A job in publishing may be every English major’s dream, but the key to landing one for herself, Thea Goodrich ’12 said, required her thinking unconventionally. Instead of just looking at positions in trade publishing, the 23-year-old applied for jobs in publicity, production and audio books. She’s now celebrating her one-year anniversary with W.W. Norton and Company as an editorial assistant working on text books.
“It was a dream come true,” said Goodrich who lives in Brooklyn.
The key to her getting the job? Perseverance.
After working for the company as an intern after she graduated from Kenyon, Goodrich knew it was where she wanted to work permanently.
“Norton being small, they care about every book they make,” she said. She was also drawn to it because it is employee-owned.
When the internship ended, her former boss contacted her about a new position for an editorial assistant that the company was creating. The drawback was it would be temporary, just three months.
Goodrich applied anyway – and she got the job that has since become permanent.
She points out that much of the job is clerical: routing manuscripts, sending e-mails and navigating the complex world of permissions.
“It can be down and dirty and very boring,” she admitted, but she knows the final products she works on will be useful to students. “I like text books. I feel like I’m still in college.”
Future plans for Goodrich may include more education, maybe some poetry writing of her own and hopefully more involvement in content editing.
But for now, she’s pleased to have snagged the job at Norton.
“I could see myself here for the rest of my life.”