Emily Gough Talks about Her Role at Falwriting

What was your role?

I started out as one of the fiction editors, but I soon became the poetry editor as well. I was keen to be involved with Falwriting, so I tried to remain available for any work that needed to be scheduled – even the last-minute stuff! I was also informally known as the Scheduling Disaster Lady after I spent a few hours fixing up the publishing schedule one evening.

What did this entail?

I edited anything from short stories to the odd piece of non-fiction, checking the pieces for spelling and grammar errors, and sometimes making suggestions on what could be added to it or expanded upon. Once the piece was polished, it would be uploaded and scheduled on the Squarespace site. Mostly, however, I commissioned, edited, and scheduled poetry.

What have you learned over the year in this role?

That it is important to be on top of scheduling and commissioning!

Most importantly, I have learned to communicate with people from different courses and disciplines, to work around a schedule, and that your ideas are always worth sharing.

What were the highs?

Definitely the MaynXFalwriting collaboration! It was so much fun to work with a photographer to create a piece of written work that had a symbiotic relationship to photographs. The photographer I worked with was so talented, and I really enjoyed seeing everyone’s projects when they were published. The brief, ‘Home’, was also a fun one to work on as it welcomed such a broad response. It was a very cool experience.

Also, I think one of the highs was simply being able to enjoy reading and editing other people’s work – I love seeing what other people are doing and how they approach different themes and topics.

The lows?

I think one of the lows was not being able to meet in person. It would have been much easier if we were all able to sit in a room together (there would be far less technical difficulties!) but I think we all managed quite well regardless.

What do you feel more confident about putting on your CV as a result of your experience at Falwriting?

Being able to work as part of, and make contributions to, a team of writers and editors from across different disciplines and being able to work to a schedule. The editing experience is also something I feel confident about putting on my CV.

I also know how to work Squarespace now, which is a plus!

What were the pros and cons of running a university online magazine through a global pandemic?

Having to work solely from my bedroom was a bit of a struggle. The main cons, however, were not being able to meet in person and being limited to a laptop that has a very temperamental relationship with Teams. Although, I think the pro here was that it showed how resilient we all are. Another pro is that we had some great content from students related to the pandemic.

What are you working on at the moment?

I have just finished my master’s degree in Professional Writing at Falmouth and a final project draft that will hopefully, one day, be on a bookshelf somewhere! I am also in the beginning stages of planning and creating a blog with a friend and fellow Falmouth graduate, Amber, which we are currently referring to as The Pangolin Project. The idea for the blog stemmed from a monologue Amber had written about pangolins and pangolin poaching, and a number of discussions about what we were going to do after uni. We decided that we would try to blend our collective interests – writing, creating, and editing – with the hope to draw more attention to pangolins and the threats they face.

Where are you hoping to go next?

Well, the goal for a long time was to become an English teacher, but I am not sure I have the confidence to stand in front of people and convince them I know what I’m talking about yet! Perhaps an internship somewhere? Or perhaps a job in a cosy little book shop, where I can scope out the new literary trends whilst I finish my novel?