Michael Fynan FCRH ‘14: Academic Marketer, Writer

Michael Fynan FCRH ‘14

By Peter Krause

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Update: We are happy to report that in the time that has elapsed since this interview was conducted Michael has signed with literary agents Max Dobson and Ian Shea of Maximus Literary and are currently preparing to reach out to publishers.

Peter Krause: Michael, thank you for being with us today. 

Michael Fynan: Thank you for having me. 

PK: Currently, you are a Senior Associate in Academic Marketing at HarperCollins. You’ve also worked in marketing at Penguin Random House in NYC and Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia. These are terrific institutions that I’m sure Fordham English majors are interested in. Could you speak a bit about how your time at Fordham influenced your early career?

MF: I remember in my first week at Fordham going to a seminar about the English major and someone said, “There are not many jobs that require only the particular skills of an English major, but with an English major you can tailor yourself to just about any job.” Or something to that effect. It stuck with me. I appreciated the flexibility in terms of career paths. The fact that an English major allows you to explore and keep your plans open without working towards one specific job was attractive. 

Though, I took that perhaps a bit too far, since by senior year I had no plan. [Laughs] The Career Services office was very helpful. I attended an event with Penguin Random House to learn about publishing, which seemed natural since I’m an avid reader. That led to two internships: one in the second semester of my senior year and another in the fall after I graduated. 

So, as that second internship was ending, I was living with my parents in New Jersey and I ended up getting a job in sales and marketing at Walnut Street Theatre. That was a nine-month contract, so as it was wrapping up I kept using my internship experiences in publishing to apply for jobs. In the end, I got lucky enough to land at HarperCollins, where I’ve worked in academic marketing for six years now.

PK: Older generations like to joke that young people never stay at one job for more than a year or two, but you’re proving them very wrong. It sounds like you’re happy there.

MF: [Laughs] Indeed!

PK: Could you elaborate on your experience getting the job in academic marketing at HarperCollins? Did you have connections there or was it really the internship experiences that made you an attractive candidate? 

MF: When I went to that presentation put on by Penguin Random House, one of the people who spoke was actually a Fordham alum. He had worked at the Ram Van. I’m a former Ram Van driver too. So, that connection helped. I mentioned his name in my cover letter when I applied to the internship, which I’m sure didn’t hurt.

Regarding my current position, it was actually a pretty strange event that presumably brought my resume to the top of the pile. I was called in for an interview with the woman who is now my supervisor, Diane. Diane comes into the room and immediately says, “So, I’ve done some Googling…” Of course, my first thought is: Oh no. What does that mean? She says, “Are you the Michael Fynan who went to Holy Cross High School?” I said that I was. It turned out that one of my high school teachers was currently writing a teaching guide for her. That was a bizarre but happy coincidence. Of course, the reality of job searches is that connections do matter. However, in my experience, connections are not usually the factor that lands you a job, but they do often ensure that you are looked at more closely. 

PK: Could you speak to any misconceptions or assumptions regarding the publishing industry that you’ve been able to demystify? 

MF: Let me provide a bit of background before I answer. Applicants to Penguin Random House internships do not apply for specific internships, but rather you apply to be in the general intern pool [Most of the big five publishing houses Penguin Random House, Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Simon & Schuster offer paid internships]. Interns are then evaluated on their experience and placed into whatever department might suit them best. Purely coincidentally, I was placed into the marketing department for both of my internships. 

I did not take a single marketing course at Fordham. In 2018 I completed a four-course marketing certificate at New York University. So, before that point, I had performed my job well without any formal academic marketing experience. Instead, my relevant background was my major, my experience at Walnut, and my experience at HarperCollins. What did the English major provide? The writing skills, the critical thinking abilities, and the willingness to pick up relevant skills over time. This is worth highlighting. There are so many skills that an employer can easily teach you, but how to apply critical thinking and how to write well are not among them. These skills are absolutely what an English major provides.

PK: Can you take us through a pre-pandemic work day at HarperCollins?

MF: One of the fun things about publishing is that it’s hard to talk about a typical day because the experience is so varied. There are always different events happening and different authors to engage with. One of the great things about my job is that pre-pandemic I was able to travel to various conferences. I would attend the annual conference of the Modern Language Association (MLA) and the American Historical Society (AHS). I would also attend conferences tailored for college administrators, for high school English teachers, and many other groups. 

