An editor’s work is never done
Rocky Rakovic left Playboy to become editor-in-chief at Inked Magazine. His biggest function as chief is to be a curator.
by MIRANDA WEIPPERT | Web editor
In 2010, at just 28, Rocky Rakovik was named editor-in-chief at Inked Magazine. Inked Magazine covers culture, art, fashion, sports, music, and tattooed lifestyles with a rebellious spirit. However, this wasn’t Rakovik’s first editing job. Before Inked, he was a contributing editor for Playboy.
Can you tell me about your journey to your job as editor-in-chief at Inked Magazine?
“The first thing I did when I got my driver’s license was doughnuts in the school parking lot. The second thing I did was drive to my local newspaper and see if they would let me hang out in the newsroom. They said yes and allowed me to start covering stories soon after. I parlayed those clips into gigs at the local ABC affiliate and the New England Patriots before I even went to college. At school, those jobs helped me to secure an internship with Playboy, which turned into a job upon graduation. I spent about five years at Playboy and then saw that Inked was looking for an editor-in-chief who could broaden the brand’s editorial content. They thought I was the best fit and here I am today.”
What happens during a typical day on the job?
“What I like best about working at a magazine is that no day is the same as the last. I may be on set during a photo-shoot, interviewing a celebrity or coming up with ideas for how to expand our reach. The responsibilities vary and because of that there is never a boring day, but it takes a lot of organizational skills to make sure at the end of the week everything gets accomplished.”
“Because it is an “ideas” job we are never off the clock.”
What kind of hours do you work?
“Typically I get in at 11 a.m. and leave the office around 7:30 p.m., but because it is an ‘ideas’ job we are never off the clock. Some of the team’s best ideas come via e-mail at 2 a.m.”
What is your favorite part of your job? Least favorite?
“My favorite facet of the job is to be able to find and then highlight voices and point-of-views that deserve a larger audience. We aren’t crunching numbers or making a product that is homogenous month-to-month, so I would say my least favorite part of the job would be that there’s a duty to always tinker. You are always trying to make something better. That’s both the best thing about the job, as well as a draining endeavor. Even after an issue is sent off the printer I have my mind on future issues and ideas. An editor’s work is never done.”
What is one editing horror story?
“The toughest part of being a national publication is that you have to deal with celebrities and even trickier than the celebrities are their publicists. For instance, a major Hollywood studio reached out to me months ago about putting one of their celebrities on our cover. This actor is a huge name, but I didn’t think he had enough tattoos for our cover. The deal was that he would sport the fake tattoos that he wears in his movies on our cover. We pushed off other celebrities and cover options. As the photo shoot date — a date close to our deadline for the whole issue neared — we were told that the actor didn’t like the idea and declined the feature. Since the studio reached out to me I assumed he was on board and here we were a few weeks from deadline without a cover or even a cover subject. We have also been on sets where tattooed celebrities wouldn’t roll up their sleeves to show their tattoos. Did they not know they were shooting for Inked?”
What keeps you motivated/passionate for your job?
“I really believe in the editorial mission of Inked which is to give a culture of people — the tattooed — a legitimate newsletter and voice. There isn’t a day in my job that goes by where I am not thinking about my readers.”
“Nobody is above editing. You need to be assured enough to put your ideas and words out into the world, but also know that an editor can always improve your stuff.”
Do you have a mentor or someone who most inspired/impacted your career? How did this person influence you?
“Plenty. Publishing is putting yourself out there. It takes some confidence and self-awareness to be in publishing. Find someone who can recognize your talent, but also can point out your flaws. Nobody is above editing. You need to be assured enough to put your ideas and words out into the world, but also know that an editor can always improve your stuff.”
What else do you invest your time in outside of working for Inked?
“Mostly drinking, that and learning. I wasn’t the type who liked school, but as soon as I was away from the daily grind of being fed new information from professors, I craved learning. My brothers and I are constantly sending each other articles, books and podcasts to learn from. So between sips of sweet, delicious booze, I’m constantly soaking up new knowledge.”
How do you find balance between your social and professional life?
“I use my social life to enhance the professional. As I said before being a curator is what I think the editor-in-chief’s function. If I am talking with anyone about something interesting I try to see how that can be put through the prism of Inked magazine. I hear about a new band and see if they are tattooed. I hear about a social issue and see if there are tattooed voices that need a platform for the issue. Any editor working in the culture landscape needs to be socially active so that their publication is robust with ideas not just from their own mind, but also those within their culture.”
“This isn’t accounting where everybody is supposed to come up with the same numbers. This is a creative endeavor.”
What advice would you give to journalism students starting to look for internships and experience?
“Get out there now. This business weeds people out by their past experiences and internships may make or break the rest of your life. The most important thing though — you have to been great. This is a subjective business. If you can’t write than you are unemployable. This isn’t accounting where everybody is supposed to come up with the same numbers. This is a creative endeavor.”
Based off Rakovic’s responses, editing is a creative endeavor and a challenging business. Aspiring editors must be great, know how to write and have past experiences, such as internships. A job in editing doesn’t typically have a routine schedule. You are always on the clock and always thinking about future ideas. You need to be socially active and use your personal life to enhance your professional life. I don’t know whether I like the idea of never being off the clock. I know I have the organizational skills to do this job, but what I don’t know is if I have the creative drive. Based off Rakovic’s input, an editing career path can be draining, tricky and a lot of responsibility, but it is also exciting, entertaining and rewarding.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
