On Submissions, Style, and (Web)Sites

After only three days at Friends Journal I feel like I’ve already learned and done so much! On Wednesday, my second day, I attended my first staff meeting and finished my orientation exercises. First I examined the paperwork regarding the February 2010 issue to learn everything I could about how Friends Journal is put together. The Journal is comprised mostly of unsolicited articles—Quakers and even some non-Quakers submit hundreds of articles every year on a variety of topics involving personal experience, current events, controversial issues, and their relationship to Quakerism. A manuscript takes quite a journey once it is submitted. First multiple editors and interns read each submission to decide if it is appropriate for publishing in Friends Journal. If the manuscript is accepted several interns and editors copyedit it, corrections and comments are returned to the author, and the art department adds the new draft to the complete magazine layout, which is proofread again and again before printing.

My next exercise was a lesson in copyediting, which involves checking spelling, grammar, style, and facts. Before I could practice actually looking for errors I needed to know the specific notations for correcting them. Corrections have to be consistent so that everyone who looks at a manuscript is on the same page (yes, literally and figuratively). My assignment was to take an electronic version of any piece of writing, to introduce errors into it that would demonstrate my ability to correct each kind of error I’ll encounter, and then to print it out and make corrections in proper form. It took a while for me to get the hang of Friends Journal’s copyediting style, but after repeating the exercise I felt a lot more confident.

The final orientation exercise was to critique the Friends Journal website after exploring the websites of three other comparable journals. I shared my thoughts with the senior editor and then compiled them into an email, which he forwarded to the webmaster. At first I felt slightly uncomfortable critiquing the Journal’s website, but I also felt that I had suggestions that might actually improve the website and I was excited to contribute my ideas so early on.

On Thursday I got to start work on an actual issue. I spent most of the day formatting submissions for October and readying them for their first round of editing. Although formatting can be tedious work I found that I actually enjoyed it! Later I joined other interns to work on a mailing and I learned how to operate a machine that simultaneously seals and stamps envelopes.

I am enjoying my work at Friends Journal thus far and I appreciate the friendly environment I get to work in. I am grateful for the company of my fellow interns and for the cheerful guidance of Friends Journal staff members.