Welcome Books
Alexandra Peterson, 2008.5
During my Winter Term internship at Welcome Books I was thoroughly introduced to the workings of a publishing company, a three-decade-old company, which is connected to the historic publishing house, Random Books.
Welcome Books, Inc. has multiple divisions, but it is renowned for its coffee table books: The Constitution and The Farmer, for instance. These books have large photos, but what I like in particular is the informative nature of each book. I wanted to intern for the company because of its small size and good values. Everyone was very thoughtful to explain the company’s inner workings, as I was hoping they would be. I took it slow, as I have not walked into a situation with so little background in a very long time. I think it is great that I’m ending my college career with an opportunity to experience something different – a liberal arts education at its best.
I had no experience in the book business nor in a small company so I requested to be sent around and help as many different people and projects as possible. I was able to sit down during brainstorm meetings: meetings for book ideas, illustration ideas, cover ideas, pitching ideas, etc. I looked a many mocks to see what issues there were with text, image and layout. I had to double check finances of the company, help go through bills and projected income and also go through financial possibilities with the economic crisis. I took notes at meetings regarding negotiations of contracts and staff assignments. I assisted with events to help promote upcoming and existing books.
I learned that it is all about ideas. Good, unique ideas. What is the book that no one else is going to think of? What coffee table book does not exist yet? What is a children’s book that will be of interest for generations to come? What children’s adventure has someone NOT written about yet? What type of photos or illustrations have not been on the market that should be? It is an inventive industry, to say the least. It is about pitching an idea to an author to have them agree to do business with you. You’re a sales person who must have unique ideas. This was not something I’m used to. I’m not a creative person. I am a person of logic. I think analytically and therefore am better at working with an existing problem, rather than coming up with one. This is what Winter Term is all about – experiencing something, you otherwise might not ever experience.
The competition between publishing houses is worse than ever with this failing economy and I learned about how a publishing company works, but more so, how a publishing company works when there is no money. So one of the challenges is not finding the people and books, but to get them under contract as soon as possible. I understood the negotiation process, but not the lingo. There are standard fees and times for new writers, a certain amount of money for a year’s work. The corresponding time spans and prices I still can’t remember. I like the negotiation side of it – the chase, the challenge. It seems that is what I have found most enticing throughout learning about the industry. Even though I think it is important to exercise my very little creative side, I find that I gravitate towards the business end of publishing.
Last J-term I worked for Diane Sawyer at ABC News, an enormous corporation. Working at a small company has shown me that what a successful small company needs is a group of hard workers and self-motivators. This business is full of very well educated, thorough workers. Everyone has his or her own specific expertise, but at the same time, everyone checks everyone else’s work. This has been my first experience in a small office. I’m not sure if my work style is best for this environment, but it is without a doubt interesting.
At the end of this internship I realized that I’m more of the independent type, and therefore not one to work in a company that is “family style.” I did without a doubt need this experience. I needed to know what it is like to depend on members of the team and to have to have many people check your work and to have many voices on a topic rather than a single boss.
I knew before I entered that the publishing world was not for me, but it was important for me to see it as a student of international relations. I read books – all the time – and these books go through a business to before their final product. I wanted to know the capitalist tweaks (or something along those lines) it goes through during the publishing process to make it to the public eye. It was all fascinating, but professionally, not for me.
Wanting to know the process of what I consume was the same with ABC News. I watch the news all the time; I depend on it for my professional and personal life. I wanted to know what the filters were, the economical benefits for certain frames, the relationships between news corporations and other businesses. I think it is very important to understand the business of a product that one consumes on a regular basis. It could even be like reading, Fast Food Nation, for meat-eaters (I’m a vegetarian). I like to know the details of an organization or company, what are the pressing issues, what are the small issues that the public does not know. It all gets complicated and I think the only way to really get to know something is to throw yourself in the middle of it. And that is what I did.
I now have greater knowledge of the book industry. I also have greater knowledge of a small business. The two combined were so informative because I was basically starting at ground zero. I took in as much information as I could get and at the end of my internship I made an assessment of what I learned and compared and contrasted that to who I am. Neither of the two, the publishing industry, nor the small business, seemed to work well with me, but I would not have known that had I not been able to do an internship during Winter Term.
This was an accomplishment. What I believe, J-term is all about. Experiencing. My final college experience, a new one, a never done before, what a great way to lead into the real world.
Contact the Career Services Office for more information on this internship!