October on the Horizon

Vikki and I are working away at the October issue. Yes, September is almost at an end. I have been going on a number of bike rides lately to enjoy the vivid fall colours. A couple of weeks ago I was riding my bike past Giovanni Caboto Park, down 108 Avenue, and I was showered by yellow and orange leaves. I think a few of them got stuck in my helmet. Poetry in motion. This season does not last long enough.

Gearing Up for September

Well, it's that time again: time to put the next issue of BMC News together. Most of the articles are in, and right now I am working on what I call a "mock layout" for Vikki. Basically, I take all the articles and place them into one long Word document, specifying approximately where I want everything to appear on the pages. We have a "code" we use on the document to specify where the photos should go and how certain elements are to be formatted. We will start the actual layout this week.

The Waiting Game

We're in that in-between period of finishing the paper, and waiting for it to come back from the printer. Then comes distribution, when we get it out to the carriers (and mail to Boyle Street via Canada Post). I usually have to keep my schedule flexible, because distribution can happen any time after we get the paper back.

Working Late

Imagine if you will, a graphic designer spent from working all day at another job plus feeling not so great from a bout of food poisoning, and an editor in her nightgown with wet hair after taking a shower. They are working together over the Internet in real time via chat and e-mail, doing some final edits to the proof of the July/August issue. This scene is taking place tonight, right here, right now. In this line of work, there is no such thing as nine to five.

Proofing the Paper

Proofing the paper is one of the most intense processes of putting BMC News together. Vikki and I send changes and corrections back and forth until we have a working proof, which then goes to my mother for official proofreading, then back and forth again until everything is in place. It can be a stressful time, but once it is sent off to the printer it is out of our hands. A fact of the publishing business is that you can have ten proofreaders, and you will still end up with some errors in the finished product, but the goal is to produce as clean copy as possible. Of course, there are some people who enjoy hunting through the paper trying to find small errors and typos - my feeling? If that is all they have to do with their time then I am glad we're giving them something productive to do.

Production and Spiderwebs

Vikki and I are in that nebulous zone called "production." We often like to call it our monthly Tetris game, as we try to get all of the articles and photos to fit clearly and cleanly on each page. This is our July/August issue, and after we put this one to bed we have a one-month break until things start to gear up for September's paper.

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Our office is in a basement, which has worked out pretty well thus far. It's a wonderful building and location. But, being a basement, sometimes we have a few unwanted visitors. Like spiders. I hate spiders. A couple of evenings ago we were having a board meeting, and I felt something light tickling my leg off and on. I looked down from where I was sitting, and there was this strand of a spider's web bouncing on me. I tried to brush it away with my leg, but it kept swinging back. I tried to step on it, but again, it would just spring back as soon as I lifted my foot up.

While John, our Treasurer, was trying to give his report, I stood up and started stomping on the thing. But still, it kept coming back. I told John just to ignore me and keep going. He said that was probably impossible. Tim, one of our co-chairs, got up and grabbed the web with his hand and sort of dangled it as Deb (our other co-chair) and I were gasping in horror.

I have no idea how long the web was there -- I had been working at my desk much of the afternoon and noticed nothing -- but I am glad it is gone!