The first day with the new site has been ... a lot of fun, actually. I've found myself fixated on the site, reading through all the forum topics, hitting "refresh" again and again, to see how many people have registered and showed up, what they're saying in the forum, what kind of work they've posted to the Subscriber Gallery... I'm sure this complete preoccupation will eventually settle down into a once- or twice-daily check in, but at the moment, it's hard for me to get any other work done!

That will have to change, because this afternoon we have our issue planning meeting for the January issue. This is when the editorial staff sits down and sifts through the stories and projects that we have available and ready to be worked on, and decides what actually we're going to publish come December. We'll strike a balance of media (sometimes it's like dealing cards. One for metal clay, one for polymer, one for metalsmithing...) and look for the weak spots. Are there any stories that might be made stronger by the addition of a sidebar or a related story fleshing out a particular technique? If so, where's that additional information going to come from? Is it something we can do in-house, or should I contact an outside writer or artist? And of course, we'll be thinking about cover options... I always like to have two or three different stories in an issue that I feel have strong cover potential, so we can do test shoots later on and see what works. Once the stories are decided on, they'll be assigned to a particular editor to shepherd them through the whole process and get them ready to be presented to the Art Department.

Then, it's back to thinking about the November issue. And yes, working so far in advance can be a bit unsettling. We're working on layouts for the November issue, so, in my head, it's already November, even though it's 84 degrees outside. (Is this the warmest Thanksgiving on record? Just might be!) Our graphic designer has the photo studio booked for a session this afternoon, we'll be hovering and consulting as they shoot the lead shots for two of the November features. This is really one of my favorite parts of the job; it's really hands-on magazine making. 

After I've planned the January issue, and hit "refresh" a few dozen more times, it's off on vacation! Next week, the other members of the AJ staff will have a chance to log in and speak out... they'll have a full week without me breathing down their necks!

I hope you all are enjoying the new site; as I said, please do let us know about any problems you encounter. All identified bugs are being forwarded to the Web department so that they can quickly resolve any difficulties.