What to Expect with a BookEnds Internship

Time is coming for our summer intern, James, to head back to school and for a new Fall intern to start. I know Beth is looking at internship prospects right now.

As I'm preparing for James's departure I'm thinking of the work that goes into having an intern, and the advantages too.

Having another person in the office is always an asset. It's great having another hand to get things done. More than that though, an intern really challenges us and helps us to see things differently. He asks questions that make us think about the way we do things and consider whether another way might be better. He tests our knowledge of the industry and, through his questions, encourages discussion that allows us to learn from each other. Discussions like how publishing houses work, what an editorial meeting is like or what we look for in a certain submission.

One of an intern's primary tasks is helping us read submissions. We will often pass a handful of requested materials on to the intern and ask the intern to write a reader's report. It doesn't end there though. When reading the report we will each give feedback, to let the intern know what worked with the report, what didn't work and explain what we're looking for. Most publishing job interviews will require a reader's report so our hope is that we're building that intern's resume and teaching him to strengthen his skills. Sometimes this requires me to read the report and the material before giving feedback. It's not necessarily a time saver.

As James's internship winds down I'm working to make sure I get him the feedback he deserves on all of his reports as well as fill out an exit evaluation. James will receive one of these from each of us. Ultimately, it's like his internship report card. We will give him feedback on his strengths and weaknesses in different areas of importance to us and hopeful advice on what he needs to work on as well as the areas that will help him succeed in a publishing career, or any career.

I enjoy having interns, but I especially enjoy the interns who make themselves a part of our team. In the short few months James was here he's become a valuable asset to BookEnds and he will definitely be missed.

--jhf

Meet the Intern: James McGowan

Ooh, my first interview. I feel important. I’m coming for you, Oprah.

What's your name?

James McGowan

Where do you go to school?

CUNY- College of Staten Island

What are you studying?

English-Writing

What kind of books do you most like to read?

I’m a big YA reader. I love pretty much all subgenres, from Fantasy to Contemporary. I’ll also take this time to tell you that Harry Potter has been proven to be the best book series on the face of the Earth. Proven by me. Just now.

I also love a good Psychological Thriller. If you can keep me confused for 200 pages and then reveal a killer in the last 50, I’m down.

What's the last book you read (not including a submission)?

So, I’m always juggling reading. The last book I’ve completed was THE YOUNG ELITES by Marie Lu. I’m still on LEGACY OF KINGS by Eleanor Herman, and loving it immensely.

What interests you about a career in publishing (assuming you'd like a career in publishing)?

It took me a lot of sitting and wondering to figure out what I finally wanted to do, and I didn’t even figure it out when I was sitting and wondering. When I finally discovered that there were people behind the books besides the author, I was immediately hooked. I’ve tried my hand at writing a thing or two (and those of you who can do it have been touched by an angel), but to no avail. I began to immerse myself in the publishing industry and researching the logo on the spine of every book. I’m just interested in all that I haven’t read. I want to see the behind the scenes of the things I love most and discover everything I haven’t already.

What lead you to BookEnds? 

Long story or short story?

Short story- I realized no one would hire a college grad without some experience, and did my research into agencies I would like to be a part of.

Long story- I was born on a snowy night in late Decem— I’m kidding. After reading the acknowledgments in Divergent and discovering my career goals, I researched all positions in the industry. I came to the logical plan of applying to internships in the agenting world first, before applying to a House for an internship. I can’t decide where I would rather be. I’ve applied to many agencies before coming across Jessica Faust on twitter. I’ve read every word on the BookEnds website, including the internship post and what made me apply was how nice the posting was. Seriously, go look- so nice. So I applied, and I had a good feeling after polishing my cover letter to as best as I could. The excitement was real when I got an email back.

What has surprised you most about your internship at BookEnds?

Truthfully, I am endlessly surprised by the amount of knowledge that the BookEnds ladies hold in their brains. I am constantly learning new things. I always try to contribute at meetings, but at many of them I just to sit back and watch. Seriously, my head bobbles back and forth from agent to agent. The way they talk about market trends, submissions, contracts, royalties, everything from legal to industry news… it amazes me. I understand an internship is a learning opportunity, but I never, in a million years, would have expected to learn as much as I have.

What have you enjoyed the most at BookEnds?

Okay, two answers.

