeping calm when things go wrong.

Who would you recommend to study Communication and Information?

I would recommend this field of study to people who are open to innovation and feel that they have a spark of creativity inside. I believe that the field needs young people who are energetic, energetic and determined to create content. If you catch yourself always interested in the news, if you can't stop reading articles about events and culture, if you watch and analyse various advertising solutions, or if you have a passion for graphic design and layout? Everything and more comes under the roof of this faculty. It's not just books, I'm only talking about them because I found this point the most interesting. This is where you can discover your creativity and nurture it.