Happy Sunday, WG2E-Land!!!
Today, I’ve got a great tip for y’all on one superfab fun and pay it forward way to run your Epublishing Empires…
Think Interns!!!
Yep…as in College Interns!!!
Meet my superfab new Intern/Personal Assistant Samantha (and her wonderful Significant Other Kevin)
Samantha is a Graphic Design and Photography Major at Indiana University (in Bloomington, IN), and she’s my A-mazing new Personal Assistant!!!
I’ve been working with her Academic Advisers this past week, and we’ve come up with an exciting program that will allow Sam to be my Personal Assistant through December of this year and achieve 3 College Credits towards her major for doing so!
What a way for a Design Student to get “real-world” experience, right?!
And what a way for us, as Indie Epub Authors, to have a personal Graphic Designer for all-things Promo right at our fingertips, for FREE!!!
It’s a total win-win!!!
***Now then, my DH and I will be sweetening the pot a bit for Sam as her official Internship doesn’t begin until the Fall Semester and will be Free to us as she works to earn her college credits. We’ve also gone ahead and hired her for the Summer though, which will be a paid gig for her!!! 
What all kinds of things will Sam be doing for D. D. Scott-ville?
Here’s what I submitted to her Advisers:
First, I’m over the moon to have Sam as my Intern! She’s one brilliant, hard-working and very talented gal!As to the details you need:1. Sam’s duties will include the following tasks: Design the Ebook Covers for a few of my 2013 releases; Design my Promotional Materials (which include online and print designs for Special Event Postcards, Posters, Display Boards and Tables, and a gazillion superfab fun tchotchkes); Design Online Ads for me for Facebook; Manage my site for all-things Ereading, The RG2E, where she’ll be responsible for my daily Ebook of The Day (EOTD) Features as well as create waaay wonderful banners and posters to promote various online events on the site; Prepare all materials for me for Reader Conference Appearances like this year’s Killer Nashville August 23rd-26th, where I’ll be giving a workshop and speaking on an Epublishing Panel; Assist me in planning and carrying out my over-the-top fabulous D. D. Scott-ville Bootscootin’ Bash to be held at The Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville on Friday, August 24th; Design several PowerPoint Presentations I’ll need for future speaking engagements; plus, Any Other Projects I develop in the mean time needing her design and organizational skills.2. She’ll work for me six to eight hours per week.3. And that will include the time period of August 20th – December 8th.
And here’s what Sam submitted stating how this would help her career plans:
This internship will be based primarily in design and the use of Photoshop, with some emphasis on photography. My biggest projects will be creating covers for potential ebooks that my supervisor may be writing in the future. This will involve the use of design skills in Adobe Photoshop and possibly photography, allowing me to practice my visual storytelling, and design and photography techniques. Along with the cover design, there is the potential that I will be working on promotional posters for both online and print, online advertisements and banners, and other small promotional handouts. With these projects, I will also be using Photoshop and photography to generate art, but also possibly InDesign to create page layouts. Using photography in a promotional approach will give me experience in art and photography in advertising. Throughout the internship, I also hope to learn how to better identify and evaluate current trends in the design market in order to produce the most effective designs that I can.
Because these tasks are the type of projects I hope to build a career on one day, they will be great practice and experience to add to my major. I will be able to take my classroom knowledge and apply them directly to my internship work, then take my experience from the internship and apply it to my course work, all the while constantly making connections between the two.
Great stuff here, right?!
I luuuvvv that we, as Indie Epub Authors, can pay it forward to students like this…and give them a superfab experience on which to build their futures!!!
P.S. And wait till y’all hear about my D. D. Scott-ville Bootscootin’ Bash – part of this year’s Killer Nashville Mystery Writers and Readers Conference! Here’s a hint…think the 2nd and 3rd floors of Nashville’s Wildhorse Saloon all ours and some very special Top of The Country Charts Music City Superstars…Details coming soon…
In the mean time…
It’s Your Turn, WG2E-Land: Have any of you partnered with Interns? And how all have you used their expertise, skills and talents? How many of you think you might give this avenue a try?
The Best of WG2E Think Interns Wishes — D. D. Scott
such a great idea, as it’s win win for both of you. All the best with it!
Lx
Thanks bunches, Laura!
I’ve been wanting to do online ads for awhile now, for example, but I have no clue how to create one!
And Sam does these amazing designs for stuff like this…
Your’e right…total win-win!!!
interns and a nashville bash! now that’s cooking it! nice going d.d., you’ll have to do us a short story on the bash
Cooking it indeed, Adan!
Y’all may be able to “see” and “hear” the bash on national media…I’m a workin’ on it!!!
And u betchya they’ll be a ton of superfab fun stories on it!!!
Thanks for the fabulous idea, Dee Dee. Happy Spring!
Happy Spring right backatchya, Consuelo!
I’m just over the moon about the Internship, and sooo hope many of y’all can do this too!
