I Resolve ...
January 2, 2009
New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are two of my favorite holidays. Call me sentimental, but I love the idea of getting all dressed up and going out to celebrate all that was good about the past year ("Auld Lang Syne" always gets me choked up!) and embracing the possibilities of a new year. I've always made resolutions. Like the cabbage, black-eyed peas and hog jowl I consume on New Year's Day, I know that making resolutions might not bring me prosperity, wealth or luck, but there's something magical about believing you have the power to change and grow. Here are my three resolutions for 2009:
1. Find more time for my writing. I love to write—or I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing today—but I hardly ever write for myself. I feel extremely lucky that I get to do what I love every day, but when I get home from work, the last thing I want to do is sit in front of my computer and write. That's really a shame, though, because my head is filled with so many ideas for poems, lyrics, short stories and novels, and I owe it to myself to put them on paper. In 2009, I resolve to write something not work-related every day—even if I have to write it in longhand. Who knows? Maybe I could even pen the next "Twilight" or "Harry Potter"? Ok, that's a little ambitious, but a girl's gotta dream ...
2. Build a better work-life balance. I have lots of interests outside of work, but life gets so busy that I don't always embrace them. In 2009, I'd like to learn how to become a better juggler of life. I'd love to make it to my 6 p.m. spin class on Mondays, cook dinner for friends on Tuesdays, do volunteer work on Wednesdays, ect. While this might require taking my gym bag with me to work or dusting off my crock pot to prepare for dinner parties, it's possible; it just takes thinking ahead!
3. Focus on the big picture. I've always been a detail-oriented person, so it's easy for me to get so enmeshed in the little things that I lose sight of the bigger picture. In 2009, I vow to broaden my perspective. When you invest a lot of time in a project, it's easy to get upset when things don't work out like you envisioned, but I'm going to try to not let the minutia get to me and focus on what really matters: family, friends, a job well done and a life well lived.
May 2009 bring you and yours all you've wished and hoped for! And as 19th century novelist George Eliot once said, remember: "It is never too late to be what you might have been."
My Holiday Schedule
I'm out of the office for the holidays from Wednesday, Dec. 24, until Monday, Jan. 5. I will be checking my email—emcmackin@hammock.com—and office voice mail during this time. Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Postcards From Chicago
October 21, 2008
Recently a few of us Hammockites traveled to Chicago to attend the Folio: 2008 Show. In addition to gaining valuable knowledge about the magazine industry, we also got to check out some of Chi-Town's most interesting sights. Here are a few snapshots from our trip.
Make Your Magazine a Must-Read
October 15, 2008
3 Keys to Keeping Readers Engaged
Recently, I spent two days attending the 2008 Folio Show in Chicago with fellow Hammock editors Jamie Roberts and Megan Pacella. It was my first visit to the Windy City, and as you might imagine, I learned a lot during my 48 hours there. (Like always give an address to cab drivers, so they’ll take you to the right place and ignore people who approach you on the street—lest you find yourself part of a product demonstration.) But, seriously, attending the show gave me new insight into the ever-changing magazine industry and new strategies to help our clients produce publications that can compete in an interactive world.
Hammock editors Megan Pacella, Emily McMackin and Jamie Roberts between sessions at the Folio: 2008 Show in Chicago on Sept. 23.
My favorite session focused on how to make your stories (or issues, for that matter) must-reads. With most readers going online to get instantaneous news and information on topics that interest them, magazines must do more to stand out to audiences with high expectations and shorter attention spans. Even newsstand staples like National Geographic and The Scientist grapple with this issue. If your publication covers stories that are covered elsewhere, you can distinguish yourself by going beyond the facts to provide context, point of view and a guiding voice.
National Geographic’s executive editor Tim Appenzeller and The Scientist’s editor and publisher Richard Gallagher keep their magazine compelling and relevant to readers with these three tips:
1. Don’t try to do everything. Focus on your strengths. Maybe you can’t cover a story as fast as your competitors, but you can add a different twist or bring a unique perspective to the subject that your audience will appreciate. When National Geographic started planning its special issue on China, “we looked for stories that illuminated the headlines—stories for readers who wanted to dig deeper,” Appenzeller said. Rather than focus on the Olympics and China’s booming economy, the magazine looked at how the country’s ambition and opportunities affected its culture, environment and people. Even if your audience is diverse, you can find your niche. Though The Scientist’s subscribers are varied—readers range from research scientists to venture capitalists—Gallagher focuses on making his academic journal lively and approachable. “It’s about telling a story no one else can tell,” he said.
