My internship at the Literary Agent is quickly winding down. I only have one assignment to go before I officially end. Since I am in the middle of finals week, for the first time since I started this internship, I really find myself racing against the clock.

Eden asked:

I have a question on how you manage a physical internship with school… I’ve seen several internships that are full-time position.

If you’ve been keeping track of my Internly posts, you may known already that my current internship is virtual. While I did have meetings a couple of times a month, most of my work is done online. So far, I had been able to manage my time to read material for internship by having a strict schedule. Since I am doing the work on my own time, I made sure to get up in the morning a little before nine so I had time to read manuscripts for maybe half an hour to an hour and a half before I had to head out to class. Since I have an e-reader, I was also able to read in between classes if needed.

But lately, I have been swamped with writing papers and attempting to study so juggling both internship and schoolwork had been harder than usual. Prioritizing really helps as well as keeping in mind of deadlines. In the end, I really just had to quit procrastinating to make sure I got all my work done.

That I am aware of, most internships throughout the school year are part time. Most publishing houses and literary agencies are aware the college students have classes and they are generally flexible of when you work and how many hours. A way to go about this is to schedule your classes so that you have a day or two or a couple of half-days where you can go in for your internship. I do work out my schedule so that I have at least a day free every week throughout the semester, just in case I end up acquiring an internship. It also helps to schedule your classes one right after the other either in the morning or afternoons so there could be a possibility of coming into the office for a couple of hours when you are free.

Full-time internships are mostly during the summer and a few are in the winter for a few weeks. Since I am not taking summer classes, I can focus solely on my internship five days a week without worrying about scheduling conflicts.

While my internship at the Literary Agency is almost coming to an end, I am happy to announce – if I haven’t already – that I have secured a full time internship in the summer at a Big Publishing House. I’ll be working at the Children’s Department staring in June! I can’t wait.

I hope to have a wrap up post for this current internship next week on the Things I Learned!
Questions? Comments? I’ll address anything you’re wondering about internship-related things all at my next Internly Insights post!

#4: Non-NYC Internships and Writing a Pitch
#5: From the Slush Pile
#6: Virtual Internships
#7: Contracts

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Permalink Internship - Internship, Internship at Lit Agency | 589 words

Whoops. Almost forgot to write a post for this week. Anyway:

We had a quickie lesson on contracts today during our not-so-weekly meeting in Brooklyn. (Yes, I almost had a massive panic attack since I thought I was going to get lost in the middle of Brooklyn… No thanks to you, MTA! But that’s a totally different story.) Well aside from the fact that I didn’t understand what all those fancy clauses in the contract really mean, it was nice to see an example of one that the Lit Agency gives to clients and of one between authors and publishers. It really isn’t the most exciting part of the business – and it is very headache-inducing according to Agent – but it is still part of being an agent. Internships are for learning, and today, I learned something new.

No two agencies or two publishers write up contracts the same way. Sometimes, they are really really long. You literally have to read the fine print. Useful knowledge that will be used in the future. Good to know.

As for this week’s question:

Small asked:

Is there a job title that does what you’re describing here? I’m not sure how clear that is. I mean, if I wanted to apply to do the job you’re describing here, what would be the name of the position I would be applying for?

The answer’s pretty simple for this one: I’m an editorial intern. Edit: An editorial intern’s job would be similar to an editorial assistant (or at least that’s what I’ve been told by Editor at Big Red Dog).

My internship at the Lit Agency is almost coming to an end. There’s really only a few more weeks left of internship, and it will fly by really fast. I really enjoyed my time working for Lit Agency since this was definitely a more interactive than my previous one. I got to discuss books, hear the inside scoop behind the books on the shelves, laugh at silly manuscripts that we got through the submissions (a novel about chocolate & fat people on the moon; picture book of numbers obsessed with weight)… Most of which could not have been possible if it weren’t for the meetings with the Agent. While I do love that I can work at home, I really value the face-time I get with Agent and other interns.

Questions? Comments? I’ll address anything you’re wondering about internship-related things all at my next Internly Insights post!

#3: Behind the Job
#4: Non-NYC Internships and Writing a Pitch
#5: From the Slush Pile
#6: Virtual Internships

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Permalink Internship - Contracts, Internship at Lit Agency | 498 words

Alissa asked:

Did you by any chance look into “virtual position” internships? Where I live is close to NYC, but too far to travel there daily (and too expensive to live there). So I’ve been looking into virtual internships, where I can work remotely from home. I was just wondering if you, or anyone you know, has had any experience with those. I’m a tad skeptical and keep seeming to get automated replies in response to my apps.

The internship I have right now is mostly based online – which is fantastic! I read on my own time in between classes or in the mornings from the comfort of my home. I don’t think a lot of places actually offer this kind of internship, and this is the first time that the Agent and Literary Agency has tried this.

Aside from the two other interns that also live in New York City, the other interns I work with do all the work through the Internet. But keep in mind that the work we do works really well for a “virtual” internship. We go through the slush pile which are all sent to an email address. We have a discussion board to keep in contact with each other and also send emails back and forth to keep in touch on a weekly basis. Since I do live in New York, I do have to go to a meeting in Brooklyn every other week just to talk more about the work we do. In that sense, I think the other interns miss out on the opportunity to actually meet the Agent and get to know him in person.

I would advise you to make sure that you are applying to reputable sources. Check their website. Does it look professional? Do you recognize any of their clients? I got my internship through BookJobs and most – if not all – the listings look legitimate. If you seem to keep getting automated responses, I would just tell you to keep trying. Good luck.

Nothing new going on with internship. I’m actually about to go to one of those meetings in Brooklyn that I mentioned so maybe I will have something to talk about when I get back from it. I had a reading to do for this week, but I wasn’t given any info about the assignment other than to just read it.

Questions? Comments? I’ll address anything you’re wondering about internship-related things all at my next Internly Insights post!

Previous Internly Insights:
#1: First Assignment
#2: How to Snag an Internship
#3: Behind the Job
#4: Non-NYC Internships and Writing a Pitch
#5: From the Slush Pile

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Permalink Internship - BookJobs, Internship at Lit Agency | 522 words