Some really goofy questions about interning

Mostly, those questions would be best checked with your university. Some schools don't allow students to be paid for their internship AND count them as credit for the degree.

And while I don't know much about the industry, I don't think a publishing internship would have anything to do with whether you get repped or not. Writing and agenting are two different fields.

Former (and hopefully future ) intern here.

Most of the internships I've seen and done have been part-time and unpaid. They don't need to pay people, as there are so many people willing to work for free. Anything having to do with credits/your school would have to be checked out with the university, as I'm not sure about how that applies at different schools.

And being an intern, or even being an agent, will definitely not keep you from being published. I know of several agents who write and have their own agent. Working at an agency helped me a lot when it came to querying, because I learned a lot about what agents (or, at least, the ones I've worked for) look for and what's an instant turn-off.

I will say, though, that if you're hoping to intern for an agent who you'd like to represent you, that's a big faux pas. I've kept my querying/interning completely separate - I don't query agents with whom I've applied for an internship and vice versa.

Kilawher said:

I will say, though, that if you're hoping to intern for an agent who you'd like to represent you, that's a big faux pas. I've kept my querying/interning completely separate - I don't query agents with whom I've applied for an internship and vice versa.

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I'd say this is not necessarily a faux pas. It has happened in the past that authors have interned with agents who later (after the internship) agreed to represent them.

But the chances of that happening are probably about as slim as the chances that your first ever query lands representation.

Stars must align. The universe must smile. Don't count on it happening and don't let it get you down that it probably won't go down that way.



P.S.: Cute avatar-pets in this thread!