How to Make the Most of your Internship

Most internships will likely require you to wear many different hats around the office. One day you could be spending most of your time fretting over whether or not the shipping charges to Brazil are reasonable, and the next you’ll be reading a strange manuscript featuring a semi-robotic pirate. Sometimes it can be overwhelming and challenging, but that’s the sign of a good learning experience. Here are a few of my tried and true tricks for making sure you are as prepared as can be at your publishing internship: 

1. Dress for Comfort & Professionalism: This one may seem simple and like information you could learn just as easily from your Business Marketing Major friend, but I didn’t realize how true this advice is until I had to lift big boxes of books in my roommate’s ill fitting skirt.

2. Ask Questions: You are here to learn, not be forever suspended in a state of unsureness! Asking questions allows you to get to know your fellow interns, your superiors, and your supervisors.

3. Stay Focused: If you’re anything like me, certain tasks can provide a challenge for your attention span. For me—it’s spreadsheets. Any internship at a press (and especially at a non-profit) is going to require a lot of work with Excel. My one recommendation for tasks you struggle focusing on is that you make a playlist. Listening to music while making your way through a sludge pile of data allows you to focus on your task while entertaining all the other parts of your brain not in use. It’s amazing how much longer I can work on data-heavy projects while I’m listening to music as compared to when I’m not. 

4. Be Okay with Making Mistakes: It’s easy to live in a constant fear of making mistakes, but the adage, “you learn from your mistakes” exists for a reason. If you play it too safe, chances are you won’t learn as much as you could! 

5. Make Goals: I know verbalizing your goals can sometimes feel like an exercise from your 7th grade life-skills class, but it’s important to be conscious of what you want to achieve in your internship. If you set goals, you’ll be more active in learning and reaching them. Chances are, you’ll be pretty proud of yourself by the end! 

Coffee House Press Needs Interns!

Do words like “stipend,” “literary arts,” and “non-profit” pique your interest? If so, an internship at Coffee House Press is calling your name! Our internships will introduce you to all aspects of a small literary publisher, and will give you skills that can also easily transfer to larger publishing houses and other careers, both in the arts and elsewhere.

CHP is currently accepting applications through Sunday, November 1st for Spring 2016 publishing interns! More info on applying can be found here . 

—An Intern who just added “Social Media experience in a professional setting” to her resume 

Who loves cats more than Tumblr? Who loves the internet more than Tumblr? 

Nobody!

Join us this Saturday (10/3) at the Walker Art Center for the launch of “Cat Is Art Spelled Wrong!” Have your copy signed, learn about internet phenomenons (’cause if you’re not on it, you might as well talk about it!), and mingle with your fellow feline fanatics! 

CHP Is Hiring!

Coffee House Press is hiring a full-time Editorial Assistant. Find out more here: http://coffeehousepress.org/blog-posts/job-posting-editorial-assistant/ and apply by August 7, 2015. 

Ivory Tower art and literary magazine from the University of Minnesota undergraduates is releasing the psychedelic 2015 edition! Weisman Art Museum galleries! Readings! Food! Music! Get your free copy on WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29 at 6:00pm.

CHP Is Hiring!

Coffee House Press is hiring a publishing assistant. Find out more and apply here: http://coffeehousepress.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Publishing-Assistant-3-20.pdf

CHP interns of present and of yore....Graywolf Press is hiring for the position of Administrative Assistant. Applications will be accepted through March 31, or until the position has been filled. Get on this ASAP!

HEADS UP! Paper Darts is growing! Apply to be part of the Paper Darts art and literary magazine team by March 9. (Need not be a Minnesota resident.)

Twenty-five years ago, we received what we thought would be our last glimpse into the rhyming world of Dr. Seuss with Oh, the Places You'll Go! But here's proof that the beloved never die. A newly discovered manuscript, What Pet Should I Get, has a release date of July 2015 (with two more to potentially follow) and Seussians could not be happier!

A reminder to all those interested that AWP will be in Minneapolis this year! Preregistration rates end February 12. The conference is from April 8-11 at the Minneapolis Convention Center and Hilton Minneapolis Hotel! CHP will be there, along with authors Julie Iromuanya, Linda Hogan, and Ted Mathys for on- and off-site readings!

"...if everyone is stopping on page 272, well, maybe there's an editorial problem on page 272!" Or is this the spot that readers lose interest because of a plot twist? Maybe it's so ghastly readers can't continue! Whatever the reason, e-book readers are supposedly being watched, and publishers are becoming interested in the statistics that detail if readers finish the book, where readers stop if they don't, and how much time readers spend on particular sections of the book. Does this mean that in the not-so-distant future writers might have to worry about these kinds of statistics policing their creativity?

Here's a list of words that even the smartest of smarties misuse and mix up. We've added to the list with three other "favorites":

Allusion vs. Illusion

An allusion indirectly refers to something.

An illusion is an image that is unreal or supernatural.

Example: The poem made an allusion to Harry Houdini, whose greatest illusion was making a full-grown elephant disappear on stage.

That vs. Which

That defines things.

Which adds extra information.

Example: The peach pie that is in front looks best. (Indicates which peach pie.) The peach pie, which is in the front, looks best. (Adds information about the only peach pie in question.)

Advice vs. Advise

Advice is a noun.

Advise is a verb.

Example: I advise you to seek better advice.

What are your grammar pet peeves, and are you (gasp!) guilty of some?

List via A Cup of Jo

Apologies for the temporary hiatus with this Tumblr account, it's been hard to come up with something to top those cat photos. Until we remembered cookies!

Join us next week for our annual holiday cookie party from 5 to 8! There'll be plenty of cheer, books, baked goods to swap, and all are welcome! (Unless you're a cat, sorry.)

https://www.facebook.com/events/1529637177293659/

Bougie, one of our cuter backers, just kickstarted the ultimate cat video book. 

Q. Why can't we stop watching cat videos? 

A. Because we've been brainwashed by our secret feline overlords (duh).

In all seriousness, though, we've decided to pursue the answers to some of life's important questions, like: Why are cat videos so popular? Why are we willing to waste** hours of our lives watching them? And why is Grumpy Cat so grumpy? 

Thankfully, some of our favorite writers (Carl Wilson, Elena Passarello, Alexis Madigral, Jillian Steinhauer, Stephen Burt, Matthea Harvey, Kevin Nguyen, and more) have agreed to answer these questions and more in a book called Cat is Art Spelled Wrong, which we're funding right now through our Catstarter.

A $20 pre-order gets you a copy of the book (with your name inside, disguised in a cat). There are also posters, a kitty totebag, and the opportunity to host the entire Internet Cat Video Festival in your backyard.

Plus, y'know, you'll be helping make sure the writers are paid well for their work. Kick in for your very own copy today and spread the word by reblogging and sharing the news with your friends!

View the Kickstarter here. 

**debatable