Job Descriptions for Publishing Interns and Volunteers
Depending on the individual’s interests and expertise, the intern or volunteer may assist in the following areas toward the production of The Bloomsbury Review:
WRITING:
Generally short notices, biographical notes, promotional copy, and in some cases articles.
PROOFREADING:
All editorial and promotional copy, with the assistance of the editorial staff. Proofreading is a critical and extensive task that every member of the staff is asked to perform. Accuracy is a responsibility that weighs heavily on every publication. Each member of the staff is required to proofread all copy generated in this office.
RESEARCH:
Biographical information on authors, books, publishers, and/or marketing information. When anything is questioned, we never guess. Information must always be verified by using sources available in our extensive reference library, on reliable online sources, or by contacting a publisher or library.
FACT-CHECKING:
Verifying that all proper nouns are spelled correctly and have the correct diacritical marks; that all bylines are current; that publishing information, including complete addresses for small presses, is correct.
COPYEDITING:
Only if an intern or volunteer shows exceptional talent and ability to work with grammar and style, and has a working knowledge of The Chicago Manual of Style, will they do actual copyediting. However, the opportunity exists to learn copyediting and become familiar with editing techniques.
OFFICE WORK:
Some clerical tasks, primarily faxing, ordering books from publishers, photocopying, processing mailings, and some filing. Volunteers and interns are also asked to add information to various indexes on differing databases. Shelving newly arrived books in the library is another task.
WORD PROCESSING:
Since TBR generates its pages from our computer using QuarkXPress, the editorial materials need to be proofread and corrected. Adequate typing skills are required.
PRODUCTION:
Depending on the interests of the intern or volunteer, she or he may assist in the art department.
In general, we try to give the intern or volunteer as broad a work experience as they are interested in receiving. Some tasks are mundane but necessary for publishing each issue, and we ask all staff, volunteers, and interns to be involved. TBR offers an opportunity to gain genuine hands-on experience in working on a publication staff representative of a growing trend in the business of publishing: companies composed of a small staff where each member performs multiple tasks. The intern or volunteer has the opportunity to learn many facets of magazine publishing—what it takes to get from the manuscript stage to the final published product. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.