Nobody tells you about the transcribing.

You probably got into magazines because you like writing. Maybe you wanted to hang out with celebrities or play video games for a living. And sure, that’s (usually) fun. But, oh god, the transcribing.

Endless monotonous hours listening to your own idiotic voice, replaying the same bits over and over again because you mumbled. Your vacant questions. Their awkward laughter. The absolute certainty that one day your dictaphone will die mid-interview.

Transcribing is, without doubt, the worst thing in this working world. It’s a carnival mirror of your own inadequacies.

And it takes fucking ages.

Will Salmon | Freelance writer