By Beau Henry
As my time as an intern comes to a close, I have begun to reflect on what I’ve gained from my time at Beaufort and how future interns might benefit from the program. While publishing internships can be hard to come by, they are foundational to a career in this beguiling industry, and I have found that my time as a Beaufort intern has really clarified some of the more confusing aspects of the industry as a whole. Whether it’s keeping up with the ever-changing publicity strategies or ensuring the publication timeline remains intact, publishing is a curious industry where everyone is always short on time. Interning at Beaufort has given me a solid understanding of how the dedicated people in publishing keep this whole thing afloat.
I have had the opportunity to work for two people who have shown me how this is accomplished, and Emma and Megan have both shown me incredible kindness. They are both talented, hardworking, and creative, and their “health first” approach to publishing was a really refreshing change from the way many companies are run. They encourage interns to tackle new challenges and make it clear that they wouldn’t ask an intern to do something that they wouldn’t do themselves. I have acquired skills in publicity and title management that I otherwise would never have the chance to learn, and I can’t thank them enough for the opportunity. In addition to the staff, forming a connection with my fellow intern, Judith Beaumann, has been a gratifying experience as well, and we both have learned a lot from each other that will help us in our careers.
Second only to the people I’ve met are the projects I’ve had the chance to work on, and Beaufort has an incredibly diverse list of titles to choose from. Within Beaufort, there are two other imprints that publish vastly different material from Beaufort’s material, and a wide variety of perspectives are represented in Beaufort’s line. Getting to evaluate manuscript submissions, proofread ARCs, and write reader’s reports has given me a broad set of skills that will help me in my future editorial endeavors. In addition to these skills, I have, by extension, learned to understand how a list is compiled and how the market functions. Though a publisher’s list may have titles that explore a wide variety of themes, getting to see how all the titles function together has been enlightening and has helped me identify potential in manuscript submissions. Seeing the inner workings of the editorial department has helped me understand how writing may be brought to a publishable standard in a wide variety of styles.
Working with a publisher of this scale has really shown me how books are shepherded through the publication process, and the size of a publisher is an often overlooked consideration in a career in publishing. Beaufort is an independent publisher, and Emma and Megan function in many different capacities—which they were generous enough to explain to me. As an intern, I was introduced to a wide variety of roles and duties within a publishing company, and I have a better understanding of how a publishing company works than someone who has only interned in one department. It has helped me evaluate where in the industry I would like to work and what kind of publisher I would like to work for, which is not something I had previously considered. Having a broader understanding of how publishers work has shown me how all departments work together to produce a book, which is the most I could hope for in an internship.
So as I say goodbye and make room for the next group of interns, I would like to thank Emma and Megan for their generosity. They truly care about interns and are incredibly generous with their time. I enjoyed my time at Beaufort and appreciate all that Emma and Megan have done for me. I have learned a lot, and if you are lucky enough to score an internship at Beaufort, you will too.
Tags: beaufort, Beaufort Books, beaufort books intern, beaufort books internship, editing internship, editorial internship, internship, marketing internship, publicity internship, publishing internship