Did you know that TCU has its very own publishing house? And it published all these books?

My name is Emma Kate, I’m a senior English major at TCU, and this semester I’m working as a student intern at TCU Press.

The Press works with authors, designers, and both freelance and in-house editors to take books all the way from the original manuscripts to the finished products in readers’ hands. In my role as a student worker, I have been primarily creating style sheets, which are documents that help with the editing process by keeping all of the little style and grammar choices we make as editors in one place. This process has allowed me to become extremely familiar with the Chicago Manual of Style, which the Press uses as our primary guide for grammar, spelling, and punctuation.

I’ve also gained experience working with acquisitions, which means reading new manuscripts to see if they are a good fit to be published by TCU Press, and marketing, which includes things like creating a catalog of all the books coming out this season. Some of my favorite memories from throughout the semester come from our staff meetings every week, where we checked in and updated each other on where each book was in the production process. Because the Press has such a small staff, we were able to really get to know each other and laugh and joke and have fun conversations.

For me, this internship has helped me to solidify my career aspirations of working in editing and publishing and has allowed me to gain some relevant skills and experience. I am so, so grateful for my time at the Press, and I think that this internship would be a great opportunity for anyone considering working in this field or who just wants to see everything it takes to make a book happen.