The Last Page

Editorial intern Andrew is just finishing off his last day of a six-week placement. Here he shares his final thoughts...

The end is nigh – and much more peaceful than the beginning. After the mania that surrounds the build up to Frankfurt Book Fair, the calm that followed was surprisingly eerie. It was great to see the day-to-day pace of everything and know that somewhere over the sea the true publishing storm was raging and I could help out from a relatively safe distance.

Having, cut, stuck, coloured and cross-worded to my heart’s content, the last few weeks have now introduced me to creative meetings, proofreading, research, submissions and the post–room.

The team have been great at allowing me to be involved in all elements of their work and it was fantastic to sit in and hear the feedback from the fair.

It’s exciting to know I’ve had a sneak peek at what is to come (I won’t spoil it for anyone, but trust me, young readers won’t be disappointed). There will be a part of me excited to see them begin to appear on the shelves, knowing not only their quality, but also the hard work that has gone into creating them, and each book will be tinged with the happy memory of having been a part of it.

Intern-al Workings of Publishing

In the run-up to the Frankfurt Book Fair, Templar's editorial department recruited brilliantly helpful Andrew to help out. Here are his thoughts...

Starting an internship at Templar felt a lot like the first day of school. Polishing my shoes, combing my hair, not quite knowing what to expect and worrying if the bigger boys would steal my dinner money (they didn’t, they’re all lovely… and I brought a packed lunch just in case. Smart.).

As it turned out, working at Templar is EXACTLY like school, in a good way. So far this week I have cut out shapes, completed crosswords, created collages, checked my times tables and attended ‘show and tell’ – next week I’ll bring my hamster – but all of it is relevant to crafting great books for kids of all ages.

Joining Templar in the lead-up to Frankfurt Book Fair means that ideas have to be tested, lots of proofs need to be read and massive deadlines charge towards us like surprisingly large hippos (which this week – as part of my ‘work’ – I learned can run at 30mph!).

It makes for an exciting time and a great opportunity for me to learn all elements of the publishing world, but most importantly I’ve learned that all those years at primary school REALLY paid off. Not just the boring bits. There are great jobs out there for everyone, no matter what your favourite lesson was.

Lucy Serocold: Two weeks in Editorial

Hi, I’m Lucy, a Classics graduate from London. I’m hoping to get a job in publishing, so over the past two weeks the folk in Editorial have kindly allowed me to join them for proof-reading, researching and generally being helpful. I’m very much hoping they’ll let me come back again in the future (hint hint), which is why today I’ve been bribing them with pistachio & lime cupcakes…
(nb. the cupcakes were devine!)

I started off last week with a proof-reading test, using a list of the BSI marks to get familiar with them. This was pretty straightforward, but the second part of the test was much harder: a ‘style test’ to put the information from the test into a format suitable for 5-8 year olds. I found it surprisingly tricky to get the information across in a way they’d understand, as well as being engaging and fun. It’s quite a wide age range to bridge for reading level as well as level of understanding. All in all, a very useful insight into the writing side of the editor’s job, as Templar pride themselves on using their editors’ writing skills as well as honing others’ work. Katie’s example was much better than my attempt – practice obviously does make perfect!

Luckily, for most of the rest of my time I managed to stick to the editing side: I was given lots of proof-reading and tweaking text for books. Being a pedant, this was perfect as it’s the kind of thing I find weirdly enjoyable. One of my jobs was altering the text to make it suitable for different markets: I ‘Americanised’ (or should that be ‘AmericaniZed’?) Penguin in Peril, a gorgeous new picture book, which has recently come out in the UK. Highly recommended, and not just by me!

http://booksniffingpug.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/top-secret-sneak-peek-penguin-in-peril.html

http://paperrobinstudio.com/2013/03/07/book-of-the-month-penguin-in-peril-by-authorillustrator-helen-hancocks/

With Penguin being a picture book, there wasn’t too much to do to make it suitable for subway-riding, movie-watching Americans, but the following week I was presented with the daunting task of ‘Anglicising’ a whole YA novel! Thankfully a freelance proof-reader had already done the hard work of marking up the manuscript, but while putting her corrections into InDesign I discovered a fair few things which had been missed. This just proves that the more different pairs of eyes checking a book, the better. I’m pretty confident I got the majority of the changes such as ‘defense’, ‘-ize’ verbs and expressions like ‘in back’ (which to me just sounds ugly), and as a bonus, I got to read a cracking story as well.

