EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT: Editorial & Marketing Assistant Molly O'Laughlin

Welcome back to the Overlook Press Employee Spotlight Series! Looking for some insight into how the publishing process works? You've come to the right place. Over the last year and a half we've introduced designers, contract managers, editors, sales staff, and publicists, all in the hopes of better acquainting blog readers with our team, as well as educating fans about the methods behind our bookish madness.

It's been a few months since we last introduced Overlook editor Mark Krotov, but today we're delighted to revive the regular feature that takes you behind the scenes at 141 Wooster Street, as we shine the spotlight on one of Overlook's most recent acquisitions, editorial and marketing assistant Molly O'Laughlin.

Kansas City native Molly O'Laughlin joined Overlook last month, having worked previously at Maria B. Campbell Associates, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Books of Wonder, and Archipelago Books. She loves KC barbecue and tiramisu, and will watch the same move five times in a row if she likes it enough (*ahem* Pitch Perfect *ahem*).

OP: Describe your job in 140 characters or less.

MO: I get to indulge my obsessive tendencies with detail work in both departments, read good books and work with wonderful people. #dreamjob!

OP: What are you currently reading?

MO: Besides submissions, I'm reading HOW THE FRENCH INVENTED LOVE by Marilyn Yalom, and TRUE GRIT by Charles Portis (because really it's shameful that I haven't yet read it).

OP: What is your favorite book that Overlook has published?

MO: I'm obsessed with THE CIRCLE by Sara B. Elfgren and Mats Strandberg (forthcoming in May, is that cheating?) and ST. TRINIAN'S by Ronald Searle—sinister schoolgirls all the way. 

OP: If you didn't work in publishing, what would you be doing? 

MO: I'd probably be working at an arts non-profit or back in academia. Like George, I sing in a choir (Grace Church Choral Society), so maybe I'd even be singing...!

OP: What is your favorite word (can be in any language—bonus points if there is a funny/interesting story behind it)?

MO: I love the word "supper." I feel like I only ever hear my Oklahoman grandparents use it anymore, so it has all these nice, warm, homey connotations for me. Plus, supper/dinner is the best meal of the day!

EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT: Stephanie Gorton, Editor

Ask any author or agent and they’ll be sure to tell you that the journey from manuscript to finished book can be a tricky process. Sometimes stories written over the course of several months can take years to appear on bookstore shelves (if they even ever make it). Why the wait, you ask? Between fact checking, copy editing, cover design, and the other technical aspects of getting a manuscript prepared for print, about a thousand decisions need to be made before a book is ready for publication.

The creative minds diligently working behind the scenes to oversee this process are editors. At Overlook, our crack-editorial team and legion of dedicated interns all work together to make sure this process happens smoothly and on schedule. Last November we introduced Overlook editor and burgeoning beer brewer, Dan Crissman. Today, our employee spotlight feature returns with questions for editor and Brooklyn resident Stephanie Gorton. Welcome, Stephanie!

OP: Describe your job in 140 characters or less.

SG: Read. Scheme to come up with pitches and design briefs and copy. Have lunch. Edit, argue, read. Dream up new projects. Argue, read, edit.

OP: What are you currently reading?

SG: Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart

OP: What is your favorite book that Overlook has published?

SG: Impossible question but off the top of my head it would be a 3-way tie between Gone Tomorrow, We Is Got Him, and The Late Great Creature, with NASCAR Legends a close second.

OP: If you didn't work in publishing, what would you be doing?

SG: Freelance editor/ tutor/ translator/ cheesemaker.

OP: What is your favorite word (Can be in any language—bonus points if there is a funny/interesting story behind it).

SG: Probably "glorious." My mother uses often to describe pretty mundane things like scarves or going to the movies and it's still one of the best speech quirks I've heard.

Intern Adventures: Testing the Editorial Waters

Have you been craving more updates about the glamorous life of a publishing intern? Fear not--our wonderful publicity-and-sometimes-editorial Intern Michael is here to update you on his exciting 10-to-5 and take any questions you may have in the comments! Happy reading!

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Since I started working at Overlook earlier this summer, many people have asked me the obvious question: “What exactly does an intern at a book publisher do?” To many an asker’s disappointment, the innocent query can result in a somewhat boring discussion unless a conversant is duly prepared for a detailed rundown on the inner-functions of the website CisionPoint. The temptation to glamorize my position here can be a bit overwhelming and at times I’m tempted to exaggerate the truth about the less exciting duties of a publicity intern.

Intern Michael hard at work in the Overlook offices Tuesday.
No, we're not making him read ALL of those books. (Just most of them.)
Thanks, Michael!

In a post last month I detailed some of those responsibilities, including the fulfillment of media requests and the collection of names and email addresses for contact lists. While I recognize and appreciate the necessity and value of tasks like these for any business to function, they never quite qualify as the most compelling explanation of the job I chose to undertake this summer. Don’t get me wrong, I love working in publicity. One thing I’ve discovered while working here is that there is a huge amount of fulfillment to be found in the marketing and promotion of meaningful literary works in an industry that is as competitive as books.

That said, there is still an incredible amount of work that needs to be done in order to bring those books to market, not all of which makes for the most thrilling of conversations.
Since starting here two months ago I’ve had the good luck to receive some jobs outside of the publicity department. While these odd assignments provide me with better fodder for making my job sound more important than it is, they also give me more insight and a better understanding of the way that Overlook functions overall as a publishing house.

At least once a week I try to sit down for a few hours and read submissions that we receive from literary agents and agencies. These submissions range from completed and bound books that have been published in foreign countries and are seeking North American distribution to incomplete manuscripts and proposals that desperately want a publisher’s interest and approval. I try to give them all as much time and attention as possible as I write reports which are then delivered to our editors for their input and opinions.

On several occasions I’ve had the opportunity to work with our sales team in the research and development of sell sheets, promotional tools which our staff uses to assist in the sale of our current or upcoming titles. Last week I created a sheet for the paperback edition of Return to the Little Kingdom: How Apple & Steve Jobs Changed the World. In spite of some recent bad press on the iPhone 4, it wasn’t difficult to find an overwhelming amount of positive statistics and headlines about Apple, information which can then be used to drum up interest in this book about Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

The more time I spend at Overlook, the more I realize that while some of the more monotonous tasks that are required of an intern are indeed dull, they do represent an essential aspect of the overall mission of the business: the publication of distinguished books of outstanding quality that would otherwise remain “overlooked” by other houses. While my internship here might not include the same perks and excitement that belong to our head publisher Peter Mayer , I do feel like I get enough exhilaration at work by formatting and printing the Publisher’s Weekly morning report he reads every day.