My Sweet Cherry Work Experience Story
by Dominic Condron
This week at Sweet Cherry has been incredible. It was not at all what I had anticipated.
When I arrived at Sweet Cherry Publishing, I got a tour of the offices and warehouse and was introduced to all the team who gave me a very warm welcome. Before long I was given my own desk and computer and set to work creating an online book tour for the Jane Austen recover set. That’s right, no cups of tea, no popping out to buy biscuits. By the end of the first hour at Sweet Cherry I already felt as if I was a contributing member. And that was the same for the whole week.
I got a chance to sit down with everyone and learn their roles where and how they fit into the publishing machine. Everyone was so generous with their time despite how busy they were.
I came into this work experience knowing relatively little of the publishing industry and the roles within it. As a Film Studies student I was unsure if the skills I had would be transferable but quickly learnt that they were and that a willingness to learn is most important.
Throughout the week I worked with Marketing to …
- Create contact databases
- Write press releases
- Write blog posts
- Contribute to a social media calendar
- Build a brand deck
The Design team showed me …
- How they typeset text
- How they go about working with illustrators
- How they design book covers
- The team also gave me a tutorial on the design software InDesign
With the Editorial team, I was taught …
- How to sift through author submissions
- Copy edit effectively
- Complete sign off sheets for both the interiors and the covers of books.
- I also had the opportunity to sit in on an editorial meeting where we discussed upcoming projects
The task I enjoyed most throughout the week was carrying out my first copy edit, not only because I was learning a new skill, but also because it felt like a genuine contribution to the team.
I cannot believe how much I got to be involved in, and achieve, this week. It’s true what they say, book people are good people.
Thank you everyone at Sweet Cherry for an invaluable work experience, I would recommend it to anyone, go in willing to learn and ready to work as part of a team and you’ll have the work experience of a lifetime. Also, the tea and coffee is free.
Dominic Condron is a final year BA Film and Creative Writing Student at the University of Leicester.