Assistants gone wild! and other adventures in publishing

For sheer shock and horror, you’d be hard-pressed to find an office scene in the history of movies as terrifying as the moment in The Devil Wears Prada when Miranda Priestley, the movie’s titular devil of an editor, asks for the new Harry Potter book.

Before her long-suffering assistant Andy Sachs can barely let the words “Barnes and Noble” escape from her mouth, Miranda snaps back with a “Did you fall down and smack your little head on the pavement?” Apparently, when she said she needed the new Harry Potter book for her twins, she meant the unpublished manuscript.

While I haven’t heard a horrible boss story as bad as Andy’s Harry Potter moment, being an assistant in local publishing isn’t too far from its cinematic manifestations—albeit with nicer bosses, less Prada, and unfortunately, none of this mythical closet (where the magazines stock couture). The editorial assistant’s job description is simple—basically, make the impossible possible, do everything that needs to be done. They don’t call it the best entry level publishing job you can ask for, for nothing. You’ll literally dip your hands in all aspects of publishing, from the writing to the styling to the paying (of contributors). It’s a tougher job than you think but someone’s got to do it.

So in a month when magazines always make headlines for increasingly Yellow Pages-size September issues, we tip our hats to the industry’s little helpers. From Status to Tatler, we round up some of the industry’s hardest working upstarts and let them loose in fashion savvy Manila’s new paradise, Univers.

That’s all.

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Dapper Daniel samples the fine threads at Univers.

Daniel Naval, 21

Occupation: Fashion associate of Raymond Gutierrez and freelance fashion stylist

Publications affiliated with: Style assistant (to the style director) for Esquire Philippines, Preview (I help with the Lounge pages and Last Page), shoot assistant to “The Dialogue” for Young Star

Years in the industry: One

What exactly do you do? For Preview, I attend events and coordinate with the photographer and make sure that he captures the highlights of that event. Then I gather the photos from different events for that month and lay them out with our layout artist. Then that’s the time I pass it on to the society editor for approval and revisions. For “The Dialogue” and Esquire, it’s somewhat the same because I basically book and update the team (model/s, photographer, hairstylist, make up artist, and videographer) for the shoot.

Most “Andy Sachs” moment of your career thus far: When I had to cover an event last minute, it was a Friday night, very traffic, and I was coming from home. I got ready as fast as I could and I decided to just use the train to avoid all the traffic. I was in an all-black ensemble plus a trench coat and shades. When I got down from the train, I walked through the streets of Makati City to get to the event. It felt good. It reminded me of how much I love my job and my dream of doing that in the streets of NYC. 

Why is print relevant in a world swiftly going digital? I think it’s still relevant since it’s a totally different experience to get the hard copy itself and browse through the glossy pages of the magazine. Ironically, there has been a boom in the publishing industry despite the digital age. There are more fashion magazines now compared to before, also a rise of different men’s magazines. I guess it’s because the Internet has a pitfall too, it can give out too much information which can be overwhelming. Being a reader myself, it’s great to have a peace of mind that the respective magazine publication that you subscribe to basically compiles all the necessary and important information you have to know and that is worth knowing about. 

Dream magazine: VMan and Vogue Hommes Japan

Ultimate peg: Let’s have Andy Sachs and Jacob (Ryan Gosling’s role in Crazy, Stupid, Love) get married. The result would be my ultimate peg.

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Portia Silva, 21

Occupation: Editorial assistant

Publication affiliated with: Philippine Tatler

Years in the industry: Two years, though I’ve been with Tatler for only six months

Most “Andy Sachs” moment of your career thus far: Barely a week into the job, I was asked by my editor in chief to compile all the pages of our Onlooker section, which is basically 6-8 pages of various social events. Two of those pages were missing a lot of captions and to my horror, those were faces I’d never encountered in my entire life! I checked the press release materials and unfortunately, none of them had the names of the people in those photos. I had to browse through previous Tatler issues to be able to identify those VIPs. Now, I am somehow managing to recognize the who’s who of Philippine high society.

I knew I wanted to be in publishing when... I first picked up my copy of Teen Vogue’s premier issue in 2003, with Gwen Stefani on the cover. But my first “real” experience in publishing was in 2005-2006, when I became editor-in-chief of Candy magazine’s official pool of writing contributors. That, for me, was the ultimate call.??

Why is print relevant in a world swiftly going digital? While digitally-produced materials can reach audiences faster, print remains highly relevant primarily because it is immortalized in paper. Print is tangible, it is concrete and once it is out, it’s hard to backtrack errors and references since there’s no edit button somewhere—and these are elements that digital cannot provide both writers and readers.??

DIn this store, Portia Silva and Gaby Ignacio put publishing rivalry to rest. After all, it’s all in the retail.

Dream magazine: I would kill to get even just an internship with Teen Vogue. If any local publication is able to buy the franchise rights of this title, I’d kill to get a spot in their editorial team. [Laughs]??

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Gaby Ignacio, 23

Occupation: Editorial assistant

Publication affiliated with: Lifestyle Asia

Years in the industry: A year, give or take a week or two

What exactly do you do? What doesn’t an editorial assistant do? As EA, I’m pretty much responsible for making sure that the nitty gritty of keeping a magazine in working order are taken care of. Aside from writing a couple of stories a month, I make sure photographers, makeup artists, hair stylists, and other contributors are booked, that all the administrative requirements for the month are accomplished and submitted, and that the team has everything they need. As in every field, a happy editor is a good editor.

