Interview with an editor (Answer, Part Two)

(Answers, Part One, available here.)

7. What other editing positions do you hold? (Didn’t you say you were editor of another Downtown publication?? Besides being copy editor of The Daily News, I "moonlight" in two other positions. First of all, I proofread Memphis Downtowner Magazine once a month. Secondly, I edit book manuscripts for a small Memphis publishing company called Kerlak, which is really just getting off the ground.

8. Your opinion on the opportunities that are available in Memphis (the South) for students interested in publishing, either in newspaper or other markets? Honestly, I believe Memphis is an underserved market in print publishing of all forms. When it comes to newspapers, there's only one large one, The Commercial Appeal, plus a number of small ones -- The Memphis Flyer, MBJ, The Daily News, The Tri-State Defender. The same goes for publishing houses -- there just aren't a lot of them! But if you're good and you're driven, it won't be hard to find a job. Sometimes it takes a minor change in your job plans. Let's use the example that Jane Doe is looking for a job editing books, but none of the Memphis publishing houses have an opening. (1.) Jane could take a position editing newsletters for a corporation or a non-profit, using the clips to bolster her resume. (2.) Jane could advertise her book editing services in Poets&Writers Magazine, or to local writers' groups, etc. (3.) Jane could broaden her job search to metro and national companies. As telecommuting and e-mail become more popular, it's becoming less vital that you live in New York, for example, in order to work for a New York company.

9. Tell me about how you came to work on the anthology. I'll give you the long version, and you can trim as needed. ;-) When I was working at Barnes & Noble, I met a guy who was working on a book about HIPAA laws. I told him I edited on the side and gave him a card. A month later, I left the bookstore to work at The Daily News. A few months after that, TDN hired a database administrator -- and it turned out it was the same guy I'd met at the bookstore! His name is Chuck Dinkins, and along with three or four other people, he's running a fledgling publishing company called Kerlak here in Memphis. I started copy editing for Kerlak -- first a book titled Best of Memphis 2004, then Small-Town Gay. Soon after, I met with several of the Kerlak leaders. They asked me what I was interested in, what I thought was big right now. I told them "five-minute mysteries," were big -- you know, mysteries around 1,000 words long. They liked the idea. They told me to send out a call for stories ... and that was that.