Kaley Kiermayr
I found Tethered by Letters through their print publication, F(r)iction. In 2012 a friend of mine had issue #2 on a table in their dorm room in Switzerland. The weird and wild stories in it stuck with me. When Shaylin Hogan passed an email through Emerson’s Publishing and Writing department advertising internships with Tethered by Letters, I already had the good memory of a day curled up with a strange magazine to associate with TBL.
I applied for one of the unpaid Fall Editorial Internship spots with Tethered by Letters. I had just moved from Switzerland to Boston to pursue a Masters in Publishing and Writing program at Emerson, and I was looking for a remote editorial internship that would allow me to wear many hats and set my own schedule as I adjusted to graduate life. I wanted to communicate with authors and publishing industry professionals and push myself to develop new skill sets, but I knew I would need training and guidance to optimize my strengths and improve my abilities.
With TBL I was able to grow in several different directions — because I was allowed the chance to take on a variety of tasks. As an Editorial Intern, I wrote reviews for ARCs, interviewed authors, communicated with publishing professionals, helped market and promote TBL and its activities, provided substantive, line, and copy edits to new authors through the Free Editing Program, and managed social media platforms. Because a few other Emerson students have already worked for TBL, I also helped to set up a University Partnership between Emerson and TBL.
I worked 10-15 hours per week and had a plethora of varied tasks assigned to me every week, so I never felt constrained, and I always had the sense that I was developing useful and applicable skills that I could use at my next job in the publishing industry. My supervisor knew exactly when to step in and offer helpful support and training and when to let us interns flex our fledgling wings. When I recommend this internship to others, the warmth and passion of the people working for TBL is always one of my top selling points.
I have become a more marketable and savvy professional as a result of my internship with TBL, precisely because of the variety it added to my experience (and my resume!). I still work with Tethered by Letters today as a volunteer Junior Editor, and I’m looking forward to continuing to help them grow as an organization. I currently run their Instagram account @tethrdbylettrs, which I was responsible for revamping during my time as an intern in the fall, and I provide everything from broad structural edits to copy edits for authors who submit through our Free Editing Program.
If you have a good sense of self-discipline and an eagerness to try your hand at translating a love of the written word into a variety of skill sets, interning for Tethered by Letters will absolutely benefit you in spades. The deadline for Summer Editing Internship is May 1!
