I am starting this post in here (General Aircraft) because I have this sneaky suspicion that many of you don't read the Site Feedback forum, and this topic is rather important to the future of this site. AeroScale is in serious need of new volunteer staffers. We likely only need 2 to 3 additional editors at this point so depending on how many people apply we may need to be choosy, etc. Please keep in mind that while we can train almost anyone for this type of work, that some prior knowledge of photo editing (PhotoShop or similar) is always a plus. We don't need professional writers, but proper grammar and spelling skills are obviously a huge plus as well.

What does an Editor do?
Well for the most part editors are the folks that take the content we receive from contributors and turn them into articles (reviews/features/news) for the site. Sometimes editors themselves write the review, feature, or news article but that is not a requirement of the position. Editors work in a team environment and in conjunction with news writers and the Managing Editor (Rowan Baylis).

Benefits
Being an Editor on a site this large is a challenge, but it is also a very visible position to the hobby world as a whole. Several of our past Editors have gone on to do work for hobby-related companies in an advisory position, or as content writers. In addition to fame and glory (joke) there is the potential for getting samples or books for review. Some kit samples are even of the pre-release variety. Please note: There is no monetary compensation for this type of position.

If you have questions please feel to ask them here or email me.

Thanks,
Jim

On average, how many hours a week is someone looking at? Just wondering.

Hi Justin,
At a bare minimum we ask that all our editors add at least 4 new articles each month, so about 1 per week. Adding an article can vary in terms of time required but it should not normally take more than 1-2 hrs.

Of course that said we are really looking for people with more than 4-8 hrs a month they can dedicate to their site. Generally speaking if you can't spend more than 3-4 hrs a week on editing than you probably should not take the gig.

Cheers,
Jim

Hi Justin

As Jim makes clear, that's very much a "How long's a piece of string?" question.

While there is a minimum requirement for the number of items added per month (4), how long each of those takes to work on is very variable. For instance, while a News item with a couple of pictures may only take fifteen minutes to sort from start to finish, a major Feature article could represent many hours' work.

We aim to have News items appearing every day (they can either come via our own vendor contacts, or be items found by our members), and we add new Features every weekend to give a new article its fair share of the limelight on the front page. A full weekend update is best tackled as a team effort.

All the best

Rowan

Hi Jim,

I am very much interested to offer my help, but I have doubts about my qualification. I would be happy if you could be more precise on the technical aspect of the work, besides the basics of photo editing. However, I am relatively new to modelling and don't feel quite knowledgeable or qualified in order to offer the top-notch reviews or features. However, I do have some free time and passion for plastic modeling to offer. Besides that, my English is not always as good as it would be expected from an editor, but I think most of the people will have no problems understanding it. In addition to that, I live in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which can be difficult to reach from outside world for potential samples etc. However, If you don't find anyone better, I would be glad to jump in and help as much as I can.

All the best

So for instance I would be e-mailed the information.I would put the article together post it through the news,review or respective area.in the case of me arranging my own articles this should be information that I would be required to find using various news outlets correct?

Hi again

Thank you to everyone who's already expressed an interest in helping both here and via e-mail.

To clarify on the last two posts:

Entoni - The photo editing we do basically entails resizing pictures, sometimes adjusting the colours and brightness, and adding logos and text. Nobody can be an expert on everything, and an editor doesn't need an encyclopaedic knowledge of every type of aircraft, or indeed modelling, in able to do a perfectly good job preparing the submissions we receive. And as regards your standard of English - your post here proves you have absolutely nothing to worry about!

Justin - An editor has direct access to the News, Reviews and Features in the "Staging" area, so you see them just as they will look when they go live. So, as you say, this could be an article that has been sent in by one of our members, or something of your own that you've prepared from scratch. An item sent in may need some extra work reformatting and editing the text for typos etc. In both cases it would be your decision as to when they are ready to go on-line.

All the best

Rowan

Hi Rowan. I have recently bought to pretty much a halt the paid work I used to take on. I havent retired per se but in all but name I have!.

I have both photo and video editing skills and some years ago set type for a newspaper group. I have typeset enough poor copy in my time to be able to write something quite good myself.

I also moderate on a pro-industry forum (video production) I am a member of and from other sources I am reliably informed my research skills, are in their words, "top notch".

If you are still looking for more names to throw into the pot then please feel free to thrown mine in.. .

I'm in

Rowan,

Thank you for the clarification. As I said earlier, if you find my skills useful, I am ready to help. I am happy that more people are offering their help as well. However, if you cannot find someone with more qualification and knowledge, I am ready to step in. At least as a part-time editor.

All the best,
Entoni

Let Jim know thanks for calling me rob in email

Doh... lol... sorry one of the evils of using cut and paste. At least I called Rob, Rob and not Jessica.

Jim

Just wandering how the search was coming along

Hi Jim
I have my own website so I'm used to writing articles and spell checker is a wonderous thing! I also know how to work with pictures, if you find you need another person I'm in. LOL now you have the problem of choosing whom you want! I would however point out that living in New Zealand I'm far from just about everything and that it might be a point to consider? Good luck with your search guys and thanks for the opportunity to participate in the production of this outstanding website .... thingy!

Just a note for those who don't feel up to the commitment, or those not selected:
remember you can still contribute features and reviews on the site, and maybe get some samples, without being a staff member.

I can only build so many

I will toss my hat in the ring ..........


Terri