Four Publishing Lessons Learned in the Garden
“The gardener’s work is never at end; it begins with the year, and continues to the next: he prepares the ground, and then he sows it; after that he plants, and then he gathers the fruits….”
—John Evelyn, Kalendarium Hortense, 1706
Winter in the Northeast can make Spring seem like it’s a whole year away, stripping nature bare in the coldest, harshest light and making it hard to remember the life-sustaining beauty that lies dormant, waiting for the right moment to blossom. But there’s a beauty to be found in that harsh light, too; one that requires you to look a little bit closer to see it, to understand it, and to fully appreciate what the future might bring.
It’s been an excruciatingly long Winter in the publishing world, and a number of magazines have succumbed to the bitter cold as hopes of a Spring reawakening faded away. Others are hanging by a thread, hoping the last of the snow is finally melting and warmer temperatures are just ahead.
For the past 18 months, I’ve had the pleasure of working with a metaphorical redwood in publishing, the 105-year-old Horticulture magazine, first as Advertising Sales Director, and as of last October, Publisher and Editorial Director. It’s been an amazing experience, and my newfound appreciation for gardening was perfectly timed with our buying our first house last summer. Simultaneously working for Horticulture and in our own little garden at home, I learned some lessons that relate directly to working in publishing, especially during the cold, hard “winter”.
