Monday, October 16, 2006

Done! Done, I tell you!

Bleah. Finally I am done with yet another issue of the Republic. Just have to take it in to the printer, and I can relax (right after I finish with the distribution and subscriptions and data entry, that is...).

I've been doing this now for almost nine years. That's quite a while. This part, the last four or five days before printing, are always hellish. I stay up until the wee hours of the morning, writing announcements and cramming things in and trying to make sure I haven't forgotten everything, routinely working miracles of layout that nobody else will really notice or appreciate (except for my husband, who gets to chuckle over my cries of exultant triumph when I cram a 700-word article into a 600-word space). This issue was a doozy--32 pages, 8 more than my usual, and with several last-minute items.

Of course, I always forget something, or have to bump something because there just wasn't room, and when the paper actually comes out my eye immediately locks on to the obvious typo on contents page or my editorial or in the main spread.

It always takes me at least 24 hours longer than the point at which I think I'll be done in just one more hour. Without fail. And for some reason every month I keep thinking that yep, I'm almost finished, just another hour. You'd think I'd have figured it out by now.

Nope.

But when that paper comes out, and I'm at the Eagle handing out contributor copies to my neighbors, and I see half the bar with their nose in the magazine--ah, the satisfaction. People actually want to READ the thing.

Makes me feel like I'm doing something worthwhile after all.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

So you weren't done with it yesterday afternoon! I can't wait to read it. Thank goodness for print deadlines, yes? Otherwise we'd never have an issue to read. :)

Anonymous said...

I checked out the lastest edition, at least what is posted on your web-site, and it looks as if your continued efforts will be as apreciated as ever.
We know you work hard and we know you need help. Maybe someday it'll happen. Until then, please keep up the good work.
Take care,
Jeff

Deirdre Helfferich said...

Yeah, thought I was done, but then something else came up, more typos, addenda, corrections, etc. I figured I might as well get my editorial edited since I couldn't take it in until Monday anyway...

every editor needs a good editor.