#392 - Smart Advice from a Savvy Assistant

Before we dive into some stellar advice for anyone looking to become an assistant editor, work with an assistant editor or just wrap their head around life in the edit suite, I'd just like to say...

Thanks! To everyone who responded to a Cut/daily reader question about downtime back in #388 - Several Careers Worth of Editing Wisdom.

This response from editor Philip Owens was one of my favourites:

I’ve been freelance for 35 years and am very familiar with the fears you describe. However, experience has taught me that work always shows up, eventually.

And when it does, and when you find yourself stuck in a two-year-long feature edit, you’ll kick yourself that you didn’t take time to smell the roses when you had the chance.

I garden.
Gardening is wonderful, as the work takes major amounts of time to bring results - frequently years - but when you have a rich and colourful and maybe nutritious garden after weeks on your knees, or a forest of trees you planted and tended, it’s the most satisfying thing in the world, and it teaches you that unlike our fast-paced, instant decisions and instant results careers, the bigger things in life take time.