Alumni Author Spotlight: Caroline Praderio

We’ve had many authors through the years here at Undergraduate Students for Publishing, and now we’re checking back in with them! The first in our new series is Caroline Praderio, author of Sweet Baby Jesus!

Name?

Caroline Praderio

Year of Graduation?

 2013

Major?

BFA in Writing, Literature, and Publishing

Current place of residence?

New York City

Did you do any postgraduate work after Emerson? If so, where?

I did not.

What company do you currently work for and what is your position?

Currently I’m a staff writer at Prevention magazine, published by Rodale, Inc.

What are some of your accomplishments since graduating from Emerson? Have you written for any other publications? Do you have a portfolio? Blog? Website?

I’d say my biggest accomplishment has been winning two medals (a gold and a silver) at the International Regional Magazine Association Awards in 2014 and 2015. Both winning articles were written while I was Assistant Editor at Down East magazine, a regional publication covering the state of Maine. That was my first job post-grad and it afforded me tons of opportunities to write and edit feature stories.

I’ve continued to do creative writing, too, and I had one piece published in an online journal called Hippocampus. I’ve gotten a handful of pretty encouraging rejection letters from other journals—and for a young writer, the encouraging no is honestly almost as good as the actual yes.

I feel accomplished that I was able to break into the magazine industry in New York City, too. That was an exhausting job search full of flat out rejections and even more frustrating silence after submitting dozens of applications. Finally getting a spot on staff at a national consumer publication is something I’m pretty proud of.

What do you remember about your experience with Undergraduate Students for Publishing? What is your favorite memory?

I remember, above all, everyone’s kindness—and, also, crying actual tears of relief when I got my initial notes from the editing team and found out that they actually liked the stuff I’d written. I also remember being blown away by the design concepts for the cover. I was in awe that the design team could come up with such different concepts that all somehow perfectly conveyed the spirit of the book. I also can’t forget filming my interview/book trailer with the marketing team. They came out to my apartment in Brookline and we wandered around the neighborhood, with me rambling on about the book while the cameraman followed. At one point we happened upon a wild turkey and I awkwardly tried to chase after it—actually, the chase made it into the final seconds of the book trailer, and I’m so happy that it did. Really, my strongest memories are of being thrilled that everyone involved in the process was so nice, so talented, and so willing to embrace my weirdness.

How did publishing with us help you in the professional world? Did it help land you a job or an internship?

I always include a line about Sweet Baby Jesus! on my resume, and in every job interview I’ve ever had, the hiring manager has asked about it. In fact, the editor who eventually hired me at Down East actually asked to read a copy between my first and second interviews. I had to mail it to her as soon as I got home! I always carry a copy of the book with me to job interviews now, just in case. I think it just piques interest and sets me apart as a candidate. But that is probably even more true for people who worked on Pub Club titles as editors, designers, etc. Getting to actually publish books—not just assist “real” editors and designers as an intern at a big house—is a pretty unique opportunity.  Emerson is famous for giving students real-world career skills, and that’s especially apparent in the work that Pub Club does.

What valuable experience did you gain from publishing with us?

I gained a deeper appreciation for how difficult it is to publish a book, from my own hours spent editing the manuscript to the hours spent designing and copyediting and marketing. I don’t think I understood how tough (and how collaborative!) the process was until my experience with Pub Club.

Do you have any advice to those wanting to submit to Undergraduate Students for Publishing? If you could give any advice to current Emerson students before they step out into the professional world, what would it be?

Okay, the first part: If you’re considering submitting to Pub Club, my only advice is to just do it. Abandon that nagging inner critic that keeps telling you how much you suck and just forge ahead. When I submitted my manuscript, I was 99% sure it was the worst writing in the entire world. But I didn’t let my self-doubt stop me from pressing send. Even if you don’t get picked, I think you’ll find immense personal pride in the simple fact that you have created something that didn’t exist before in this universe. I’m not a huge Vonnegut fan, but I always think about this quote of his: “Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven’s sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something.”

As for the professional world: I’m going to parrot my own mother on this one. Every day when I left for school growing up, my mom would yell out the door behind me: “Be kind to other children!” Mostly I’d just grunt or roll my eyes in reply, but I’ve since come to realize that this is extremely valuable advice—not the children part, but the kindness part. Being kind to everyone that you meet in the professional world is the best (perhaps the only) way to build a network that will support you throughout your career. Never forget how important it is just to be nice to others.

Provide some quirky details about your life. Do you have thirteen dogs? Do you collect porcelain eggs? Do you go skydiving on the weekends?

I wish I went skydiving on the weekends! Let’s see: I play the alto saxophone and I’m also in a dance company (performing feeds my exhibitionist side; writing feeds my introverted side). Willow Smith (singer of chart-topping single “Whip My Hair”) has been following me on Twitter for the past 5 years for no apparent reason. I once worked at a Yankee Candle store and it was the best hourly wage job I ever had—I used to be able to identify the scents with my eyes closed. I also once watched all 6 Star Wars movies in one sitting, which I don’t recommend, even though I love Star Wars dearly.