My other major task was picture and sound research for various projects that are in the pipeline (the details of which are all under wraps for now: I even had to sign a confidentiality agreement!) Picture research and fact checking was fun, broadening my own knowledge of a huge range of topics. I particularly enjoyed the sound research, as I got to listen to all kinds of crazy wild animal noises while watching the work of the office going on round me – a great juxtaposition of worlds!

Another ongoing job for any intern is assessing the slush pile. It’s good fun as you get to see the range of writing that people consider publishable – some of it’s good, and some so bad it’s funny. Doing the rejections can be a bit sad, but enlivened by seeing how far some of the letters are going (people send stuff from Australia!), as well as making the discovery that ‘Universal Postal Union’ coupons don’t work at the post office any more. (Readers who are submitting work from abroad, take note!) Templar is usually quite strict about only sending letters to people who enclose a SAE, but we made exceptions for the UPU coupon people, since they really had tried to pay for the postage.

With the help of the lovely George (see his post below), I also categorised a large stock of books from the archive. These are all now sitting happily on some shelves outside the main studio, so that people can wander past and pick up a book for inspiration. It was fascinating to see the range that Templar publishes, as well as how some topics for children are timeless and keep coming up again and again. I also started a ‘reference’ section, with encyclopaedias and anthologies on topics ranging from Ancient Egypt and animals to pirates and poetry. We enjoyed displaying some of the books to attract attention, as well as assembling the concertina books to show off their structure.

Overall I’ve really enjoyed the past two weeks, and can’t believe how quickly the time’s gone by! I’ve loved getting to know everyone here and feeling like part of the team, and hope to return for another placement in the future…(I’ll bring more cake!)

My week with Templar

Neave, age 16, spent her work experience week here at Templar Towers. Here are her thoughts on how the week went...

I’m extremely grateful to Templar for giving me the opportunity to spend a week with them, I got a great insight to how publishing works in a relaxed environment. Thanks to all the lovely people who helped me throughout the week. Some of the tasks I was set took a couple of hours whilst others lasted up to two days. Some days were creative, such as making posters for events and others saw me writing reviews on unpublished books. Also, I spent a lot of my time sending books out to magazines, radio stations etc. for reviews. I even sent one to a Hollywood film producer! Exciting! It was fantastic to be able to muck in with even the most basic tasks!

I appreciate the time spent by the Marketing team and a variety of other people to help me settle in and make sure I had plenty to keep me busy. What I have most enjoyed during my time was being able to sit in on a publishers meeting to witness how a book comes to life: From the initial idea to final product.

 I am very fortunate to have been able to spend a week here and have gained valuable skills, which, I hope I will take me into my working life. I found that the office was a pressure free and friendly environment. Everyone I met made me feel at home and welcome, which helped me to relax throughout the week, so I’d like to thank you all for this. Special thanks to Jayne and Emma for providing me with great jobs and making me feel very much at home.

Thank you very much for all your hard work Neave! We wish you all the best for the future.

Templar is on the lookout for an intern!

Templar is delighted to be able to offer a six-week internship in our busy editorial department, starting in early January.

Working in editorial is exciting and varied – whilst here you’d be undertaking project work such as picture research and proofreading, as well as helping us go all out in preparation for the most important event in the children’s publishing calendar: the Bologna Book Fair. We're also going to be looking for help reading submissions and creating our autumn/winter catalogue. So if you have a passion for children’s books and a keen eye for typos, please do get in touch!

We can offer travel expenses of up to £15 per day and a small amount of subsistence. If you’d like to apply for the position, please send a covering letter and your CV to liza.miller@templarco.co.uk with the subject heading ‘Editorial internship’.

Deadline for application: 21st December 2012

From a Work Experience P.O.V.

