Intern Spotlight: Megan

Working at The University of Alabama Press has been an eye opening experience and a great delight. When much of the world thinks of publishing a book they assume that the writer does all the work, but, in fact, half of what makes a book the product you see on your shelf comes from the dedicated work of a publishing team.

When I first came to the University of Alabama, I knew that I wanted to work with books as a future career but I was uncertain what direction that would take. Being both an English major and an avid reader, I churned through books from classics to contemporary fiction learning to read with a scholar’s eye and a veteran’s familiarity. But this only offered a glimpse at one side of what makes books so remarkable.

It was the September of my Junior year of college that I first received the opportunity of working at The University of Alabama Press as an editorial intern and pulling back the curtain on what was then to me the mysterious process of book publishing. Little did I know, joining the Press would be one of the best experiences of my college career.

Thinking about my time at the Press, one of the things that stands out most to me is the great teamwork and comradery that we have with each other. Every part of the Press, and the book creation process, is deeply entwined. I have been lucky to have such wonderful coworkers and mentors within the Press. They have helped me from the beginning with learning the Chicago Manual of Style to answering the trickier questions of in-depth indexing and rooting out the elusive typo. Whenever I find myself with a question, I never feel uncomfortable nor hesitate to ask.

Beyond editing, my time at the Press has been deeply influential in helping me to find what direction I will take in my future career. I am currently a senior as I write this and will be graduating at the end of this semester. My coworkers are a great help in giving me advice and the insight I need in making this next step. I intend to continue on in the book publishing industry and one day I hope to find myself publishing books of my own.

To my peers at The University of Alabama Press, thank you for your help and the experience I have gained these past two years. I look forward to all the books to come.

Megan McCarter