Reflections and Alternative Perspectives

This week, I got the chance to defend my thesis in a presentation for my adviser and committee member. This was a fascinating and enlightening opportunity for me, and I’m glad I was able to present my work in front of a captive audience. In my final blog post here, I also have the chance to reflect on my experience both with my internship and with this thesis overall. In my previous post, I synthesized what I’ve learned throughout the semester and the most important and widespread observations I made at the Greyrock Review so far.

In this final blog post, I’m going to incorporate some of the feedback my thesis committee gave me following my presentation. They encouraged me to take some time to reflect on the opportunities and tools the project has provided me with for my future after I graduate and leave the world of academics.

A committee member asked me why I chose to use a blog/website format for this project instead of a traditional research paper-style thesis, and why I wanted to incorporate multimedia aspects, like a video blog. I wanted the opportunity to supplement my experience with print media at Greyrock (a completely print literary magazine) with some different forms of online content. I’m excited that this thesis project will be useful beyond the university setting because I can show this website to future employers as part of my professional writing and media portfolio. The skills I’ve learned through the creation of this website — video blogging, interviewing, blogging, profiles, double-entry field notes, and more — can serve as a demonstration of my ability to work with traditional forms of media and adapt to new forms of technology in today’s ever-changing media landscape.

At my presentation, my adviser also asked me what I would do differently if I could redo this project or if I had more time to continue observing this team of interns. I think that when I’m making ethnographic observations in the future, I will take demographics into consideration more seriously — gender, race, age, etc. — which I didn’t have much time to work into my field research in such a short span of time (less than one semester). In addition, if I had more time to work on this thesis, I would take more time to incorporate double-entry field notes into my meetings with the team and my overall research tactics. I would also get more direct quotes from other interns about their experiences throughout the semester if I could do this project over again.

I genuinely appreciate the things I’ve learned during this experience — both at my internship and while creating this thesis throughout the semester. I’ve had the opportunity to learn leadership skills through my position as the managing editor of the Greyrock Review, communication skills by working with both fellow interns and writers/contributors, media skills by creating this multimedia blog site, and collaboration experience by getting and giving feedback to a team of advisers and committee members. This Honors thesis project has given me the chance to think differently and more deeply about my impact and experiences at my publishing internship, and how I can learn more and use this education for my future career in publishing.

In addition, I got the chance this week to take a step back and get a different view of this experience through testimonials from other Greyrock team members. I gave several of my fellow interns the opportunity to read some of my blog posts — especially my most recent post synthesizing my experience of the semester. I also interviewed my team members, asking three deliberate questions. The first question was: What has been the most valuable thing you’ve learned so far in this internship? Our poetry editor, Geneva, said, “I think the practical applications of the day-to-day running of a journal are quite invaluable in preparing and investigating a career in publishing, especially as English degrees are elusive in terms of securing a position in the ‘real world’ for some.” Our associate fiction editor, Eileen, then told me, “I feel like teamwork is something that can be found in a myriad of extracurricular activities and internships, but Greyrock has taken what I know about teamwork and caused it to evolve into something more involved and professional. I find myself observing the way we work through things like layout, design, fundraising, promotions, and even the act of writing and copyediting, and I see open-minded discussion, well-articulated reasoning, and an honest commitment to creating our magazine.”

I then asked: What makes Greyrock unique as a literary journal? Our associate nonfiction editor, Bergen, replied, “The fact that Greyrock publishes undergrads is so great! I actually got my own work published in it last year, and being able to say I’ve been officially published in a literary magazine is such a big step towards making a splash in the literary world. It’s a perfect outlet for the niche of CSU undergrads and the perfect stepping-stone to being published in more and more places.” Eileen agreed and mentioned, “I think our focus on undergraduate work as well as our ever-changing ‘aesthetic’ are what make us unique as a literary journal. Because the Greyrock team has the chance to remake the journal every year, it gives us the opportunity to envision new voices and new representations, and because we focus on undergrads as our contributors, it gives writers a voice and a beginning in a very competitive industry.”

Finally, I asked them: How do you see the publishing industry changing/evolving over the next five to 10 years? Our fiction editor, Ashlyn, mentioned, “I think the publishing industry is still moving towards more ebooks and electronic formats in terms of production (though I think we’re still pretty far away from going mostly digital), and in terms of content I think independent publishing houses are growing in influence because they are putting out material that challenge social norms, deeply rooted ideas, etc. and really try to focus on what literature is meant to do — change lives.” Then, Geneva said, “The direction of publishing … is difficult to predict, particularly in light of recent changes in a global sense. I’d have perhaps answered this differently if the vision of America were not so divided. I think I might expect a fracturing in artistic endeavors — one that will crystallize in new directions. Perhaps some will be ‘revolutionary,’ perhaps some aimed at healing, and still more that manifest in ways yet unforeseen.”

