I came across Pie Press Publishing through the job search website Handshake. The part-time internship opening it offered took place during the upcoming school term, sought senior students in my major of English Writing, and was completely remote, so I thought it looked like a good match. I looked at Pie Press’s website to see what sort of work they published, and I was excited to see that the firm published all sorts of fiction. After I saw the work Pie Press Publishing did, the internship looked like a great match. The Handshake application asked me for my resume, a cover letter, and a writing sample. For my writing sample, I decided to submit both an analytical school paper and an article that had recently been published in a local magazine. The two samples in one showed my range of writing. After collecting all the documents for the application, I submitted them to the company via Handshake.
Within 24 hours of my application, Mr. Jeschonek, my supervisor, reached out to me via email. He asked me a few questions related to my availability and experience, which I answered later that day. The next day, he sent me an email in reply welcoming me to Pie Press Publishing and asking about a good date for a kickoff meeting. I was astounded by his quick response. I showed some confidants the email he had sent me, and they recommended that I confirm that I received his email, but keep my options open, in the event that one of my other two internship opportunities sounded like it would be better for me. Ultimately, Pie Press looked like it would provide the most relevant experience that I could use both in this class and in my career after graduating, so I set up the date for the kickoff meeting, and my internship at Pie Press Publishing began.
From the week of October 1 to October 8, the work I did for Pie Press Publishing encompassed both standard publishing maintenance and actual writing. My first task that week was going into Mr. Jeschonek’s account on Kobo and adjusting the foreign prices for his published books. Kobo itself can set the prices of its ebooks in foreign countries based on the exchange rate, but those automatically generated prices are rarely in standard amounts. Over the years, Mr. Jeschonek has learned that prices that end in “99” are more appealing to consumers, so all of his international prices now end with “99.” He gave me a document listing the standardized foreign prices for every price he listed his books for ($0.99, $2.99, $3.99, $4.99, and $9.99), and tasked me with adjusting the prices of every ebook he had published on Kobo. I would select an ebook title, click on the “Set the price” option, and hit the link to edit the prices on the following screen. From there, I would delete the default foreign prices and plug in the numbers from the international pricing document in their place. For the most part, adjusting the prices often lowered them from what Kobo recommended.
While I worked on the Kobo prices, Mr. Jeschonek also emailed me a new task. He asked me to read one of his eBooks and leave a review for it on Amazon and Goodreads, where people could see the review. After finishing the Kobo pricing, I took a look at the eBook, In the Empire of Underpants, read through it, and wrote a review. I conveyed the strengths of the book, such as its interesting concept and gripping plot, while not spoiling the book for whoever might read it in the future. I sent the review to Mr. Jeschonek to make sure it was up to standards. Once I had gotten his confirmation, I posted the review to both Amazon and Goodreads.
While I waited for my supervisor to get back to me about the review, I continued my work by sorting through people who subscribed to his email lists. Mr. Jeschonek uses a website called MailerLite to send out emails to his subscriber lists. Many of his subscribers came from giveaways or promotions, and for them to continue getting informative emails, they were moved into genre lists based on their preference. I figured out some preferred genres quickly – those in the monthly Science Fiction and Fantasy promo groups should be added to the Scifi and Fantasy genre groups. That week, I worked on promotion groups that did not have obvious genre leanings, so I added the subscribers from those groups into four different genres. Hopefully, the subscribers would enjoy at least one of the genres I added them to. The four genres that I placed these indeterminate subscribers in were Fantasy, Horror, Scifi, and Mystery.
When Mr. Jeschonek did get back to me about my review, he also sent me a manuscript to edit. The typed manuscript had many spacing problems and typographical oddities, which he asked me to fix and proofread. I started eagerly, though the massive loading time for the 1500+ page manuscript intimidated me. I first fixed the spacing of the document to consistent double space. After that, I noticed some recurring errors (four periods instead of ellipses, incorrect quotation mark orientation, etc.), so I used Find and Replace to fix them. Once I corrected all the typographical errors using that method, I started reading the manuscript more closely, comparing the typed document with scanned versions of the original manuscript, fixing nonstandard errors and correcting any mistakes the typists made. While this process ran in the opposite direction of the editing method I learned in class (content first, grammar and typography second), Mr. Jeschonek clarified that editors had already edited the book for content earlier.
From this week, I learned about what it takes to maintain a reader base for small publishing firms. Keeping people interested involves showing them what they like on a regular basis, which an author can easily accomplish through email lists. However, these email lists must actively show readers appealing books. I also learned how to price books for international readers. Books should be priced consistently and efficiently, based on proven pricing patterns. Additionally, I learned about the lengthy process of typing and editing a manuscript. A few of the errors I ran into came from visual oddities on the original pages that the earlier typists did not catch. It takes many pairs of eyes to make a book without errors.
The reading for this week covered one subject: neatness. Chapter 75 of The Ultimate Guide to Internships urged the hopeful interns reading it to avoid sloppiness. When editing papers, interns should mark up a copy of the paper, make the edits, double-check the edits by cross-referencing the original paper, and attach the marked-up copy to the edited copy when returning the paper. The chapter was short, but effective, and I learned a better way to edit and return documents from this chapter.
