5 worst people in publishing
Hunting for a copy of an unpublished Harry Potter book for the daughters of your boss may be tell-tale red flags that you work for an Editor From Hell. There is some truth to what they say about magazine editors — they can have unreasonable requests, they push you to the edge and weigh you down with a lot of pressure. It probably comes with their authority to dictate to society what is hot in lifestyle news and trends. But aside from the iciness of difficult editors, publishing is also home to a few other ill-bred personalities. Your level of bitchiness should only be tantamount to your talent. Here are five personalities you would rather not deal with.
The Social Media Bragger
?There are perks in publishing. It’s the tradeoff for a small paycheck. But someone who is constantly tweeting about all the exclusive parties they are attending and posting all the free stuff they are getting is bound to get annoying. For someone who is not in the industry, seeing the online bragger’s posts constantly on your newsfeed could mean a real test in friendship. Because suddenly someone is “too cool to hang.” But for me, an excessive online bragger is someone who is maybe just trying too hard. Especially when you see them at an event not really to attend, but to document them in it. The nerve of them to go online and say “how fun it was,” when all they did was take photos and then go home to post 10 consecutive photos of, more or less, their face.
The Faux Writer
?These writers have been granted the power of the pen — to say anything they want to say and steer an article to their liking. Because of that, they have learned to use their position to their advantage, accepting gifts in exchange for shoddy writing and in effect shamelessly bastardizing the craft. The worst part is that they still truly believe they are writers, and then act like the title has put them on a pedestal above the rest. Spot this fake writer at a party —they’ll probably be the ones with their noses stuck up in the air.
The Diva Stylist
Being a stylist requires a lot of work, both mentally and physically. Wardrobe concepts should be well thought out, aside from the labor involved in putting all the clothes together. It surprises me that some stylists come to shoots all dolled up, only to command their interns to do all the work. The diva stylist’s claim to fame was his/her name — but that’s basically it. Lazy and lacking in talent but brimming with attitude, you can spot diva stylists by the number of times they actually get up from the chair (minimal), number of times they touch the clothes (only when they’re handing it over to their interns), and number of times they actually style the talent (when they feel like showing off).
The Insolent Interviewee
?Imagine this: you’ve just been assigned an ambush interview with a well-known personality, an intellectual who is in a band, on TV and a writer too. He’s the epitome of cool and now you have to interview him. But you’re a rookie and somehow the interview feels like he’s just looking down on you. He doesn’t take your questions seriously, he answers curtly, he looks bored, he deflects everything. He basically is giving you a sucky interview and you know it. The insolent interviewee knows that he is giving the journalist a hard time — and then revels in it. Douchebag alert. Someone is enjoying their popularity a little bit too much.
The Unprofessional Photographer
The hardest part about the industry is that line between work and play… because work seems so much like play. The unprofessional photographer comes to a shoot three hours late, and then has a little too much fun while working. He drinks too much on set, throws unsolicited comments at a model and then even has friends over to watch — surely there’s a point where it’s makes everyone uncomfortable. It’s a creative job and sometimes you need to be flexible and ideas need to be malleable. But a little bit of work ethic couldn’t hurt either.
