Friday, September 9, 2016

What It's Like to be an Editor-in-Chief for Odyssey

Previously, I wrote a post about what Odyssey is for one of my first blogs. Today, I want to retouch on that subject, this time focusing more on my actual position for Odyssey: editor-in-chief. 

As I have said before, Odyssey is one of the fastest growing social media properties in the world. Sometimes we even receive more pageviews than the Huffington Post, which is huge! Odyssey was created when a former college student, Evan Burns, decided that he was tired of the media looking down upon millennials and only sharing what they think we want to hear in the news. He decided to create Odyssey so that millennials can use it to share their own unique perspectives and voices on different topics that are important to them as individuals. Thus, Odyssey was born.

Our team here at ONU contributes to Burns' effort. We each submit one article a week due by Friday at midnight. Once submitted, the editing process begins. That's where I come in. 

I joined Odyssey the fall of my freshman year as a way to share my writing with the world and achieve more experience with publishing my work. Last winter, the previous editor-in-chief made the decision to step down from his position, and he suggested to our managing editor that I should take his place. I was absolutely thrilled! After a bit of training, I was set to start managing the team here at Ohio Northern. 

We started with only a handful of people writing for Odyssey, and then--by spreading the word on social media--we are now up to 17 incredible people on our team! With the help of my contributing editor, I edit each of their articles on a weekly basis, making sure that everything is filled out correctly, Odyssey's standards are met, and no grammar or spelling issues exist. 

Of course, editing is my main responsibility, but I am also in charge of screening people who are interested in joining our team, organizing and conducting team meetings once a month, and keeping in touch with our managing editor so I can keep up to date on any changes Odyssey might have made.

Being editor-in-chief comes with a lot of responsibility. Although it can be stressful at times, I wouldn't change a bit of it! I love being the editor as well as being a writer, and this role is the best of both worlds for me. I am so honored and thrilled that I get to be a part of such an incredible team, and I can't wait to see what the rest of the year brings for us!

To learn more about my experience as an Odyssey editor-in-chief, you can listen to my podcast here. In the podcast, I answer the following questions and discuss them in more detail:

  • What is Odyssey?
  • Why did I choose to start writing for Odyssey?
  • How did I become editor-in-chief?
  • What are the specifics of my responsibilities as editor-in-chief?
  • What does Odyssey mean to me?
Make sure to listen in! If you have any questions, feel free to ask me in person or leave them in the comments below, and I will be sure to answer them to the best of my ability! Happy writing!

2 comments:

  1. Really nice job on your post. Odyssey sounds like a busy, professional job and as Editor and Chief you hold an enormous amount of responsibility. Is this where you want to go in your future?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! It is pretty busy, but I enjoy it! I'm not sure exactly what I will be doing in the future. I have thought about doing something similar, but I haven't decided yet!

      Delete