The ‘Editor’ vs. ‘MagCloud Profiteer’ Quiz

I have written before my opinions of the impact of print-on-demand publishing on the magazine world, both for the better and for the worse. Before I go any further, I would like to state one thing very clearly: I will never be against any outlet that provides creative people the opportunity to get their work into the world without requiring any financial outlay upfront. Ever. And because print-on-demand publishing provides exactly that, I am not against it, per se.

However, some of the people who, as a result of that outlet, are now running around bearing the self-granted titles of “editor” and “publisher” are frankly starting to piss me off just a bit. So, here’s a little quiz, some basics that really should be covered before you give yourself a title like that.

THE ‘EDITOR’ VS. ‘MAGCLOUD PROFITEER’ QUIZ

1 – Do you think knowing how to drop JPGs into Illustrator to create a multi-page PDF makes you an editor?

2 – Do you think uploading that PDF to MagCloud makes you a publisher?

3 – Do you think not seeing any wavy red lines on your monitor means that your text has been sufficiently proofread?

4 – Do you think it shouldn’t take more than two hours to complete the layout for a 60 page magazine?

5 – Do you think the job description of “excellent writing/journalistic talent with the ability to communicate effectively and clearly; great organization and planning skills; excellent interpersonal and management skills; ability to perform well under stress” is a bit overstated for a mere editor?

6 – Do you think the differences between words like “you’re” and “your”, “it’s” and “its”, and “they’re”, “their” and “there” are silly nitpicky things that no one really cares about?

7 – Are you offended by the idea that contributors might want any kind of compensation for their work?

CALCULATING YOUR RESULTS

If you were able to complete this quiz without answering “yes” to any of the questions, congratulations. Regardless of what printing outlet your magazine is distributed through, you are indeed an editor, or a publisher, or whatever you think sounds best at cocktail parties.

If not, and particularly if you answered “yes” to all of the above questions, please consider operating under the more accurate title of “MagCloud Profiteer”.
 
 
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