I saw in your answer to a previous advice ask that you mentioned that you work for a literary agency, and as someone who would love to get into the publishing industry after college (I’m currently a second year English major) I was wondering if you have any advice?
TONS: read a lot, and get an internship. Unfortunately a lot of publishing internships are unpaid, so if you can’t do that which is totally understandable and a shitty part of the industry, getting a job at a bookstore goes a long way to showing you know what’s happening in the industry. And subscribe to Publisher’s Weekly and ShelfAwareness. They both have news about what’s going on in the book world, list available jobs, and have great book reviews (most of the time). Pay attention to the NYTimes Bestseller list. And specialize. What books do you want to represent (as an agent) or work with (as an editor)? I decided on queer diversity in children’s lit and then ended up working with mostly comics and children’s books. Also it can be super difficult to get a job/internship at a publishing house because they get so many applicants, but literary agencies, especially small ones or independent publishing houses are always in need of interns. And read books that are publishing right now. You should be able to name books you liked in the field you want to be in that published this year. And if you’re trying to become an agent or work at an agency and don’t know where to look, check the acknowledgements of the book you’re reading. Authors always thank their agent. But read a lot and know what’s going on in the industry. —burritobae
