3 posts tagged “editor”
By the time I've drunk my tea and finished scribbling this, my new blog Poppycockney will have launched.
Poppycockney is a blog about London, but it's fictional. Every character has their own opinion (they're real), but they also have their own lives and that's the fun part. We get to play and have silly characters and do silly things.
I write the character of Poppy (who else) and it's a blog about her life. Well, her and her friends. I don't know why I decided to write a blog in fiction. It's like Gossip Girl but backwards so maybe I was subconsciously influenced by that.
It's been such hard work. Getting a team of people together and keeping things going is tough. Especially as we initially planned to launch on June 16th! Things get in the way - like y'know - life and shit.
One of the main things pushing me was when the guys at Messy Media telling me that I couldn't edit a team of people. At the time, they were probably right. What the hell do I know about editing a website and leading a team of people? Fuck all. But I do know this site. And I do know my team. I'm very passionate about both. I don't know if that's enough and I've got loads to learn, but surely every editor has to start somewhere? If I knew what I was doing and didn't fuck up that wouldn't be much fun at all. I'm also constantly amazed by how supportive the guys writing for me are. They believe in this site and, more surprisingly sometimes, they believe in me. Even when I'm freaking out like I have been over the last couple of days.
I love what we've done with Poppycockney. Really really love it. I know how much work has gone into it. Blood, sweat tears, vodka etc. But it's all been worth it.
You can check out the site here... it's about to go live in 5...4...3...2...1....
Today I got offered a brilliant brilliant job. A job that's perfect for me and a job that I can do well.
I'm now Community Editor for the site Webjam.
Community Editor. Sounds shiny doesn't it?
I'm happy today. I really think this job is going to be good for me and I'm excited by many things now. I'm still freelance. The job is part time which means that I'll get out of the house for half of the week. Thank fuck for that. I can actually go a whole day without speaking to people in the real world sometimes. That's scary.
But it also means I've got time to do all of my other projects too. In fact, I'll have to manage my time better to fit it all in so I'll probably write more instead of playing Mario Kart. Brilliant. My website is still launching this month. I'm still excited about that.
The most important thing? Well I left my job at Cedar six months ago. It's taken me six months to get my little freelance world all sorted out. In a few weeks time I'll be earning real money. I've spent half this time tearing my hair out and crying. A lot. With frustration mostly It's been pretty shit actually. I'd love to say it's been a great six months, but it's been hard and actually not that fun. I'm too tired to have a beer to celebrate. I still need to write four more proposals this evening.
But I'm happy.
Because I did all this. It took me a while and I couldn't have done it without the support of my wonderful friends and family but this was my work. It was my pitches, my hard work and my 'fuck off I bloody well can do this' attitude. And the fact that I actually am a bloody good writer. I forget that sometimes. I was really close to giving up a few times but I'm far too stubborn for that. And it's paid off. Writing at three in the morning for six months has paid off. And it's worth every single minute of it.
I'm going to catch up on some sleep now.
Go on. I dare you.
Telling me that I can't do something is the easiest way to get me to do it. Not only that, but I'll do it better than you could have ever imagined. Except with stuff like laundry. If you tell me I can't do laundry I'll wholeheartedly agree and take you dress shopping.*
My English teacher told me I'd fail my GCSE. Nice. I didn't. I passed and went on to do get a degree in English Literature. I remember being so angry with her. English was my thing. It was what I did. How dare she stand there and tell me I was shit?
It sounds silly and pointlessly stubborn but it's helped me so much recently. I'm learning to challenge myself. This week I've worked so hard at pushing myself to do new things. I've tried writing articles that I wouldn't usually write. I've written about topics I find daunting and for audiences that are a bit out of my depth. I may not have been entirely happy with what I wrote, but I can only get better. I'm getting out of my comfort zone.
It's been fun too. I've learnt new things about the way I write and I've been dealing with new people. I've been getting myself out there in the best way possible.
The producer from Sex and The City was in The Hospital Club last night. She read my article about the film and before I knew it, web hits were through the roof. Important people are reading my work. My work is making an impact. Yay!
The (still top secret) website is going really well and some brilliant people are getting involved and in full support of what I'm doing. I vaguely remember some idiot telling me that I can't be an editor...
I might not do things right first time around. But I'm learning from my mistakes and I'm still pushing myself to do things I've never done before. I'm enjoying challenging myself and I'm enjoying the challenges put in front of me.
So go on. Tell me I can't do something. Dare you.
* note to self: I really should do my laundry this week.
