On Monday, February 23rd, some 30 editorial assistants came together for Ed’s Fifth Annual EA Square-Table all looking for one thing: advice! Five senior editors from big-name magazines came out to the 11th Street Bar in New York City’s East Village to chat with the assistants about what it takes to move up in the industry. Christie Griffin, Senior Web Editor of Cosmopolitan, Catherine Scroop, Deputy Editor/Features Director at Allure, Sara Lyle, Lifestyle Editor at Good Housekeeping, Sunny Sea Gold, Articles Editor, Health, at Glamour, and Wendy L. Wilson, News Editor for Essence.com, sat down with the assistants and spilled all of their insider advice. Ed rented out the entire back room of the bar, and the casual conversations went on from about 7 – 9:30pm.
Jessica Strul, Ed’s Special Project Director who organized the event, divided up the assistants into five groups based on their experience levels. Once everyone got situated, the guest editors, one per table, rotated every 25 minutes or so to answer questions and dispense advice. The low-lit atmosphere and snacks on the square tables (thanks, Jess!) helped keep things laid-back, rather than taking on the feel of a formal Q & A session.
This year, the assistants all had a common question in mind—and most weren’t afraid to ask it: How can I get promoted in a crappy economy like this one? Scroop, Allure’s Deputy Editor/Features Director, took the economy out of the equation and focused on the performance part of the issue. “Once you show your editor that you can do things by yourself, that you’re a true self-starter, you’ll be more qualified for a promotion,” she said.
Scroop’s advice really struck a chord with Allison Baker, Editorial Assistant at Family Circle. “It’s scary to think about doing things without my editor’s direction,” she said, “but I’d definitely like to try to show that I can handle more tasks on my own.”
Griffin, Cosmo’s Senior Web Editor (and Ed’s Web Director), approached the tricky questions a bit differently. “I kept reminding the girls to stay optimistic and remember that networking is a survival skill.” This proved to be good advice, because many of the attendees thought it was one of the most memorable tips of the night. Mirlande Jeanlouis, Editorial Assistant at SoHo Publishing, said Griffin’s networking advice was very helpful. “It’s easy to forget how important networking can be—especially in this economy,” she said.
Though the assistants and the editors were slightly disheartened by the current economic troubles in the industry, they were able to come up with some silver linings. “Everyone is doing more than one job right now, so we’re becoming more valuable and expanding our skill sets,” said Wilson of Essence.com.
In addition to wondering about how the economy is affecting the industry, assistants were also curious about topics like magazines’ roles in the web world and how to break into freelance work. “I think some of the best questions of the night were about how to take part in magazines’ transitions from print to web,” said Griffin. “It’s a very relevant issue right now that everyone wants to know more about, and even though some of the girls were struggling to find online work, I told them they’ve got to keep truckin’.”
At the end of the night, the editors stuck around to answer a few more individual questions, and the assistants left with a bit more of a positive outlook and the motivation to stick things out during these tough times.