I knew I wanted to be in publishing when…I first read Linda Wells’ editor’s note in an old issue of Allure back in high school. She managed to talk about her magazine’s primary subject, a supposedly shallow interest and endeavor, in a relevant, almost sociological manner, while still keeping the copy fresh and approachable. It was a far cry from the usual perception that talking about makeup was dumb; the article was powerful—well, as powerful as a column on makeup might be, but I digress—and I knew then that I wanted to write for a living.

Dream magazine: That’s an easy one. Time.

Ultimate peg: One? You could throw me in the middle of any Cecil Beaton photo and I’d be happy. This one photo of his, though, of Grace Kelly standing by a dresser, in lamplight, is possibly one of the best photos I’ve ever seen.

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For Reese Rubin, “pulling out” from stores like Univers is all in a day’s work.

Reese Rubin, 23

Occupation: Fashion associate of Liz Uy

Publication affiliated with: Preview magazine

Years in the industry: A year and six months

What exactly do you do? As a fashion associate I make sure that we our prepped for our shoots whether it’s a TVC, print ad, or sovershoot. So I work hand in hand with Liz in every project by attending meetings, fittings, pull-outs, etc.

Most “Andy Sachs” moment of your career thus far: I remember I only had an hour to pullout for dresses in Makati and in the same time dress a client for an event she was going to. I was running everywhere! It was a great experience!

Dream magazine: Vogue

Ultimate peg: For style, Diane Kruger. For career, Rachel Zoe

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Katrina Ong, 23?

Occupation: Editorial assistant?

Publications affiliated with: Metro Society and Vault

Years in the industry: a crazy year and a half??

What exactly do you do? I organize/coordinate photo shoots, contact people (from subjects to photographers to makeup artists), interview, write articles, and do all administrative tasks. Jack of all trades? [Laughs]

Katrina Ong and Katrina Angco try to understand “this stuff.”

?Most “Andy Sachs” moment of your career thus far: My first 6 months because I was still adjusting and fitting in. After that, I guess I eventually proved myself capable so everything became much easier and way more fun!

I knew I wanted to be in publishing when… I started reading magazines back in grade school.

Why is print relevant in a world swiftly going digital?

Relevant? They are exactly the same industry. Digital is the new and improved print, with the same content, same human interest, same use of social networks, same banana—except the industry is merely shifting from one medium (paper) to multimedia.

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Katrina Angco, 21?

Occupation: Editorial assistant?

Publication affiliated with: Metro magazine

Years in the industry: One year—and 17 days, to be exact! (As of Sept. 2)??

What exactly do you do? I coordinate shoots, conceptualize and write stories, proofread, help manage the magazine’s production finances, make sure our contributors get paid, assist our art director during layout week, help out with our digital media platforms (iPad, Facebook, Twitter), attend events, fill out paperwork, photocopy, scan pegs, keep our files in order, answer phone calls, tape the soles of shoes, steam clothes, buy food during shoots, run errands—anything and everything that’s necessary to get the work done.??

Most “Andy Sachs” moment of your career thus far: I have lots, but the shoot of our “Indie Stage” feature (August 2011) tops my list. Everyone else on the staff either had other shoots to attend or meetings to go to, so it was just me and our managing editor who were in charge of overseeing everything. On top of that, I was coordinating three other shoots (it was our Celebrity Issue, after all)—and I also had to be an “extra” in the group shot of the feature.

I knew I wanted to be in publishing when… I fell in love with glossy magazines in grade school.?

Why is print relevant in a world swiftly going digital? Print offers a welcome break to the fast and instant culture of the Internet. For me, there’s just something so exciting and so beautiful about leafing through the pages of books and magazines—I personally love the smell of fresh paper, new books, and hot-off-the-press magazines. When television came, many said print would die, but it didn’t. Print will never die—technology can’t kill the passion people have for this medium.

?Dream magazines: Teen Vogue, Nylon, or Seventeen. While it’s fun to work for a fashion magazine, I’ve also always wanted to work for a title that helps out young girls find their own style and their place in this world.??Ultimate peg: Lena Kaligaris for her femininity, creativity, and good-nature, Blair Waldorf for her ambition and O.C.-ness, and Andy Sachs—after her makeover and before all the glamour of the industry got the better of her.

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Viva Gonzalez toes the line between sweet and street.

Viva Gonzalez, 24

Occupation: Editorial assistant

Publication affiliated with: Status magazine

Years in the industry: Publishing? Six months. Fashion? One year

What exactly do you do? Mainly I assist our fashion editor especially with our “SWAG” section, which is the mag’s shopping guide. I do a lot of writing too, from blurbs to full articles. And research, of course. 

Most “Andy Sachs” moment of your career thus far: I was in New York and I was the stylist’s assistant for a catalog shoot. I ran like five blocks and back in search of a tiny bottle of static guard, which as it turns out, was available in the Duane Reade across the studio. 

I knew I wanted to be in publishing when… I looked around my room a year ago and saw that I was surrounded by magazines.

Why is print relevant in a world swiftly going digital? Nothing beats the high you get when flipping through pages and pages of inspiration. Not to mention that awesome new magazine smell.

Dream magazine: Nylon

Ultimate peg: Karen Elson