By McKenna Freiss
We're taking the time to check in on some of Overcup's prior interns to see where they are now and how their experience with Overcup influenced their careers. This Intern Friday, we're interviewing past publicity intern Sarah Koch, who currently works as a marketing and editorial associate at Microcosm Publishing!
So tell us a little about what you've been working on at Microcosm.
Right now at Microcosm I am working on putting the finishing touches on our Fall 2021 titles, of which I am the head editor on three of them: Punk Women, The FBI War on Tupac Shakur, and Evergreen Ape: The True Stories that Inspired the Legend of Bigfoot [that's a tentative title] as well as a zine that a prisoner has written about being locked up during Covid. You should check out the other titles we have coming out in our catalog https://www.edelweiss.plus/#catalogID=4502648&page=1 . [It would be awesome if you could link to our catalogs on edelweiss, but it's fine if not].
What do you love most about your job? Anything that surprised you about working in publishing?
Microcosm is my dream job. I went from being an intern to an owner in less than 2 years and everyday I work on amazing projects with incredible people. At the Columbia Publishing program I did in Oxford, I was told that publishing was a cutthroat, high stress, and dying industry. That is just not the reality at Microcosm. People are supportive, the environment is fruiful, and the work is inspiring.
What projects and titles did you work on when you were an intern at Overcup? What would you say are the most valuable skills you gained?
When I was an intern at Overcup, I worked on Volcanoes, Palm Trees, and Privilege and worked on publicity for the title. One of my bigger projects was reaching out to booksellers and pitching the book. It is an invaluable skill to be able to pitch a book quickly and persuasively, which is something I had never done. I also wrote the newsletter, which is always a wonderful way to practice writing copy.
Rachel is actually the one who got me to read Joe Biel's People's Guide to Publishing, which led to my internship with Microcosm!
We'd love to know - What's your favorite book? Also, what are you reading right now? And what's your most anticipated read on your TBR list?
My favorite book is Ulysses. I studied abroad in Ireland as an undergrad and spent a lot of my college years studying it. I'm one of those people that needs to read multiple books at a time so right now I'm reading Ecology of Freedom by Bookchin, How to Catch a Mole by Marc Hamer and Cyborgs, Simians, and Women by Donna Haraway. The next book on my list is Smoke Gets in Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty.
What are you looking forward to in the future in book publishing?
As for the future, I cannot wait to start going back to events and conferences after this whole Covid thing ends. I am also very optimistic about the fate of independent bookstores and small publishers. Among other things, I've found that the pandemic really showed people the value of books and those who make them. I have a friend who has run a new and used bookstore for decades and he keeps telling me how shocked he is that customers are willing to pay more and more for books. AND he sees this trend most starkly among younger folks!
Thanks so much to Sarah for sharing their experience with us! Be sure to check out Microcosm publishing here.