Spring Spice mag is off to the printers and a word I thought of was jubilant. Not a word I use a lot, probably due to it's a associates with Pascall Fruit Jubes – and what horrible things they were, especially when compared to Clinkers. Anyway I was happy but I can't say it's been the easiest of experiences unless I'm overstating the effects of wild mood swings. I'd like to think it was the steady application of effort but it seems a constant emotional hurdy gurdy thing. Some days I'm Eliza Doolittle, others I'm Don Knott the Reluctant Astronaut.
I swear there were moments when I though 'perhaps I can just drive my car North until I run out fuel and money and then wander around the dessert until found months, if not years, later. I think this was the time of neeeeeeeed advertising and mag is a pile of word documents with unresolvable sentences and there's a six page spread that is still completely unsorted, no pic for the cover, and somebody's just emailed to say they're not going to be able to do the story they promised. Not that it was all due to drama, sometimes you wake up and think what the hell am I doing running a magazine? And I guees this is to be expected in something that you have a financial and emotional commitment in, there's a lot of self inveested in these things. But then there's not too much analysis needed for the feeling involved in apparently losing two photo shoots and then ripping a hinge off my powerbook on a Friday evening just before heading off home.
But it picks up. Usually around the time pages start appearing on InDesign. Things that need to be written turn out to be much less the drama they're anticipated as. Stories get finished, proofing work turns to quibbling over commas, more ads come in and you can start to see where it ends and can have a bit of non-manic laugh.
And it's done and it's away at the printer. And it's great, not perfect but great and I've got a weekend. And I'm going to cook my little heart out.
Mental notes for next issue
-get new coffee cup
-not laugh at own jokes
-ask fellow directors if they're bothered by sailor-like levels of swearing
-learn to say barista properly
-save untouched raw photos in a special place
-get microphone that doesn't make interviews sound like Mr Noisy meets the Mud Men.
-institute floggings for use of ampersand
Postscript: Bah what moany nonsense. Sure it blows at times but it's tops to be out there and doing it.