What a great way to pay it forward and learn about today’s hottest graphic design tools and tricks!!!
This is a great idea, D.D.! I could see myself using an intern down the road, and I remember from my time as an intern how valuable that experience was for me. Thanks for sharing!
WooHooo, Tamara!
This is exactly why I wanted to post on this…to encourage y’all to try this approach too!!!
College interns are a God send! I have used them over the years in various special events projects I’ve been in charge of. AND in fact I myself was one! So yes, I’ve been full circle so to speak.
Would I use them again at some point? Perhaps. . .right now that sounds like make believe.
Jamie…U Go, Girl!!!
It’s really never too early to start using them…for example, if you need new business cards and new special images and/or features on your website, maybe an Intern could do that…
And cheers to you for “the full circle” element. Luv that!!!
What a great idea D.D.! I’m sure that it will be a great experience for all of you!
It is gonna be a total learning experience for Sam, my DH and me too!!!
We are gonna pick Sam’s brain and talents a bunch!!!
Sounds like you’ve got a winner DD. I’ve recently reached out to a young man who is a marketing and advertising student and will be doing much the same with him. I’ll have him designing FB ads, researching review sites and contacting reviewers for me, and working with me to increase and streamline my social networking platform. I’m very excited to have some help and he’s happy to get some real world experience. The bonus for him is that he’s also a newbie Indies pubber himself, so he will get the benefit of my experience. I love the win /win of the arrangement.
Great news, PJ!
Sounds like you’ve also found a terrific match that will pay-off for both of you too!
Well done and have fun with it!!!
A good idea. That way you can what you want to do best – writing. You’re right. A win-win situation. She can gain experience for the future career, and you get someone to work for you in areas that you don’t know so much about. Might think about it sometime in the future when I have earned enough.
What the nice thing about the Internships are, though, Julie, is that most of them are unpaid. Ours is too for the actual semester’s-worth part (August – December).
We just had several projects we wanted done now instead of later, so we decided to hire Sam for the Summer as well!
Ah, did wonder. I don’t know if we have interns over here or not. One thing I did like reading was you mentioned postcards. Those are the one thing that I do spend money on to promote my ebooks. I tend to visit libraries and ask them to display the few I have with me.
Great idea to use your postcards in libraries, Julie, and I know I enjoy the ones I receive in the mail from various authors!!!
DD- brilliant!! I’d love to hear updates along the way as well. This is such a win- win for both of you:)
Will be sure to update, Y’All, Lois! In fact, I may have Sam blog a bit here as she’s discovering new tips and tricks along the way…
Brilliant! A win-win and already look forward to reading The Adventures of DD & Sam. I sense a new e-book on the way!
The Adventures of DD and Sam…LOL, Ruth!!!
Wow. I guess you are officially big time now!
So, I guess you’ll be even more efficient now. I didn’t think that was possible.
Nothin’ beats a wee bit more efficiency, David! LOL!!!
Thanks bunches for the sweet shout-out…but yeah, I definitely need Sam’s help! My list of Want To Do’s is taking over, and the problem is, I don’t know HOW TO DO a damn one of ‘em! She does…so she’s my gal!!!
Time to get help!!!
I know…I need other kinds of help too…as in “therapy”…that’s why I teach it!
I have an intern that is going to do some covers for me. I’m psyched I’m actually doing something innovative!.
LOL
Atta Girl, Rhonda! Go, Girl, Go!!!
Fabulous way to win-win with Interns!!!
What a great step in growing your publishing empire, D.D.! We all wonder how you accomplish all that you do. With an intern, now maybe you can get some sleep!
Can you tell us how you connected with Sam? Did you contact the university with a list of what you were looking for? Meet with several students?
Also, will she be working virtually or coming to your home?
Looking forward to hearing more about your “bash” in Nashville!
Great questions, Debra!!!
Let’s see…
I happen to know Sam so I came up with the idea and she then talked to her Academic Advisors at IU…that said, I’ve since learned that most large colleges have these types of Internship Programs so you could do the opposite approach too and contact a school and ask to have an Intern matched to your needs.
She will be working a ton “virtually”, especially in the Fall when she heads back to campus, but we’ll also do some things from my home as well this Summer.
And ohhh yeahhh, I can’t wait to share more scoop with y’all about my D. D. Scott-ville Bootscootin’ Bash at The Wildhorse Saloon late August!!!
What a fantastic idea D.D. ! That’s what I love about your website and blog – lots of practical information. I live in Ontario, Canada and KNOW our colleges and universities have internship programs. As a new writer, there is sooo much to learn about the (e)book publishing business, and knowing where to start is half (maybe more) the battle. Sometimes it feels like I have to learn everything there is to know about not only writing a good novel, but also about the how to’s of book publishing, sales and marketing. An intern would be a definite asset – and free up so much time. I’m also a definite believer in paying forward, and interns really do benefit from this type of business exposure. Thanks once again for a great post!