Yes, this is another internship-related post. I was actually at Johnson & Alcock a couple of weeks ago, right at the start of the month, but I've been a bit quiet on all fronts lately and forgot to do any kind of follow-up post.
I was there for two weeks, in their offices in Clerkenwell Green, London. I'd actually worked in the same building with another literary agency last summer, so it was nice to know the commute and the area (and the Krispy Kreme doughnut stand in the Tesco at the end of the road!) before I started. This was another unpaid position, though they did make a contribution of £10/day towards travel expenses.
Johnson & Alcock is the smallest company I've done any work experience with. I've had the opportunity to work in a small team before, during my time at Oxford University Press, but obviously it's very different working in a small team that's part of a much larger organisation, to working in a very small team. There were six members of staff at J&A, one of whom only worked half the week. The office had a very nice feel to it and you could tell that everyone got on well with each other, making for a very pleasant work place to go into.
The majority of my time was spent reading unsolicited manuscripts, sending out rejections and passing things I thought were good onto the agents. I also got to read something that one of the agents was considering, and provided her with a report on it giving my thoughts. I helped sort out some rights reversions, and wrote a couple of pieces to go on their website, which provided a nice break from the reading!
One of the best things, though, was that I got to sit down and properly read through a contract, and then I had a short, sit-down meeting with one of the agents where I had the opportunity to ask about anything I didn't understand. It was a very valuable morning, and gave me a much better insight into how a literary agency functions at the business end. We also had a chat about e-books, from which I came to realise that actually, no-one really has a clue about what they mean for the future of the industry..!
So while this placement involved doing lots of things I'd done before, it also gave me lots of new opportunities. I really enjoyed my time at J&A; the staff were friendly and welcoming, and I was sad to leave after only two weeks.
A big thank you to everyone at J&A - it was wonderful to have the chance to work with you, and hopefully our paths will cross again in the not-too-distant future.
Monday 30 May 2011
Tuesday 17 May 2011
Creativity: in which I'm writing a novel.
The title says it all, really.
In the last few years I've written mainly poetry. I wrote a lot of fiction in my earlier teens, even into mid-teens when I got 80% through a long novel that I wrote over a couple of years, and then scrapped completely. I've never had much luck with longer creative projects. But I'm hoping that'll change.
I haven't written any poetry since the turn of the year. Nor, strangely, do I have any desire to, at present. None at all. Not even a lingering thought at the very back of my mind. Right now, I would be perfectly content never to write a single poem again. I find this strange, but not as disturbing or upsetting as I would have done in the past. Possibly because my creativity seems to have migrated over to fiction.
This might be because I've been reading a lot of fiction in the last few months, both published books and manuscripts at various work placements. Or it might just be because I've found an idea that I really want to run with. Either way, I'm currently writing a novel.
It's been in the planning stages for a little while. I've worked out an outline and written the prologue, and am currently taking that first big step into Chapter One. I'm reasonably happy with the prologue as it is - I started with a good idea of what I wanted those 1000 words or so to say. The first chapter is proving a little more difficult. I've had an interesting idea that I want to introduce as it would explain a lot of things that I want to bring in later in the plot, but I can't quite seem to get it right.
Possibly because there has been a house full of screaming girls (my sister's school friends) this afternoon when I've been trying to write. But who knows. With some peace and quiet now I might have another go.
Either way, I'm writing. And I just wanted to share this fact with someone because I'm excited about it!
Wish me luck!
In the last few years I've written mainly poetry. I wrote a lot of fiction in my earlier teens, even into mid-teens when I got 80% through a long novel that I wrote over a couple of years, and then scrapped completely. I've never had much luck with longer creative projects. But I'm hoping that'll change.
I haven't written any poetry since the turn of the year. Nor, strangely, do I have any desire to, at present. None at all. Not even a lingering thought at the very back of my mind. Right now, I would be perfectly content never to write a single poem again. I find this strange, but not as disturbing or upsetting as I would have done in the past. Possibly because my creativity seems to have migrated over to fiction.
This might be because I've been reading a lot of fiction in the last few months, both published books and manuscripts at various work placements. Or it might just be because I've found an idea that I really want to run with. Either way, I'm currently writing a novel.
It's been in the planning stages for a little while. I've worked out an outline and written the prologue, and am currently taking that first big step into Chapter One. I'm reasonably happy with the prologue as it is - I started with a good idea of what I wanted those 1000 words or so to say. The first chapter is proving a little more difficult. I've had an interesting idea that I want to introduce as it would explain a lot of things that I want to bring in later in the plot, but I can't quite seem to get it right.
Possibly because there has been a house full of screaming girls (my sister's school friends) this afternoon when I've been trying to write. But who knows. With some peace and quiet now I might have another go.
Either way, I'm writing. And I just wanted to share this fact with someone because I'm excited about it!
Wish me luck!
Sunday 1 May 2011
Reading in Review
Gosh. Welcome to May, everyone! A third of the year has been and gone, and it seems like as good a time as ever for me to take a quick look back at what I've read so far this year. If you've not already seen, I keep a list of (new) books I've read here. My goal for the year is 50 new books (not counting re-reads or things I don't finish).