1. My weekly run-ins with Buford the BookEnds Mascot-Dog. Quite the character.

2. Just being in the office and listening. The one-on-one conversations that I’m able to have with any of the agents, about any topic are truly enjoyable. They’ve allowed me to come into my own more in the publishing world, and I could talk, or sit and listen for hours. 

What do you think authors or other prospective interns might like to know about the BookEnds team?

I think authors and fellow students/interns to be need to know that this is the agency that should be at the top of your list. Everyone here loves their job, clients, and work.

Authors- These agents are some of the most helpful, knowledgeable and creative people that I’ve had the pleasure of working for.

Interns- You’ll never feel uncomfortable in the office. Everyone is down to earth and personable. You’re constantly learning, and if you’re going to spend time interning, at least make sure you are getting the most out of it.

I’m also going to take this time to publicly thank every agent for everything they’ve taught or done for me. I appreciate all the guidance and working opportunities you’ve given me. I’m proud and grateful to have begun my publishing career at BookEnds.

After nearly completing your internship, what are your thoughts on being an agent or working in publishing in general?

After almost finishing (sadly) my internship at BookEnds, I have many thoughts about the field. For instance, Agenting is the most freedom any human could ever have in a professional position. It’s fun and creative and ever changing. You abide by your rules and only take on projects you love.

As far as the industry, in general, I’m happy that I’ve found something I love and am passionate about, and that it is within my arm’s reach.

Hey, if you’ve made it this far into the post without checking Twitter or Facebook, Thank you for reading!

And what’s a self-respecting Tweeter without some self-promotion? Follow me here!

Over and out,

James

Let's Talk About Interns

Lately I've been obsessed with the Simon and Schuster Internship Lawsuit. The whole thing really bums me out.

For those who don't know about these suits (S&S is the most recent in a long line), I'll attempt a very quick recap. For the past few years a number of media and entertainment companies have faced lawsuits for unfair labor practices for interns who were paid less than minimum wage. Basically, they worked for free and the work they were doing was not necessarily a learning experience, but work that should have been done by people hired at minimum wage. Work like filing, faxing, and photocopying.

Let me start by saying that I get the reason for these suits. It's important that we don't allow businesses and companies to use the term "intern" as a guise for free labor. The problem is what defines a learning experience and what did the interns get out of the job in the long run. I'm not entirely sure that's easy to answer, just like I don't think you can say that every college grad finished with a learning experience. Everyone might have finished with a diploma, but while some feel like they are prepared for the business world, others might feel they are really only prepared to tap the perfect keg.

I came out of a long line of internships and credit each with teaching me different things and helping me on my road to figuring out what it was I wanted to do and where I wanted to be. I don't remember ever being paid for an internship and I do know that the work I was doing was, in retrospect, free labor. But labor that added immensely to my resume and to giving me contacts that I still have to this day. Labor that also helped me develop a sense of what working in a professional environment required, how to make and maintain important connections and, yes, how to file.

In a perfect world every company hiring interns would pay them, but in a perfect world every company hiring interns would have the money to pay them. The truth is that if many smaller companies (and I'm not necessarily addressing those impacted by the suits) had the money to hire interns they would probably hire more staff instead, leaving students looking to amp up their resume for a summer out in the cold.

BookEnds has hired more than one of our former interns, we've helped others find jobs and proudly watched them build their own careers. We've stayed in touch with many. And, sadly, now we need to seriously reconsider our internship program. While we do think of it as a learning experience, and try to make it one, what we've learned the most is that some of our interns will do everything in their power to learn and others won't. It's as simple as that.

I've loved having interns and I loved being an intern, but lawsuits like this make me and many other small business owners skittish. Especially since its still unclear what defines a learning experience.

--jhf

Making the Most of Your Publishing Internship

BookEnds has been hiring interns for years. As someone who started her career as an intern I believe strongly in them. I believe it was because of my internships that I stood out as a viable job candidate and eventually landed where I am today.

Internships are also a great way to learn the ropes of any business to see if it's something you really want to do. A good internship also teaches you so much more than just what this job is probably like. Each of the three assistants BookEnds has had over the years all started as interns and we constantly have conversations about the interns we wish we could snap up before someone else does.

So what has made these interns stand out over the others? It was their ability to make the most of their internship while they were here, and even after they'd gone.

