An Editor Reveals Their Daily Schedule! (Part 1)

Ichiko: "Happy New Year, everyone."
Niko: "Happy New Year! I am so sorry for being way past the publication date. The beginning of the year is always busy, isn't it..."
Ichiko: "It's an excuse, but we were so busy we couldn't get started at all."
Niko: "Yes. But we'll pull ourselves together and continue at our own pace, so thank you for your support! We teased this a bit at the end of the year, but today we're delivering the Niko edition to introduce our professions again."
Ichiko: "An editor's time schedule! I'm curious about that."
Niko: "I don't know about editors at other media outlets, but I think most editors operate on a different schedule every day."
Ichiko: "So you don't do things at fixed times."
Niko: "There are a few regular meetings, but in our editorial department, everyone often moves around separately."
Ichiko: "Is that how it is?"
Niko: "Well, please take this as just one editor's day with a light heart. This time, I'll introduce 1) a day with a shoot and 2) a day working from home. First, here is a day with a shoot."

1) A day with a shoot

7:00 Wake up. I don't eat breakfast; I drink a cup of hot water and get ready.

Ichiko: "You don't eat breakfast!"
Niko: "There's usually catering or bento boxes at the shoot location, so I often don't eat breakfast."
Ichiko: "That's nice. Catering at a shoot location sounds delicious."

7:40 Depart. When I have a lot of luggage, I sometimes take a taxi.

Niko: "Basically, I travel by train. It's often hard to predict the time with a taxi."
Ichiko: "That's true."
Niko: "I buy drinks for the number of people coming to the shoot plus a few extra. Don't forget to get long straws for the models! To prevent lipstick smudging."
Ichiko: "You don't want to ruin the makeup you worked so hard on. I drink from my own bottle."

9:00 Arrive at the studio. I confirm and discuss the shoot content with the staff.

Niko: "Specifically, I discuss the flow and location with the photographer, confirm outfits with the stylist, and talk to the hair and makeup artist about the vibe we want for the model!"
The shoot proceeds according to a rough draft created in advance (like a blueprint showing the final layout image). We decide the order of the shoot by consulting with everyone, checking the time the light enters with the photographer and considering the hair and makeup order (for example, doing cuts where the hair is up last because it leaves creases)."
Ichiko: "There are so many things to decide and do simultaneously. There's so much to be mindful of regarding those around you. I couldn't do it."
Niko: "Editing has a somewhat glamorous image, but most of the work is summarizing a lot of information and making various adjustments."

14:00 Shoot ends, cleanup. We return the studio to the state it was in when we arrived.

Niko: "Returning desks and chairs moved for the shoot to their original positions, checking for trash like bento boxes, making sure nothing is left behind... The editor in charge is responsible for the shoot location, so my job is to constantly watch everyone's movements and ensure the shoot goes smoothly."
Ichiko: "That kind of attention to detail makes things go smoothly and leads to the next job. I'll say it again, I couldn't do it."

15:00 Travel. Attend a press event.

Niko: "Since there was a press event after the shoot that day, I moved to the event venue. Attending new product launches and inputting information about products and brands is also an important part of an editor's job!"
Ichiko: "A press event! That's so industry-like! It's an important opportunity to understand current trends."
Niko: "I'm often in charge of advertising articles, so I talk to people from advertising agencies to hear about PR timing and the possibility of them placing ads in my media. If I get a request like 'Can you do this kind of initiative?', I take it back to the editorial department to discuss, research, and create a proposal."
Ichiko: "The timing of delivering product information is also important. It's a job that requires attention to detail down to the smallest things."

17:00 Travel. Return home and switch to working from home.

Niko: "On days when I'm out all day like this, I use this time to carefully check emails and do administrative work. Sometimes I write manuscripts too."
Ichiko: "So the administrative work starts here. That's tough."
Niko: "If it's early, I get the rough data (low-resolution photos before retouching) from the photographer, so I check and select them. Also, expense settlement is an editor's job, so I confirm the expenses used by the staff for the shoot and reflect the costs incurred at the studio in the editorial department's Excel data. This is quietly tedious..."
Ichiko: "You have to deal with money too? Isn't there too much to do? That's way too hard."

19:00 Leave work if the timing is right.

Niko: "When I have an early morning for a shoot, my concentration runs out around this time, so I leave work decisively. If there's a manuscript with a tight deadline, I might try hard to write it, but when I'm tired, my writing speed is slow and inefficient, so I often push it to the next day."
Ichiko: "No, you're already working enough. Please rest early. You have on-site work, interviews, editing, and accounting—there's so much to do. It's been made into dramas and has a glamorous image, but it's built on the meticulous care of editors."

Next time preview

So, that was a day in the life of editor Niko when there is a shoot! It got long, so I will introduce 2) a day working from home in the next article!

Look forward to the next publication!
*I stopped listing the next publication date because I can't keep it at all.