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Pomona College Magazine is published three times a year by Pomona College
550 N. College Ave, Claremont, CA 91711
Online Editor: Mark Kendall
For editorial matters:
Editor: Mark Wood
Phone: (909) 621-8158
Fax: (909) 621-8203
PCM Editorial Guidelines
Contact Alumni Records for changes of address, class notes, or notice
of births or deaths.
Phone: (909) 621-8635
Fax: (909) 621-8535
Email: alumni@pomona.edu
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Happy Beginning
Emily Heddleson '05 finds her dream job in
new York City publishing ...
By Julie Trescott '08
“The primary requirement for success in New York is a willingness to be
lucky,” E.B. White, the late author of children’s favorites Stuart
Little and Charlotte’s Web, once said. Emily Heddleson ’05 couldn’t
agree more.
Originally from Palo Alto, Calif., Heddleson has loved reading since her
earliest years and recently landed her dream job at a Big Apple
publishing company. While this story has a “happily ever after” ending,
it is filled with unexpected plot twists as Heddleson struggled to
navigate the competitive publishing world.
The history major was bitten by the publishing bug while spending the
summer after her sophomore year of college in Washington D.C., where she
participated in a program called “Our Story: Education Through
Children’s Literature” at the Smithsonian Museum and worked closely with
children’s literature and publishers. It was there that she discovered
that she could turn her passion into a profession.
Upon receiving her diploma, Heddleson set off for London, intent on
pursuing a publishing career. But after six months of traveling, making
friends and realizing that the city wasn’t the ideal location to
jumpstart her professional life, she moved to New York City with the
hope of capitalizing on her contacts.
Doing temp work during the day and sleeping on a friend’s couch at
night, Heddleson embarked on her job search. By a stroke of luck, she
met somebody through temping who knew somebody who knew somebody at
Bloomsbury Publishing who was looking for an intern. She scored the
internship, which paid $25 per day, and continued doing odd
jobs—everything from being a personal assistant to working for a
nonprofit—through the temp agency. She also took on a position in the
children’s section at Barnes & Noble and started baby-sitting on the
side in order to pay the rent on a Brooklyn apartment. Somehow she also
managed to squeeze in job applications and interviews. “It was pretty
hectic,” she says. “I did have fun, but when I had time for fun, I
didn’t have much time for rest.”
After a string of interviews and no job offers, Heddleson hit her
lowest, most discouraging point. Instead of seeking out positions, she
looked into taking publishing classes at local universities, but was
dismayed to learn that the application deadlines had already passed. “It
was a moment of sheer panic,” she says.
To make matters worse, she left her favorite umbrella, a huge one that
she had purchased in London, at the office of Penguin House Young
Readers Group, where she had recently interviewed. “I was debating
whether I should call them and ask if I could pick it up or just count
it as a loss,” she says.To her surprise and delight, the interviewer
called her a few days later and offered her a position as a marketing
assistant, which Heddleson eagerly
accepted.
In many ways, this sounds like a typical tale in which the hard-working
heroine perseveres and is wildly successful—and in some ways it is. In
this position, which she has now held for over a year, Heddleson is
having the time of her life, building buzz about new books and creating
promotional items like bookmarks and bookstore displays. “It’s exactly
where I wanted to be,” she says. “I hope to move forward and take
advantage of everything that my industry allows me to.”
However, Heddleson is quick to point out that her rewards haven’t
necessarily been monetary. “Publishing is not an industry where you make
money,” she says. “The love of books and being around books has to be
the most important thing to you.”
And the umbrella? Heddleson got that back and brings it to work on rainy
days.” |
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