Intern Do's

1. Be proactive. If you are asked to file, each day you come into the office check the filing and get it done. Getting jobs done without being asked make you stand out as the person we'd want to see every day.
2. Talk and ask questions. The more you participate in meetings, group discussions or just ask questions the more memorable you become.
3. Take initiative. If you think of a better way to do something do it, or ask to do it. Maybe the bookshelves are a mess and you'd be happy to organize them or you've noticed that some of the files have been wrecked and everything is out of order. As if you can fix. Or go ahead and fix. 
4. Keep in touch. Obviously when the internship ends it's good to send a thank you, but it's even better to keep in touch for long after that. Let the people, or person, you've been working for know when you're looking for a job or where you're going on job interviews. The more you keep people updated the more top of mind you'll stay.
5. Have fun and learn. That's really what it's all about.

Intern Don'ts

1. Don't miss days. Sometimes it happens. You're sick or something personal comes up, but you are presumably only there for a few days a week so make it as often as humanly possible.
2. Don't expect that your only job will be to read. Reading is something few of us in publishing get to do on a daily basis and while it does tend to be a huge part of an intern's job, sitting quietly and reading all day is not going to be where you learn the most.
3. Ignore someone's request for you to do something just because you don't like to do it.
4. Be afraid. We were all in your position once and we don't expect you to know everything. We want to teach you so there's nothing to be afraid of.

We love our interns and want each of them to be successful, but we can't force it to happen, you need to come in prepared to be successful too.

--jhf

What I Wish You Knew About an Agent's Job

Recently I posted on Twitter that I had run out of blog ideas. Brilliant planning since I just restarted the blog. Well thankfully a few kind souls came to my aid with questions that they thought I might be able to answer. We'll see about that.

EmilieLorditch @BookEndsJessica @BookEndsKim What is something that you wish people who submit to you knew about your job? 2/11/15, 10:55 AM

Thank you @EmilieLoritch for your question. This is something I hope I convey regularly on the blog when it might feel like I'm really just kvetching. Of course a couple of things came to mind, but the very first thing I thought of has more to do with writers and their expectations than it does with me and my job. At least I think that's what I'm about to write.

The first thing I want people to know about agents is that the least important thing we do is actually sell the book. I think there is, understandably, a lot of emphasis on that sale and while that's not wrong (because without the sale none of the other stuff, the more important stuff, would really happen) it's probably, in some ways, the easiest part of an agent's job.

What an agent actually spends the day doing is dealing with all that other stuff which really amounts to planning the author's career. I would say the most important thing you agent does for you is negotiate the contract and I don't mean the advance and royalties. I meant he nitty-gritty details of the contract that will allow, or not allow, you to do other things in the future. With contract negotiations comes an eye toward the author's career. What will this author want to be doing next year or two years down the road and how can I make sure this contract doesn't prohibit that?

I'm going to keep this simple rather than go into the myriad of other things an agent does, but what I will tell you this, which I know you've heard before, is that one of the things an agent rarely does while in the office is read. That means submissions or otherwise. Between phone calls, meetings and contracts there's very little time to put my feet up and whip out a good book.

--jhf

The Publishing Job Search

I was emailing with a former intern recently and she was asking for some advice on finding a job in publishing. It's a conversation we have almost every year with our interns, at least with the ones who are smart and ambitious.

The one tip I gave her about the search for a publishing job is that the trick is knowing what genre the editor/agent specializes in. For example, if you're interviewing for a job with a romance editor that editor/agent is going to want an assistant who has a love for romance, or at least reads it. The applicant who says the last books she read were for school or only YA is probably not the right person for that job.

On my first job interview, 400 years ago, I was about 9 months out of college and had spent my summer reading everything I could buy off the drugstore rack. It was the summer of The Bridges of Madison County, John Grisham, and Michael Crichton and I was devouring them all. When I interviewed for my job, the editor seemed noticeably impressed when I told her what I had been reading (I was applying at Berkley after all) and we had a long discussion about Bridges of Madison County. I got the job.

So for anyone looking to find a job in publishing read what you read and apply for every job you can, but remember that when talking with the editor knowing your stuff as it relates to her stuff will take you far.

--jhf

Dreams of Working in Publishing

Hello, I read your blog (Jessica's) about getting a job in publishing. I want so badly to work with new authors everyday, to be involved in the process of publishing and be with great works from the beginning.

