Caitlyn Radice has been part of the SUP team from September 2020 to February 2021, working remotely. She is a Master of Publishing student with a love for YA fantasy and manga. She currently lives in Sydney and is hoping to travel as soon as she can.
What have you been working on at SUP?
I have taken on a number of editing and proofreading tasks with SUP, including Animal Welfare in China and other forthcoming books. I created alt text for Djalkiri, a book about Indigenous Australian art, which was really enjoyable. I also worked on a few social media tasks for the SUP Instagram, and learned how to use IGP, an XHTML-based layout platform.
What has been the best part of the role? How about the most challenging?
The best part of working with SUP has been discovering how much I enjoy non-fiction books (I usually only read fiction) and developing my skills. I also got quite attached to some of the books I worked on. The most challenging part was working from home. I didn’t expect, when I began this degree, that I would complete this internship entirely from home.
Has anything surprised you about SUP/scholarly publishing?
Nothing really! I guess I was mostly surprised about how much I enjoyed scholarly books when I didn’t have to read them for a class. There are a number of books I’ve seen in production that I want to buy or recommend to others.
What skills have you used most during your internship?
I have used a lot of my editing and proofreading skills. I didn’t expect to use practical writing skills, but I did! I was able to use some design skills as well.
What was your dream job when you were 12? What is your dream job now?
My dream job when I was 12 was to be a marine biologist – this was before I realised I was terrible at maths and exceedingly bored by science. My dream job now is to do some travel writing (though given the current state of the world, I don’t see that happening any time soon!) and work in publishing.
You have to take a week-long road trip with a fictional or historical character. Who do you choose and why?
I spent probably way too much time thinking about this, but I would choose Karou, the protagonist from Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor. Karou has access to wishes, which I think could be fun to use. She has also been reincarnated, lived two lives, and fought in a war through multiple realms, so I imagine she would have a lot of stories to tell, keeping us entertained on the road trip. She can also fly, so that’s cool.
What are you planning to do next?
I’m planning to live in Tokyo for a year (as soon as I’m able to!) and see where that takes me. Once I’m back in Australia I will likely look for publishing work.