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!
What I liked about the book Whisper was that I saw a new point of view of
life. I still can't imagine a world without sound, but I feel that the book
has shown me a glimpse of what it could be like. I also liked how when I was
reading the book I got sucked into it, like I was Demi. I cringed when she
cringed, and panicked when she panicked, this effect would only be ruined
when someone would come up and talk to me. Another reason as to why I liked Whisper is that the ending was so beautiful.
