From SOU to Oxford Brookes: Sophia Lorusso’s Path to Publishing
By Nylah Winchester, senior English major
November 12, 2025
Pictured above: Sophia Lorusso in front of an Oxford University building
In 2023, former English Program blogger Sophia Lorusso graduated from Southern Oregon University with a degree in English and a Professional Writing certificate. During her time at SOU, Sophia enjoyed English classes such as Writing for Publication and History of the English Language, which helped prepare her for graduate studies in publishing. Sophia knew publishing was her dream career, so she met with a study-abroad advisor at SOU to discuss pursuing her master’s degree in publishing at Oxford Brookes University in England.
“All of the courses I took at SOU built a stable foundation for me to continue my education. I took a two-year gap between my undergraduate degree and my master’s, which was scary, but I felt confident enough in my English degree to tackle it.”
– Sophia Lorusso
After graduating from SOU, Sophia dedicated time to working, saving money, gaining experience, and figuring out her next steps. She enrolled in UC San Diego’s Extended Studies program and received a Specialized Copyediting Certificate. Sophia loves copyediting, and it helped tighten up her skills before grad school.
Sophia applied to three schools, including Oxford Brookes. Although she got into all three, Sophia knew Brookes was her first choice: “I interviewed with the Subject Coordinator about the opportunities that the program has to offer, as they host the Oxford International Centre for Publishing. The interview went great, and I knew Brookes was where I wanted to be.”
When Sophia received an acceptance letter from Oxford Brookes, she began reflecting on moving to a new country: “I was scared of the unknown; it felt really impossible to make the huge move.” Sophia explains that sometimes the reward outweighs the risk, and moving to Oxford was the best thing she could have done for herself and her career. She loves being surrounded by rich history: “At every corner, there’s information on a plaque about historic figures. C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien have a huge presence here; being in an area like this is really encouraging.”
Pictured Above: The historical Blackwell’s Bookshop in Oxford, England
Sophia has only been in the program for eight weeks, but she has “already gained so much knowledge.” During the first term at Oxford Brookes, Sophia must complete four compulsory modules: Marketing, Editorial Management, Digital Workflow, and Dissertation. These modules focus on a comprehensive understanding of the publishing industry, including budgets, production (i.e., paper type, binding, design), InDesign training to learn how books are digitally produced, and marketing. Sophia finds Digital Workflow the most challenging: “In this course, [she] has to create a cover design for a book and then typeset the text as if it were being sent to production to print.”
InDesign can be difficult as well, but it is a key skill to become familiar with the program, as the publishing industry relies on it. During Sophia’s senior year at SOU, students from the English program visited Blackstone Publishing, where they watched as production workers created covers and produced books. This fun experience provided Sophia with an idea of what production entails. She carried this knowledge into InDesign training.
Although the creative aspects are fun, the technical elements can be confusing. Typesetting, which occurs in InDesign, is the process of placing the text into the digital format of a book. Typesetting is tedious work, and there is “a lot of pressure on this role!” Everything must be perfect when Sophia finishes, since she sends this file to the printers.
“Learning all the bits and bobs of the publishing industry is especially important for early-career professionals; we can enter the industry feeling more confident in our knowledge, skills, and goals.”
– Sophia Lorusso
Sophia uses her English degree regularly while studying the book publishing industry. She enjoys bragging about the various literature courses she took: “Some SOU courses I always like to brag about are Race in Britain: Lit after 1945, Utopian & Dystopian Lit, Trans Lit, Disability Lit, and Class, Culture, & Feminism.” The literature Sophia read, discussed, and analyzed in these courses prepared her for examining literature published on the market.
Additionally, Sophia’s experience as an English blogger made her confident in storytelling: “Storytelling is important. You have to know how to do this properly in publishing.” Her favorite blog story that she wrote at SOU is “Manuscript Editing and Audio Proofing.” In this post she caught up with two SOU English alums, Reily Nycum and Ciera Leanne Cox, who work for Blackstone Publishing. Sophia found this post “super inspiring,” as she got to interview alumni and learn about the publishing industry.
Working on the blog also helped Sophia consider her audience when writing. She explains that this will aid her when she starts her dissertation because she thinks, “Who is my audience? How can I appeal to them? What do they want to know? What information do they need to know?” Sophia emphasizes that the audience is a great perspective to consider.
Sophia’s most significant takeaway from blogging is the author-editor relationship she shared with Dr. Margaret Perrow. Dr. Perrow edited each article Sophia wrote, and gave Sophia constructive feedback to guide her in the right direction: “Now that I aspire to be in editorial someday, this experience was important. I know what it feels like to be in the author’s shoes.” Sophia does not write much these days—she focuses on editing, but she would like to write again.
Pictured Above: Sophia at the Society of Young Publishers conference
For those who plan on going into graduate school for publishing, Sophia encourages people to “research, research, research!” and find what is most important to you. Is it the location? The cost? Class sizes? She also advises folks to read about lecturers for their programs of interest: “Look at their experience, their research fields, LinkedIn profiles, etc. It might be tiresome, but it pays off when you end up landing in a program meant for you.”
To those who do not want to attend graduate school—that is totally fine! You do not need a master’s degree to get into the field. Sophia suggests creating a LinkedIn profile: “Connections in the field are also so important because your feed will be geared towards your end goal. Seek out internships and experience through short-term contracts or freelancing. Start a blog or social media account to showcase your passion for books, and join organizations that have networking opportunities. All of this will help you succeed in the publishing industry.”
“I am making connections, meeting like-minded people, and building an awesome community of early-career professionals like me!”
– Sophia Lorusso
Sophia is still figuring out the roles and career path she wants to pursue after completing the publishing program at Oxford Brookes University. She is interested in editorial work due to her copyediting experience. However, a common theme Sophia keeps hearing is that “nearly everyone wants to be in editorial starting out, but when they explore other roles, they end up finding their niche passions.” Many folks advise her to keep an open mind, but she loves the idea of working in academic publishing. Still, Sophia welcomes any opportunities that come her way.
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Interested in being featured on the English Program blog? Or know someone who is interested? Contact English Program blogger Nylah Winchester-Robinson at winchesterrobinsonn@sou.edu.
Learn more about SOU’s English Programs:
English Home Page | English BA/BS | English Minor | TESOL Certificate Program
