As I have been working for hours on a page layout to submit for an open call with no guarantee or even good odds of it being published, I have often looked at the successful scrapbookers who create work on assignment and thought, “well at least then you KNOW your efforts are going to be successful – that must be so much less stressful.” I thought the other side of the publication fence looked like easy street compared to open submission.
And then something amazing happened….I received a request from my favorite magazine to create a layout on assignment! And I discovered that easy street isn’t so easy after all!
I loved the assignment guidelines and my contact at the magazine was lovely to work with. So what was the hitch? An assignment means having pressure of absolutely HAVING to produce publication-quality work! When you submit to an open call, if you have a bad scrapbooking day, or are uninspired on a particular call, there is no-one who really has expectations for your work except yourself. So if you submit work that is sub-par for your usual standards, the only person who will be disappointed is yourself. With an assignment, there are editors waiting at the other end, relying on you to meet a certain standard of excellence in your creation! There is no room for bad days in the realm of assignment scrapbooking.
I was surprised at how much pressure I still felt on the other side of the “publications fence.” I was pleased though to be able to step up and deliver work that I felt was excellent under that pressure. Perhaps over time and with experience, the feeling of pressure will subside. Perhaps it will not.
Either way, I think I like it on the assignment side of the fence.
About Nancy Nally
Love the new spot Nancy. Congrats on the assignment.
Colleen
So true, Nancy… the grass is always greener!
Great entry!
Nancy- wish I was on that side of the fence! Congrats!
Nancy,
BIG congrats on the assignment! I have had a few and can totally relate to what you wrote!!
Sharon
First of all… Congrats on the move! But best of all… Congrats on the assignment! Very, very cool!!!
How cool – I understand your concerns about assignments. That is a lot of pressure. But being “chosen” because of your talents is so awesome, and definitely a major compliment. Congrats. I added your new blog address to my favorites, thanks for the inspiration.
First off, CONGRATS on the assignment. I do hope it is the first of many for you. Thanks for sharing your point of view with those of us who might never have been given an assignment!!!
Naaaaaancyyyyyyyyy…. you did a great job on the assignment…
I am rather new to this so I hope this does not sound dumb but what is an open call? Suzy
Suzy, an open call is when the information on a magazine’s editorial need is publicly available (typically on the magazine’s website these days) and anyone who wants to is allowed to submit work for that “page call.” The magazine then selects from all the submitted work what they need to actually use. An assignment is when you personally are specifically contacted by the magazine and given a specific piece of work to do for them. I hope that clears it up for you!