SCHOOL MAG GUIDE 6: PUBLISHINGThe last stage in the creative process can be pressurised, so now is a crucial time for keeping a cool head, writes LOUISE HOLDEN

THIS WEEK you should be fighting with, or hopefully co-operating with, the printer on the last few details of your school magazine. Or, if you’re making an e-zine or printing in-house, you should be proof-reading the nearly-finished result.

This stage of the process can be a bit stressful, but don’t let typos, lost images or missing paragraphs get you down. This is all part of the process. If you can keep your head when all your headlines have turned to wing-dings, you’ll be an editor.

Editors and writers may clash at this stage too, over the final look of their precious articles. Try not to let decisions get personal – just because a sub doesn’t like your opening line doesn’t mean you have to walk off the project. Writers, fight for what you really believe in, but not too hard.

This is a time for attention to detail. Issues you never considered, like where to put your page numbers, or what font to use for your bylines (the names of the writers to go with articles), queue up for attention at the very time you think the job is done.

Don’t get sloppy now, because these little decisions can really add to the consistency and style of your mag. You should have decided on a cover by now and if you have, don’t compromise your publication’s front door with too much information.

Sometimes a really good cover image is ruined with last minute additions. All text on the cover should be considered imagery as well as information – give enough to entice the reader in, but not so much that the impact is lost.

When proof-reading, you can’t have too many pairs of eyes. Make sure that everyone’s work is proofed by the person who wrote it, the person who sub-edited it, and if possible, by a third party who did neither. That’s the best way to ensure that no careless mistakes creep through.

Friday’s the deadline and our judges are dying to get stuck into this year’s Schoolmag selection, so thanks to everyone who put the effort in over the last few months. See you at the awards!

The deadline for the Schoolmag competition is this Friday, February 27th.