Each month, we will interview one employee to get their opinions on the publishing industry, hear what it’s like to work at Technica, and learn a little bit about them. This month we are interviewing Taylor Kane, an editorial assistant and Orange County, North Carolina native.
This is your first full-time job. What drew you to working in the publishing industry?
I think I’ve always had an eye for editing. I was often the kid in school who would get done with their work early, so I would spend quite a bit of my time helping other kids with editing their papers. Additionally, I think that the material that we publish drew me to the industry. It motivates me to know that what I’m doing helps add to the available knowledge in different scientific fields, which can then be used for further advancement in those fields. In a way, I feel like I’m contributing to a greater cause. I also really like that I get to work with so many people from different countries. As someone who was an anthropology major and women and gender studies minor, I’ve always taken an interest in different cultures and lifestyles. I love that I get to communicate with people who are miles and miles away, and it kind of makes me feel more connected to the world around me.
What is your favorite thing about working at Technica?
I really love the community. Everyone is so funny, nice, caring, and helpful. I feel so accepted, and everyone gets along so well here. I like that there’s always something that you can share with someone and bond over, too.
What have you learned about publishing since working at Technica?
I have learned that this position existed! In school, when we talked about the peer-review process, it was simply put that reviewers looked at authors’ papers and communicated with an editor. I never knew about the person who was the editorial assistant. That never even came up in school. There’s this invisible person who handles all the correspondence and does a lot of the technical editing. The peer-review process is a lot more intricate than I originally thought!
What do you like doing when you aren’t at work?
I like playing video games, drawing cartoons, watching movies and television, and spending time with my cats, Pixie and Peanut (they’re adorable). I also like occasionally studying Japanese and spending time with my family.
If you could time-travel, where and when would you go and why?
I would like to go into the future and just see where I am in life. I wonder how our world will change in just the upcoming years.
What’s your favorite book or the best book you have read recently?
I would say my favorite book is The Awakening by Kate Chopin. I love that Chopin gave a voice to some women in the 1890s, and I especially love the beautiful imagery in her writing. Although it’s only written from an upper-class, white woman’s perspective, it was still groundbreaking and inspirational for its time.
