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An Interview with Jan Magee - May 2008by Penny McMorris EQ and Quilters Newsletter have been working closely together on the Best of Quilters Newsletter 2007 CD that we'll bring out in May. That led me to thinking that you newsletter readers might like to go "behind the scenes" with Quilters Newsletter. We asked QN Executive Editor, Jan Magee, the kinds of questions we thought you might wonder about as you read the magazine. Q: Thanks for agreeing to this interview, Jan. I’ll start right out asking you a bit about how you got started in magazines. What’s your background and how did you get started as a quilter, as an editor at QN and finally into the chair of Executive Editor? That journey has been one that almost seems like fate. Even though I have a degree in Art History, I started right out after college in publishing, but in newspapers. As you may know, jobs in the Art History field are not exactly plentiful. A friend offered me a job at a tiny newspaper publisher on the eastern plains of Colorado, north of Denver. It was charming. At that time, there were no home computers and computers were just starting to be used by the newspaper industry. I really took to working with the computer, and combining it with graphic arts and writing made it that much more fun. I eventually moved on to a company that provided editorial and production services for college textbooks. At about that time, I took my first quilting class (with Harriet Hargrave at her shop) and fell hard and fast, soaking up everything I could learn about the craft and the history and everything related to it. Of course, that involved buying a subscription to Quilters Newsletter! Not long after, Spring Quilt Market was held in Denver, where I live, and one of the events was a tour of the offices of Quilters Newsletter nearby. I signed up, enjoyed the tour, and was amazed at how perfectly working there would fit my professional skills and personal interests. And it was practically right around the corner from where I lived! From then on, I watched the Classifieds in the Sunday paper, hoping to see that they were hiring, and told myself, “Someday I’m going to work there.” In 1994, I registered for a color class for quilters given by Debra Lunn and Michael Mrowka, whose studio was then in Denver. The class had quite a few Leman Publications employees in it who were also quilters. I found out through them that there was an opening for an editor at Quiltmaker magazine. They invited me to apply, and that’s how I got into quilt magazine publishing. I stayed with Quiltmaker for five years, and then moved over to the senior editor position at Quilters Newsletter, working under Mary Austin. Mary retired in 2005 and so here I am! How many people get to make a living by working in a field that coincides with their passion? Not enough, and I’m lucky to be one of them.
We find our material through submissions, by going to shows and by developing bright ideas suggested by the quilters on staff. We start each issue about six months before it hits the newsstand so we are constantly feeling either a half year ahead of ourselves or a half year behind, but the seasons never mesh between reality and magazine publishing. Because QN strives to provide the broadest spectrum of content for those who are passionate about quilting, we are always on the lookout for articles and quilts that fall into these categories: traditional, contemporary, art quilts, techniques, interesting people, quilt history, people collecting or dealing in quilts, the quilting industry, the latest quilting news, books about quilting, humor in quilting, longarm quilting, machine embroidery, appealing patterns to make, quilt design, inspiration, and quality photos of as many quilts as possible. We aim to get all this and more into every issue. It seems like a lot of material to find, but really the hard part is choosing which items to put in print out of all the wonderful things people are doing out there. I’d love to have twice as many pages to fill as we do. And yes, for the last several years, we do present a pattern in the July issue under the heading “Christmas in July.” I’ve always believed that if you’re going to get a quilt made for Christmas, you have to start way before the December issue comes! At least, I do. And these are usually more complex heirloom-quality designs that do take more time.
Editors and artists are always working on more than one issue because in addition to QN, we produce the Quilt It series of newsstand specials, four per year. Those are primarily pattern magazines so the content is different from what we work on for QN, so it’s not too difficult to keep them straight. We also have a color-coded system, which helps too. Each pattern or article has its own folder, with a brightly colored cover sheet that lists major deadlines and has a place for each “set of eyes” to sign off when it has been checked. A flurry of folders is always traveling among the staff for two rounds of copyediting and proofreading, and then for “page proofing,” when all elements are in place and fitting nicely. By the way, that brightly colored cover sheet is actually a color-coded folder system that was created more than 10 years ago. It helps immensely. Each issue has its own color so you know as soon as you see the folder that it’s high priority (next issue) and must be checked immediately, whether it can wait overnight, or whether there’s enough flexibility to fit it in somewhere in the next week. It’s quite an ingenious system. The pace is extremely hectic, though, and each day is filled with a mix of mini and major deadlines.
