Hi again! It’s Jennifer, friendly intern and your eyes-and-ears into the Workman office. By now you’ve heard about my time in sales and at Algonquin Books. My next stop was the Workman editorial department.

I’ve had a great time sifting through “slush,” which is a colloquial publishing term for the unsolicited proposals sent in by people without agents. At first, I was armed with just the guideline that Workman does not accept fiction or memoirs (that’s the domain of Algonquin), so my “Maybe” pile soon towered above the “Yes” and “No” piles. However, after sitting down with one of the editors, who patiently pointed out the reasons why proposals would or would not be accepted, I gained a better understanding of what it takes to be published. It isn’t often that a proposal from slush is actually realized as a published title, and there are several reasons for that. For example, calendars, which I saw a lot of, usually do best when they already have a brand or book behind them. My Gift Sales boss has been talking about how popular LEGO: The Calendar is going to be; its success will be based on the timeless appeal of LEGOs.

That model of the Taj Mahal is made entirely of LEGO bricks.

The proposal also has to be well researched and backed with the proper credentials. Perhaps more importantly, the idea has to be original and innovative, and should not be too similar to titles Workman already publishes or is thinking about producing. There were some picture book proposals in the pile, but generally, the children’s books that Workman publishes are more than just picture books—they are machine-washable and “indestructible,” or interactive, or fun to touch; they are more than just a story. Submitters should take heart in knowing, however, that their proposals are not left to languish in a corner. Every proposal is looked at by a real person (and, no worries, not just an intern—proposals are screened after I look at them, too).

I’ve also done some fact-checking for 1,000 Places to See Before You Die and The Obits: The New York Times Annual 2012. For 1,000 Places, fact-checking has involved determining hotel rates with more calling (but fewer abrupt farewells, because hotel staff can’t really hang up on someone who might be a customer). Most people seemed unfazed by or indifferent to the fact that the hotels they work at are being featured in a well-regarded travel book, but it was nice when people, such as one woman at a hotel in the South, maybe one of the Carolinas, asked which book I was fact-checking for and expressed pleasant surprise when I told her. (The woman I’m talking about answered, “Who doesn’t know about it?” when I asked if she knew of 1,000 Places.) Fact-checking for The Obits has been more computer-based, but it’s still fascinating to read these posthumous celebrations of people’s life accomplishments. I especially enjoyed reading the obituaries for the distinguished Elizabeth Taylor and for Geraldine Ferraro, the first woman to run as a Vice Presidential candidate for a major political party, about whom I learned in US History class this past year.

I can’t believe I’m nearly finished with my internship. I could work here forever and may attempt to do something like that, as my experiences so far have really piqued my interest in working in the publishing world. I would love to do this as a career, although I am a little sad that I would have to choose a department and stay there instead of floating around to different ones.

Thanks for reading!

—Jennifer

Jennifer here, Workman’s traveling summer intern! Last week I told you about my stints in the Gift Sales and Special Markets departments. Read on to find out about my time at Algonquin Books, the fiction and narrative imprint of Workman Publishing.

I spent a lot of the day filing title-specific material like cover proposals and reviews. I also got to sit in on an editorial meeting in which the editors up here in New York discussed prospective novels with their counterparts in North Carolina—Algonquin is originally based in Chapel Hill and still has an office there. One of the great things about being at a more compact publishing house like this one is that even an intern like me is able to interact with the people in charge. Where else would a high school intern be invited into the publisher’s office to sit in on an editorial meeting—and asked her opinion of the proceedings afterward? (Another plus is that there are fewer people to snatch up books in the “Help Yourself” box, so I’ve been able to get books like the fantastic Algonquin title The Girl Who Fell from the Sky, which I finished just yesterday.)

So now you know what I did in Algonquin’s editorial department. Come back next week to find out more about the differences between fiction and nonfiction publishers, when I take a journey into Workman’s editorial department!

—Jennifer

Greetings! My name is Jennifer, and I’m interning at Workman for the summer. As of today, I’ve been here exactly four weeks – a whole month! For the most part, I have been with the Gift Sales department, which deals with book-selling stores that aren’t necessarily bookstores, but my supervisor has been kind enough to set up days in which I can dip my toes into the work of other departments. Those departments have included Special Markets, Algonquin’s editorial department, and, of course, the Workman editorial department. This week, I’ll be writing about my experiences in the sales departments.

In Gift Sales, I perform a variety of tasks. In anticipation of a week-long gift show in Florida, much of my time was spent putting together sales capsules (overviews of sales information and suggestions for future orders) for the accounts that would be at the show – not the most mentally stimulating of jobs, but my boss, who helped with a lot of the capsules, realized this and punctuated the long process with other assignments. Because of my work with the capsules, however, I did learn more about the range of books that Workman publishes. For example, I found out that You Gotta Be Kidding! is a huge hit. Some stores that generally order thirty copies of a title at a time order more than a hundred copies of this unassuming little 4″ x 6″ book!

This increased familiarity with Workman’s titles helps me with my other main job, which is sending samples of popular titles to different accounts. I rather enjoy selecting the appropriate books to send and composing the accompanying letters, especially since my boss has given me free rein to embellish those letters; she, like the people in Workman’s editorial department who asked me if I would like to write this blog post, is aware of my penchant for writing. Recently, I’ve been sending out lots of copies of Unlikely Friendships, which is selling so phenomenally that it’s in its fifth reprint not even two weeks after its debut (that line’s adapted from a line in the letters I send out).

The buddy system: A pit bull, Siamese cat, and baby chicks from Unlikely Friendships.

I only spent one day in the Special Markets sales department, and I spent it glued to the phone on my (borrowed) desk. Special Markets, if I understand it correctly, deals with stores or other sales outlets that do not traditionally carry books. I was instructed to call the camera stores listed in an online directory to see which are still in business and which are now defunct. The purpose of this task to was to find out which stores are still around to receive a sample copy of How to Shoot Video That Doesn’t Suck. Of course, when I mentioned “free copy,” many people, assuming that there would be a catch, said, “We’re not interested. Goodbye.” I learned ways to adapt my pitch…and got a little taste of what it might it be like to be a telemarketer – definitely not a path I want to pursue further!

That’s it for this installment. Check back next Wednesday for my adventures beyond the sales departments, when I spend some time at Algonquin Books!

—Jennifer