Valentine's Day falls in February this year

I ran into Kim, who used to work for me in the magazine business. As we were parting ways, I wished her a happy Valentine’s Day.

“Yes, isn’t it nice to celebrate holidays with everyone else?”

Few people outside the business give that any thought. Back in the days of manual cut and paste, a monthly magazine was often put to bed two or three months before issue date. You knew people didn’t realize that because you’d get editorial submissions a couple weeks ahead of newsstand time. The printed publications were already on the trucks.

The creation process began well before that. Imagine sitting around a hot office in July, coming up with Christmas article ideas. I had also been in the greeting card business, and that might’ve been more challenging. When you come in with sweat on your brow, it’s a real change of gears to evaluate snowy artwork.

There’s more to it than product work. You’re also ramping up with seasonal marketing and sales. By the time the holiday rolls around, you’re about burnt out on it. Everyone else is celebrating Christmas and you're already reviewing Easter copy.

I enjoy Valentine’s Day and look forward to it even more this year, thanks to Kim. It will be nice to celebrate it with everyone else.