Benefits of a Publishing Internship

It can be daunting to think of sacrificing your time for 6 months – 1 year on an unpaid internship. There will be times when you want to curl up with the new Netflix series and you have a list of tasks you have to attend to for an unpaid job. So, why should you do it?

If you want a career in publishing, you need to consider finding an internship. There are a lot of benefits to being an intern, especially if you go into it with the right mindset.

• It can lead to a job.
• It builds your resume.
• It gives you credibility on your own platform.
• You will learn the ins-and-outs of the publishing business.
• You can find spots where your skills are lacking.
• You can find areas where you excel.

It Can Lead to a Job

I found a Twitter post asking for people to submit resumes for a publishing internship. I had never interned before, but I wanted to give it a try. I wrote up a brief resume with all the skills related to writing and publishing, and submitted it. Before long, I was brought on as an editorial intern. I learned a lot in the 6 months that I dedicated to the company and eventually I was hired on as their marketing manager.

There are no guarantees with internships. You may or may not get a job at the company that you work for. However, whether you get a job or not, you are going to gain valuable experience within the industry and learn what career path makes sense for you.

It Builds Your Resume

If you want to land a job as an editor, you need to have experience. You will be more desirable to employers if you can show that you have a year of experience in the industry. There are a lot of English majors out there that are going to be competing for the job. An internship will help pad that resume and make you stand out. This is especially true if you can get a reference from other employees in the company that you intern for.

It Gives You Credibility on Your Own Platform

Initially, I wanted to do the internship so that I could learn more about the industry that I was trying to break into as an author. However, you might find, as I did, that interning for a company can help you build your personal platform as well.

I have been able to build relationships with other people in the industry, from bloggers to editors to authors. Working as an intern can also help you build trust with your readers and your social media audience. If you are just another person shouting into the void, your readers might not have a reason to believe that you know what you’re talking about. After you have experience as an intern, it adds another level of trust with your followers. You are not just some person, you are affiliated with a real company, and you probably have made connections with other legitimate bloggers and authors at this point.

Before I was intern, I struggled to find people willing to review my personal books or to let me interview them on my blog. Once I was able to add “Editorial Intern” as a title under my name, it was so much easier to find other bloggers and authors that were willing to work with me.

You Will Learn About the Business

As an intern, you will have many resources at your fingertips. You will be able to learn from the publishing team, from editing to marketing. Take advantage of these connections and follow everyone’s personal platform closely. Participate in publishing related events and get a feel for what a job in the industry would be like.

If you are working as an editorial intern, like I was, you will be able to observe the publishing process from start to finish. After a writer submits their work, it is the editorial interns job to read the manuscript and decide how close to complete it is. How awesome would it be to read the manuscript before anyone else and then see it go through the publishing process and land on the shelves of a bookstore? If you’re a writer or a book lover, that is an opportunity you won’t want to miss out on.

You Can Find Weaknesses in Your Skill Set

If you find yourself struggling as an editorial intern, this is a great opportunity to fill in the gaps in your knowledge by taking advantage of the connections. Interns usually work under more experienced team members. You will be able to ask questions and have a support team. This is valuable because you don’t always have such a hands-on learning experience when you begin working for a company. You will discover weaknesses that you didn’t know you had, but you will also have the opportunity to “stretch those muscles” until the task that once intimidated you become second nature.

While you will find your weaknesses, you might also find strengths that you didn’t realize you had. This is what happened to me. I discovered that I don’t feel as comfortable with line editing as I do with developmental editing. I was able to expand on those skills and improve in both areas.

You Might Find Strengths You Didn’t Know You Had

You might be wondering why I was an editorial intern that was hired on as a marketing manager. Well, when you begin to build relationships within the business, you might find crossover into other areas of the company.

I had been an intern for about 4 months when I found some areas that I thought could be improved on the company’s website. I put together a packet of information, with examples, and shared my ideas. I reached out to the owner of the company and sent the packet to her. I wasn’t intending to be hired on by doing this, I just really enjoyed working for the company and wanted to help it run as smoothly as possible. After that, I started picking up some responsibilities related to marketing and I found that I really enjoyed it. When I was asked if I would like to be hired on as a team member, I was so excited.

I didn’t imagine myself as a marketing person before the internship. Even though I had taken numerous business, marketing, and website design classes in college, I hadn’t considered it as a career path. Once I started working, I realized how much I loved it. I was able to try new things and expand my skillset a lot. Now, I know that I want to pursue a career in marketing alongside my job as a writer.

If you have been considering an internship, I hope this gives you the courage to just apply and reach out. There are so many types of internships, from remote to moving to NYC and working for a large publisher. You can find what fits you and your circumstances and go for it. Publishing is a huge industry and it’s a lot of fun. Best of luck!

This is the badge that I was awarded at the end of my internship.