Things I Wish Someone Would Have Told Me about being a Managing Editor

Writing and Editing at Two Different Things all together.

This week I anxiously accepted the role of Managing Editor for a new Detroit edition of Sensi Magazine - a cool cannabis-culture magazine based in Colorado making a name for it's in the midwest. It seemed a pretty easy sale because they had a nice budget and wanted me to write and manage a team of writers under a pretty tight turn around deadline - my specialities. I'm both excited about creating some great content but also mentoring new writers. While I've been an editor for several publications, I've never been a MANAGING EDITOR.

As I do with any other thing that I do, I start with research. Here's what I've found from talking to a few of my Managing Editor friends. Take notes if you're considering taking on the position of Managing Editor. You'll wish someone would've told you this later on down the line.

Most so-called “Writers” or "Publicists" who send you pitches are actually sending you pure S@#$%T!.

The larger or more popular the publication, the more of a nightmare your inbox will be.

Fair warning. Most writers need to be molded into your writers for your publication. Especially if they've never pitched or written for the publication before or if they've written for print years ago and haven't written for a digital platform. But, if you’re lucky, sometimes one of those (writers) will leave a turd made of pure GOLD. Those are the ones that you pray for every day.

Learn BASIC HTML & SEO

Most print and online publications are ran on WordPress. Get familiar with WordPress. This should be the first thing you do. 

SEO will come up in editorial meetings daily and you MUST become an expert at the term and the language associated with growing those numbers. I can't go into ALL here, but believe me when I say, brush up on SEO.

Editing Isn’t JUST About Grammar

Editing is also about STYLE.

Your job isn’t just about correcting misspellings and adding commas. Sorry.

It’s also about infusing a publications' specific personality into dry text, learning basic copywriting to sell affiliate products that are linked within articles, and otherwise making articles sound “natural”. If your writers can't do it, YOU will have to. I keep this website open in my bar - thesaurus.com at all times!

Learn Some Photo Editing.

Great content isn’t just about words, sometimes it's not about words at ALL. Get over it. You’ll also need to find or craft excellent images to go along with the writers’ posts.

The images will be seen first. Here are some of the best photo sites for thosoe without Getty Images accounts.

I turn to UnSplash (free) Pixabay (free).

For photo editing and crafting, I use an ancient version of PhotoShop and the latest version of Affinity Designer. Both have a steep learning curve if you’re not a graphics-orientated person, but you can find tons of tutorials on YouTube if you spend some time searching.

Create a Schedule and Stick to IT by Any Means Necessary!

Whether you’re an Editor who manages a stable of writers or accepts freelance writers, you’ll need to create a publication schedule and enforce it.

A simple Trello or Monday board will keep you organized. You and your Head Editor can keep track of what’s going up with ease, jumping in to write or motivate where needed.

Let's not Forget the Managing Part

Be the editor that you always wish you wanted. Give constructive feedback. Be gentle and encouraging. Be stern but supportive. Remind your writers to stay on top of invoicing. Pay your writers on time. And create the next generation of Storytellers because that's what a great Managing Editor should be.