2. Pay attention to pacing and story mix. The way stories are arranged within your magazine might be an afterthought or a matter of convenience, but the packaging is a crucial part of engaging your readers. Stories with similar underlying themes should be placed close together to create a sense of continuity. National Geographic followed this philosophy in its special issue by opening with a piece on China’s journey from past to present and closing the issue with the critical questions facing the country’s future. If your publication contains lots of in-depth feature stories, readers need relief from the seriousness from time to time—so break up some of the longer pieces with shorter, lighter items. The Scientist tries to mix “a good coverage of hot topics in the scientific community with off-the-wall material that surprises and delights,” Gallagher said.
3. Find a guiding voice that resonates with readers. Your content shouldn’t all sound alike, but it should present readers with a particular perspective they can’t find elsewhere. If you want to emphasize a subject or devote an entire issue to it, National Geographic’s Appenzeller suggests finding an overarching voice to set the tone and help guide readers through the information—as his magazine did with its China issue. “We chose writers who know China and could write eloquently about it and tell stories in their own unique voice,” he said. That even carried through to the images the magazine used. “We wanted photography that does more than take people there; it helps them see the story in a new way,” he added. In The Scientist, readers find a variety of voices, but each article shares a few common characteristics: attention to detail, a spirit of curiosity and a belief that even the most level-headed, serious scientists still have—as one of its writers noted—“tear ducts, tempers and beating hearts.”
*Bonus Tip: As you approach your print deadline, be willing to rethink, rework and rethink again—even if your edit and production teams balk. Because stories in magazines are planned (and written) so far in advance, revisiting your content in light of breaking news and developments is crucial to keeping your publication fresh. A secret to achieving this—without driving your fellow editors crazy—is to overproduce in the early stages, so you can have plenty of pieces to pick from later. For example, National Geographic editors came up with ideas for about 40 “shorts” about China for its special issue—but used only eight. The ones they chose reflected readers’ most timely concerns (China’s appetite for oil, how political activists are treated, ect.)
Confessions From a Teen Magazine Junkie
April 3, 2008
There are many reasons I love working at Hammock, but one of the biggest ones is getting the chance to indulge in my love of magazines—and not just any magazines but teen magazines. Yes, I’m 31 years old, and I can still be spotted checking out all the great ones at the grocery store racks, including Seventeen, Justine and even Cosmogirl! Hey, what can I say? Just because I’m a responsible, tax-paying career girl with a 401K doesn’t mean I still can’t use advice on the timeless subjects of beauty, fashion, friendship and dating.
I still remember my mom buying my first Teen magazine for me at 14. It felt like a rite of passage (like getting my ears pierced or going to my first New Kids on the Block concert). I spent hours in my room that day engrossed in a glossy book that introduced me to a new world I'd only begun to explore—one of style, possibilities, angst, infatuation and identity.
Recently, while doing some research for a client who publishes a magazine for teenagers, I found the perfect excuse to delve into this world once again. Boy, was I surprised! Like everything else, teen magazines have gone digital.
About Emily
November 26, 2007
Before joining Hammock, Emily worked as an editor at a newspaper in Decatur, Ala., where she covered the teen and young adult beat and designed weekly sections for Gen-Xers. There she spent most of her time scoping out malls, arcades and the local water park for sources, and writing about everything from breakups to blogging.
Now most days, you’ll find her scouring the Web for business owners to profile for her MyBusiness features. Or she may be spotted lurking around libraries to research American Spirit articles and interviewing everyone from East Coast water-sport devotees to West Coast health-care executives—all without losing her Southern accent.
Storytelling is her strength—one she came by honestly growing up amongst big talkers and colorful characters in the small northern Alabama town of Tuscumbia (birthplace of another writer, Helen Keller). She swept through several small towns pursuing her education, traveling first to Searcy, Ark., where she received her English degree from Harding University and honed her journalistic skills at the same campus newspaper that the infamous Ken Starr wrote for as a freshman.
After a detour at a book publisher in West Monroe, La., Emily headed south again to Tuscaloosa, where she graduated with a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Alabama (home of her favorite team, the Crimson Tide, and alma mater of her favorite author, Harper Lee).
Now she’s glad to be a small-town girl in the big city, exploring museums, staking out live music, going salsa dancing and drinking Starbucks anytime she wants.
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