Last week the Templar offices were full to bursting; we had four enthusiastic work experience bodies in the building. We loved having them, and (thankfully) it seems that they enjoyed their time with us! Here is what they had to say:

My week here has ended and it is a sad occasion. I loved my time here and being able to learn how everything worked. My interest in this company was spiked when Amanda Wood came by my school and spoke of how Templar worked; I was mesmerized. My week here has certainly fulfilled expectation. I was scared at first since everyone kept telling me all I would do all day was sit around making coffee and tea for everyone, but when I arrived everything changed I sat through a meeting about the books that were almost completed, I researched people for books and I filled in AIs. My worst job was sending rejection letters to the people, I felt so bad! Although I guess it comes with the job. Liza and Katie were lovely and helped me along until I almost understood exactly how the company works, but I will need to stay longer to totally get involved. I have enjoyed the boring (like photocopying, I will never photocopy another document in my life!!!)  to the exciting jobs that were given to me, the relaxed atmosphere and the absolutely lovely people that worked here who were happy to help at every turn (when the photo copier kept jamming and Jon had to help, oh dear). I know that work experience students can a lot of times be a pain, but I’m glad you bore with me. Thanks for a fabulous week and allowing me to explore options which may even help me with my future job.  

Charlie Phillips 

Before arriving at Templar, I assumed my week-long work experience would simply entail tea making, filing and tidying. Despite have done my fair share of all of the above; the past five days have been extremely valuable and I have come away, proud to have been a part of Templar for a week.

    My week’s work has been broad and diverse.  Editing, design and sales are just a few aspects of the company and it was very interesting to see all the layers of a company working together to produce a single finished product. I have been in contact with hundreds of beautiful books and found it hard to stay focused when surrounded by so many wonderful titles. Before coming here I was unsure about my future but after spending a week at Templar, I have definitely been swayed towards publishing.

    I would like to say thank you to everyone at Templar for allowing me to be so involved and making me feel welcome.

Paul Gillett

What a week at Templar Publishing! This experience has excelled any expectations I had of working in an editing department. Other opportunities will have a hard act to follow. The best thing about my week at Templar Publishing has been the learning. Through the tasks they have given me I have learnt so much about working in an editing department and/or publishing house.

    When I walked in on Monday, I never expected to be sending rejection letters in my first morning but the great thing about that was that Templar Publishing didn’t just want you to do the ‘photocopying’ they wanted you to have a proper opportunity. Some of the manuscripts were really obvious in deciding if they needed a rejection letter, others were harder. It also gave me a chance to put my University skills into practice, which helped me not only in my career in a publishing house but hopefully my writing career too.

    Tuesday was full of yet more surprises when I was given a proofreading editorial test to do. This was fun but challenging especially learning the symbols. The edit looked much neater to when I edit peers work though so that will be something to think about next time I have to edit some work. I also worked on completing some AI masters which was interesting as it allowed me to really work on what sell’s a book. It took a few changes but I think I finally got there.

     Wednesday was a real challenge for me. I thought I’d failed in my hunt to research potential books that could be illustrated. I was relieved on Thursday when told it was supposed to be a challenge and that at least one of my suggestions could be considered. I think this will be an on-going project for the editing team. Good Luck!

     Thursday was a day of researching sales figures using a programme called Nielsen book scan. This was a good experience and it allowed me to use my wonderful administration skills, I knew they would come in useful eventually. I also finished reading a manuscript which had taken a few days which had originally been read as just a few chapters and now had been asked for in it’s full length. This was an enjoyable experience, the author was very entertaining but it also allowed me to see that even manuscripts considered for taking further can have typo’s-I did note these down, I hope they were helpful.

    Friday was a real learning experience; I was given a proofreading test. The biggest thing I learnt was to slow down and really pay attention to the details. Another skill I can transfer to my studies and own work. I was pleased to know that some of the items are house style errors which had I known could have noted earlier. It was good to then mark these errors in Quark. Quark was an interesting programme and although I only used basic functions I am sure it could do a lot more.

    This week has been filled with many tasks and these are just a few. I am going to take a lot away with me from this experience and want to Thank Templar Publishing for their time and patience this week. I’ve had lots of questions answered. Everyone has been friendly, approachable and helpful. 

Jemma 

Thank you to all our work experience students for all your hard work last week, and hopefully we shall bump into you in the future!