I have an interview!

So there I was, sitting in front of my computer wondering when the publisher of Skin Two would ever get back to me, when all of a sudden an e-mail from him dropped into my inbox...

I nearly fell off my chair.

The e-mail suggested meeting up in London soon to discuss the vacancy. I started writing a reply - hmm, should I address him as "Dear" (as he had me)? Or should I strike a less formal note and say "Hi"? After all, this is not exactly a regular job interview. I settled on "Dear" and drafted some three or four sentences to open my response. Then I thought, "sod it, this is no time to faff around" and I picked up the phone.

We spent a pleasant half-hour discussing Skin Two - the publisher has a vision to change the magazine. As he put it, it's time to get away from pages and pages of pretty chicks in rubber and move back to the earlier days of sharp journalism that characterised the magazine. I used to buy Skin Two a lot, way back when. Then I stopped because I got bored of paying a lot of money just to see fancy pics of rubber-clad women. I'm not interested in women or rubber, particularly. In short, the magazine has lost its readership and its way. We were in agreement on that.

Aside from the change in direction, the publisher needs an editor who a) has a publishing and journalism background and b) knows something about the subject matter. I pass on both counts. There is one other possible candidate at present.

We arranged a meeting for 11 July. I'd love to go sooner but I've just taken on two books for editing and will simply not have time to go to London for the day before then. There is, apparently, no rush anyway.

So, my diary is cleared and I just have to buckle down to work for the next few weeks until it's time to get on the train...

Editorship applied for...

Purely by chance, while surfing the net at the weekend, I came across a dream job. Now being a freelance, working for an employer is not really part of the game plan. But this was too good an opportunity to miss - it's only part-time for a quarterly magazine so I could continue to freelance the rest of the time while devoting a few days per month to being editor of what is possibly the most prestigious publication in its field.

I have long had an interest in fetish matters and I have the journalistic experience to back me up. So, after discussing it with the beloved P at the weekend, this morning I wrote my application and e-mailed it, along with my CV, to the MD.

I await a response with interest.

I'm certain to be offered an interview - there cannot be many fully experienced journalists and editors who are also fetishists. I don't expect the competition to be extensive. The job was not, as far as I can tell, very widely advertised at all. I wonder how many people they will invite in for a chat? I know my CV is excellent and I have the contacts "in the field" to be able to commission good photographers and writers.

I'm on tenterhooks now, even though it may be a few weeks before I hear anything at all... I'll keep you all posted. In the meantime, please keep your fingers crossed for me.