As someone who recently shifted from general marketing to book marketing, I have often surrounded myself with doubt. It felt like no matter how hard I tried to catch up, I would always be years and years behind those who had been in the publishing industry for longer or ones who took literature majors for their undergraduate. There I was, despite my confidence in my own skills and English in general, I couldn’t help but fear that I would never be enough compared to others who had used the language their whole lives. The feeling of running out of time, the pressure of trying to take bigger steps every day to catch up, those nagging feelings were always there to remind me every single day. That was until the day when I got the news that I was accepted to be a Digital Marketing intern at Moonlight Publishing company.

At first, I had to admit that the journey was quite interesting from my side. Regardless of my expertise in marketing and experience from my previous jobs, I struggled to convince myself to go through with the application. Millions of thoughts like “Maybe I should skip this one” “Let someone with more experience take it” and even “I am not ready just yet” crossed my mind. And if I could be honest, I applied at the very last minute before the deadline as I spent too much time doubting my own capabilities in the areas I was passionate about: marketing and books.

If you didn’t get in, at least you tried — and that was more than enough.

Right there, I remembered my friend’s words of encouragement and found myself clicking the ‘send’ button. In my cover letter, I conveyed my eagerness to learn and mentioned that I might be inexperienced in the publishing industry but I am ready to dive into this world with an open mind and endless curiosity. And would you look at that? I got in! I landed my very first job in the industry!

Throughout the internship, I learned many skills that might seem simple to others but are actually very important in the long term. These included creating a system to find your own pace, ways to communicate your ideas effectively, and even elevator pitching—skills my supervisor taught me as they are something that I would be forever grateful for. He constantly shared his own experiences and perspectives, often reminding me that this internship was not just a job but also a learning opportunity, especially for a student like me. I realised that book marketing itself was a true challenge on its own, especially in the children’s book industry. Even with my background, it truly felt like entering a new world as I continued to dive into the field.

Image by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

For a lot of people, balancing internship duties with class assignments sure could be tough and not only that, maintaining your health, both mentally and physically can be pretty challenging too. Through this experience, I also realised that it’s normal to fear the unknown but that shouldn’t stop us from trying. Cause at the end of the day, whether we are facing job rejection, tackling new responsibilities or networking, every step is a chance to grow. Step by step, we will get there. So please don’t lose hope, publishing hopefuls!