Notes on an internship: Meg
Hi, I’m Meg and I spent an incredible week interning at Mushens Entertainment. I took on this opportunity during my gap year between A Level and University where I plan to study English. I’m so fortunate to have had this week’s experience at such a time as I was given a well-rounded and detailed insight into the publishing world, aiding my decisions in what career path I would like to aim for. The schedule was perfectly arranged to give me varied tastes of different aspects of publishing and everyone at the office was so welcoming and open to offering advice or help if I needed. I also loved the atmosphere and vibrant interiors of the office as well – it was the perfect, cosy environment to read!
My main task throughout the week was to read a client’s manuscript and write up a reader report with my thoughts and constructive feedback. The rom-com novel I was given was a fun read, but the concept of critiquing aspects such as structure and characters was completely alien to me as it differed hugely to the style of analysis from my English Literature A Level. Despite this, Emma and Kiya offered me excellent advice on what to look out for and how to analyse effectively, helping me to develop my critical reading skills. Any doubts I had about my judgements on the reader report were suppressed by Emma who regularly checked in on my progress and gave me the validation and support to build confidence in my own opinions.
The week expanded my knowledge not just in the reading arena, but into the other roles at the agency, as Catriona and Alba gave me an introduction into the (completely new to me) world of foreign rights. I found it particularly intriguing how the genre of a book can differ from country to country and the fact that if a book sells in one country, it does not necessarily determine that it will sell in another. I also received careers advice across the week which helped me get that head-start in my career decisions, including learning what publishing interview questions I should prepare for in and hearing everyone describe the career path that led them to ME.
Being given the chance to sit in an editorial meeting was one of my favourite parts of the whole week as I got to hear the intricate (and sometimes conflicting) opinions given regarding whether to offer representation to an author. Hearing everyone’s input about the different manuscripts was especially interesting in showing what key things to consider such as the target market and other similar titles. Overall, I am so grateful for the week I spent at ME and the lovely people I got the chance to work with. Now, I will have a newfound appreciation for every book I pick off the shelf, having seen all the hard work that goes into representing, editing, publishing and promoting an author’s work. Thank you so much to the wonderful team!