Don’t forget about staff who may not have their name in a byline

JENNIE SHERWOOD

Hey, it’s Jennie! I’m still here!

I know I haven’t written a lot lately, and that’s because my amazing co-chiefs have been killing the opinion section so far this year, and our wonderful reporters are knee-deep working hard on important stories for the rest of The Saga.

I’ve been busy, along with the section editors, designing these beautiful pages you readers are looking at right now, making sure everything is fitting, edited, and ready for print.

After articles are turned in from reporters every other Saturday by 2 p.m., the hustle of editing those stories and starting to create pages begins. We use a platform called InDesign to make layouts on laptops. Although investigating and writing articles would seem to be the hardest part of being on the staff, we editors would argue that designing sections is just as stressful.

It takes skill to perfect the tools and commands of InDesign. Not only that, but there is also coordinating those skills with the sacred Saga style guide laws of designing pages: margins, text wrap, captions, pull quotes, and more.

My job is to design the front and back page of The Saga each edition, but also to work with the section editors in making page edits before it is time to send The Saga to print.

Editions end up becoming six 17in by 11in pieces of paper, with two pages of The Saga on each in a certain order. They then get folded and stapled at Central Office (thanks Ms. Brodeur), becoming the physical copy you have in your hands.

So, if you don’t see a section editor’s or my name in the byline of a story for a few Viking Sagas in a row, no need to fear. We’re working on the other important part of creating editions besides writing: our beloved pages.