‘I’m loving it’ — Food editing sparks joy
James Norton, editor and publisher of Heavy Table, encourages students to get their hands dirty in editing to carve out a career path.
By Joyce Tsai
For James Norton, editing has always come naturally. An opportunity in high school opened up this lifelong passion for him. Even when he faced the crossroad of career choice between being a lawyer and a journalist, with all the financial and status benefits that the choice may entail, he followed this passion.
After trying his hand at and learning from a series of vastly different editor positions, he finally found his voice as a food editor and co-founded Heavy Table in 2009. Heavy Table is a Twin Cities-based daily newspaper and magazine that follows food from the ground to the plate. He is both the editor-in-chief and the publisher of this online publication.
Q: How did you decide to become an editor?
A: I’m not really sure. It has always been a position I’ve been comfortable with. I really like leading teams of people, and it goes back to high school when I was editor of an underground newspaper. I just felt comfortable with the process of setting a calendar and calling meetings, setting publication standards, interaction with readers, and the work that came along with being in the editor-in-chief position.
After doing it for fun in high school, I wound up in college saying, “Can I do it again in this setting?” And I did. I like that being an editor has so many different responsibilities. You’re working with the writer, you’re conscious of what the publication’s goals are, you’re thinking with the mind of your readers, and you have to be very flexible and creative. It’s how it’s been very engaging for me.
Q: If you were to start over again, would you still choose this same profession?
A: I think so. I hit a major career crossroad at the end of college, in terms of going into law school or going into journalism. I would have been better paid as a lawyer, and I think I would have had more self respect, or I’d feel more confident in terms of my place in the world. On the other hand, I probably would have been a lot more tired, a lot more frustrated, and I probably would’ve spent a lot less time with my family as well. Overall, I feel good about the decision I made because I really enjoy my work everyday.
Q: What are your responsibilities as an editor?
A: I’m the editor and the publisher at Heavy Table. It’s essentially two jobs I’m working at once. The main job as an editor is maintaining an editorial calendar, which essentially tells me what stories are coming up for what edition, what state they are in terms of overall content edits, copy edits, final line edits and art (photography and illustrations). I’m just trying to track all that material as it moves through the system so that we can put out editions in an orderly fashion. I’m also partially responsible for the tone of the magazine. I look for stories that will appeal to our readers and speak to our values and missions. I have to keep an eye on everything that is coming in, like stories and pitches, so that it is on brand for the publication.
Q: What does a typical week look like for you?
A: On Monday I look up what is coming up for the Friday edition. I check in with writers to see how their stories are going and if they have them turned in yet. If I have the copy, I am editing it and trying to get it ready for publication. By Wednesday, everything is thoroughly edited, I’ve gone back and forth with my writers on individual stories, and I am doing markup, taking text from a Google document and putting it in a news writing software, so that it is ready to be transmitted to the readers on Friday. Thursday is a promotion on Twitter and any final last minute interactions with editors, writers or sources that need to be done. On Friday, I don’t do much because everything is auto-scheduled to be published.
Q: What did your career path look like?
A: I was an editor of an underground newspaper in high school. I was an editor-in-chief of one of the daily papers in the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I started an online magazine as college was wrapping up. I was able to turn that into an internship at a newspaper called the Christian Science Monitor in Boston. That internship was turned into a foreign editor position, so I was doing international news. I left the Christian Science Monitor to work for a new radio station called Air America Radio, which worked for former Minnesota Sen. Al Franken. Then I got into food journalism after the Al Franken show, and I was working for a company called Ciao.com out of California. I was a video blogger for a while, and a regular blogger as well. Finally, I founded Heavy Table.
Q: What advice would you give to students who aspire to become an editor?
A: Subscribe to some serious magazines and newspapers and read them. It’s really good to keep reading and see what other people are doing. I think it gives you a good sense of voice and structure when you’re doing it yourself. My second piece of advice is if you are not currently doing the kind of editing that you want to be doing, start something on your own, team up with your friends, start an online magazine and just do it on your own time because sometimes you won’t get those opportunities in a formal setting to get your hands dirty with editing, but you can make those opportunities for yourself if you have to. This has been very helpful in my career path.
Norton wears many hats and is the gatekeeper for the tone and quality of his magazine. It can be challenging, but at the same time, fun and rewarding. That is a paradox that only an editor can fully understand.
“I’m in my mid-forties and I still want to keep doing and exploring it,” Norton said. “If you’re still energized by it after twenty years, I think that’s a sign that you have chosen the right profession.”
