To this day, I find myself extremely lucky to go to school in New York where there are just so many fabulous opportunities waiting for me! While not all publishers are based in New York City, the majority are – which gives me many different opportunities to land an internship.
Which brings up this week’s question:
Amber asked:
I noticed that a lot of literary internships are only available in the east coast. Do you know of any internship sites/companies that have nationwide internships available for people living on the west coast?
While many publishers’ headquarters are in NYC, some do have offices in various parts of the country. There are also other publishers that are not NYC-based. Just from my internship search, I noticed a handful of internships that were based all over the country. Though some are smaller-based publishers, they still sound like great opportunities that I wish I could have pursued. I would definitely check Book Jobs just to see what kinds of jobs in publishing there are in your area!
As an update with my internship, everything is going great!!! I am enjoying working with the Literary Agency very much and I am developing my skills as to what the agent is looking for. I have also managed to balance my time wisely, but hopefully I’ll keep it up even as mid-terms roll around.
This week, I had the chance to make up a mock pitch packet for a manuscript written by one of the Agent’s clients. The pitch packet consisted of the following: long pitch (250 – 500 words), short pitch (75 – 100 words), and elevator pitch (less than 35 words). I read a ton of queries in the course of over a year now, but I’ve never actually attempted to write a synopsis for a manuscript before. It’s hard. I can’t exactly say if it’s harder as a reader to write a pitch for a manuscript I’ve read, or if it’s harder for an author who’s actually written the manuscript, since I’ve never actually had that experience. Either way, it’s tough! I want it to reflect the novel, but I also want it to sound interesting enough to make it sound commercial and profitable.
I actually found the experience very intimidating… to the point that I left off writing it for two days. I went through several drafts and in the end, I managed to come up with one that I hoped sounded decent enough. The elevator pitch was the hardest for me to write. How do you sell a book in 35 words or less? I ended up using one of the lines in the long pitch for the elevator pitch, but mixing up some of the words.
This pitch packet assignment was a new experience for me! I’m very happy that I got to learn something new though it is quite challenging! It really gave me more insight as to how an agent packages a book for editors and publishers!
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
I just discovered this feature of yours and I LOVE it! I haven’t seen anything like it anywhere in the blogosphere. Getting an internship at an agency would be so awesome… It sounds like fun. =D
You’re so lucky to be in NY; there’s so many things to do and opportunities nearby. (:
When I was in college in Boston, going for my first publishing internship, I had no idea about company names or imprints. I had one of my roommates get a job in San DIego with Harcourt, before they got bought out. There’s also the lovely Chronicle Books in San Francisco. Fantagraphics Books (a graphic novel company) in Seattle. I believe McGraw-Hill is on the west coast too. Plus, Seattle and San Francisco are known for their great independent bookstores, so I’m sure working there is a wonderful experience in itself.