WHEN I'M EDITING AN ACADEMIC
May 2012
105 posts
WHEN I SAY "SOMEONE SHOULD TOTALLY WRITE THAT PIECE"
WHEN A WRITER ASKS FOR MY REACTION TO HER FIRST DRAFT
WHEN A LIQUOR COMPANY SENDS US SAMPLES
WHEN I FIND OUT A WRITER ISN'T ON TWITTER
WHEN I REALIZE I'M ON MY FOURTH DRINK AT HAPPY HOUR AND I STILL HAVE THREE PIECES TO EDIT FOR THE SITE TOMORROW
WHEN MEDIABISTRO THROWS SOME SHADE
WHEN ONE OF THE DESIGNERS TELLS ME I HAVE TO CUT ANOTHER 400 WORDS
WHEN AN OUT-OF-MY-LEAGUE WRITER REPLIES THAT SHE'S JUST TOO BUSY TO WRITE FOR ME RIGHT NOW
WHEN I NEGOTIATE TO PUBLISH A BOOK EXCERPT
WHEN I REALIZE I HAVE TO WORK THIS WEEKEND. AGAIN.
WHEN A WRITER ASKS ME TO JUSTIFY ONE OF MY DELETIONS
WHEN A CELEBRITY TWEETS THAT OUR MAGAZINE IS THE BEST MAGAZINE
WHEN AN INTERN PITCHES A 5,000-WORD NARRATIVE FEATURE
WHEN A PIECE COMES IN AT DOUBLE THE ASSIGNED LENGTH
WHEN THE CMS BREAKS. AGAIN.
WHEN NEWS BREAKS
WHEN I ARRIVE AT THE OFFICE
WHEN SOMEONE TELLS ME IT'S NOT PROFESSIONAL TO HAVE WHISKEY IN MY DESK DRAWER
WHEN I EDIT 20,000 WORDS IN A SINGLE DAY
WHEN SOMEONE COMPLAINS ABOUT HOW LONG IT TAKES ME TO REPLY TO EMAIL
WHEN I'M ABOUT TO KILL A PIECE THAT JUST ISN'T WORKING
April 2012
29 posts
WHEN I'M RESPONDING TO PITCHES
WHEN A WRITER KEEPS REVERSING MY CHANGES
WHEN A WRITER FINALLY LANDS THE BIG INTERVIEW
WHEN I'M TEMPTED TO TWEET ABOUT SOMETHING DUMB A WRITER DOES
WHEN WE SHIP THE LAST PAGE OF THE ISSUE
WHEN ALL OF THE IMPORTANT NATIONAL MAG AWARDS GO TO WHITE DUDES
WHEN YOU SEND ME AN E.B. WHITE ESSAY ABOUT THE CORRUPTING INFLUENCE OF MONEY ON JOURNALISM
WHEN SUSAN ORLEAN FOLLOWS ME ON TWITTER
WHEN I SEE THAT THERE'S A NEW JOHN JEREMIAH SULLIVAN PIECE IN THE PARIS REVIEW
WHEN YOU SAY "NEW MEDIA"
WHEN A WRITER FOOTNOTES EVERY GODDAMN THING FOR THE FACT CHECKERS
WHEN A WRITER FILES FIVE DAYS PAST DEADLINE AND 2,000 WORDS TOO LONG
WHEN GOOGLE DOCS FINALLY HAS "TRACK CHANGES" [SPECULATIVE]
WHEN MY BOSSES ASK ME IF WE CAN RUN MORE SLIDESHOWS
WHEN I READ A DRAFT BY A WRITER WHO THINKS HE'S ON SOME NEXT LEVEL, DFW SHIT
WHEN THE NEW YORK TIMES RUNS A BETTER VERSION OF THAT PIECE I HAD SCHEDULED FOR TOMORROW
WHEN A WRITER TELLS ME SHE'S FILING SOON, LIKE SO SOON. LIKE, SHE'S JUST ABOUT TO FILE
WHEN I EDIT MY OWN COPY AS I WRITE
WHEN I FORWARD A HILARIOUSLY BAD P.R. EMAIL TO ANOTHER EDITOR
WHEN I FIND OUT OUR PUBLICATION WON A WEBBY BECAUSE OUR MARKETING DEPARTMENT SPAMMED OUR READERS
WHEN A WRITER TELLS ME HE NEEDS THE WEEKEND TO GET THAT DRAFT BACK
WHEN I WRITE THE PERFECT KICKER
WHEN THE FACT CHECKER TELLS ME THE WRITER DOESN'T HAVE ANY INTERVIEWS RECORDED
WHEN I REFERENCE MY BLACKLIST
WHEN A WRITER SAYS THAT MY EDIT DIMINISHED HIS "VOICE"
WHEN I RESTRUCTURE THE BEJESUS OUT OF A PIECE
WHEN I HAVE TO EXPLAIN THAT YOU CAN'T "SMILE" OR "LAUGH" A QUOTE
WHEN A WRITER FILES WITH A DECENT HEADLINE ALREADY WRITTEN
