Walking in Someone Else’s Shoes

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After reading a transcript of last week’s editorchat — a Twitter-hosted conversation between writers and editors — I got to thinking about how lucky I was to have had worked on both sides of the fence over the past eight years.

Too often, writers find themselves wondering why in heck editors do the things they do, while editors find themselves wondering the exact same thing about writers.

Knowing how the other side operates — what they’re going through, what their responsibilities are — can foster understanding between the two groups, and help them work together more smoothly.

And so, after the jump, the top 5 things each side wishes the other knew:

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Build Your Own: Writing Group

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I’ve been missing my old writing group.

We met several years ago, in Cris Beam’s From Pitch to Publish Class at New School. For at least a year, the four of us workshopped each others’ pieces, shared contacts, suggested paying markets, and basically gave each other the kicks in the ass we needed.

Eventually, life got busy. One of us moved to Brooklyn. One of us moved abroad. One of us had a baby. And I kept getting promoted at work, a development that forced me to travel more often on business.

I’d love to start a new group. But how? And who?

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Product Placement: Last-Minute Gifts for Word Nerds

[$525, myTypewriter]

Since the beginning of the month, me and the rest of my Modern Materialistas have been doing up holiday gift guides for our readers. My favorites have been the ones I’ve done for word nerds: Stocking Stuffers for Word Nerds, Gifts Under $25 for Word Nerds, and Last-Minute Gifts for Word Nerds.

I encourage you to head on over and read the full extent of word-nerdy goodness but, just to give you a preview, I’ve placed my favorite items after the jump:

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