Posted 03.09.14 by prhcareers
Hello! My name is Charlotte and I’m currently working within Penguin UK’s Production department as part of Penguin’s Summer Internship Scheme.
Before interning at Penguin, I studied English Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Kent. Since then I’ve been doing volunteer work with my local council libraries, particularly with the organisation and run up to the Summer Reading Challenge. I also spent the beginning of 2014 working in Adult Editorial at Bloomsbury Publishing.
My role mainly focuses on Penguin’s Print on Demand (POD) process. Using digital files, the printers are able to print a title to order and ship the books directly to the customer. This enables the printers to print just one copy at a time in order to meet single-copy demand. POD is great for backlist titles with low annual sales and also for out of print titles, as it means Penguin can keep far more titles in print without having to pay for warehouse space or losing money through unsold stock.
My job is to review the current POD process and find out exactly how it works as it’s all quite automated and a little bit mysterious! I’ve also been analysing the process to highlight any areas which could be done more efficiently, and am now at the exciting stage where I can implement solutions and actually see the benefits of these changes.
I studied POD in my final year at university where I went through the process of preparing a book for print using POD, so it was something I already had an interest in and was really keen to continue learning about on a larger scale, (although I may have underestimated just how much more complex it would be!) It has been a huge learning curve and has involved a lot of going back and forth between various departments and the printers, (as well as quite a lot of redrafts and huge Excel spreadsheets), but it’s given me great experience of the Production department processes and roles and has convinced me that Production is definitely where I want to work.
Everyone has been so nice and friendly during my time here and also really keen to help, which has been great as I’ve definitely waylaid several people with an abundance of questions! It’s been a really rewarding and satisfying experience knowing that my work is making a positive difference to the functioning of POD, and I’m really looking forward to bringing everything together at the end, although I will be very sad to leave Penguin and the Production department – I’ve become rather attached to POD!
So, a big thank you to Penguin and the Production department for giving me this fantastic opportunity. It’s given me such a great understanding of the Production department and I have loved the experience!