OK, I had a good night's sleep last night, and the creativity is FLOWING. Don't wear your good shoes, it's ankle-deep up in here. The creativity, that is.
As a special treat for you kids, today's post will be a good one. Seriously. (Some might shy away from rating their own post's quality. What I lack in humility, I make up for in awesomeness.) I'm going to give you guys a behind the scenes look at omarphillips.net. A backstage pass, if you will. Gather 'round, as we take a look at the anatomy of an omarphillips.net post.
4:00 pm - Brainstorming session: I meet with the writing team over ice cream and pie to throw out a bunch of ideas. This often results in raucous laughter and occasionally a food fight. Good times.
4:45 - 6:00 pm: Everyone has typically calmed down by 4:45-ish, and usually one or two good ideas for posts have risen to the top. The team completes two drafts of each idea, each draft has a different ending. Nobody knows what the final post is going to look like until much later in the process. It's my site, I get to make the final call. I like to be mysterious. And I like to make them do extra work, because some of those writers can be dangerous if they don't have enough work on their plates.
6:00 pm: Dinner break
6:15 pm: Break's over for the staff. We're on a deadline.
7:30 - 9:00 pm: Break's over for me at 7:30. It's my site, I make the rules. The work from the writing team is then handed over to the design group. It is here where we take the written story and turn it into a complete visual experience. (That's right, I went there. I called this site a visual experience.) Text is bolded, blockquotes inserted, graphics are included. These are pretty intense people, and they know how to make a story POP (see? that was their handywork right there).
9:00 - 9:30 pm: It's decision time. I sit with both of the ideas, a magic 8-ball, and my lucky pen; and I carefully examine all proposed ideas and endings. By 9:30, it's set in stone. During this time, the writing and design teams wait eagerly to find out what the decision is.
9:30 pm: I stand on a 3-foot high pedestal in the meeting room and disclose my decision. This generally results in cheers from part of the group, while the remainder are either giving me the finger or crying. I told you, these guys are intense.
9:35 pm: I ride out on the shoulders of those who are still speaking with me and head over to meet with the editing group. It's sometimes uncomfortable when I walk into the editing room while on the shoulders of others. Some feel like I'm just gloating that I am the boss. Frankly, I don't care. I am the boss.
9:40 - 11:00 pm: The editing team is the last group to look at the post prior to publishing. Any mistakes that you see in posts are their fault.
Important Note: I had to fire 3 of them after that "homocide" spelling mistake a few posts ago. They didn't want to rat each other out and nobody would fess up, so I let 'em all go.
When they are finished, they are responsible for clicking "Save as Draft."
One time, a former employee accidentally clicked "Publish Post" instead of saving it as a draft. His body has been mounted on the wall in the editing room to serve as a reminder. Oh he's alive, but he
hates life right now.
I make them finish by 11, but there is no set time when I actually publish the post. It's me keeping up with the mysterious theme. So at my leisure, I read through it, and eventually click "Publish Post." Then I take all the credit when all the warm, loving comments flow in.
Some might wonder how I can continue to be a loving husband and caring father while maintaining a day job (that I love) and doing this. Keep wondering, because I'll never tell.