Forgive the cliché, but we are looking for those quilts that will “knock your socks off.” It’s all about inspiration and awe and recognizing the heights of quilt accomplishment. For that reason, they are almost always one of a kind, not completely patternable, but always offering some kind of lesson for the reader. Being square used to be part of the requirement, but now that we are able to zoom in on details of the most amazing parts on the cover, that is no longer necessary. Cover quilts can be pieced, appliquéd, embroidered, just about any technique as long as the quality in design and workmanship is striking. It’s a “know it when I see it” kind of decision.
We do not choose cover quilts too far ahead of time because it’s important to find the latest next best thing; we want to bring it to you first! It’s usually chosen along with the rest of the issue’s content, for balance. But I love it when a quilt is on our cover and then shortly after, makes it to the Best of Show in Houston or Paducah or other major show. That makes me feel like we’ve succeeded in giving readers something wonderful they probably haven’t seen yet. A steady stream of quilts is always coming to the office to be photographed for QN. How we intend to use it in the magazine determines how it will be photographed. When it is here for a possible cover slot, the photographer knows that we need the highest quality and resolution; the best color, lighting, and focus, and individual detail shots. Usually we have just a few that we have to choose from for each issue’s cover, but every now and then, one is so sensational that it pushes all others aside and screams to be used right away. Seasonality is not too much of a factor.
I go to International Quilt Festival/Houston and I love to go to the Vermont Quilt Festival too. Other editors visit some of the other shows, not the same ones every year. We are on the hunt for fantastic quilts and new techniques. With the show organizer’s permission, the editor takes photos of all the quilts that might be useful for the magazine, for our internal use only. Unlike some other magazines, these are never used for publication, and nothing gets into QN without the maker knowing ahead of time. We prefer to call the maker and have the quilt sent here for the quality of photography that we insist on for print. That’s also the best way to comply with copyright regulations too. For a large show such as the Fall Festival in Houston, we come home with hundreds of photos for our reference.
Hundreds! Maybe even thousands. Each week the snail-mailed submissions are collected in a basket; our assistant editor Joli Sayasane also collects the electronic submissions and adds those to the basket. Each submission is entered into our database. Then the basket travels through a committee of four people (executive editor, art director, and two senior editors) who evaluate each one and vote on it, “yes” or “no” for inclusion in QN or Quilt It. I’m last on the review list so I guess I’m the “decider.” It’s an awesome responsibility!
Even though there are millions more quilters in the U.S. and the world, originality in design is harder to find. Many people work from published patterns, which is great! That keeps our industry moving. But finding something new and different matters a lot to our mission. Thanks to you, EQ, for adding to the originality! The quality of workmanship has risen exponentially. Of course, the increasing influence of technology is an exciting trend. Photo transfers and machine embroidered quilts were not a big part of the quilt scene ten years ago and they very much are now. Nowadays, beginners are much more likely to make wonderful quilts right from
the very first time they take a class. There is so much more help for them
at the beginning of their quilting careers, from large selections of classes,
more personal help, many new tools, books, fabrics. Newbies these days are
much more skilled than they were a generation or even 10 years ago. New techniques
travel faster among quilters now too because of the Internet, television, and
podcasts.
Q: As I mentioned above, our staff and yours have been working together for months on a Best of Quilters Newsletter 2007 CD, containing the best articles, quilts, workshops, lessons, news and more from QN for all of 2007, including “golden articles” from your archive of past issues, plus a quilt design component for designing with thirty-one of the quilts. We hope this will be an annual CD. What gave you the idea for this, do you remember? The computer is a great way to capture and keep vital all the terrific information that QN provides. It’s a bridge from the print magazine to the way young people experience information and quilting. That reminds me of that quote from years ago, “The medium is the message.” If young people are not comfortable with the medium, they won’t carry quilting on into the future. Since we want QN to carry on and reach new eyes via computers, we turned to the experts in that area to partner with, Electric Quilt. I’ve always respected the people at your company, their knowledge, their kindness and helpfulness, and the quality of the products. I want QN to be associated with that kind of quality and reputation. It’s an interesting combination, don’t you think? QN and EQ, the past and the future of quiltmaking, both working toward the same goal, making more quilters!
Ha! No! I didn’t think it was that obvious that we are such a bunch of dog lovers here! It’s really not a question on the job application. We have cat lovers on staff too. Either coincidence is to blame, or there is some strange astrological force or something in the air, or maybe something to do with the altitude in the foothills of Colorado that drove us all here to share our love for our pooches in addition to our love for quilting.
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