Hannah White

English

Cardinal Publishers Group

How has your internship helped build skills and clarify your career goals?

Before this internship, I was not entirely sure what career I wanted to pursue once I finished my undergrad. However, even after the short time that I have been working, I now know that I want to work in the publishing industry, primarily in the editing department. Through this internship, I have gotten a better idea of how publishing houses and national distributors operate. I have also learned valuable skills such as time management and problem-solving skills because I have had to accomplish certain tasks that in the moment they were assigned to me, I didn't know how to.

How do you apply your Liberal Arts skills in your internship?

As an English major, we have to spend a lot of time researching and analyzing materials in order to write effective papers. I have used both of those skills, and more, while I was writing my manuscript proposal report and while I wrote my press release.

What is the a typical day like as an intern, any challenging or exciting aspects?

My typical day at the office is pretty simple. I arrive at about 8:50 am, get settled in, and officially start my work day at 9 am. I already know what my tasks are for the day because my supervisor checks in with me at the end of each day goes over what I did for that day and what my job will be for the next. I work from 9am-1pm and since I only work for about 4 hours, I do not get a break or time for lunch so I usually eat when I get home. Sometimes I will stay 30 minutes to an hour late if there is a meeting I can attend, but that does not happen often. The most challenging aspect of my internship is that I have never taken any classes about editing or the publishing industry, so there are a lot of things I have never been taught before. My supervisor will assign me a task and I have to research/ figure out the best and right way to complete the task. I can ask for help if I need it (and I do), but I try not to ask too many questions so I don't slow down my co-workers. I typically ask questions if I need to clarify my assignment or if it is difficult trying to find the answer online. Honestly, google has been a life-saver to me during my time here! The most exciting thing about my role is I have been able to help with various stages of the publishing process. I got to help with acquisition which means I received a manuscript proposal and I wrote a report about whether I thought the book should be published. I have also worked on the other end of the spectrum where I was in change of writing and emailing a press release for two new children's books. I have learned so many interesting and unique things from each experience. What surprised me most about my internship was how much information I needed to look up (again, thank you google!), but more importantly, how much, and how quickly, I was able to retain that information from the process alone. Because I had the hands on experience of actively searching for the information and then applying it soon after, I feel like I learned the information in a way that I never could in a classroom. The most meaningful experience I have had was when I was asked to write my first press release. I had no idea how to write one and wasn't even entirely sure what it was. However, I used the many hours I spent looking up how to write an effective press release and when I finished my press release for my boss to look over, he said that it was the best release he read out of the several he looked over. I was ecstatic that all of my hard work paid off so well!