Despite an awful April, when I only read two books, my year's total so far is 19. A pretty good start, but not as good as last year (or so my trusty notebook tells me). Between January and April last year I read 25 books, but that was also when I was taking a class on Shakespeare, so that includes seven of his plays.
Some general thoughts, then. This year has seen my love for Margaret Atwood's writing grow; I've read a couple of her novels this year and they've been some of my favourites. I also absolutely LOVED the HUNGER GAMES trilogy that I read at the beginning of March. And I was thrilled to read the conclusion of the EARTH'S CHILDREN series (The Land of Painted Caves) at the end of March. I read a handful of the Orange Prize longlisted books - favourites include THE SEAS and REPEAT IT TODAY WITH TEARS, which was so heart-wrenchingly beautiful (and disturbing) that it made me cry.
I was just trying to think of what has been my least favourite book I've read this year. I was underwhelmed by ANIMAL FARM, but I'm glad I read it because now I don't have to just pretend. Other than that, THE FIVE PEOPLE THAT YOU MEET IN HEAVEN didn't please me as much as the other books I've read. It was very different, and a great idea, but I didn't fall in love with it the way I've fallen in love with most of the other books on that list.
All in all, I'd say I've had a pretty good book-year so far. And all this talk about books is making me want to go and read something. I'm not sure what, though, because I'm running out of books. (Ha. That's a lie. But I'm running out of books I want to read.)
So I'm off to sit in front of my bookshelves for a while until I figure something out.
Ciao!
Despite an awful April, when I only read two books, my year's total so far is 19. A pretty good start, but not as good as last year (or so my trusty notebook tells me). Between January and April last year I read 25 books, but that was also when I was taking a class on Shakespeare, so that includes seven of his plays.
Some general thoughts, then. This year has seen my love for Margaret Atwood's writing grow; I've read a couple of her novels this year and they've been some of my favourites. I also absolutely LOVED the HUNGER GAMES trilogy that I read at the beginning of March. And I was thrilled to read the conclusion of the EARTH'S CHILDREN series (The Land of Painted Caves) at the end of March. I read a handful of the Orange Prize longlisted books - favourites include THE SEAS and REPEAT IT TODAY WITH TEARS, which was so heart-wrenchingly beautiful (and disturbing) that it made me cry.
I was just trying to think of what has been my least favourite book I've read this year. I was underwhelmed by ANIMAL FARM, but I'm glad I read it because now I don't have to just pretend. Other than that, THE FIVE PEOPLE THAT YOU MEET IN HEAVEN didn't please me as much as the other books I've read. It was very different, and a great idea, but I didn't fall in love with it the way I've fallen in love with most of the other books on that list.
All in all, I'd say I've had a pretty good book-year so far. And all this talk about books is making me want to go and read something. I'm not sure what, though, because I'm running out of books. (Ha. That's a lie. But I'm running out of books I want to read.)
So I'm off to sit in front of my bookshelves for a while until I figure something out.
Ciao!
Flat-hunting
This is quite an exciting (terrifying) time for me, all things considered. I have (unofficially) completed my university education, pending graduation in July. I am currently seeking full-time work in the publishing industry, preferably London-based, preferably an Agent's Assistant position. And if all that wasn't enough, my boyfriend and I are planning on moving in together.
I'm not sure when we first discussed it, but it's something that's become more and more likely as the months have gone on. It'll be a big change - while I was at university in Norwich, he has been doing his final year of study in Bath. And right after our relationship started a couple of years ago, he moved to London on a placement year. Closer than Bath, but a two-hour train ride between us still made things tough...
But we've talked about it a lot. And we've recently been looking at flats, which makes the whole thing all the more real/exciting/scary. We might have found the one we want, though, after all of this. Well, actually we found two, but one of them was just... in the wrong place. We'll see. As it is, of course, my boyfriend will be living there on his own for a while, because I'm unemployed and don't want him paying for me to live there.
But it's exciting to know that even if my job-hunt has ground to an unsuccessful halt because I've not found any jobs to apply for in the last couple of weeks, at least my search for somewhere else to live is going better. Who knows: maybe this means things will start turning around for me.
I'm feeling good. I'm feeling like pretty soon something will turn up, job-wise, and I'll be able start on this whole new chapter in my life.
Fingers crossed.
I'm not sure when we first discussed it, but it's something that's become more and more likely as the months have gone on. It'll be a big change - while I was at university in Norwich, he has been doing his final year of study in Bath. And right after our relationship started a couple of years ago, he moved to London on a placement year. Closer than Bath, but a two-hour train ride between us still made things tough...
But we've talked about it a lot. And we've recently been looking at flats, which makes the whole thing all the more real/exciting/scary. We might have found the one we want, though, after all of this. Well, actually we found two, but one of them was just... in the wrong place. We'll see. As it is, of course, my boyfriend will be living there on his own for a while, because I'm unemployed and don't want him paying for me to live there.
But it's exciting to know that even if my job-hunt has ground to an unsuccessful halt because I've not found any jobs to apply for in the last couple of weeks, at least my search for somewhere else to live is going better. Who knows: maybe this means things will start turning around for me.
I'm feeling good. I'm feeling like pretty soon something will turn up, job-wise, and I'll be able start on this whole new chapter in my life.
Fingers crossed.
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