Tuesday is a four-letter word

Most people hate Mondays

Shorthorn editors dread Tuesdays.

It's what we like to call production night — the night where all the work we've done all week to get the print edition out comes together.

Preparations begin Wednesday, and content trickles in throughout the week, but most of the work is done Monday and Tuesday.

After the daily 3:30 p.m. budget meeting, the work really starts.

Editors are yelling through the newsroom.

"Production, you have Oozeball," the news editor yells.

"Thanks! Are the photos for that to me?" a designer says to the photo area, at no one in particular.

"Is this headline OK?" a copy editor asks.

"Ummm... Bekah?!" another copy editor says.

"Maybe try incorporating this," I suggest. They delete the headline and start over.

Once pages are done being designed, they're printed for copy editors to look at again, a process knows as proofing.

Once that's done, pages go through the copy desk chief, the digital managing editor (me) and then to the editor-in-chief to be finalized and sent to the printer.

To read about this process in action, visit my Twitter or search #production916.

How I fell in love

During fall 2012, I fell in love with copy editing.

The beginning

Going into college, I wanted to be a reporter for a magazine. I thought it would be fun to get to interview musicians and get to ask all the questions I had growing up. Who doesn't want that?

On June 1, 2012, I began as a copy editor at The Shorthorn, UTA's student newspaper. I applied for the position rather than a reporting position because I didn't have any reporting experience, but I had a love for grammar. 

The job

At The Shorthorn, the staff changes every semester through hiring and rehiring processes, which gives the staff a chance to change desks to explore other areas. When I began the job, I had the intention of changing desks after a semester or two, but at the end of the fall, the current Copy Desk Chief announced she would not be returning, and the position would be open. So I applied and got the job.

I spent the full calendar year of 2013, 3 semesters, as Copy Desk Chief and loved it. During that time, I attended the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association convention in Fort Worth and received honorable mention in the on-site headline writing competition. I attended the College Media Association convention with two other editors in New Orleans and got to network with other student publications. I also revised The Shorthorn's style guide for the first time.

In spring 2014, I stepped down from being an editor to improve my personal copy editing skills and to get some experience in page design. This time allowed a break and preparation for a summer as Digital Managing Editor, Copy Desk Chief and E-newsletter Manager. This fall, I am the Digital Managing Editor, which has been a challenge for me, because I am no longer copy editing on a daily basis.

The dream

Because of that, I try to find every opportunity I can to edit, including offering help to classmates and coworkers.

Only time will tell if I'm able to make a life of copy editing, but one thing I know for sure is that copy editing will be a part of my life.