A little bit about me & this newsletter
Hello! I am making this little newsletter so I can share lots of exciting things with you. Over the last year, I have made so much progress in becoming an Editorial Designer (and, in case you don’t know what that entails, it basically means I design and layout publications [books, magazines, etc.], their covers, their interiors, and typeset all the text). It is a role that, I think, fits me very well—rolling creativity, meticulousness, tediousness, and repetition all together into a tight ball.
In the process of deciding that I want to do this full time—not just on the side, a few times a year—I have faced numerous obstacles in creating my own business, but I have also gained so much from these challenges. Not only have I made amazing friends and new connections by asking for help from others, I have learned an incredible amount.
In addition to extensively studying how to improve my editorial design skills, I have:
Created my own website (with help from my dad and uncle)
Learned some legalese and created my own contract and other forms (with help from the Graphic Artists Guild, Freelancer's Union, and Lawyers for the Creative Arts)
Studied up on taxes, deductions, and investing (with help from my parents, my CPA, and Sunlight Tax)
Become my own administrative assistant, crafting email templates, creating extensive cross-referenced and color-coded spreadsheets, devoting time to research every day, bookkeeping, etc.
And, of course, become a better editorial designer! (with help from lots and lots of resources and amazing people—too many to name here, but that’s part of what this newsletter will be about: sharing this information in digestible, bite-sized chunks!)
I am also still learning! I worked at a record store for a while after moving to Chicago (likely not the ideal environment for someone who values systems and organization—ever seen High Fidelity? Yes, it’s something like that). Whenever I would ask why we’d do things a certain way, or suggest doing something differently, I’d get a response like: “That’s how we’ve always done it” or “Things don’t really change around here too much.” And, I’d half-jokingly say, “I’m a big fan of constant improvement,” which would get a little chuckle because my co-workers knew I was going to keep organizing, labeling, filing, etc. to my heart’s content, even though no one would follow suit. (For the record [hehe], I thoroughly enjoyed my time there—I’d like to think of myself as the Todd Louiso [“Dick” in High Fidelity] of Reckless Records, walking around with my clipboard and tidying up).
Anyways - while trying to learn all of these skills, it was incredibly difficult to find the knowledge I was looking for (and I think there is unfortunately a lot of gatekeeping in creative industries), and so, I hope this newsletter gives you access to something you may be looking for.
Without further ado, here are some of the topics I’m thinking about covering in my newsletter:
Design resources
Book recommendations
How-tos and tips for being your own boss
How-tos and tips for editorial design
News on my projects and anything else going on currently that I find particularly exciting