meet your new managing editor (acting)

so, the mat-leave situation at work has been hashed out, and the whole of the managing-editor job has been offered to me. or, more accurately, my boss said he would like me to do it and asked if i would.

if you recall, the previous idea was that i'd share the job with one of my colleagues (not leonard!), but he apparently asked for a ridiculous amount of money. the department can't afford it, and my boss was a little peeved that my colleague would ask for so much... so, he withdrew the offer altogether from my colleague and slid all of it over to me.

apparently, the woman in charge of our department (my boss's boss) is all over this idea, citing my organizational abilities and what a natural transition this would be. and, given that i do love an organizational challenge, this is sort of right up my alley. the job would basically entail overseeing the editorial content of two magazines. that will include assigning stories, tracking progress, managing freelancers, copy editing and proofreading, as well as all manner of client-relations stuff. even though the latter portion of that job description isn't tops on my "stuff i love doing" list, i'm also enough of a grown-up to know how to conduct myself with clients, no matter how ridiculous their demands.

on the upside, this means i'll be employed full-time for at least the next four months. my boss said they may get the go-ahead to hire someone on contract (for the remaining seven or eight months of the mat leave) if the hiring freeze is lifted in the fall, but let's be honest: if i'm kicking ass in the job by then, they're not going shove me aside to have someone brand new try to step in at that point. and my boss said the decision as to whether to extend my filling in to a full year would actually be up to me. "if you wanted it to," he said when i asked about it.

on the further upside, it also means a pay increase. i'm not sure what it'll be yet (they're checking with accounting to see what the salary range is for a managing editor), but it'll certainly be more than what i make now. and i'll be working more hours: instead of a three- or four-day week, i'll probably be working five-day weeks most weeks. i have a new hourly rate in my head -- a figure that would be great if i could get it -- and a "no less than" number, as well. i'm not interested in the added work and responsibility if i'll only get an extra dollar an hour more.

either way, i go back to the office starting on tuesday, and will be stepping into a new, bigger role. as reluctant as i was to take this job a few months ago -- i believe my exact response when someone floated the notion of me filling the position was "HELL, NO!!!!" -- i'm actually kind of excited about it.