I've got a dream, do you?

I want to be an editor. I don't know that it would be my dream job, because a dream job seems like something glamorous and fabulous. When I was little, I wanted to be a princess. That seems more like a dream job--I'd be waited on hand and foot, while still getting to rule a kingdom someday. Being an editor is more about the nitty gritty of the writing process. It's hard, laborious work, but it's what I want to do. It's my dream.

I'd want to work at a renowned publishing company, like here at Penguin books. In reality, I think what company I work for will be dictated by where the company is. I know I shouldn't be picky in today's market, but I'm going to be picky anyway. Some of my friends joke that they could see me in New York, working there as a book editor, walking my French bulldog in Central Park on my lunch break. Another friend thinks that I should open a bookstore over a coffee shop in the Buckhead region of Atlanta. I see myself working somewhere in Texas, with its wide open spaces and space to breathe. I'd actually be very happy to work at Texas Monthly, even if it's a magazine and not a publishing company. I've heard great things about it. Just as long as I can edit other people's writings, I'll be happy.

At the same time, I can't imagine leaving my small-town life for big-city dreams. So maybe there's a way to combine the two somehow. And hopefully I can look as fabulous as this girl while doing so.

But without the glasses, please.