At the onset of the U.S. war in Iraq, Karen Eskew was working for the U.S.
Naval Institute. The editorial staff wanted a cutting-edge magazine with new
content about the war.
"We had to throw out the whole magazine and redo it in three days," she
recalls. It usually took two weeks' work to produce the magazine.
"Everyone was working around the clock," Eskew says, remembers how hard
the team worked. The publisher brought lunch and sometimes dinner in to the
office so that the staff could work through meals. They continued working
on Saturdays.
"It could have been a disaster, but we knew we had to get [the magazine]
out," she says.
Deadlines are part of the job. Overtime is sometimes necessary. Eskew says
that a positive attitude is the key to working under pressure. Sometimes it
is necessary to accept mistakes.
"We're human and that's what it comes down to. If you try to be perfect,
you drive everybody nuts," she says.
Eskew is now the production manager for the American Psychological Association
(APA). She lays out proofs and advertisements, proofreads the classified ads,
and designs the media kit and internal ads. She also deals with advertisers
and the print orders.
"I couldn't ask for a better job," she says. She is a designer by education.
She loves to let her creative juices flow when she designs media kits.
Vanessa Leigh is the publisher of a fashion magazine. She founded the magazine
herself five years ago. At her small publication, her duties include managing
the advertising and marketing departments. To do this, she works with her
sales and design teams to create the layout for the magazine. They make sure
that advertisers will be satisfied with where their ads are placed. She also
oversees a production manager who ensures that the ads satisfy the magazine's
specifications, too.
Leigh also coordinates with the fashion magazine's marketing department.
They get the word out about the magazine. This is largely done by organizing
two big parties every year: an anniversary party and a We Love Fashion party
during the regional Fashion Week.
Leigh says that in advertising, sales people must have good timing. Advertising
is a competitive business.
Sales people want to grab their clients' ad budgets before other magazines
get to it. Advertisers have a limited amount to spend in a year. Once the
money is gone, sales people must wait until the advertiser's budget is replenished.
In order to capture that advertising money, sales people must be familiar
with the magazine. They need to know the readers of the magazine. They must
also be familiar with the product the advertisers are promoting. The target
consumers of the product must be similar to the readers of the magazine. Advertising
and the content of publication need to be well-matched to be profitable.
Leigh has learned not to take it personally when advertisers say no to
her. But it wasn't always so easy to accept rejection. Because she created
it and publishes it, the magazine is like her baby. So whenever an advertiser
would decline ad space, she says it was like, "having someone tell you your
child's ugly." She has since come to realize that sometimes the magazine may
simply not be the right fit for the client.
Paul Ellis changed careers from project managing at an engineering firm
to producing sales for a fashion magazine.
"I wanted to have more fun," he says. What makes his current job fun are
the people he works with. "People in sales have to be positive and encourage
each other. They're always making things happen. It's infectious," says Ellis.
"If you want to have fun and meet people, it's a great job. It's a good way
to build a network of contacts."
Ellis says it's pretty cool when you get a sale with a big company. But
there are also times when sales are down. Ellis says keeping positive and
motivated during these times can be a challenge. Being part of the glamorous
fashion industry helps him through tough times.
"One of the perks of my job is seeing beautiful women and going to all
these fashion shows. I get to meet a lot of people in the fashion world. Sometimes
I get free samples or even free clothes," he says. He also does some bookkeeping
work. He must send out invoices, receive payments, process payments and follow
up with late payments.
"It's all interpersonal skills and knowing the product. People who are
good with people excel in this job," he says. "You have to have a certain
amount of confidence because you are going to get rejected a lot. You have
to be a positive person because you'll have highs and lows."