Written by Makayla Conn
Hello readers, and welcome to The Garden Statuary’s Blog! My name is Makayla, and I worked as an editor on Issue 14.1 and Issue 14.2 of TGS. I loved my time in this role and can’t wait to share my experience with you! This post will take you through one of my days during the editing period of Issue 14.2. Every editor works differently, and no two days are the same. As students (and humans in general!), life is busy, and we often have a lot on our plates. At TGS, all working and learning styles are welcome and encouraged to join! Now, let me take you along for a day in the life as an editor for UBC’s Undergraduate English Journal!
I have always been an early bird, so my alarm rings at 6:30 am most days. I go straight to the coffee machine and, if I’ve remembered to prep the grounds the night before, turn it on. While my coffee is brewing, I like to listen to music, a video essay, podcast or audiobook to wake myself up. Full mug in hand, I walk over to my desk to get started on some work. After I complete a few readings for class and the caffeine has kicked in, it’s time to edit!
For Issue 14.2, I was working as a primary and secondary editor on two short stories, so there was much more text to go through than the previous issue, when I’d mainly worked with poetry. I like to start each editing session by reading the piece aloud or listening to it through text-to-speech software. I find that this helps me immerse myself back into the story and evaluate its flow and pacing. Once I’ve heard the story once, I make my way through the text slowly, taking notes as I go. I am the primary editor for this particular story, so my comments are focused on developmental and structural aspects of the piece. Being an editor isn’t just about making suggestions, we are also here to hype up our authors and offer encouragement, so I am noting my favourite lines and every standout use of excellent writing. I go through my comments one last time to make sure they are easy to understand and available for the secondary editor and author, then pop on my headphones and leave for class!
When school is done, I meet a friend to chat and study (usually more chatting than studying) and drink my third coffee of the day. I do some reading, both for class and for pleasure, and start drafting an essay for my Gothic Modernism seminar. I am feeling particularly productive this day, so I try to get the bulk of my schoolwork done in the morning and afternoon, then spend the evening on TGS work and any personal activities!
After dinner, I am back at my desk, ready to continue editing! Authors and editors typically respond to comments over the course of a week, so I might come home to very little interaction on a story. On this day, the author had some questions about my edits, so I read and answered them all before moving on to the next piece. The rest of the evening is spent on my secondary editor duties for Story #2. I look over the primary editor’s comments and respond to questions from the author, then go through the piece line by line, making edits for punctuation, grammar, word choice and any other micro-edits I notice.
When I feel myself getting tired, I close my laptop and get ready for bed. I make it through one episode of Broadchurch and then it’s lights out!
Thank you for joining me on this day in the life! I hope this post gave you a glimpse into what the role of an editor for The Garden Statuary can look like. I learned a lot from my time in this position, mostly about the editing and collaborative process, but also about myself. I discovered that I enjoy working with other people’s stories just as much as I love creating my own, and my passion for spreading creative pieces has only grown since being a part of Issue 14. I can’t wait for my next chapter with TGS, and to work with the fabulous new editors that join us this year!
Interested in getting involved with The Garden Statuary? Click here to see our current openings and job descriptions!