A Farewell to Folio
I spent the last three months of my summer working at Folio Literary Management, but all good things come to an end. Last week I flew from New York to Wisconsin, where I then proceeded to drive to a remote cottage in the woods. Except for the impossibly slow Internet, complete lack of people, and dead silence, it's basically like I'm still in New York City!
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| Folio no longer looks like this, but I couldn't find a better photo. |
But enough about me; this is about Folio. First of all, my boss deserves a huge thank you for plucking me out of obscurity and giving me a fantastic internship. (I applied to over twenty places, if you want to read about it.) I'd like to thank the office managers for maintaining their helpful attitudes even when I was acting quite strange by pretending I eat tea bags rather than make tea. Finally, thanks to all of the other interns. Eating lunch together, seeing a comedy show, hanging out at sketchy restaurants...you guys made the internship fun.
Would I recommend an aspiring agent get an internship with Folio Literary Management? Absolutely. During my internship, I wrote over fifty reader's reports, learned the ins and outs of publishing, and helped my boss sign an author. On a more personal level, I gained several valuable industry contacts as well as read/kept a bunch of free books. (I also picked up Christmas gifts for my whole family. Hint: you're getting books.)
I would feel wrong without mentioning the elephant in the room: no, Folio does not pay its interns. Living in New York without pay is difficult, and this internship privileges the wealthy. I'm not going to try and justify the agency's decision not to pay its interns, but it's worth noting unpaid internships allow Folio to employ dozens of students rather than three or four. I probably would not have been chosen to work for Folio if they only offered paid internships.
Anyway, I enjoyed every aspect of my internship—including reading the manuscripts that belonged in a sixth grader's diary. (Seriously: stop writing vampire romances. All of you. Even Stephanie Meyer hates them at this point.) If you get offered the chance to intern at Folio, and you are in a financial situation where you can take advantage of the opportunity, do it. You won't regret it.
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| Unless you don't like reading. Because the thinking you'll be doing is very 'in the page.' |
Farewell, Folio! Maybe I'll work for you someday. Or maybe you'll represent me. Either way—or neither way—it's been fun.
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