Q-and-A With Adam Collins

Mudhoney
Incubus
Stone Temple Pilots
Skid Row
Young Jeezy

Ratt
Usher
Lisa Loeb
Everclear
Saxon

I’m not a poet. But Bonfire’s Chief Editor Adam Collins is. In fact, he’s got a manuscript forthcoming, and you can bet it’s better than any music-inspired crap I came up with. (I worked really hard on that, too.)

Meet Adam.

You currently live in Portland. Where did you move from? Why Portland?

Adam: I’m from a small Civil War town in Southern West Virginia called Lewisburg. I went to school in Huntington, West Virginia, at Marshall University where I studied English literature and creative writing. I moved to Portland to go to graduate school for my master’s in book publishing.

I visited Portland with a friend who was looking at a program, and he wanted to check out the city beforehand. I loved it. I came back one more time and still loved it, and that’s when I got serious about schools here.

Why the publishing program? 

Adam: I did one semester of English literature at Marshall toward a master’s. But at that point, I was so sick of writing literature papers. I couldn’t even imagine doing a thesis or a doctorate, so after a semester of that and agonizing through those papers, I decided not to do it. I wanted to go into creative writing or editing, so I applied to a few writing programs on the West Coast and the book publishing program at Portland State University. I got accepted to the writing programs and the publishing program, but I only had the money to visit one. I’d already visited Portland and I knew I loved it so I started looking for apartments, and that was it.

Why did you want to become an editor? 

Adam: I can be a writer without an MFA. I can write poetry without an MFA. And I wasn’t sure if I wanted to teach or not. I considered my master’s in literature so I could teach, but I’m not sure if I would make a good teacher. So I decided to go the editing route because I know I’m good with words. And I’m very analytical when it comes to grammar and sentence structure. That was always my strength with my papers. It’s also a universal job. Everyone needs an editor — everyone.

Did you find it difficult transitioning from an editing role in book publishing to one in marketing? 

Adam: One of the biggest differences is the style, Chicago versus AP, which was really tough for me to adjust to. Also developmental editing. I feel like I don’t do as much developmental editing now. Creative writing requires that extra step, and though I’m definitely thinking about structure while I’m editing marketing materials, I’m not always a subject matter expert. So it can be hard for me to add anything to the developmental part of it. I can tell people where to insert more information, but I can’t always guide where that information comes from. Whereas with editing books, it all has to do with a self-contained world. You can map that world out in your head and discover what’s missing, so you become a subject matter expert on that book.

What’s the toughest part of your job?

Adam: The fact checking. And knowing that everyone is reading what is said as truth and you have to keep people accountable for that. It’s hard — especially when information comes from multiple sources — to compare all the data. I’m not going to be an expert at everything, but I have to grasp what it is in a short period of time in order to have the authority to say that it’s truth.

Why is editing so important in digital marketing?

Adam: There’s so much crap on the internet. So much noise and misleading information and straight up false information, so it’s important that information gets a final stamp of approval from somebody who can verify that it’s true.

It’s the worst thing to see something posted on social media that you know is a blatant lie. When false information is shared, it automatically diminishes the trust you have in that person or organization. It affects your image of them, or your respect for their word. People don’t put as much research into what they put out there, so it’s important to have someone like an editor push people toward the truth.

Do you collect anything or did you when you were a kid?

Adam: It goes without saying: I love books. I had a rule that I had to own every book that I ever read. And I quickly learned never to loan out anything from my collection. My parents still have boxes and boxes of children’s books from when I was a kid. I probably can give them permission to give them away, and I should because I’m not attached to them anymore, but they still keep them for memories, or for future grandkids — way future grandkids.

What’s your favorite book?

Adam: Hmm, I don’t really have a favorite book. If you go by what I’ve read the most, I’ve read “Interview With the Vampire” four times. That’s the only book I’ve read more than once. I love vampire stories and Anne Rice. I love any stories that have to do with immortality, really. I want to live forever.

What is your prized possession?

Adam: I hate to keep bringing it back to books, but it’s my bookcase. My grandfather’s a talented woodworker, and he built it for me as a graduation gift. It’s huge, made from solid cherry with heavy sliding glass doors, and every year, from ages 18 to 27, I moved this massive bookcase that takes at least three people to carry. He carved my name in the top. It’s held up amazingly well, except when my dog, Sadie, was a puppy, she chewed the bottom corners. It’s worn a little since then, so they don’t look as bad, and I’ve re-stained and blended it in. I’ve forgiven her.

Related resources:

• Fireside Chat: Q-and-A With Katie Beymer
• Fact-Checking Guide for Content Marketers
• 11 Ridiculously Overdue Library Books (That Were Finally Returned)