rissy stories

Hey guys!

So, these next two days weren’t extremely eventful – but my program started!

(Disclaimer: I cannot give details about what I’m learning in this program because I can’t share information online about the speakers in order to protect them and their jobs, so I’m sorry for that.)

Day 3: July 14th, Sunday.

We relaxed in the apartment until about 1:00pm, and then we headed over to campus around 1:30pm, because we had orientation and a small reception, which lasted until about 4:30.

The weather here has been gorgeous compared to Baltimore – the humidity I felt on a daily basis is gone. However, it storms a little more here than it does there, so the skies didn’t look extremely friendly.

However, it cleared up towards the end of the day, and the campus itself is beautiful.

During the orientation, we were just given an overview of what we were going to be doing and what we were going to be learning over the course of the month.

Afterwards, my roommates and I drove downtown to the 16th Street Mall. The skies were overcast again, at this point in the day.

We took a few pictures once we arrived, and we had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, which is always good and fun.

(Blackberry sangria is the best, btw).

Day 4: July 15th, Monday

This was the busiest day by far. We had a breakfast with all of the speakers from 9:00am-10:00am. They served sausage, cheesy potatoes, and quiche (not my favorite, but okay.) My table sat with a woman in the sales department of publishing, which was pretty interesting to learn.

Afterwards, we listened to the keynote address by a publisher, who is also a president of her imprint company within one of the Big 5 publishing houses:

1. Hachette Book Group
2. HarperCollins
3. Macmillan Publishers
4. Penguin Random House
5. Simon & Schuster

An imprint is within a division of the Big 5. Therefore – the Big 5 are HUGE publishing houses – these are houses that distribute some of the most famous books. It’s an author’s dream to get published by one of the Big 5 because it can potentially make them rich.

This speaker spoke about things like the future of the publishing business, what types of books sell better than others, consolidation of independent publishers by one of the Big 5 that gobbles them up, how you climb up within the business, and simple advice on how to get your foot in the door.

It was a LOT for the first day, but I learned so much.

After that, we walked down to the dining hall for lunch. Let me tell you – it’s a zoo. Finding a seat, actually getting your food, and having a decent amount of time to eat it is pretty difficult since there are other camps here. Lacrosse, soccer, music, etc. all have training to do over the summer, and we all have lunch at the same time.

Then, at 1:30, we listened to another speaker who is a vice-president and editor-in-chief of another imprint within one of the Big 5.

She talked about her story as well – how she started with an internship, worked at a bookstore, and eventually worked her way up to become an editor. She gave us examples on where to find jobs and what her job actually entails.

Lastly, we went to a book reading at the Tattered Cover Book Store. He was an author, speaking about his experience with publishing novels (it’s a LOT harder than most people think, btw).

Then we went home to get some much-needed sleep, because that was A LOT for one day.

I’ve also been getting pictures of my cat from my roommates in Baltimore every day, so that makes me smile 🙂

‘Til next time,

-Rissy ❤