My work experience at Miles Kelly by Emily

My name is Emily and I am currently in year 10. When I was first thinking about where to do my work experience I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. If you don’t know what you want to do, then it’s hard to know where to go to get the most out of your time.

It wasn’t until my mum suggested that I complete my work experience at a publishers that I even considered it. Once she did suggest it I thought it was a good idea because of how much I like reading. Before I started my placement I was nervous, as everyone would be, but then I was excited at the same time knowing that I was going to be doing something new.

Dinosaur market research and editing text

When I started on Monday morning there was a plan ready for me for the week of all the different things that I was going to be doing. The work that I have completed for this week has included working on different tasks with different people. The different tasks that I got involved in included working on Americanisation, market research, phonics flashcards, flat plans, back cover copy, key wording, picture research and indexing. Every task that I did was different from the other so I got a full idea of what happens at a publishers.

Back cover copy and research for a new Convertible Playbook title

All the tasks that I did were enjoyable but the thing that I enjoyed the most was writing the back cover copy. The reason that I enjoyed this so much was because it gave me a chance to write something fun that relates to kids. For example, writing the back cover copy for a new title in the 100 Facts series – a book about dinosaurs. When writing this I found it quite challenging because you have to fit in enough information about the book that will make people interested. On the other hand, you have to make the text short and simple so that whoever is reading it isn’t bored by it, and then think that they don’t want to buy it. 

The thing that I found difficult was Americanisation because when doing this you had to change the units of measurement into what the Americans use. This was hard because the units were always different, and needed working out.

Over the past week I have learned something from every task that I have done, but I think the most important thing that I have learnt about is the overall process of creating a children’s book. I was amazed by how much time goes into every little bit of the book. Even just typing in the numbers which go on each page is time consuming. The experience did meet my expectations of publishing children’s books. I think that completing my work experience at Miles Kelly has influenced what type of career I would like to go into. I think wherever you complete your work experience is going to influence your choices in the future.