7 Things I Learned Interviewing 4 Head Editors

This past month, I spent over 6 hours on the phone with the editors in charge of the four major writing magazines. I then spent even more time reading over their words from my transcriptionist. I was delighted to notice some major themes and similarities constantly coming up in our conversations, and so I'm sharing them with you.

Seven Things I Learned from Interviewing Magazine Editors

1. It takes a lot of hats. Not only did these editors come to their current jobs with experiences from a variety of careers (PR, editing books, marketing, teaching, newspapers), they also wear many hats in their current positions: they look at submissions, they plan content, they talk to freelancers, and (sometimes) they deal with advertisers.
2.  They love their job. More than one of the editors noted that their current position was the culmination of their career, and that they absolutely loved their job.
3. They are friendly, supportive, outgoing people. Each editor in the series was easy to talk to, willing to explain concepts, and quite patient and kind in dealing with the juggling of getting these interviews coordinated and published.  I'm generalizing, but my guess is that this attitude develops out of a love of their work, and their experience in dealing with writers, other editors, and etc. 
4. They are articulate. Expressing their ideas came easy for these four editors. Questions were easily answered and the content of their answers was understandable and well-stated. 
5. They leaped at opportunities. When describing their career arc, more than one editor made a reference to leaping at an opportunity that came up. As writers, let's internalize this as a positive example.
6. They were highly educated. All the editors had a lot of education underneath them, including formal education, like master's degrees, and less formal education in the form of voracious reading and learning appetites.
7. They had bite-sized nuggets of info ready for me. Perhaps this could be lumped in with being articulate, but each editor was willing to give great advice and interesting takes on the writing and querying world. This information was well-thought out and easily digestible, yet unique.

As a writer, I urge you to please consider reading the full interviews with the editors. It is indeed an education in and of itself.