A blog post by Publishing Intern Pam Gainer
“Ring the bells that still can ring,
forget your perfect offering,
there is a crack, a crack in everything,
that’s how the light gets in.”
—Leonard Cohen, “Anthem”
A sunlit moment of presence during a winter walk at Silver Bell Farm in Monson, Massachusetts
What element of my Modern Memoirs publishing internship do I like best so far? I’ve only been here for about a month, but here are a few things I can offer:
I enjoy learning about the different clients and their needs and desires. Each client is unique, and the company works to be flexible and adapt to each one. Some clients are doing their own writing, while others are interviewed and have their stories written in-house. Some want a shorter book, some want a longer book. Books vary in size, and some are softcover, while others are hardcover with leather and gold-foil stamps. There are an infinite number of design possibilities; in the same way, there are an infinite number of human stories.
I was asked to share my writing by contributing posts to the company blog. My blog post about “Beginnings” was shared last month, and I am writing another post about my grandmother and her journals. I appreciate this very much.
“Here’s a question for you, dear reader: do you know the difference between output and offering?”
And while this is not something specific to this internship, it has felt great to go into an office and contribute. The last time I worked in an office was at a software development company thirteen years ago. So, this new role isn’t a small thing for me! Most of my professional career has been working for my family. It’s important to be in my MFA program now and to take on work out in the world.
Here’s a question for you, dear reader: do you know the difference between output and offering? I didn’t until recently, when I was researching different types of writing for a class project. As I engage in my internship and contribute what I can, I see how “output” is work completed with the energy of fixing a problem. “Offering” is work completed in flow, with presence. The distinction has me reflecting on my work, my writing, and on the years (a lifetime, really) I’ve spent trying to fix myself. I’ve prioritized output over offering, and it has left me feeling like something is missing.
Fixing oneself is different from taking care of oneself. In the latter, healthier vein, I’ve been taking Pilates classes for the past three years, and I have the absolute best instructor. She owns the studio and is a beautiful teacher in so many ways. This winter, with the bitter cold here in Massachusetts, a pipe froze, flooding her studio. She had to cancel classes for the week. Today, she told us how glad she was to be back teaching, how much she needed to be back, for herself. And as a drove away, I thought about how her teaching is her offering.
To be able to contribute, to offer something to the world, is life-giving. It’s your energy, it’s your creativity. It’s you. And maybe the person your offering gives the most life to is you.
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This post is slightly adapted from a piece I wrote for my MFA in Creative Nonfiction program at Bay Path University. To see the original post, as well as more of my writing, visit my Substack, “Pam’s Daybook.”
Pam Gainer is publishing intern at Modern Memoirs, Inc. in spring 2026