Last summer, I was one of two interns selected for the Prepress Projects internship programme. A couple of months into the internship, I was offered a full-time position as a Project Editor.
Before starting at Prepress Projects, I had some experience of publishing, having previously interned with a number of different publishing companies while I was at university. However, with a degree in English Literature and Language, my knowledge of scientific publishing was limited. This internship was different from my previous intern experiences in a number of ways. I received a salary, which, for publishing internships, is relatively rare, and the same privileges as any other member of staff, including holiday entitlement and flexible working. Perhaps more importantly, I felt that my contribution to the team was valued, and that the people involved in my training (and answering my many questions!) were genuinely happy to help me learn as much as I could.
From the outset of the internship, I worked as part of the journals team, and being part of this team helped me to better understand the whole production process that goes into publishing a book or article, and the high standards required for publication.
My tasks as an intern included formatting documents according to journal style, which helped me to learn how to properly use all the features of MS Word, and provided a good foundation for me to move on to copy-editing and proofreading complex scientific articles in my current role. I was also tasked with collating corrections to proofs, and checking that amendments had been correctly applied, which was a good way for me to become more familiar with the standard proofreading symbols that are used across the publishing industry. Additionally, I assisted with editorial office management and administration tasks, which gave me further insight into the inner workings of the scientific publishing world.
The internship was really beneficial to me personally, as I already knew that I wanted to work in publishing, and it allowed me to learn more about the industry and to develop some of the skills and experience needed in this career. I would say, however, that the internship would also be a worthwhile opportunity if you are more generally interested in learning about publishing as a possible career option, as the experience was a good way to get an accurate impression of what working in publishing is actually like.
I felt very fortunate to be offered a full-time job towards the end of the internship, and one of the things I particularly like about Prepress Projects is that I have continued to learn and progress in my career. As well as constantly learning new information through working on a variety of interesting documents, over the course of this year my responsibilities have increased, and my role now involves project management as well as copy-editing and proofreading. From the beginning of my internship, I have found the office a really positive and highly productive working environment, and I have become part of a team where everyone is more than happy to answer your questions and help you to work through any problems that arise.
The internship programme is one of Prepress Projects’ many assets, and I hope that this year’s interns get as much out of the experience as I did.