An awesome possibility on the horizon

Photo: StockXChng

In mid-July I answered an ad for a job as Associate Editor with Quilters Newsletter magazine. I have been hesitant to share too much about it online just because:

1. I don’t want to jinx myself.
2. If I don’t get the job, I will be very sad and don’t want to feel too foolish for getting my hopes up in the first place.

This is the first time I have ever heard a job description and felt my pulse race and my heart pound.

• Babysitter? Meh. What does it pay and how many brats?
• Retail store clerk? Well, I’ll get to shop a lot…
• Warehouse picker? Ugh. Better than welfare, but not by much. Not to mention soul-crushingly boring.
• IT consultant? Hm. Interesting. Varied clientele. But in the end, another dead-end office job that sucks the will to live right out of you.

(Yes, these are the actual jobs I’ve held in my life.)

But this job… Well, just look at the description:

The ideal candidate for the position of associate editor will have excellent verbal and written communication skills, editing skills, and intermediate to advanced quilt making and pattern-drafting skills. This position requires a positive attitude and the ability to produce high-quality work while meeting strict deadlines. The general editor will work closely with both the editorial team and the art team to ensure that every issue of Quilters Newsletter exceeds readers’ expectations.

I read that and thought, “I can do that! I wonder what the catch is?” So I read on…

Essential Duties

• Research, develop, write, edit, and proofread with accuracy all assigned features and patterns for QN, meeting all deadlines.
• Work with authors/contributors to assure that submitted material remains accurate, clear, and true-to-voice throughout the editing and layout process.
• Analyze finished quilts, determine yardage requirements, and write instructions for quilt patterns.
• Use the Web, email, printed materials, and interviews to research and check facts.
• Initiate new content by providing ideas for articles, patterns, and Web-based items.
• Thoughtfully and accurately edit and proofread copy written by contributors and other staff members.
• Meet all deadlines.
• Perform clerical duties as needed and maintain accurate records, database entries, and contracts.
• Represent QN by traveling to trade and quilt shows to establish relationships with readers, contributors, and advertisers.
• Represent QN on the Web by engaging with readers through various social media outlets and contribute regularly to the QN editors’ blog.
• Resolve customer service inquiries related to assignments.

Still nothing I can’t do. In fact, this sounds like the most awesome job ever! I can do all these things and enjoy pretty much all of them! In fact, aside from representing the company, I already do all these things in my freelance writing career writing for Examiner.com, magazines, and quilt websites.

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in English, journalism, communications, or related field
• Editing experience
• Intermediate to advanced quilt making and pattern-drafting skills
• Math proficiency
• Excellent interpersonal, organizational, and communication skills
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and other basic computer applications
• Proficiency in the online environment, including social networking
• Ability to self-motivate and work independently
• Ability to adapt to changes in priorities, workload, and workflow
• Ability to exercise good judgment and to solve problems creatively

OMG! I actually have all these qualifications! Although I joked to the Ed-in-Chief – “My first degree was in English for a reason! I hope I can use a calculator for the math part!” She assured me that it’s the same for her!

What happened after I applied?

So far, I’ve had two interviews, a one-hour teleconference with the Editor-in-Chief and the Associate Publisher, and a half-hour phone call with the VP of Publishing. Both of those went really well. During the first call all three of us sounded giddy, I think (although that may have just been me!) We ended the call on a very positive note, with the Ed-in-Chief telling me that I was, “a very strong candidate”.

Best of all, I still wanted the job and they wanted to move on to the next step, which was the interview with the VP. Her travel schedule was hectic and it was another couple of weeks before we hooked up for a phone call. Although we only spoke for half an hour this time she too wanted to move forward and told me to expect travel plans to come out and meet everyone.

The following week, instead of an itinerary, I received an unexpected editing test. I suppose I should have expected it, but no one had mentioned it in the phone calls, so I was thrown for a loop.

The Test

The test consisted of a 1000-word article written by a quilter about some quilts she had made based on a historic figure. My job was to come up with a selection of possible titles, at least three ways to promote the article using social media, to copy edit the piece, and finally, to rewrite it as if it were my own byline. Ack!

I did the easy stuff first. Once I had the entire file (it took some back and forth to realize I’d only been sent the first page and then further back and forth to get a copy that I could actually read), I read through it and jotted down some titles that seemed to go along with the theme of the article. Then I made my list of social media tie-ins. As soon as I had a usable copy of the article I rewrote it.

I thought I’d done a decent job. I even brought it to my writer’s group that night, along with the original and read them both. I got some feedback on mine, told them all about the job, showed them a copy of the magazine. All in all it was a fun evening and I got good feedback. I went home and made some minor revisions to the article and was about to send it all back when I realized I still had to do the copy edit.

Now I have edited before, but normally I do it on screen, right in MS Word. But they wanted a hard copy edit. Ugh! I didn’t know people even still did hard copy edits! So to make my life easier, I did the edit on screen first. This allowed me to change my mind about things, add comments in the margin to explain why I was making the choices I made, leave little notes for the author etc.

When I was happy with the electronic version, I got out my red pen and a list of copy editors marks. Since I don’t edit on paper very frequently (in fact only for tests) I had to remind myself which marks meant what, and also get a refresher on some of the lesser-used marks. I use things like “delete”, “insert”, “UC”, and “lc” quite often, but the more esoteric ones were something I had to look up.

I marked up a hard copy, checked it against the electronic one. Read it over again and hoped I hadn’t done too much editing, then scanned it and sent the whole thing back, including the superfluous electronic edit just in case she had trouble reading the scanned version. I was told I’d get a reply by Friday. Friday came and went and I spent the weekend in agony wondering if I’d totally effed it up.

I finally got a reply the following week and the Ed-in-Chief said that they “loved” what I did with it, that it was “fabulous”. (Yes, I actually wrote down what she said so I could quote it later!)

I’m Going!

With that out of the way, the next order of business was flight arrangements so I could fly out to Golden and meet everyone. I have my itinerary and I leave Wednesday morning. Right now I am agonizing over what to wear, and wondering where I will spend the night, and if I’ll be renting a car. (They told me they’d let me know all that, but so far no word.)

I’m really looking forward to the trip! I’ve never been to Colorado before and when I tell friends about it, their reactions are mixed and sometimes comical. Although I’ve mentioned the job every week for the past month at my writer’s group, last week one woman asked me about it again and then asked where it was. I thought she meant which magazine, but she meant the place, so I told her. She said, “You won’t have to move, will you?” I had to laugh! I get this question more often than you might think, not only from people who have spent their entire lives in Michigan, but even from people who have lived all over the country and world! Of course I’ll move if I get the job! (Although if I could do it remotely, I would do that too.)

Colorado is one of the few places my husband and I would both agree to move if we won the lottery. My first preference would be to stay put on the shore of Lake Michigan near all the friends I’ve made in the past thirteen years. My second choice would be Olympia, Washington, or somewhere along the coast of British Columbia where I could have both the Rocky Mountains (which I adore), and the ocean (which I miss terribly). But Colorado, even without anything as impressively blue as an ocean or a Great Lake, is right up there on my list.

I am bummed about moving to a land-locked place for the first time in my life though. Friends who live in land-locked places are mystified. “But they have lakes!” they tell me. Well yes, I can see a few small puddles on the map, but none of them compare to the Great Lakes and they certainly can’t compare to the Atlantic Ocean that I grew up beside. I think the job itself will help ease the longing for water though. That and living in the shadow of the Rockies for the first time in my life. I am so eager to hop on that plane! I hope I have good news when I return! Wish me luck!