As the end of August approaches and school begins, my time as an editorial intern at Beaufort Books has drawn to an end. While my 3 months at the company may have been short, the amount of experience I have gained is invaluable. Whether I was reading my fifth submission of the day or creating a social media post for an upcoming bookish holiday, I truly learned what it was like to work amongst the organized chaos of the book publishing world.
I wouldn’t have been able to learn all of the intricate workings of the industry if it wasn’t for Megan, our editorial director, and Emma, our publicity and editorial associate. When you are working for two people who are so willing to give you both the hands-on experience you wanted and the hands-on experience you didn’t know you needed, it is easy to grow into a well-rounded intern with more knowledge about book publishing than you thought possible.
While there are many valuable lessons and insights I have acquired during my time working for Beaufort, I thought for my final blog post I would share my top five takeaways from participating in this internship program. Of course, it wouldn’t be a bookish blog post without books, so I’ve decided to attach a Beaufort or Spencer Hill Press title that I think fits with the takeaway I am sharing.
- Copyediting is a superpower. A Few Words about Words by Joe Diorio
If there is one thing I have done more than anything else during my time as an intern, it was read, read, and reread copy. Whether I was checking out the latest submission or reading a book description that was going to be posted online, I had to make sure that there wasn’t one grammatical error. Searching for a misplaced comma or a misused word became second nature to me, and I even found myself looking for errors everywhere I could in the world around me. Being able to spot mistakes in copy quickly truly is a super power, and it is one that I definitely strengthened throughout my time as an intern.
But, everyone isn’t perfect, and sometimes mistakes can easily slip through the cracks. However, you don’t have to be a master to learn how to identify common grammatical mistakes. In the book A Few Words About Words, Joe Diorio stresses that it isn’t about mastering English grammar, but rather writing carefully. Diorio teaches his readers through quick-witted anecdotes about the most common and uncommon mistakes most people make when it comes to writing. He lends a hand to those who panic when it’s time to decide between “your” and “you’re” or those who don’t truly understand the significance of the Oxford comma. This grammar guide is not only informative but humorous, making a book about learning about English grammar one that is almost impossible to put down.
- Submissions are full of surprises. Bone Deep by Kim O’Brien
That old cliche saying that everyone has a story does not ring more true than in the submissions box of a publishing company. I have read at least 20 to 35 submissions during my time at Beaufort and not one of them was like another. Reading submissions feels like a gift to me. I get to read something that someone has spent years crafting and perfecting and be one of the first people to listen to the story they have been dying to tell. After a while of looking at submissions, you think you would be able to get the hang of what a book is going to be about just by the title, but that is not the case. Every time I clicked a submission, it was like opening a wrapped present and there was always a surprise inside, but that was the best part. I loved getting to experience the unexpected and always be on my toes while reading. This is the exact reason why reading a submission never gets old, and every now and again you find a real treasure of a story.
While going through submissions can be like digging for gold, Paige Patterson’s father’s job is to literally dig for bones. In the novel Bone Deep by Kim O’Brien, Paige goes to visit her father who works as an archaeologist in Arizona. However, things quickly go wrong when her new friend Emily goes missing and no one has any answers. Paige takes it upon herself to try and solve the mystery of her friend’s disappearance, but no one is helpful, not even her father. While Paige races against the clock to search for the clues to help her solve the mystery, she learns she isn’t the only one who is good at hiding things.
- Editorial work is not the only job in the publishing industry. Souls in the Twilight by Roger Scruton
When I applied to the Beaufort Editorial Internship, all I could think about was editorial work. Of course I knew there were different elements to book publishing, but it made sense to me that the central focus of the publishing industry was editorial. While that is a major part of the job, there are a plethora of other jobs in the publishing industry that don’t focus on reading submissions or editing novels.
Throughout my internship, I was able to work alongside Emma, our publicity and editorial associate, who handles the majority of book marketing and social media management. As soon as she joined our team this summer, I was more than eager to help her create the graphics necessary to keep our social media platforms looking up to date and engaging to readers. I found myself so excited to research the next bookish holiday, discover our titles that best fit the day, and create a graphic to promote those novels. Without expanding past my obsession with the editorial side of the industry, I would have never discovered my love of the publicity side of books.