In class, we learned about writing well in the workplace. Contrary to my prior experience with editing for a newspaper, or for editing the manuscript, I learned about how to edit memos and documents based on content and style before proofreading the document. Additionally, I learned how to spot “to be” verbs, and how to revise sentences with them, making them more active and powerful. We did an exercise on fixing the passive voice, and then figured out how to improve the University of Pittsburgh’s worst memo.
This method of editing differs significantly from the editing I performed for Pie Press, but when I get a job as an editor in the future, I will be doing more of this editing, in addition to writing memos in the workplace. Additionally, I consciously realized that “to be” verbs are much less powerful than words of action, so I will take note of this in my future writing and emails.
I received an email at the beginning of the week that my supervisor, Mr. Robert Jeschonek, would be attending a large workshop located in Las Vegas, so we could not contact him as readily. In regards to work, he told us interns to consult each other and catch up on back work. I knew that I had plenty of work to occupy me for the week. The manuscript I received in October beckoned me to proofread it. Find and Replace fixed typographical errors scattered through the document weeks ago, so I searched for individual typos and nonsensical phrases. I had already finished combing through the first chapter, so this week, I continued searching through the second chapter. The chapter was 147 pages long, so it took many hours to find and correct each error in the chapter.
I highlighted spots in the chapter where I had questions or suggestions. Once I finished searching through the chapter, I copied and pasted the chapter into a separate document, and began to write an email to Mr. Jeschonek. As I composed the email to Mr. Jeschonek, I scrolled through the document to find the highlighted words and remember my comments. I then noted down the page where the highlighted word was, and made a comment on it in the body of the email, explaining why I had highlighted it. This took a significant amount of time to accomplish, but I wanted to be thorough in my editing notes. Pie Press Publishing would publish this book in the future, so I proofread it to the best of my ability and explained the changes that weren’t immediately obvious.
When I tried to send the email, something went wrong. I hit the send button on the email, but it didn’t appear to send. I closed up the email draft and refreshed my email page, and went back into my drafts folder to find the email. To my horror, none of my comments had been saved on the email. All the work I had done had disappeared. I redid my comments, since I still wanted Mr. Jeschonek to receive my reasoning for my changes and the causes of certain problem areas. However, this time I commented in the document of the chapter itself, rather than the email it was attached to. That way, the computer would save my comments even if something went wrong. I attached comments to the highlighted words and phrases directly. After saving the document multiple times, I attached the file to another email, and sent it to Mr. Jeschonek.
From this week, I learned to be careful about what media I place my comments in. Specifically, I should use programs that periodically autosave my work so I don’t lose anything in the event of an unexpected error. Additionally, I should write my notes to the author in the document with their writing so that they don’t have to reference my writing in another program. As I rewrote my comments in the document itself, I realized that using the comment function of Microsoft Word was much more convenient for Mr. Jeschonek, because he could view my comments right next to the word I was commenting on. Before, he would have to pull up my email, scroll to the appropriate page of the document, look up the highlighted word, then pull up my email again to read my comment. Now, when he sees a comment, he can hover his mouse over it, and the program will show him what the comment is referring to. I also learned that sometimes mistakes and unexpected problems can lead to more efficient means of solving a problem or completing a task (though it is much better to innovate before you run into problems!).
The reading for the class covered many topics. The chapters in The Ultimate Guide to Internships discussed good sites to find jobs, the necessity of reaching out for unlisted jobs, the career centers of colleges and how helpful they can be, the benefits of breaking the rules to exceed expectations, the significance of thank-you notes, the importance of keeping in touch with previous supervisors and peers to serve as references, and what to do if the interview does or does not end up getting you the internship. I will remember these chapters when I go through the process of looking for a job. The fact that the book didn’t include Handshake, the job site where I found Pie Press, surprised me, but otherwise the lists and advice looked solid.
Class that week dealt with the finer points of interviews, including professional references and post-interview letters. I gained templates for thank-you letters, acceptance letters, and declining letters. I also learned about what kind of references companies like to contact and how long to wait to follow up with the company (about two weeks). The work in class served to reinforce the tips from the reading, and even added new information, such as sending both a physical thank-you note and an email to thank your interviewer.
From this class, I learned that the job search definitely doesn't end with the interview. Interviewees like myself must take many steps after an interview to make sure we've earned the job. Thank-you notes are not only examples of good manners to show the employer; thank you notes make sure that the recipient doesn’t forget you, and tell the company that you will go the extra mile to secure the job. Obtaining an internship can be a complicated process, but I have learned a great deal about how to get one.
My internship worked very well and taught me a great deal. I have learned more about the publishing industry and the duties of a book editor. Additionally, I have developed my time management skills to the point where I can complete my Pie Press Publishing work and finish my schoolwork without much trouble. Being an author and a publisher involves much more than just writing books; the author-publisher must manage emailing lists, publish their books to multiple sites, and find reliable editors for their work. Fortunately, I have learned how to do all those things, so I hope to enter a career like this once I graduate.