Introductions

I graduated from UMich nine months ago. Just two short weeks after commencement, I started a job in New York City. It was all very quick, but I couldn't pass up the offer. Some people say it's good to wait, take a break, maybe travel a bit between school and working. That is definitely a good idea, but for me, I was financially unable to travel (I had already gone abroad in 2004, so I didn't feel like I was missing out) and knowing myself, I would have been very bored just hanging out back home. So I took two suitcases, hopped a plane for New York, and that was it.

It sounds deceptively simple, but living in NY--and moving here--is tough! Luckily, I had a place to crash for a few months while I "got on my feet", saved up some money, etc. You probably already know this, but rent here is outrageous. There is not much to be had for under $900/month, especially not in Manhattan. I found that out the hard way the summer of 2005, when I interned in the city. For $900/month I rented a room I discovered on Craigslist: small, but with enough room for a desk and a bed. I saw pictures; it looked perfectly fine. But when I got there I discovered that the bed was not really a bed, but an air mattress. With a hole in it. But, everyone has a New York-apartment horror story, so I'll digress.

The position I accepted was Publicity Assistant for an adult trade book publisher. And by trade I mean books that you read for fun, the kind you find at a Barnes & Noble. This particular publisher--or imprint--puts out both fiction and non-fiction. They had published one of my favorite writers, a fact which helped seal the deal for me. I think it would have been tough for me to publicize a product I didn't like or relate to--such as romance novels or technical books for architects.

In publishing, as in many fields, you have to start out as an assistant. This may sound demeaning or unimportant, but it's not. It is essential to learning the business, and to getting your foot in the door. And being an assistant is not all photocopying and getting coffee either (although there is a fair share of that too); it is a lot of responsibility. In my case, I'm not only responsible for my own books and authors, but my boss's as well. In many ways, I am an assistant to our whole publicity department: handling bills, making sure books get to reviewers, answering an endless stream of emails and phone calls.

Whenever I'm having a particularly trying day--e.g. someone asks for a 4 PM plane reservation, I make one, and they turn around and say 5 PM would be better--I remember the words of a very wise professor of mine, "It is only through indignity that we rise to dignity." Or, as many would say: you've got to pay your dues.

Until next time...