It seems clear the main place to be is New York City. I live in West Texas. I am an English major (minor: Communications) and I will be certified to teach high school upon graduation. I do not have the resources to just up and move to the city. I was thinking of completing my Bachelor's degree and using teaching as a way to live comfortably and realistically be able to relocate to the city. That way, I could search for entry-level positions without fear of being destitute or having to move back home.

Is this a good plan?

I know it sounds like I'm not fully committed to my dreams of working in the publishing industry, but I think success stories I hear involve people who have money and resources. I have neither. And I've tried moving to big cities and waiting tables- let's just say that's not an option for me.

It warms my heart to hear someone say that their dreams are to "work with new authors" because that's really what publishing is all about. So many people go into this business because they want to be writers. I'm not sure I ever wanted to be a writer, but I wanted to be a part of the process, which is why my job is perfect for me. I get to work to my strengths and hopefully encourage authors to work to theirs.

You are correct that the right place to be is New York, and I think you have a good and smart plan. It's not easy to simply pack up and relocate to a new place. I know. I did it. When I first decided to move to New York to "make it there" I had nothing but a degree in hand. Okay, I lie. I also had five years of waitressing experience on my resume and, let's face it, you can almost always get a job waiting tables. I knew that I could find a waitressing job while I searched for my calling. That was my plan.

I think packing up to move to a new city and working at something while you achieve your true dreams is commitment. A huge commitment. Once you get to the City there are a lot of opportunities available to those who are searching for jobs in publishing. Both NYU and Columbia have publishing programs. I'll let others comment on the usefulness of those. I don't think they are at all necessary (I know more people who did not do those than did), but I understand they can be good for networking.

Publishers Marketplace has a Job Board that is a definite must for anyone looking for a job in publishing. I know there are other publishing job boards, but I can't say I know what they are off the top of my head. Watch the comments, I'm sure someone will post a list of other places.

There are internships every summer that might work perfectly for you if your "other job" is teaching. Most are unpaid or barely paid, but they will get your foot in the door. And lastly, send resumes blindly. You never know when an opening will come up, so every few months or so send a round of resumes to every publisher you're interested in working for. If you love mysteries, scour the mystery bookshelf and submit your resume to all of those publishers; if you love romance, do the same with the romance shelf.

And good luck. I think your plan is solid and it sounds like you have the drive to achieve your dreams.


Jessica

A Successful Reader's Report

I’ve done blog posts before on the reader report, but lately Kim and I have been discussing them more and more and trying to figure out what really makes a great reader report.

For those of you who aren’t aware, a reader report is something every single potential editor will have to do for a job interview; it’s also something interns and assistants do for their bosses, and believe it or not, it’s something all editors do almost every week for other members of their editorial staff. Whether written or verbal, a reader report gives your analysis of a book’s potential.

What I think gets confusing for some people is where your opinion comes into play in a reader report. If you sit in on an editorial meeting at a publishing company, you’ll hear a number of editors, as part of their reports, say things like, “I didn’t like this” or “I didn’t warm to the characters” or “This was absolutely fabulous. I loved it,” which can easily make you think that a reader report is all about your personal opinion. And it is and it isn’t.

Remember, these editors have likely been around for a long time, so when they say something like, “I didn’t like this book,” other editors in the room know that they are saying that based on years of editing. That not liking something means that they don’t see it as commercially viable. And that’s the point of a reader report.

When I get a reader report from a potential new hire, an intern, my assistant, or even Kim, I only really care about your opinion if you’ve been around long enough to show me that you have experience behind your opinion. In other words, when Kim says she doesn’t like something, it’s going to have different weight than if an intern says it. When an intern or a potential new hire says she doesn’t like something, I need to know why, and “because I’m not comfortable with it” isn’t going to fly. I want to know whether or not you feel the book is commercially viable, whether you’re comfortable with it or not.

For example, you might not like that sex scene in the opening chapter, but do you not like it because you are uncomfortable with sex scenes or do you not like it because you don’t feel it works for the book. In other words, does it feel gratuitous and out of place to you. Again, not because you think it’s too abrupt for the book, but because you don’t feel it fits the story. To you it feels like the author slapped it in because she needed an exciting opening.

When interviewing for jobs in publishing, especially with agencies and in editorial, you will often be asked to write a reader report, and I will tell you from experience that a reader report can make or break any possibility of you getting that job. I could interview the sweetest candidate in the world, but if she writes a really awful report I will not offer the job. To me that report is the one thing that shows whether or not she has the editorial eye needed to propel her to a career in this business.

Jessica