It was nice to get a different perspective from others involved in this internship and in different positions on this team. My fellow interns echoed many of my own thoughts and observations on Greyrock and publishing internships in general — especially in the way publishing is being pushed to adapt to new technologies and the value of a publishing internship for a future career in publishing. This has been a fantastic experience and I’m excited to continue working with this team to create something truly unique at the Greyrock Review this year.

Wrapping Up the Semester

This semester of working at my Greyrock Review internship has been enlightening and a lot of fun. Since my first day on the job, I’ve taken on my role as managing editor and worked with three separate genre-separated teams (fiction, nonfiction, and poetry), visited the Colorado Review twice, and learned about important topics in the publishing industry such as fundraising, the submission process, Submittable, layout, aesthetics and design, and copyediting. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know my team and learning about the process of creating a literary journal from scratch.

Alongside my journey through this internship has been this thesis project, which has helped me to think more deeply about my involvement and impact at Greyrock and to reflect on the culture of the space I entered at the beginning of the semester. In my research for this thesis, I’ve learned about recording observations, fieldworking, ethnography, and taking double-entry field notes.

Throughout my field research experience at this Greyrock internship, I’ve noticed several themes that indicate the overall culture of this yearly literary journal. My most common observation came from those around me. All of the interns at Greyrock are interested in breaking into the publishing industry after graduation, and I noticed that they have all been eager to learn new things, practice techniques that are commonly used in editing and publishing, and ask good questions about the skills they’ll need to work at another literary journal someday. It seems to me that the culture of Greyrock is a learning environment which interns will use and advisers will provide as a stepping stone for a career in the publishing industry.

I’ve also observed, from comments made by our graduate adviser and faculty adviser, that Greyrock has an aura of newness, space for brand-new ideas, and room for creativity. Everyone involved seems to want to make a very distinct litmag from previous years. This has been enforced by ideas brought up by the current interns, which have come in the form of suggestions for using new technologies, making unique designs, and creating a journal that doesn’t resemble last year’s version of Greyrock. However, many of these ideas have been encouraged without any follow-up from advisers and several have been discouraged in lieu of support for more traditional practices in publishing. For example, we have been discouraged from adding QR codes to the pages of Greyrock, using online content to supplement our print edition of Greyrock, creating a Kickstarter or other crowd-funding operation for fundraising, and copyediting with digital techniques instead of hard copies and colored pencil mark-ups. It seems to me that those who head Greyrock might still be stuck on too many long-established practices that could be adapted to fit today’s fast-growing technological world. While literary journals can certainly still thrive today, I believe that Greyrock Review could benefit from some fresh ideas from our young interns and updates to some antiquated techniques that may not be as relevant today.

I plan to continue suggesting and encouraging new ideas about publishing practices as the managing editor of Greyrock throughout next semester. I’m quite excited to see what the rest of this year holds. Finally putting together our own version of the Greyrock Review will be a true privilege and I know that we’ll make something fantastic! This internship will be invaluable in my quest for a career in the publishing industry after my graduation, and it seems to me that my fellow interns agree.

Interview: Advice on Getting Into the Publishing Industry

This week at Greyrock, we had the incredible opportunity to ask Stephanie G’Schwind — faculty adviser to the Greyrock Review, director of the Center for Literary Publishing, and editor of the Colorado Review — questions about getting hired, working in the publishing industry, and the value of our internship. Here’s what we learned:

How did you get to where you are now?

I got here in a roundabout — and strangely direct — way. My parents were very disappointed when I became an English major, but I just decided that I wanted to be an editor — although I didn’t really know what that looked like. I went to graduate school here [at Colorado State University]. It’s not a good idea to go to graduate school just because you’re afraid of leaving the Eddy building [the English building], but I got an assistantship in the computer lab here. We were just starting to get computer literate at the time and I picked up some computer skills. When I was done with my master’s degree, I went to a temp agency that happened to ask, “Do you have computer skills?”

