Alexandria Drzazgowski, a junior majoring in Professional Writing with a minor in Spanish, spent her summer interning with two companies in New York City. Aspiring to work in the publishing field, Drzazgowski was an agenting intern at Lippincott Massie McQuilkin literary agency and also had an internship with Neuwirth and Associates production company. 

At Lippincott Massie McQuilkin (LMQ), Drzazgowski was in charge of reading and making decisions on manuscripts that were sent to the agency. 

“If I didn’t like a manuscript, I sent a rejection letter,” she said. “If I did like it, I wrote a Reader’s Report to tell the agent the positive aspects of the manuscripts as well as what I thought needed improvement.” 

On days she wasn’t working at LMQ, she interned at Neuwirth and Associates, a production company that designs cover art and interior layout of books. The company also decides on what type of paper to print the books, how to package them most efficiently for shipping, and how many copies to print based on the expected popularity of the title.

I was able to see all of the hard work that my colleagues and myself had put into these manuscripts come to fruition.

“In addition to editing a lot of manuscripts, I also was in charge of calculating the most cost effective ways to print and package books,” Drzazgowski said.

Her favorite aspect of her internships was the promotional events she attended. She went to a black tie book release party at a hotel in Times Square as well as a release party in the home of the Fashion Director of Vogue.

“These experiences made my time at both internships so much more rewarding,” she said. “I was able to see all of the hard work that my colleagues and myself had put into these manuscripts come to fruition.”

Drzazgowski’s experiences at Michigan State University helped prepare her for a summer in Manhattan. Before applying for her internships, she was a typesetter for the Red Cedar Review, which helped her obtain the internship at Neuwirth and Associates. Additionally, through MSU’s College of Arts & Letters, she found an opportunity to work as a reader for Pithead Chapel, a literary journal.

“Having that experience in reading manuscripts, finding the strengths and shortcomings of each piece, and discussing it with a group really prepared me for my task of reading manuscripts at Lippincott Massie McQuilkin,” Drzazgowski said.

Written by Alexandria Drzazgowski, Professional Writing Major