Job-hunting updates

It's been quite an eventful couple of weeks, if I stop and think about it.

First of all, I got in contact with a woman who lives (as it turns out) just round the corner from me. She runs a one-woman literary agency, and I thought I might be able to help out. It turned out that she also works for a small independent publishing company, so I'm actually involved with that, though on an unpaid basis, because the company has virtually no money. This is sad, but it does mean that I'm getting to do quite a bit. For example, I'm currently putting together their schedule for the Frankfurt Book Fair which is showing that, despite what anyone else might say, I've actually got pretty good organisational skills. Hooray.

But my work with this company is entirely unpaid, and so it's on a very casual basis. I don't feel like I need to be working 9-5:30 every day. I'm working from home, too, which means it's not costing me anything, unlike when I was doing more formal internships in London which cost an arm and a leg... So it's quite enjoyable, and it's giving me something to do with my day.

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I also had an interview for a proper job today. One with a real salary, and everything. It would only be a year-long contract while someone was on maternity leave, but it would be a start, a step in the right direction. They're interviewing for a few more days, but in theory I should know one way or another by the end of next week. Fingers crossed, I guess!

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Other than that, things have been pretty quiet for me, which is why there haven't been many updates. I haven't even read that many books! It's crazy. I read a lot more when I'm working than when I'm not, just because I like to read on the train each day.

Anyway. Enough from me. I've got (possibly) conjunctivitis, my mum reckons. All I know is that my eye hurts, quite a lot. So staring at a screen isn't the best thing for it. So I'll stop typing........... now.

Thoughts on getting into publishing

If you read this post from a few weeks ago, you'll already know that I had my first ever interview for a "real job" in the publishing industry. Unfortunately, nothing came from it; I was emailed about a week after the interview and told that I wouldn't be called back for a second interview. I was also told that they received over 400 applications, so on reflection I think I did pretty well to even get that first interview!

Since then I've applied for a few more jobs, and am waiting to hear back. It's giving me plenty of time to think about that interview and what I can learn from it. I've also been reading the recent Q&A hosted by the Guardian Careers website called 'Getting into Publishing' which you can read here, if you haven't already. What is clear both from that discussion, and my experience in the interview, is just how important it is to show enthusiasm and dedication to the industry. Basically, a degree is good, as is relevant work experience in the industry, but you need to go further than that.

In my interview they were very keen to ask me about the online magazine that I run. They'd even taken the time to have a quick look at the website, and told me that it was impressive to see the magazine still running after three years. Something that I initially set up as a hobby, almost, is now showing itself to be a real asset now that I'm looking for a job. It shows that I've got the enthusiasm and dedication to make something work.

I'm also thinking of taking a basic proofreading course, maybe through the PTC, if I can find the money. It's expensive, but I've got the time on my hands at the moment, and it's something else that will show willing, as it were.

If you're in a similar position, I'd love to hear from you. Or even better, if you've been in my position and since got a publishing job. Any extra information would be greatly appreciated!

No more internships!

Last Friday I finished up at what is my last publishing-related internship that I have planned for the near future. While I love the industry, I can't afford to keep doing all this unpaid work with no guarantees of a job at the end of it.

I completed two weeks at a Camden-based literary agency. I signed a confidentiality agreement on my first day, so I won't name them, and I won't tell you much about what I did there. However, I will tell you that I was slightly disappointed. I'd heard good things about them, but once I was there I became more or less a glorified receptionist. The way it was meant to work was that they'd have two interns at one time (which they did) and the two interns would alternate days providing reception cover. For some reason this never happened, so for two weeks I was there as a receptionist first, and then doing odd bits of reading and writing reports when I could grab some spare time between phone calls and dealing with the post etc.

So that was unfortunate. But most of the people there were very lovely, and I did get to read a couple of fabulous manuscripts that I need to make a note of. One was the first book in a longer series, and of course I now want to know what happens in the rest of the series, so I'll have to keep an eye out over the next couple of years, I guess...

But now I'm finished with internships, and I don't really know what to do. I've got about four months worth of experience in total, and am keen to find a full-time job, but there aren't many out there at the minute and so I'm back home looking for other work. We'll see what happens. I'm still waiting to hear back from a couple of jobs in the industry, so I'll keep my fingers crossed. And if nothing happens there I'll have to find myself something else to be doing in the meantime, and also keep my eyes on the industry so I know if/when the vacancies open up.

Lots to think about. My brain is currently very scared by the big expanse of time that's opening up in front of me, with nothing to fill it.

Hmm. Something will turn up.

Johnson & Alcock

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.

Conville & Walsh

Last week I completed a two-week internship with the above-named literary agency, based in Soho, London. It was a short placement, unpaid [for details on the debate regarding unpaid placements with a particular focus on the publishing industry, see here], and very different from previous placements I'd done in the industry.

First, a little background on what I've done:

• A one week placement at A.P. Watt - mainly admin work. Interesting first insight into the industry, made me realise this is the area I wanted to work in.
• A six week placement at Andrew Nurnberg Associates. A long placement with a varied, interesting workload. Well-organised and informative, supportive staff members during a difficult period of my personal life.
• A four week placement at Oxford University Press. Great fun, came into the team at a critical time in their year, when they had a staff shortage for various reasons, so got to do lots of hands-on stuff and get heavily involved in various projects.

Now that's out of the way, some thoughts on this latest two-week placement.

I started at C&W the week of the London Book Fair. This meant that for the first three days of my placement there were only two of us in the main office (plus the lovely finance guy but he was two floors up...). It was a very quiet few days filled with bizarre tasks - making party bags and buying olives, for example. But it gave me a chance to get to know the office, work out the postal system and where everything went, and I had the fantastic opportunity one evening to attend a party for S.J. Watson, author of BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP (released today).

If I'm honest, the party was one of the highlights of the placement. It gave me the chance to chat to previous interns (all of whom gave very positive comments regarding C&W), to other people in the industry, and it let me see a side of the job that I'd not had a chance to before. While I realise things like that won't be happening every day, it was certainly interesting to see that things like that go on, and how they tend to work.

Parties and merriment aside, I also spent a lot of time reading unsolicited manuscripts. There was one I read that I really liked (it was about clowns...), that wasn't right for the agent who had it, but I persuaded her not to disregard it completely and it was then passed over to another agent. I don't know what has become of it, but I was pleased that my opinions were valued.

I was able to get involved with some of the follow-up from the LBF, too. Lots of putting notes onto the computer system, complete with a crash-course in how NOT to make notes. Tip: make them legible! And then in my last couple of days I got to do some editorial work - one of the agents has a book coming out, and I was responsible for making the edits on the document in question. Again, a crash-course in handwriting translation.

In comparison to others I've done, it felt very short, particularly as my second week was only four days, due to it leading up to the Easter weekend. It was also completely unpaid, with no contribution at all made towards travel expenses. I was also irritated by the fact that, as they have an intern in every week of the year, they use them as a receptionist, managing the switchboard as appropriate. Perhaps it was just that I was used to larger agencies that had their own receptionist. But at the time I felt that they were taking the 'unpaid work experience' thing a little too far.

Minor qualms, anyway. Ultimately I enjoyed the placement, and was glad to be back in that environment, involved with the industry again. It re-enforced my desire to find a permanent job in the publishing industry, and everyone I spoke to there said I was going about it the right way. I guess I just have to keep my fingers crossed, and my eyes open.

To finish, I should say a big thank you to Conville & Walsh. They were great to work with, if only for a couple of weeks.