Does that sound like a good idea to anyone? I interned at the USU Press over spring 2009 semester and I just started another three-credit internship there, which will hopefully end before school starts. I've been thinking a lot about my last post's plea for help in writing inspiration (and I got several comments--thanks!), and I remembered today that one of the example Masters projects on the Emerson College website was a memoir of life in London's publishing houses, and I thought, I could write a memoir of life in a publishing house. I love the USU Press! Since I'm always saying that, why not? The thing is, I'm not sure how valuable such a memoir would be or how many people would be interested in reading it. It probably wouldn't be book-length, but I don't know anything about the market for short memoir/short nonfiction. I know short fiction is usually published in anthologies, either of the author's work or of several authors' work, but I don't think they do that for short nonfiction. Would it be something I could publish in a magazine?
And what things should I include? Of course my first impressions of the place and people, my original goals for each internship, maybe part or all of my five-page essay that I wrote at the end of the first internship to get the credit, talking with John about grad school and increasing my editorial skills. Maybe some things about the culture of the press, like talking endlessly with Sandy (the secretary) about religion, school politics, allergies; the day Michael (the director) came out to my desk, which is on the other side of the small building from the offices that he, Dan (designer), and John (editor) work in, to inform me that I'm supposed to say hello when I come in because otherwise he only hears the door close and thinks there's someone waiting out there. The main thing I suppose would be about the stuff I worked on and the things I learned, but at this point I can't directly quote anything (and wouldn't want to if it's from a book) and I can't really remember any stories to tell from my spring internship. The one about Michael happened on Friday, which is why I remember it.
If you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them.
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The memoir is a fun idea. I must say that I would be more inclined to read something like that if you focused on your coworkers. For me, work is the people I'm with all the time. They become the job and the work turns into a just a sidenote (if the coworkers are great to be around). I love stories and honestly get bored if stories don't focus on people and their quirks. So that's my take on that! Good luck! :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with Chessi. People are awesome. They make your crappy jobs into awesome ones. You can include your other responses, and do whatever you want! What do you want us, your readers to take away from reading your memoir?
ReplyDeleteI would read it.
Good news! In the English department e-newsletter that I get every month there was an announcement about a memoir writing competition. Motivation! A deadline! Yay!
ReplyDeleteSarah, you're awesome. What a great question. I have no idea what I want my readers to take away from this memoir idea. A basic understanding of the publishing world (which I'm still building for myself)? An exploration of a little-known job/underappreciated position as intern? I don't know. My favorite memoir is "Under the Tuscan Sun" by Frances Mayes, which I love because I learn a ton about Tuscan style, food, language, etc and because it's so calm and smooth, like a small tinkling stream: It just makes me happy. How do I bring something like that into my publishing internship memoir? Any other ideas on this, anyone?
Thanks for the ideas, my friends. My summer might actually be productive.