A regular day at work is pretty straight forward. I begin the day starting up the incredibly slow computer while Nicholas gets together what I need to do for the day. As the journal’s compilation has progressed, my work has changed. At first I was filtering submissions and writing reader’s reports, then I began drafting rejection letters (I didn’t get the pleasure of drafting acceptance letters sadly), then came editing the accepted pieces, and copyediting the journal a few times while it was nearing completion. The journal is complete now and I’ve been compiling an Author’s Handbook to provide resources like small-press support; scholarships, competitions, and award opportunities; higher-education opportunities in the Italian-American sphere; as well as Italian-American/diaspora organizations. Around one or two in the afternoon I take a lunch break which nicely divides my day into 3-4 hour chunks and allows me to get a breather. As filler for when I get tired of my main assignment, I update the book links on Bordighera Press’ website so that individuals can order books directly from the distributor.

My idea of what working in publishing would be like was airy, ungrounded, and not very specific before this internship. I’m grateful because now I have a realistic understanding of what publishing is. I both had the idea that I would enjoy the work (in a far too easy sense) and others told me that it was an incredibly difficult job. Now that I’ve done it, I see both sides realized themselves. I have a love for the work that makes the job “easy:” I want to do it. It is also incredibly difficult. Sometimes it gets overwhelming, in situations I’ve mentioned in the past like when I have a lot of big edits to make or when I am beginning a project (like the author’s booklet) that I have absolutely no experience with. However I have learned a lot of techniques for managing the stress and my expectations which have made it easier. On top of that, I find the end result of what I do to be very rewarding. I hope in the future to find a job in editing for this reason, I find it good that it challenges me while also rewarding me at the same time.