Toyon has given me a gift. What is this gift one may ask? Well, it is the gift of being able to peak into the world of editing. Without Toyon, I would not have had the capability to be a part of a space where editing is the main focus. Before joining the Toyon staff, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my major. I questioned what path to pursue. I really didn't even know that editing or publishing could an option for me. As soon as I leaned what Toyon was and how it worked, something sparked within me. I knew from very early on in the semester that this is what I wanted to do with my career. I wanted editing to be a part of my life.
For today's class, Toyon staff members read a piece written by Peter Gizzi in our textbook Paper Dreams: "On the Conjunction of Editing and Composition." Within this article, Gizzi touched on some ideas about publishing that I really connected with. Gizzi states that: "Editing, like writing, is fundamentally about composing a world. The writers ones reads inhabit one's life, haunt one's imagination, daily walks, conversations with friends, [and] dreams" (231). I could not agree with this statement more. There were several pieces that I read and then pursued to edit for Toyon that I thought about all the time. I wondered how these individuals came up with the idea for their work and what influenced them to write this incredible piece. This also really influenced me to write more as well. This part of editing is really special. Reading and helping others with their pieces influences us to do better on our own work.
I would say that the most important quote from this article that I connected with was: "We could call editing a labor of love, but it is more than that. It's labor intensive, and there are always more strings attached than can be imagined"(233). Editing is really hard. It is a lot of work, but it is work that people (like myself) who love to edit, feel that it is so worth it. Editing was all I wanted to do in that phase of Toyon. It is still all I want to do. I cannot wait for the busy nights and weekends filled with reading peoples work. I love the role of editing, and I am so thankful for Toyon because it showed me my passion. I cannot wait to copy edit, typeset, use spreads, and all the other processes that happen in editing.
For today's class, Toyon staff members read a piece written by Peter Gizzi in our textbook Paper Dreams: "On the Conjunction of Editing and Composition." Within this article, Gizzi touched on some ideas about publishing that I really connected with. Gizzi states that: "Editing, like writing, is fundamentally about composing a world. The writers ones reads inhabit one's life, haunt one's imagination, daily walks, conversations with friends, [and] dreams" (231). I could not agree with this statement more. There were several pieces that I read and then pursued to edit for Toyon that I thought about all the time. I wondered how these individuals came up with the idea for their work and what influenced them to write this incredible piece. This also really influenced me to write more as well. This part of editing is really special. Reading and helping others with their pieces influences us to do better on our own work.
I would say that the most important quote from this article that I connected with was: "We could call editing a labor of love, but it is more than that. It's labor intensive, and there are always more strings attached than can be imagined"(233). Editing is really hard. It is a lot of work, but it is work that people (like myself) who love to edit, feel that it is so worth it. Editing was all I wanted to do in that phase of Toyon. It is still all I want to do. I cannot wait for the busy nights and weekends filled with reading peoples work. I love the role of editing, and I am so thankful for Toyon because it showed me my passion. I cannot wait to copy edit, typeset, use spreads, and all the other processes that happen in editing.
November 14, 2016