Name:Kimberly Gillan
Position: Chief Sub-Editor
Kim is DOLLY's Chief Sub-Editor(and resident gym junkie)! We always re-read our emails to her, 'coz she's got a hawk eye for spelling and grammar mistakes!
How did your score your job at DOLLY?
I saw the position advertised online and applied for it immediately! I got an email from Gemma the next day asking if I was available for an interview, and flew from Melbourne (my home town) to Sydney a few days later. The day after she rang to tell me I'd got it and I was over the moon (although a little daunted by the impending move interstate!). I packed my things and moved to Bondi and started work a few weeks later.
What does your job at DOLLY involve?
A lot of different things! Basically after the writers have written their stories, they put them through to Emma, our deputy ed, who then passes them onto Gemma, our editor. Once they've tweaked the stories, they put them through to the subs department (which consists of Gabby and me!). One of us will go right through the story and check that everything is factual, is legal and makes sense! Then we put the stories through to the art girls who lay them out prettily on the page (like you see in the mag). Then it comes back to the subs and we make all the words fit on the page. Often a story is way too long and there just isn't enough space to fit it, so we have to reduce the word length by making sentences shorter and snappier and sometimes cutting whole sections of the story (which can be upsetting for the writers who have slaved so hard over the story!).
We end up reading each story about six times by the time it goes to print – we can almost quote every issue verbatim!
I also write feature stories each month and write articles for Body Happy, too.
What's the best part of your job?
Having such diversity – I do something different every day! I get to have a lot of involvement in every stage of the magazine process – writing stories, headlines and coverlines, inventing funny photo captions, editing stories, interviewing celebrities and experts ... and eating cake whenever it's someone's birthday in the office!
What's the hardest part?
Keeping energy-levels up during deadline. Things get really hectic and I often have 10 different things I need to be on top of. We have constant meetings to make sure everything’s under control and that the magazine will get to the printer on time!
Advice for readers?
Get started on your writing portfolio, immediately! Write for anyone who will publish your stories. I started writing for my school newsletter in year 10, then local papers, university mags and then landed my first job in mags in Melbourne. It’s an exciting journey, and there’s nothing like seeing your name printed next to an article for the first time!
