© Features

Barbara K. Adamski

the other press

e opfeatures@netscape.net

flugust 2003

 

DRESSED F

Sheryl Gray
OP Contributor

“My ultimate guilty pleasure is to sit at
my desk with a big fat issue of Vogue,
and be doing my job,” declares Sarah
Reeder, western editor of Fashion
Magazine. Schmoozing, shopping, and
attending fiarties are a way of life for
Reeder, but she’s earned her way to the
good life with what she calls the key
ingredients to being a good editor: a
keen entrepreneurial spirit, willingness
to take risks, and, simply, having the
guts to go for it.

Reeder first heard the call to write as
a young child of eight or nine. She had
her first taste of success as a young teen,
as the playwright of a piece that was
eventually staged in Australia.
Following secondary school, Reeder
obtained an undergraduate degree in
political science while awaiting the
arrival of a post-graduate journalism
program at the University of British
Columbia. That program never materi-
alized in her time, but she continued
her studies and earned a Master of
Political Science degree. Her education,
combined with a talent for words, pro-
pelled her into a paid position as a
speechwriter for politician Ujjal
Dosanjh.

From political wordsmith to fashion
editor seems like an unlikely career
path, but Reeder claims it was “all part
of the strategic plan.” An unexpected
job offer of buyer with the Aritzia fash-
ion chain subsequently provided her
with an in-depth knowledge of fashion
and a wide range of business manage-
ment skills. By the time she presented
herself to Vancouver Magazine for a
possible internship, Reeder had devel-
oped such a strong skill set that she was
able to approach then-editor Jim
Sutherland with a pro-active approach
of “this is what I can do for you.”

“Handy with a spread-sheet” by self-
admission, Reeder immersed herself in
upgrading the marketing efforts at
Vancouver Magazine, producing some
of the first public relations work that
the magazine had Under
Sutherland’s guidance, she received a
formal education in magazine editing
and was quickly promoted to associate
fashion editor. Keeping her strategic
plan in sight, Reeder moonlighted as a
freelance writer for The Globe and
Mail, gaining the national exposure
required to continue her ascent up the
career ladder.

Now managing the new western divi-
sion of the Toronto-based Fashion
Magazine, Reeder has met her goal of
becoming a fashion editor. “Magazine
editors can be bookish and homely,”
she says, but shatters that image with
her fresh and youthful appearance,
accentuated by a stylish blue iMac on
her desk. Responsible for all western
operations of Fashion Magazine, Reeder

seen.

admits that she is “actually
managing the magazine as its
own little entity.” In addition
to staying on top of the
Vancouver
Reeder carries the
responsibili-
ties of a
typical
office

fashion — scene,

man-
ager,

with
duties
such as budget-
ing, human
resource manage-
ment, and moni-
toring sales fig-
ures.

Reeder’s sched-
ule is packed
with events and
other obliga-
tions, but these
perks are her
favourite part of ©
the job. “I will
never become
jaded about hav-
ing amazing opportunities to travel and
go to fashion shows and hotel open-
ings,” she asserts with obvious sincerity.
A typical day for Reeder includes
attending and emceeing various events
in the city. Invitations often exceed
double digits in any given month. “A
lot of my job takes place between 5 and
10pm,” explains Reeder. Late nights do
come with the welcome reprieve of late
morning starts: “In New York, with
magazine editors...no one is in the
office before 10am.” As an editor,
Reeder is expected to be involved in
Vancouver's nightlife, but she’s not
complaining. “I get more story ideas at
parties than any other way,” she says.
“It’s all fun and everyone's had a few
drinks.”

Magazine life isn’t all fun and games,
however, and Reeder also spends what
she describes as “many, many, many
hours” in front of her computer writing
and editing. Much of this work is done
at night and on weekends when the
other staff have gone home. Her

  
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
  
   
    
 

     
  

weekly

schedule is rounded out by freelance
writing projects, common to most
magazine editors. According to Reeder,
“Everybody freelances on the side. [The
money] is never enough.”

Reeder strives to keep a fine balance
between working efficiently and staying
open to the ideas of budding fashion
writers. “As an editor, your ultimate
goal is to discover the next Douglas
Coupland,” she says. “I try to encour-
age new writers, but we go through
four or five drafts for an eight-hundred-
word piece.” At times Reeder finds it
tempting to write the whole magazine,
herself. “It’s hard to find very good
writers in Vancouver who will write
service-oriented journalism,” she says.
Reeder prefers to work with interns
from the creative writing program at
UBC, finding them to be generally
bright and able to successfully work
with provided story ideas.

Magazine editors seem to hold a high
level of status within the writing

http://www.otherpress.ca

mSUCCESS

Magazine life isn't
all fun and games,

however... . Reeder
also spends what she

describes as “many,

many, many hours”
in front of her com-

puter writing and
editing.

industry, and Reeder finds many of her
peers to be crafting an “image of being
unreachable.” Citing Anna Wintour of
Vogue Magazine as an infamous exam-
ple, Reeder says that many editors like
to have a veil around them. “Part of it
is insecurity, the impostor syndrome,
the fear of people finding out that
youre not as legendary as everyone
thinks you are,” she explains. She was
recently speaking with another
Vancouver-based magazine editor, who
informed her that he no longer answers
his phone or returns email. The well-
worn Rolodex placed square in the
middle of her desk sets Reeder apart
from some of her peers on the issue of
approachability.

Reeder has managed to delegate
responding to the swarms of requests
for internships and inquiries from inex-
perienced writers, but refuses to play
the role of elusive editor. “Media is all
about communicating,” says Reeder,
who spends an estimated 70 percent of
her time with others. Whether brows-
ing in Vancouver's shops, lunching
with publicists or schmoozing her way
through another round of social func-
tions, she finds that purposely seeking
people out is sometimes the only way
to get the scoop on what’s new and
noteworthy. “People in Vancouver are
terrible at public relations,” Reeder
says. “People aren't media-savvy here.
As a journalist, you have to dig. I usu-
ally fluke into my stories.”

“Vancouver is a tough city to navi-
gate,” she notes. “Everything that is
cool is so hidden, you've got to be so
hooked into the scene to be able to get
at it.” Tough for the uninitiated per-
haps, but judging by the success of
Vancouver's Fashion Magazine, Sarah
Reeder has found her way through the
city’s streets with flying colours.

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