This week I'm still editing a few articles, but nothing like at the beginning of this semester and internship. Thier work is fairly cyclical, especially the articles, published quarterly. So after a wave of articles and deadlines, their seems to be some slackening off. Of course books and other projects, along with general housekeeping items (and actual housekeeping), are still coming in and some are nearing completion.
One of the books that has been sent to the printer will actually credit me as "Proofreader," so that's cool for me. We got a copy of the cover to make sure everything (text too, but mainly colors and layout) was just right before they roll off 500 of these. The paper it was printed on seemed flimsier than that on a previous book of the same series, but other than that, it turned out very nicely. Again, I can't stress enough how important the littlest things are. The pdf sent to the printer had text blocks that looked very boxy, the version sent to us, though, had aligned the text sort of diagonally down one side to better match the graphics wrapping around from the front cover. It looks good and I can't wait to see it.
Matt and I were discussing how I felt the internship was coming, whether I was getting the hours I needed, whether I was learning, etc. when we started talking about what I was going to do after graduation. I told him I wasn't entirely sure, but I sort of had some things lined up (strong emphasis on sort of), and he told me they may like to keep me on as one of their freelance copyeditors/proofreaders. He said, I believe, that three of the last four interns were doing such work, in different capacities and volumes. I said that I was very interested as I have been looking into doing such freelance work over the internet. (God love the internet--I can work from a beach.) So that is very exciting for me, now I sort of (with less emphasis) have more things lined up.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Week 8
For last week:
The catalog is finished and we should see a copy next week or the week after. That is good considering this serves as the Spring Catalog. Holdups had occured because of pricing changes, title changes, and general uncertainty about the dates certain projects would be completed and ready to roll off the printer. I recieved a copy of the invoice from Jamie, the designer, and realized that that is an OK field to work in.
I've started editing a few articles, to stay ahead of the game and schedule, of another journal. This journal is the International Journal of Sport Finance (IJSF). One of the articles was just a book review and took less than an hour. One of the articles was written by an editor for another journal, so was already in fairly good form. The last article required the most work, but was by far the most interesting. The authors had developed a test to determine the criteria professional golfers used in choosing in which tournaments each should play. I don't even like golf very much, but the article was actually interesting, as it outlined and tested various skills a golfer possessed as well as psychological factors (including the Tiger Woods phenomenon).
This is a part of my work this semester that I have really come to enjoy. In working, I have learned about things I had no knowledge of but, apparently, did have some interest in. I have read a lot about a wide array of general sports topics addressing the psychological, physical, social, and business of sport. I think that is one of the great benefits of doing the type of work I have this semester (that is, if the editor/proofer enjoys learning about new things). It is an opportunity not many receive. Especially working at FIT, which produces academic journals, is great for this because even if a person already knows a lot about a subject, these journals only exist to introduce new ideas to the field.
The catalog is finished and we should see a copy next week or the week after. That is good considering this serves as the Spring Catalog. Holdups had occured because of pricing changes, title changes, and general uncertainty about the dates certain projects would be completed and ready to roll off the printer. I recieved a copy of the invoice from Jamie, the designer, and realized that that is an OK field to work in.
I've started editing a few articles, to stay ahead of the game and schedule, of another journal. This journal is the International Journal of Sport Finance (IJSF). One of the articles was just a book review and took less than an hour. One of the articles was written by an editor for another journal, so was already in fairly good form. The last article required the most work, but was by far the most interesting. The authors had developed a test to determine the criteria professional golfers used in choosing in which tournaments each should play. I don't even like golf very much, but the article was actually interesting, as it outlined and tested various skills a golfer possessed as well as psychological factors (including the Tiger Woods phenomenon).
This is a part of my work this semester that I have really come to enjoy. In working, I have learned about things I had no knowledge of but, apparently, did have some interest in. I have read a lot about a wide array of general sports topics addressing the psychological, physical, social, and business of sport. I think that is one of the great benefits of doing the type of work I have this semester (that is, if the editor/proofer enjoys learning about new things). It is an opportunity not many receive. Especially working at FIT, which produces academic journals, is great for this because even if a person already knows a lot about a subject, these journals only exist to introduce new ideas to the field.
Week 7
For a few weeks ago:
The 2009 Catalog is nearly finished. I've gone through and proofed it again after getting it back from the designer, again. It went through several drafts as seeing something can be very different than discussing it and other possibilities earlier in the drafting process. This go-round, I was just quickly reading through, making sure nothing was missed, and checking the ISBNs, cover images, and prices against their listings on the FIT website. I found a few mistakes, but not many. One thing, which ended up serving as an "in-service" (a meeeting in an organization to teach the members, here myself, of that organization something new), that I found was an ISBN was listed very differently on the website than what it was in the catalog and from the other books listed in the catalog. When I asked Matt and then Val to find out which one was correct, we found that the listing on the website was the incorrect one.
This set off a learning experience for me as to how to purchase ISBNs and how to register books online (which is a tremendous improvement from the old "paper" days). Apparently, ISBNs are generally purchased by publishing companies in bulk, up to hundreds at a time. This way, the books they put out have ISBNs different from each other by only a digit or three. That helps the publishers stay organized and helps me when proofreading ISBNs as i can memorize about nine or ten of the series and just focus on the last few digits.
Though the work for my internship has been primarily copyediting and proofreading, it has been instances like that just described that have taught me the most. Matt, Val, and the other folks at FIT have done a wonderful job of introducing me to the whole production process. I have seen articles and books develop from the earliest stages. I have seen and participated in the communication of changes suggested, changes necessary, and changes necessary that the authors keep changing back. Now I have learned how to register a book with the library of congress and have even learned what the "10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1" on the copyright page is (it is a leftover from publishing using plates, where all the printer had to do was cover a digit to show that this was the second printing, third printing, etc.).
The 2009 Catalog is nearly finished. I've gone through and proofed it again after getting it back from the designer, again. It went through several drafts as seeing something can be very different than discussing it and other possibilities earlier in the drafting process. This go-round, I was just quickly reading through, making sure nothing was missed, and checking the ISBNs, cover images, and prices against their listings on the FIT website. I found a few mistakes, but not many. One thing, which ended up serving as an "in-service" (a meeeting in an organization to teach the members, here myself, of that organization something new), that I found was an ISBN was listed very differently on the website than what it was in the catalog and from the other books listed in the catalog. When I asked Matt and then Val to find out which one was correct, we found that the listing on the website was the incorrect one.
This set off a learning experience for me as to how to purchase ISBNs and how to register books online (which is a tremendous improvement from the old "paper" days). Apparently, ISBNs are generally purchased by publishing companies in bulk, up to hundreds at a time. This way, the books they put out have ISBNs different from each other by only a digit or three. That helps the publishers stay organized and helps me when proofreading ISBNs as i can memorize about nine or ten of the series and just focus on the last few digits.
Though the work for my internship has been primarily copyediting and proofreading, it has been instances like that just described that have taught me the most. Matt, Val, and the other folks at FIT have done a wonderful job of introducing me to the whole production process. I have seen articles and books develop from the earliest stages. I have seen and participated in the communication of changes suggested, changes necessary, and changes necessary that the authors keep changing back. Now I have learned how to register a book with the library of congress and have even learned what the "10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1" on the copyright page is (it is a leftover from publishing using plates, where all the printer had to do was cover a digit to show that this was the second printing, third printing, etc.).
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