English-y Internships: Button Poetry (with Andrew Dong and Molly Friedrichs)

by Birdie Keller ’25

One of the most exciting things about being in the Twin Cities is the wonderful literary community in the area, and the amount of opportunities there are to get involved in a variety of ways. Andrew Dong ’26 and Molly Friedrichs ’26 both recently interned with Button Poetry, and have graciously taken the time to answer some questions about the experience!

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What drew your interest to Button Poetry?

AD: I had always wanted to explore the field of publishing, so this was a great opportunity to get some first-hand experience and see if I’d want to do work like this in the future. Also Button being an independent publisher meant it would present a unique experience I’d be unable to have at a larger firm. 

MF: I loved Button Poetry initially because of its connection to local authors, but my great experience with them taught me so much about the production of poetry and writing in the publishing industry in a way that impacted me long term. I was drawn to learning more about the publishing industry through this internship as an English major because I felt that as someone studying English it is super important for me to explore all the different career opportunities that my major can open up for me. I love Button’s books, several Mac alumni have been published or work there, and it seemed like a great way to get my foot in the door in terms of the publishing industry.

What did your day-to-day look like during this internship?

AD: Usually I would come in and get a sheet of two-to-three tasks to complete during the day: some were physical like packing up orders of books or merchandise, and some were online, such as judging submissions for a chapbook competition. Button has a huge social media presence too, so I would help with the backend of things like TikTok or YouTube every so often as well. 

MF: I did a lot of chapbook contest review, basically identifying which written pieces that had been submitted to us could move on to the next round of a writing competition. I also did social media editing and content scheduling, as well as formatting and general read-throughs of writing before publishing. I also wrote descriptions of several pieces of writing that were ultimately added to the website and collection at Button. I handled shipping, putting together packages and taking inventory of what we needed in terms of supplies.

Biggest thing you learned?

AD: I’ve never been on the side of a submission reviewer before where I was tasked strictly with judging and ranking other people’s work, and I’d say that seeing what submissions stood out to me and which ones fell flat gave me a great perspective on what makes a piece of writing work, and overall improved my writing (and judgement) a lot. 

MF: I learned that the publishing industry is about so much more than simply printing out someone else’s writing to be sold. There is so much conversation and respect between author and publisher, and Button was always having authors come in and sign books, truly showing how much they value their authors’ voices. I also learned that Button puts on amazing events that bring together the poetry community in the Twin Cities.

Most surprising element of the internship?

AD: I was surprised by how many Macalester people were involved! Not only was my co-intern also a Macalester student, but so was my supervisor and several of the authors signed to Button. Button ran a poetry slam at the end of my internship, and MacSlams was the winning team. Besides that, though, Button only employed 4-5 full-time staff members, and I was amazed by the sheer amount they could get done on their own—keeping up social media accounts with millions of followers, managing hundreds of submissions and online orders, organizing and scheduling book releases—a big shout-out there, it was an honor to work with people so dedicated to what they love. 

MF: Many of the people I met at Button are amazing writers and poets themselves. Watching them perform at my last shift, where I worked a slam poetry event, was amazing. I also loved the breadth with which I was allowed to approach the writing I was reviewing, and the spectrum of humanity each piece represented.

How has this internship impacted your future plans or interests going forward?

AD: It’s definitely helped me develop a lot of the skills I’d need for future work in this field, but I think that simply having a greater understanding of how the book world actually works (at least at the independent level) will be a big help if I ever consider reaching out to a publisher in the future myself in terms of having a submission packet that appeals and caters to the eye of the publisher. 

MF: I know now that while I don’t plan on being a piece of the more formatting/proofreading side of publishing, I love the human interaction and communication aspect of the industry. Going forward, I know how to prioritize people’s thoughts and identities when representing their work, something I am incredibly passionate about now that I am pursuing a career in journalism and potentially public relations.

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It is so amazing to hear about this internship from multiple perspectives. We hope that this can serve as encouragement to fellow students to take the leap into an English-y internship of their own! You never know what amazing experiences are right around the corner. And a big thanks to Andrew and Molly for sharing about this internship!