An Intern's Reflection

I've had a lot of valuable experiences as an intern here at TCU Press. The “insider’s look” behind the scenes of what goes into publication of a book is something I’ll cherish, even beyond my time at TCU. What’s more, the people at the Press have been nothing but friendly, contributing to a beneficial and synergistic work environment that made it less of a chore and more of a privilege to come in every Friday for eight hours.

Working as a copyeditor, PR man, catalog writer, blogger, reviewer, and formatter for e-books has shown me the diversity of a job in editing and publication, while simultaneously keeping me interested and engaged in my work each week. There’s always something different, always something more to do. I’m more of a writer, but helping out an author through editing has proven to be really rewarding.

The public relations aspect of it is also something I really like. Since I was little I've been more of a performer than the average Writing major, so I like knowing that what I've written will be read and appreciated. I've been able to synthesize my experiences in several courses, provide analytic and superficial readings to those who appreciate both, and find avenues to still express my creativity. The blog posts on two of the books I've read gave me a chance to flex my authorial muscles in a way that wasn't entirely fact-based, which may have been my favorite part of this entire internship.

Now that I know how much work goes into editing and publishing, as a future academic, I also know that the work I produce will go through this same process. I’m now aware of just how invested in an author and their work a publisher has to be for it to make it through the acquisitions stage alone. Consequently, that has led me to up my game as a researcher.

Beyond that, and generally becoming sycophantic to the people with whom I work (for which there are many reasons to do so, and none of them false), I can’t say much else except I've been honored to work here, I know my work has been appreciated and valued, and I hope that the Press continues this tradition long after I leave these hallowed gates.


by Luke Miller, intern