With the preceding tales of cultural excursions and lazy
afternoon strolls, you’d think I was on a not-so-mini-break in the capital,
wearing the corners of my Gilbert&Jeune map-book and trying to avoid the
flock of tourists that May has brought to Paris (despite the rain). However,
regardless of appearances I am not a 9-5 sightseer. Au contraire, my primary role is that of stagiare. For those unfamiliar to the concept of interning, it
boils down to a handy exchange of interesting and necessary work experience for
the student, in return for the financial benefit of cheap labour for the
employer. Add to this a French-speaking environment, and an excuse to live in
Paris.... it sounds good to me.
With the official title assistante
editoriale, I am in effect working as an intern in the editorial department
of a small publishers, banlieu-located, and interestingly eschewing all normal
conventions of the sector. The vision of Edilivre
is to open up the market to any inspired writer, regardless of experience
or genre, allowing amateurs of any level to see their work on the shelf.
Granted they might not be about to win the prix
Goncourt 2013 but at the very least budding authors can make the move from
a 106-page word document to something that actually resembles a book. And
working in editorial means my role is in this very process. My main duties thus far have been in the
initial “selection” of manuscripts, which involves “reading” what we receive,
and offering a summary/comment/score to facilitate the next stage. Some are
interesting; some need work, and others downright questionable. Not my place to
judge whether the vocation of certain authors has been wisely chosen, I put it
down to literary democracy and diversity, and move on. Aside from reading, I am
also implicated in the editing side of things. Checking and logging
modifications (primarily the small details, but hey, getting the spelling of
the authors name right is pretty important) has been the latest learning-curve,
with the main challenge being the navigation of a rather confusing online
administrative platform, and colleagues who combine both being incredibly busy
with being incredibly Parisian, resulting in much interpretation (on my c.v.
I’ll put “initiative”) rather than actually comprehending the instructions I
receive.
Though the tasks may be somewhat repetitive, the environment
a little unique, and my place categorically at the bottom of the book-chain, I
am learning none the less what it means and takes to work in editorial. And my
small input in the creation of a book, plus a significant amount of time spent
reading (however varied the material), means it’s not with reluctance that I
resume my post of a Monday morning. After 7 months “working” as a language
assistant, adapting to the 9-6 rhythm of full-time employment has proved a
slight challenge, but for now I am relishing the routine and sense of
productivity. It is also a relief that the commute i.e. twice daily battle with
the French underground, is proving manageable. Having mastered the art of
reading standing/squashed up against a metal pole, I make the most of my
morning 50 minutes to read (this time material of my choosing). That is of
course in between seeing the funny side of being so involved in fellow
passengers conversations it’s almost impolite to not join in, and playing a
favourite metro-game of sussing out the literary tastes of other commuters (you
can tell a lot about a person from their livre
de poche). Thus passes a day in the life of the assistante editoriale, literally book-ended and worthy of a few
stories of its own.
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