Notes on an internship: Catherine
Hi there! My name is Catherine, and I have been fortunate enough to spend the past two weeks interning at Mushens Entertainment. Prior to this internship, I had attended a couple of online seminars about the publishing industry, which assured me that I knew enough about the publishing industry to know that I knew…a little. But I also knew that I loved books, that I loved working with people, and that (as the acknowledgements in their clients’ books will tell you) there is a lot of love for the ME team. Everyone has been so lovely when welcoming me into the ME office, bedecked with beautiful books and posters. From talking me through their respective career journeys, to elucidating on the odd acronym that cropped up, I am very grateful to the ME team for sharing their wealth of experience and expertise with me.
Most of my time has been devoted to reading client manuscripts, providing notes on them, and writing up a reader report. I think I found how to write more challenging than what to write, in that the tone of reader reports is a far cry from the tone of school/university essays (almost too familiar to me). But Emma offered me such clear and detailed feedback that, now I’ve reached the end of my two weeks here, I feel much more able to emulate the particular writing style characteristic of reader reports. I was lucky enough to dip into several different manuscripts, which were all a real pleasure to read. I have been reading a lot of literary fiction over the past few months and, while I love literary fiction, hadn’t realised how much I missed reading genre fiction until I returned to it here. These manuscripts, coupled with the submissions I went through with Emma, really impressed on me how much genre fiction (especially fantasy) has evolved and diversified in recent years.
I always find it incredibly exciting to read new work that is bold, innovative, and yet still (as contrary as this possibly sounds) honours the genre it seeks to inhabit. This was perhaps nowhere more apparent than in the ME editorial meeting, where we discussed select submissions of considerable promise: what we liked and what we didn’t, how these stories could fit in and stand out in (often already saturated) markets, if we thought these could-be-books had the potential to sell, and so on. Another highlight for me was the seminar on foreign rights, led by Catriona and Alba, who patiently demystified it all for me. They provided me with much food for thought, and have formatively reshaped (quite literally expanded too!) my view of the book world. I had never before considered, for instance, how the various reading appetites of various countries can affect the rate at which books are published. This is why an author’s backlist can often prove so valuable, as international publishers can then release them at their own pace.
It has been fascinating to see ‘behind the scenes’ of a book, and learn more about the inner workings of the publishing industry. I have thoroughly enjoyed my two weeks in the ME office, surrounded by such brilliant people in such a lovely environment. A huge thank you to everyone for having me!