The idea of letting go of your past ideas and self in order to reach your full potential is the exact theme of the novel Souls in the Twilight by Roger Scruton. The novel follows multiple characters as they try to maneuver through life to try and end up exactly where they want to be. That challenge isn’t easy, and the characters must let go of their past lives if they even want to begin stepping in the right direction of who they hope to be one day. These short stories will encapsulate the reader within words as Scruton expresses their stories through poetic drama and direct insight into their perceptions of the world around them.
- Get ready to read out of your comfort zone and learn a lot. Lacie’s Secrets by Teresa Sorkin and Tullan Holmqvist
When I read in my spare time, I am a lover of young adult and romance novels. Basically if it’s gone viral on BookTok, I’ve read it. However, when working for a publishing company that has a variety of genres in its catalog, it’s impossible to not have to read or work on books that you would normally never pick up. Whether I was reading a memoir by a person I had never heard of before or learning in detail about a certain topic that I never had any interest in before, I was enjoying every minute because it allowed me to get a broader understanding of the publishing world and what it expects from a novel of a certain genre. I was able to learn so much more about a variety of genres and really understand what makes them stand out against others on the market. Not only is it a useful skill to have, but you also learn a lot about subjects that you can turn into fun trivia facts with your friends.
While I was uncovering secrets about different types of books, Kate Williams has much bigger and darker secrets to unfold. In the novel Lacie’s Secrets by Teresa Sorkin and Tullan Holmvqist, Kate has been trying her whole life to forget about the summer that ripped her family apart. But when her estranged mother dies and the will gives Kate the family summer home, it is nearly impossible for her to ignore the secrets that have been pestering her for years. As the walls of the home and its visitors begin to torment Kate, she can barely believe it when a body appears in her pool. Kate no longer can suppress the memories of the summer that ruined her family, but rather dive into them and figure out once and for all what really happened.
- Book publishing is just as magical as you’ve dreamed about. Bookishly Ever After by Isabel Bandeira
If there is one thing that working as an editorial intern didn’t do, it was ruin the magic of books. I was a little worried in the beginning of my internship about how my understanding of the business side of the book publishing industry might change my perspective of books. I feared that once I learned the secrets, these books were no longer just books, but items that I now understand every little detail about. However, I worried for no reason because the internship did the exact opposite. By learning about the entire lifespan of a book from query to shelf, I have developed an even deeper love and appreciation for the books on my own bookshelf. It is such a special feeling to read a submission and be able to write the reader’s report for it knowing that there is a chance you helped that author get published. It’s also amazing to understand how the business side of books work and the importance of sales and marketing. Without those elements of the industry, books wouldn’t even get the chance to land in the hands of so many people. I’m forever grateful for the opportunity to go behind the pages of a novel and really learn what it means to read between the lines.
Just like I’m obsessed with the magic of books, so is Phoebe Martin in Bookishly Ever After by Isabel Bandeira. Phoebe’s perfect world would be to live within the confines of a book where the boys are perfect and there is always a happily ever after. However, that isn’t Phoebe’s reality, until she learns that the hottest boy in the clarinet section, Dev, just might actually have a crush on her. With the chance of her fairytale romance sitting just in front of her, Phoebe wonders if this is finally going to be the book romance she’s always dreamed of. But books are never without their conflicts, and when another girl steals him from right under her nose, Phoebe thinks it can’t get worse… Until she’s stuck as co-camp counselor with Dev when she’s still possibly in love with him. Will the happily ever after Phoebe hopes for come true, or will she never get to live the fantasy of a perfect book romance.
To the next round of interns who might be reading this, I hope you find your time at Beaufort as valuable and precious as I did. In the words of Elizabeth Bennet, “the distance is nothing when one has motive.” Let your time at Beaufort Books take you one step closer to your publishing dream.
Final Farewell,
Elizabeth BEAUnnet.