About Our Editorial Intern: Rachel C. Lewis

This spring I am working as the virtual editorial intern of the wonderful online literary magazine known as Women Writers, Women Books. Here is a little bit about who I am and how I became a part of the WWWB team.

About Me

I am currently a sophomore at Elon University, a liberal arts college in North Carolina. I am originally from Maryland, where I live with my mom, younger brother and younger sister. I am majoring in English with a double concentration in Professional Writing & Rhetoric and Creative Writing. I also have a minor in Women’s/Gender Studies. I am an aspiring author, and after college I hope to work with as a grant writer for a nonprofit.  I would also love to become a literary agent. I have minor obsessions with the television show Scandal, with watching strange Indie films on Netflix, and with reading young adult novels.

A few of my favorite women writers include Marian Keyes, who writes novels that are both hilarious and honest, Ellen Wittlinger, whose characters break my heart time and time again, Thrity Umrigar, who gives voice to those who are usually silenced, Susane Colasanti and Elizabeth Scott for their understanding of and appreciation for young adults, and Ellen Hopkins for her powerful voice and use of verse.

Being an Intern

Like most college students, my schedule is hectic and can be hard to pin down. That was a large factor in why I sought out a virtual internship. I found out about this internship with Women Writers, Women Books while googling virtual internships for English majors.

One of the first posts I found was Victoria Shockley’s post on her virtual internship with WWWB. After reading her post, I immediately began searching around the site to see what it was all about. I then followed Victoria on Twitter, which ended up being a fantastic decision. Victoria warmly thanked me for following her, and upon realizing I was interested in working with WWWB, she was very encouraging. I contacted Women Writers, Women Books through Twitter to see how to get involved, and Anora McGaha responded quickly and emailed me with more information.

A week or so later, Anora and I had an informal phone conversation to see if we were a good fit. A mutual love of writing, respect for women writers, and similar ethics came through in our chat. We talked again the following week, and Anora offered me a position as her editorial intern.

My concentrations in Professional Writing and Rhetoric and Creative Writing made this the perfect opportunity for me. I am able to exercise my professional writing skills as well as my knowledge of creative writing as I read and edit submissions for WWWB. Anora and I have a system that works for both of us, and our communication is easy and open. Currently I am working 2-4 hours a week for Anora, but during the summer we plan to increase this to around 15 hours.

I have loved reading and editing the submissions of the talented and diverse writers involved with Women Writers, Women Books. Each writer brings a new perspective to the magazine.

 

I look forward to getting more deeply involved with Women Writers, Women Books as time goes on.

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Follow Rachel on Twitter @RachelCharleneL, and connect with her on LinkedIn.

Tags: editorial internship, internships for english majors, Rachel C. Lewis, remote intern, remote internship, virtual intern, virtual internship

Category: US American Women Writers