Variety is the Spice of Internships
Maddie Church ’27 discusses her dive into the publishing world in a summer internship with Lanternfish Press.
Tim Schmitt
When seeking out an internship, Maddie Church ’27, an English major from Philadelphia, was most interested in something that would provide her some experience in publishing, a career she plan to pursue after graduation. With funding from the Center for Careers, Life, and Service (CLS) to cover housing, food, and transportation expenses, Maddie was able to accept a summer position with the Philadelphia-based Lanternfish Press. “Lanternfish fit my personal goal to really get involved in the workings of a small press under close, individualized guidance, while staying within my academic focus on literature outside the traditional Western canon,” she says. Maddie was kind enough to take some time out of her busy schedule to answer a few questions about the internship, what’s she’s learning, and how it may have an impact on her future plans.
Q: Why did the internship at Lanternfish Press appeal to you?
A: At this point in my career learning, I knew I needed a broad overview of how the publishing industry works. Many larger presses offer internships based on a more narrow and specialized position, but Lanternfish offers an internship across all publishing departments – marketing, editorial, production, etc. I would be able to perform tasks in all of these areas, figuring out which of them I gravitate towards so that I can specialize in the future.
Q: What has the internship entailed? What kind of work have you done?
A: Well, a variety. I have been the first reader of the press’ open submissions, where people submit manuscript ideas and I decide whether to send them to my supervisor. I’ve also been doing various forms of marketing copywriting, such as social media posts, press releases, book blurbs, jacket copies, things like that. I have also had the opportunity to complete a personal internship project where I research and present an out-of-print book of my choosing to the team for a possible reprint.
Q: How has this experience complemented your ϳԹ education?
A: It definitely has! This is the first time since coming to ϳԹ that I've been able to use what I've learned at school in the real world. This entire time, I keep realizing how all of my English, anthropology, even economics classes have given me the tools to address real-life job issues, like copywriting, reading, and even just coworker dynamics. I think this internship will then feed back into my ϳԹ education by giving me more direction in terms of what I'm learning - allowing me to see my classes through the lens of a possible career. I'm also doing tons of reading and writing and speaking throughout the internship, honing those skills for my future college classes.
Q: Have there been any surprises along the way?
A: I think I didn't expect to have such a good time, honestly. Again, I really enjoy using my academic experience in something that isn't academic, putting time and energy into a product that readers are going to receive and appreciate. I'm really grateful to the Lanternfish team for creating such a supportive learning environment for me. This is an internship, but at times it also feels like another layer of college courses, because they put so much effort into educating me on how everything works and not just throwing me into the middle with no information.
Q: How has this experience had an effect on your personal and or career plans?
A: I'm definitely more interested in working in the field of publishing than I was previously. I'm at the point where I'm thinking about next steps after this introductory internship, including which area I might want to specialize in - whether that be marketing, editorial, or production. I definitely have a lot to think about, but overall I'm feeling a lot more motivated to continue on this path than I did before the internship.
Q: What's next for you?
A: Well, I am planning to compile examples of all the work I've been doing and put it in a portfolio, both for future endeavors and just to remind myself of all the work that I did. I'd say that's the closest next step, and then I have to think about where I want to go from here. Do I want to get another internship with a similar small independent press? Do I want to get a fully in-person internship? Do I want to reach for the big five publishing groups and just see what that's like to compare? These are all things that I'm weighing, and I'm sure my CLS advisors will help me figure all of that out.