I work in academic marketing, specifically. So, we get desk copy requests from teachers who are interested in using the book in their course. I’ll take a look at those requests, confirm that the books in question are indeed ones we publish, and then I’ll send them off to the warehouse. We also have several subject newsletters that we put out, so I’m usually working on one or two of those each week. We’ll do e-campaigns for specific books that will target teachers and courses that we think might find the text useful. That involves designing the e-card, writing the copy, and getting it approved by the marketing team and editors, as well as researching what kinds of courses out there would have a need for such books. 

Our department also does a podcast: Harper Academic Calling. Check us out! We interview authors based on their books. Generally, we focus on recent or upcoming academic books, though occasionally we dig through the backlist. We try to do a few interviews a month. At any point, I’m likely preparing for one of those which involves writing the questions, doing background research, conducting the interview, and doing the post-interview tasks such as audio editing, e-blasts, social media, etcetera. 

PK: As you said, it sounds like there’s not really a “typical day” in your position. 

MF: Exactly. I mean, last week we spent most of our time in what are called “launch meetings.” In those meetings the editors of each imprint talk about the books they will be publishing this season a year from now. It’s always exciting because we hear for the first time what projects the department will be focusing on. There’s always moments where we go, “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe we’re publishing that book by that important author!” It’s fun seeing what’s in the pipeline. 

PK: Recalling your time at Fordham, were there any areas of campus life that you engaged with that were especially impactful? 

MF: I mentioned the Ram Van, which was one of my favorite parts being at Fordham. I remember riding in it my freshman year and being in disbelief at how skillfully drivers navigated rush hour traffic and complex roads in the Bronx. Yet, a year later I was saying, “Sign me up!” I made so many lasting connections there. It was a high-stress job, so you necessarily have to learn how to not crack under pressure. If you can navigate Broadway at rush hour, what’s a tense business meeting in an office? In addition to being a driver, in my senior year I also worked as a dispatcher helping with planning routes, communication, and things like that. The leadership and planning skills necessary for that role certainly informed my early career. 

I was also pretty heavily involved with the Theatrical Outreach Program, which is an initiative that brings classical theater to under-supported high schools in NYC. We did two classical shows a semester, usually Shakespeare. We would edit the shows down to about an hour and then take them to local schools in the Bronx. Besides getting to play at my love of theater, the process of editing the scripts down and working directly with the text was an enormously valuable editorial exercise. 

Michael Fynan is a contributing writer at Queerist “a publication featuring Queer views on LGBTQ+ topics and issues on identity, health, history, culture, and life.”

PK: By way of closing, let me ask: Are you working on any personal projects? Or are there any exciting new initiatives at HarperCollins? 

MF: At HarperCollins, in addition to my regular job, I am also on the committee for emerging professionals. We plan networking and informational events for people who are relatively new to HarperCollins so that employees feel connected and up-to-date about publishing in general. That’s been really fun. Recently, I was also asked to be on the committee for diversity, equity, and inclusion at HarperCollins. I don’t know exactly what that will entail yet, but it should be an engaging new venture. 

In my personal life, I am also a contributing writer for an online publication that actually just launched. It’s called Queerist. It is, ithe words of founder Lex Evan, “a publication featuring Queer views on LGBTQ+ topics and issues on identity, health, history, culture, and life.” I’ve written a few pieces for that already and I hope to keep writing pieces regularly. It’s nice to keep the writing gears going. 

I’m actually working on a novel of my own, as well. Every English major has one! [Laughs] It’s written, so I’m working on the querying process right now. I’ve sent it to a few agents who are looking it over. Having the publishing experience definitely helps on that end. Knowing how the querying process works and what kinds of literature are currently being sought out is useful. In my senior year at Fordham I also took a publishing class with Mary Bly, which was not only hugely helpful in helping me start a career in publishing, but also valuable while I was writing the novel. 

PK: Those are exciting updates, especially the novel! Can you tell us what it’s about?

MF: Sure. So, right now the working title is Night Out. It revolves around a twenty-seven year old New Yorker as he goes out in Hell’s Kitchen over the course of one night. The story kind of goes back and forth between the present night and different memories of men the protagonist has been with. All of those memories connect with what’s happening in the moment. For example, he runs into someone and you find out about their last encounter. Autobiographical more in spirit than in fact. So, we’ll see what happens with that. You heard it here first! [Laughs]

PK: We’re always happy to plug a journal and a novel. Thank you, Michael, for your time. 

MF: My pleasure.