Reflections: My Time with the UNG Press as a Summer 2025 Intern

This article is authored by Ava Riney, UNG Press Intern

I could not be more grateful for the opportunity I was given to intern at the UNG Press this summer. This experience offered so many new insights into the publishing industry and helped me develop several skills for my future career. Before this internship, I knew about a fraction of what actually goes on in a publishing house, but now, I have a lot more knowledge about the operations that go into editing, marketing, and selling a publisher’s titles.

I knew that these elements were vital parts of a publishing house, but there are so many other processes that are part of a publishing business. For example, budgeting, production scheduling, various meetings, and decision making are the real cornerstones of a publishing house. Without budgeting every operation and creating clear schedules and charts, the publisher will fail to maintain profitability. And without meetings at every stage of the process—acquisitions, editing, design, sales, marketing, production—and the decisions that come out of them, the press’s or publishing house’s staff will fail to be productive and cooperative. Through this experience, I learned about the business side of running a publishing house that occurs behind the scenes.

This internship opened my eyes to some of the less glamourous parts of publishing—continuous proofreading, meticulous planning, and sending rejections. But even though these processes may not be as fun, they are still just as important, if not more important, for ensuring the quality of the publishing house. A publisher still has to act as a business, so it has to be selective about what it chooses to publish based on what will appeal to its consumers. The bottom line is if a publisher does not provide value to its community, it will not be successful.

Interning at the UNG Press has changed my perspective on the publishing industry by showing me the whole picture of what it means to be part of a publisher—and yes, I still want to be part of a publishing house. I cannot wait to have a career in publishing, and this experience has prepared and equipped me well for what that could look like. Thank you, UNG Press, for helping me develop the skills I need to be successful and showing me that my dream career is possible!