Kids and Teen Blog
The Intern Journals: Week One
by Janet
Kids + Picture Books + Vancouver / October 06, 2011
Imagine an office space: keyboards clicking away, the quiet humming of the air conditioner and the comfort of an ergonomic office chair. This isn't any office though, there are books everywhere. There's a staff library, there's an advanced reading copy library, there are books being shipped out and in and a huge warehouse filled and filled with books! Not to mention the many I have on my desk.
This is the Raincoast office and I am Janet, the new publicity intern and I've just survived my first week!
First off I have my own desk! This is pretty exciting to have your own workspace:
I remember asking myself when I was lucky enough to grab this opportunity, "What is a publicist?" I had no idea what kind of work I'd be doing, I just knew I wanted to be a part of the publishing and book world. I did a quick Google search but there wasn't too much other than the vague "generate publicity" answer, I guess I'd have to wait until my first day to see!
My tasks so far have included creating Press Releases and mailing out books. A publicist will create a Press Release (pictured to the right) to build up hype. This document will detail a book's synopsis, rave reviews and an 'about the author' paired with the book's cover. Then we send these to media outlets!
I also mailed out books to reviewers today; we're crossing our fingers that they will promote them with good reviews. Today I mailed out two childrens'’ books to various magazine and newspaper reviewers.
One of the books was A Dog is a Dog by Stephen Shaskan. This picture book is a great and fun story filled with vivid illustrations; I was smiling at every turn of the page! I know my little sister and brother would laugh out loud at each hilarious revelation. Definitely recommended!
The other book we mailed out was The Crown on Your Head by Nancy Tillman. It reads like a dream, the pages are filled with gorgeous landscapes and ethereal children and animals. This is a beautiful book filled with love and self-esteem boosters. One of my favourite quotes with how Tillman describes our crowns:
"It was made up of glittering, sparkling things
Like moonlight, and fireflies, and dragon wings."
Well Thursday is almost over and I will be back next week for some more Intern insights. Happy Thanksgiving!
Comments
On October 06, 2011 at 11:22 PM, Rob Madrilejos said:
Is that a PC I see on your desk? ;)
I’m glad you’re enjoying things at Raincoast!