Life as an intern at Mardibooks

Life as an intern at Mardibooks

By Charlotte Whitehead

It was the summer before my second year at university. ‘Have you found a job yet?’ friends and family were constantly asking – a charged question with notable implications that did nothing other than dampen my spirit. With most of my friends having confirmed respectable jobs for the year ahead, I felt it imperative to do some research myself. I searched and searched for suitable jobs (there aren’t many that cater for writing-enthusiasts like myself) but had no luck. June and July came and went, August passed, I had one month before I was due to start uni again and I was desperate to find a job for the following summer.

“I searched and searched for suitable jobs but had no luck”

One Sunday morning, as I was flicking through my emails, I stumbled upon an old email from Mardibooks. I clicked on it. It was an email informing me about the writing competition I had won when I was 14 years old. I suddenly thought to myself, ‘Mardibooks is a reputable company that have published me before. They obviously think I’m somewhat competent, I may as well send them an email with my CV’. I did and, sure enough, received a reply almost immediately.

“a particular favourite post amongst the Mardibooks team was the unintentional ‘naked men’ post”

I haven’t looked back since. I’ve been working for Mardibooks nearly a year now. I’m ‘director’ (a title I rarely consider yet am proud of nonetheless) of social media. Basically, I write tweets. However, it’s not as easy as it sounds. I’m in charge of everything to do with marketing and promotion. I schedule tweets to promote the books we receive from our writers; write blogs (do have a quick read of them if you haven’t already done so); post Instagram pictures (endless fun) and I create Facebook posts. A particular favourite post amongst the Mardibooks team was the unintentional ‘naked men’ post, which included one semi-naked man, aptly chosen by Facebook for fitting with our ‘summer romance’ theme. Needless to say, I got a lot of stick for that.

A highlight of my job, amongst the rewarding task of making everything look pretty, is editing manuscripts. This involves copious amounts of reading and re-writing, as well as compiling them into downloadable eBooks for our readers. Although it’s time consuming, I like the thought that someone, somewhere, will get a lot of pleasure out of reading it (hopefully not just the author’s mother), and that the author’s hard work and effort has not been wasted.

“I like the thought that someone, somewhere, will get a lot of pleasure out of reading it”

Being an intern at Mardibooks is like being part of a large family. When I joined, everyone was so welcoming and supportive, I never felt out of my depth and received a lot of encouragement. There is freedom for me to create my own blogs and to experiment with my writing and advertising – something that is more or less unheard of within other publishing companies.

“there is freedom for me to create my own blogs”

Our world is becoming increasingly more virtual every day and without the experience that Mardibooks has provided me with I wouldn’t feel confident enough to promote and publish works online, particularly because it’s becoming very difficult to stand-out. With the skills I have gained during this internship, I’m ready to show the world just how vital social media can be when it comes to successful promotion and network expansion.

“it’s becoming very difficult to stand-out”

If you’d like to find out a bit more information about what I do and how I can help you promote your book(s), then send Mardibooks an email! I’d be happy to help.