REPORTING ‘MY’ WORDCON1—PART 2 Assignments: only school assessments?

As a publisher assistant and former student at Writing and Publishing Bachelor course, Marika* gives us some tips on how to succeed professionally. She was passionate about everything she did, from completing assignments to internship; from internship tasks to freelance editing job. In editing a manuscript, she created a good relationship with the author, helping him to shape the contents and the message the author wanted to express. Marika put her passion, all herself into her work. There were also topics the author wrote about which were totally unknown to her; so she researched them and she discovered new things. She wanted the book to be at its best and worked to obtain that. And she did, as was demonstrated by the fact that, after that book, the publishing house assigned her other manuscripts that, by now, have been published.

Marika repeats a few times that the work of building her identity as an editor, writer and illustrator didn’t start at the time of the internship, but already before, during her study. This is something that makes a connection between her and me, because she considered the assignments not just something she needed to pass—maybe with a good mark—and go on; she took them further, as tools to create from them her profession. Like Marika, I’ve always seen assignments as opportunities to express myself; as ‘sketchbooks’ for practising and for being able, one day, to turn my dream of becoming part of this area in something that is less a dream and more a reality.

One of her assignments—that I am also doing—was the creation of an e-book. She grabbed it with passion; wrote and illustrated a children’s e-book that to these days can count over 800 downloads. It’s not a best seller, but it helped her to build her curriculum.

“I produced that e-book and it’s up there. This is what publishers want to see. This is what people who will accept your article or your story want to see, not just a certificate of a degree or a PhD. That shows to your possible employer that you have passion. That’s what they are looking for.”  

Marika recommends starting to form our network now, workshopping with classmates also out of school; be editors and writers to each other, and ‘use’ our teachers, asking them questions because, as she says, “they are your biggest assets.”

*Name has been changed