Luckily, I was placed as a temp at Group Publishing in Loveland, which was a Christian publishing company, in 1992. A lot of authors were still writing their manuscripts on typewriters, so I would put the typewritten manuscripts into the Mac — I was so thrilled. I was working in publishing! I was soon offered a chance to write as a copyeditor, which included a minor bit of technical writing and required a copyediting test. I remember thinking that I aced that test and being shocked at the many, many mistakes I made (including misspelling the name “Matthew”). I worked at Group Publishing for two years as a copyeditor, where I realized that I was not quite as awesome as I had thought and that I had a lot to learn. I wasn’t my dream job, but that was the job that was available. I was not super happy at it, but I think it’d be wise if you don’t hold out for your dream job right when you graduate because you’ll end up learning a lot.

Later on, my husband got a job in Indiana, so we moved there, and my friend said, “You should apply for a job at Indiana University Press.” So I asked the managing editor for a meeting. She said that there were no jobs, but I could work as a freelance copyeditor, which was much better. I learned there that everybody needs a copyeditor — even copyeditors need copyeditors. The PhDs there — I assumed that they’d be great writers and the job would be easy, but they were not. Freelancing is great when you have friends and a community, but I was really, really lonely freelancing in a town where I didn’t know anyone. I also didn’t have much control as a freelancer, which was uncomfortable for me. I thought I’d drum up more business, but not many publishing companies were on the Internet at the time, and I worked really hard to market myself to no avail.

One day, my managing editor called me and told me that there was a job opening and she said, “It’s a terrible job — I don’t know why anyone would want it” — she really said that — for a senior production assistant. To me, that sounded like the garage. It’s where the books get designed. I thought, “Well, I’ll get in there and I’ll get plucked out by the editorial department like an unfortunate orphan.” It was a clerical job, really, and I was overqualified for it. I was supporting the whole department and I resented it for a long time. Pretty soon, there was a RIF (Reduction in Force) at the university and the assistant manager’s work fell to me. I said that it wasn’t fair — this isn’t in my job description — and it became one of those moments when there was an opportunity. I didn’t end up getting paid more, but I learned a lot and I was able to learn how books actually get made.

We moved again, this time back to Fort Collins, and I started looking for a job. I saw the Colorado Review on the Denver Post job listing. It became very clear to me in the interview that if I’d gotten my wish to be a copyeditor, I wouldn’t be qualified for this job. He needed someone who could get the damn thing done — get the book to production — and that’s what got me to be the managing editor here. I was promoted to head editor and that’s where I am today. It was kind of by accident — all because of that temp job at Group — and now, I wonder what would’ve happened if I’d actually tried!

Do you have any advice for those about to graduate and wanting to work in publishing?

Ask questions! Use your resources — friends, family, professors, advisers. Find out who works in publishing and email them. Make sure to have specific questions, and just ask them to go to coffee or if you can stop by their workplace.

Where should we be looking for jobs?

Nowadays, you can find all of the job descriptions — all the job information you need — on the Internet. Before, it was just in the newspaper and you could only see the job title — not if you were qualified or what skills you needed. Right now, your best bet is probably entry-level positions.

What do you know about the Denver Publishing Institute? Is it worth it?

I didn’t used to think so, but now I do. My production job at IU was to work 40 hours a week, not to be mentored and learn things. It’s about four weeks long, it’s all day, every day, and it’s expensive — I think about $4,000 — but it’s a lot of networking. It’s basically a crash course in all things publishing. They do have some assistance. About five of my Colorado Review grad students did it and I think it was very useful to three of them.

Do we need to get an editing certificate?

I don’t know about that. I didn’t go that route. Everyone’s probably going to ask you to take that copyediting test, even if you have a certificate. But if it’s affordable, why not?

How hard is it going to be to get a job when we graduate?

It’s going to be hard for you guys to get a job right out of school. Grad school isn’t a reason to bide your time, but it does give you a few extra years of knowledge. Remember that that first job out of college is not your last job. Get something and just be patient. Get your certificates online while you’re working, do some research at home, and you’ll get there eventually.

Where should we look for entry-level jobs at presses we’re passionate about?

Look on BookJobs.com and MediaBistro. Don’t limit your searches to book publishing. One of my grad students went on to work at a cancer research magazine — it’s not literature, but it’s still really important work. Every major organization has stuff they publish (even the Girl Scouts). If you’re at all interested in design, sign up for graphic design courses — you can learn those things on Lynda.com and they have tutorials.

What’s your favorite and least favorite part of your career in publishing?

I love when I can publish someone and it makes a difference in their life. One personal essay we published got an award and the guy was promoted to full professor, which had a huge impact on him. I love working with interns and turning them onto things they didn’t know they were good at. I hate saying no, and I have to do that a lot here. I also hate doing things that have nothing to do with my job — things for the university, grant writing, fundraising, etc.