I love my job. I don't think there are many other professions in existence that pay you to do what you love. Well, OK, I guess if you're an alcoholic, you could be a quality control manager for a brewing company or distillery. Or if you really like hamburgers, you could work at McDonald's. And I guess if you had a thing for baseball, you could sell peanuts or hot dogs at any number of stadiums or ballparks. Oh, and if you happen to be overly promiscuous, you could always be an actor who rarely wore clothes. So, I take that back, my job is one of many that allow you to do what you love while being compensated for it! But the fact still stands-I couldn't see myself doing anything else.
Now, there are many, many misconceptions about people in this industry, and while some may hold true for a select number of individuals, for the most part, not so for me. First and foremost is the "free parts" thing. It's no secret that magazine editors are afforded the luxury of receiving parts from companies at a discounted price or even gratis. Occasionally, an editor or two in the past has taken extreme advantage of this, but in the long run, their reputation precedes them, even with the manufacturers. For the rest of us, it's a perk that doesn't come without a price.
In essence, most companies want to see their product in print-it's pretty much free advertising for them. Unlike a new product press release, editorial gives the product in question somewhat of a formal stamp of approval, which is obviously a plus for them. For us, the price to pay is accurately portraying the product, its installation, and its benefits without sounding like a PR agent. What that basically boils down to is not only putting the product to use, but documenting it both photographically and editorially, all of which can take a considerable amount of time depending on the actual product. As some of you may have noticed, I oftentimes forgo the "third-person" aspect of a technical story and actually do the installation myself, all the while trying to remember to not only take all the pictures, but do so without breaking the camera or getting grease all over it. Easy as it may seem, it's not-you ever try holding a 150-pound transmission in place on a wobbly floor jack with one hand while taking a picture with the other? Thanks to the wonderful world of digital, those once blurry, out-of-focus shots can now be caught and reshot before it's too late! Not easy, but I've streamlined the process as best I can. So, to pretty much dispel the myth that all magazine editors do is scam free parts, it's not true. Nothing in life is free-some things just cost less than others.