The End or the Beginning?

It's done. Gone. Given up to the marking Gods. There's no going back now.

The finished product!

Yes, I have finally handed in my dissertation. After months of researching and writing it, it had kind of become a routine. I got up, wrote some (or more accurately, attempted to write while having a mental block), cried, stared at a blank screen thinking I would never get anywhere with it. This went on every day all summer and I must admit it was very strange waking up this morning and not having any more dissertation work to do. It sounds rather silly, but it had become my life pretty much. I just hope that all those tears were worth it and I manage to pass!

In the end I was almost pleased with it. It certainly looked nice when it was all printed out and bound. Miraculously my ink held out enough to print all my illustrations and even the pie charts that ended up representing my research survey (one thing I learned this summer was that Excel and InDesign do not get along). I did nearly have a small heart attach when the secretary couldn't find my signed statement against plagiarism, and then realised she was staring at it. I had visions of having to take it back and do it all over again! The strange thing is, when it came to handing it in, I was almost sad to see it go. It had become my pet and it's kind of scary to think there's nothing I can do to it now. I just have to hope it's good enough. 

Black & White Publishing

Picture Courtesy Black & White Publishing

Hey all, sorry I have been AWOL lately. I have been frantically beavering away with my dissertation (it’s not going well so it’s best we don’t mention it) and I’ve also been kept busy with work and my internship at Black & White Publishing. You may remember I told you about starting it a while ago. Well, my last day was last Friday – that’s the quickest six weeks of my life!

I’m not exaggerating when I say it was a wonderful experience. I had more fun than I expected. Everyone was so nice and welcoming and I never once felt like a mere intern. They treated me like an extension of the staff, even allowing me to sit in on some meetings and offer my opinions on author interviews. I got to create quite a few databases which was actually a lot of fun. I got to research things like craft and wool shops and book review blogs, which introduced me to a whole host of interesting blogs.

One of my main duties was to read through the submissions and keep a log of them. I’d encountered the slush pile at Luath, but I’d forgotten just how truly awful some writing is. It never ceases to amaze me how many people think they can write when they really can’t. It actually makes me question my own love of writing. I hope I’m better than some of the terrible submissions I had to read over the last six weeks! There were several where the English was barely comprehensible, while some others were just utterly disturbing (children being impaled on spikes, anyone?) But there were some interesting ones. I thoroughly enjoyed an entire manuscript that I got to read entitled In Fear of Fear. It was about a woman in a mental institution and we discovered how she ended up there through a series of flashbacks. It was really well written and I loved the twists and turns in the plot. On my last day I discovered a young adult submission which I think had some potential, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed for that too.

The highlight for me was being able to proofread a children’s picture book, Magpies and Mischief. It was so much fun! The illustrations were beautiful and the story was actually really good. I will definitely be purchasing a copy when it is published. Not once did it feel like I was working. It clarified for me that this is indeed what I want to do with my life.

Black & White was a great experience. I would definitely recommend anyone interested in getting into publishing to apply for work experience with them. I want to thank them all again for having me and for treating me like a valued member of the team. It’s been the best six weeks and I’m going to miss going in every Thursday and Friday. I’ve discovered a whole host of new books thanks to my placement and I hope I’ve sharpened my skills. I certainly feel more confident and I hope it’s not long before I am able to work for a publishing company again.