"Handoff" means that we editor types have finished writing, editing,
gathering visuals, etc., and we're ready to "hand off" the contents of
the next magazine issue to the design department (aka Cathy Zielske).
The Mar/Apr issue is now officially out of our hands, and not a moment
too soon. Here are a few new things I learned in our latest round:
1. Layouts coming from Canada take MUCH longer to arrive than those coming from Germany.
2. We should never ever try to produce three books in the same three
months, especially when our book editor is on maternity leave. (Hence
my recent lack of posts.)
3. Cathy Zielske loves Cinnamon Extra sugar-free gum, but she never
chews a piece for more than 13 seconds at a time. I love to mooch
Cinnamon Extra gum off Cathy Zielske, and I can only chew a piece for
17 seconds at a time.
4. Sometimes you don't realize just how much you rely on someone until
they're on the other side of the globe and you can't call them during
standard business hours because it's the middle of the night in
Australia. (We miss you Wendy!)
5. Glitter simply cannot be contained. It doesn't matter how careful
you are, if you go within 5 feet of glitter, you will have it on your
nose or your upper lip for the rest of the day. And at least 5 people
will point it out to you.
6. While taking our trusty photographers out to lunch (because Cathy Z.
was in town for handoff), I found out that our favorite local
Vietnamese restaurant has a sticker on the toilet tank that says
"Sticker to be Removed by Occupant Only." I'm hoping the toilet has no
occupants capable of removing said sticker. (And I'm hoping that I have
better luck removing the exact same sticker from MY toilet at home,
which has been there for over a year, which you long-time blog readers
may remember. I should try Un-Du. Nothing else has worked so far. )
7. Buca di Beppo caters. We interrupted "Handoff Day 2" for a nice team
lunch to celebrate Marin's (art director) and Ali's (senior editor)
birthdays with an Italian feast. Macaroni Rosa is magnifico!
8. In handoff, it's way more fun to sing or chant column names than to
just say them. The "Beyond the Page" column name is always pronounced
in "Pigs...In...Space..." fashion, a la the Muppet Show. "Write from
the Heart" is always said in Irish brogue.
9. Our readers (and layout submitters) are VERY in love with their
pets. I swear, there will be at least 10 different animal species
featured in our Mar/Apr issue: humans, dogs, cats, turtles, bunnies,
birds, you name it.
10. Self-adhesive chipboard letters never stay put.* Carolyn Jolley has
to holster a glue stick to her hip so she's always prepared to reattach
stray letters. (This is not a NEW thing we've learned, but we do get
reminded of it at every handoff.)
Wanna know why they don't stay put? Jessica from Making Memories told
us it's because layout backgrounds are flexible, but chipboard letters
are not. They don't bend with the paper. And once a layout is removed
from it's album, placed in a box to ship to us, then stored in hanging
file folders...well, it's easy for an "S" or two to jump ship.
