How to land a job
bze...@aol.com
publisher?
A: Bobbie will address the publisher side; Susan will address the
agency side.
Bobbie Christmas of Zebra Communications says: "Contact the publishers
that interest you and ask if they have intern positions. Many allow you
to work for free or for a very small salary to gain experience. After
you gain experience, you may be offered a job by the same publisher. If
not, your internship experience will show other publishing houses that
you are serious about wanting to work in the publishing industry.
Meanwhile, learn all you can about writing, editing, and publishing, so
you will be ready to be of assistance to a publisher."
Susan Graham of About Words Agency responds, "The best way to land a
job with a large literary agency is to intern for one to five years as
an assistant to an established literary agent. Usually you will get
paid during that time, although the pay is low. If you show promise,
trustworthiness, and reliability, you can graduate to a higher position
in the company.
"The best way to find a job with a small agency is to find a job as an
assistant, as with the larger one. After you learn the basics, you may
then have to start your own agency or move to a larger one, because the
smaller agency may not be able to employ you at a higher rate or may
not need or want another agent in its office.
"A less traditional method, but still a viable one, is to first get a
job as an acquisitions editor with a publisher, then move over to the
agent side. The most famous of those transitions was John Grisham's
editor who became his agent."