First Day

Today I had my first day of work as the Employed Book Lover at HarperCollins…and it went really well.  I couldn’t be happier!

The day started off with some important questions like: If I wore my best two outfits to my two interviews, what do I wear on my first day? The best answer, of course, is to go shopping…which I will absolutely do in due time…but today I wore an old standard.  Looking the part is important!

Thus dressed and a bit sleepy (having had my nerves wake me up at 4am), I headed to the office to arrive at 9am for an orientation.  Learning about the history of the company, some of the benefits and many systems, a fellow newly hired employee and I were able to go to our respective departments.

Sarah and Anne, the two editors whom I am working for, were lovely.  When they showed me my (surprisingly large) desk, there was a card, beautiful tulips, and a lamp they selected for me as my cubicle is a bit on the dark side.  There were also fifteen or so books that Sarah and Anne have worked on awaiting my read.  They promised me a bookshelf, which I know will get filled very quickly!  I also received Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom from the senior vice president, as a welcome to the company gift.  Ursula Nordstrom is a legendary editor who directed Harper’s Department of Books for Boys and Girls from 1940-1973.

After settling in, I met with Sarah and Anne separately to discuss the books that they’re working on, what needs to be done in the near future, and what tasks I should be performing.  I already have two books to read and one manuscript to read from Sarah, plus one book to read so I can write up a new copy for the reissue and another manuscript to copyedit while reading for Anne!  They’re going to keep me busy, which isn’t a bad thing at all!  I also spent my afternoon doing a few administrative tasks like compiling a calendar with all the important dates, delivering a galley to the managing editorial department, and learning how to use a program which tracks all the books published by HarperCollins.  It was a bit of an information dump- but I know I’ll pick it up soon!

Anne and Sarah also took me out to lunch, which was so sweet…and such a nice welcome to the team.  The others I’ve met in the group- Katherine, Claudia, Molly, and Jen- also seem like the nicest people ever.  I feel very fortunate to not only have landed my dream job in the editorial dept. of a great children’s publishing house, but also to work with smart, kind people.  *Happy dance*

I’ll let you know how the rest of the week and such go!