I’ve received a lot of emails lately from students at my alma mater, Scripps College, wanting to know how I got started in book publishing and what advice I have for them. I’ve been responding to emails individually but I thought it might be helpful to do a series of career-advice posts in addition to my regular Writing Wednesday posts here on the blog.
As with all my posts, this is simply my opinion. There are a lot of great books, articles, and career counselors who can set you on the path to choosing and establishing your career. I’m offering my perspective because it’s been requested and because sometimes it’s helpful to hear personal experience, but it’s by no means the only advice and methods available.
First up in this series is my biggest advice for English majors.
Congratulations! You’ve decided to become an English major. An English degree is incredibly versatile. It can be applied to such exciting fields such as book publishing, journalism, teaching, writing, law, and so much more. You need to know how to write and comprehend the written word in practically every job, whether you’re writing your cover letter for an application or writing a compelling business proposal once you’ve gotten the job of your dreams.
Plus, English majors are just plain cool. They’re always walking around with dog-eared paperbacks. They scribble poetry in blue ink on hand-bound journals and think typewriters are still relevant. They’re in touch with their emotions. They’re in touch with the emotions of others around them. They know big words. They read the book before the movie comes out. Okay, so maybe I’m stereotyping, but there’s just something so romantic about English majors as opposed to many of the other majors. I should know. I was one.
I knew going into college that I wanted to major in English. I love working with words. Reading them, writing them, painting them, savoring them. Though I do wish I’d taken a few more “practical” courses, I don’t regret my decision to major in English. It’s had a tremendous impact in my career choice as a writer and editor, and I just plain enjoy studying literature on a personal level.
Here are a few tips garnered from my personal experience as an English major that I hope will help those of you pursuing your degree.
- Select a wide variety of English courses. Variety is the spice of life! Instead of limiting yourself right away to a particular time period in English literature, load up on courses from different time periods and regions. You’ll gain a more complete awareness of the full history of English literature and learn how they interact and respond to each other. Remember that in order to fully understand postmodernism, you need to also study modernism. Take a Southern Gothic class and an Elizabethan Shakespeare class. Take a women writers course and an Asian American lit course.
- Be open-minded. My undergrad program was heavy on British literature. At the time I didn’t really appreciate reading books by Samuel Johnson and poetry by Edmund Spenser because I wanted to study the Beats. Now, while my focus is still on Beat literature, I’m so thankful that I have a wider knowledge of English literature because it informs me of the history and progression of writing. Plus, Laurence Sterne’s The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, published in 1759, could give postmodernists a run for their money any day!
- Research the authors you read. A little trick I learned in grad school was to look up information on the author before I came to class. Knowing the author’s biography and bibliography helps give context to their books.
- Take creative courses outside your major. One of the courses that had the most impact on my writing was not an English literature class; it was Introduction to Film, taught at Pitzer College by Professor Alexandra Juhasz. Through the jump cuts and camera angles, I learned about craft and point of view in a way I’d never thought about so clearly before then.
- Take digital art classes. I studied digital art under Professor Nancy Macko at Scripps, and having that background opened up opportunities in web design, typesetting and page layout, branding and marketing, and production. Even though I have a production manager now who deals with printer specifications of my books, it helps that I have an understanding of production issues. Furthermore, I know how to create logos and manipulate images, which I can use on my personal blog to promote my own writing.
- Find a second subject that captivates you. If you’re planning on becoming a writer of any sort or working at a publication, it will be useful to have specialized knowledge in a subject outside of literature. Whether it’s classical music or psychology, the subject will inform your style and subject matter. I took History of New York at CMC and continually find myself drawn back to what I learned in that class. It gave me a broader scope of the New York lit scene I admire so much, and I’ve since gone on to study writing under one of the authors of the books we read in that class.
- Think outside the campus bubble. While many college campuses lend themselves to picturesque academic landscapes, I have to brag that in 2010 Forbes ranked Scripps’ campus one of the most beautiful in the world. The campus is so pretty and yet the academics so rigorous that I really didn’t think much beyond Elm Tree lawn while I was there. Not only is there life after college, there’s life going on while you’re at college. Try to picture where you want to be after college and look into what options are available. Schoolwork is invaluable but so is eating, so try to remember that your schoolwork is only a means toward something greater: your career. One lousy paper isn’t going to matter in the grand scheme of your career. In fact, seeking help from your professor may foster a mentoring relationship that will help you in the long run.
All of this is what I learned from trial and error. I’d love to hear from other English majors. What advice would you give to undergrads? What would you do differently?
I’d also love to hear why those of you who were or are English majors chose that major. What career do you have or hope to have?
Stephanie Nikolopoulos 