Why I've resigned from In Retrospect magazine

In which G.M. Norton explains why he's stepped down as magazine editor.

A couple of weeks ago, I made the decision to leave my position as Editor-at-Large at In Retrospect magazine.

I've mentioned the magazine on this periodical before. In fact, I've dedicated entries centred completely on the printed publication.

Before being asked to join the editorial team, I was a contributor from the very beginning going back to when it started out in digital format back in Spring 2014. Since then, there was a successful Kickstarter campaign to get the magazine into print and then in February 2015 I picked up the editorial reins alongside Mat and Ava.

It's took a lot to walk away from something that I still have a deep fondness for, so I should really explain how my stint in the editor's chair is now over.

In truth, if you delve beneath the jolly exterior that I like to present, I've been out of sorts for the last 18 months or so.

It's only recently that I've come to realise this "out of sorts" feeling was depression.

I touched on feeling like this in July last year. By October of the same year, I breezily announced that I'd found my 'mojo'. As I now know, that was my first bout of depression.

I wanted to hide away. I stopped caring about things. I felt numb. Life had stopped feeling fun, stopped being a lark.

So it was a huge relief when I started to feel like my normal self again. But it didn't last for long before that numb feeling returned, but for a much longer period.

I had a bad spell only recently, intensified when a chap at the office committed suicide.

After much mulling over, I decided that the time was right to resign from In Retrospect.

I'd had enough. And as bad as it sounds, like a lot of other things, I stopped caring about it. This blog started a little over five years ago and although I only publish once a week and cherish this place dearly, it is a commitment. But add writing for Vintage Dancer (which I've not done anything for since April) and trying to build and grow a published magazine, and I was a busy fellow. That's not to add a full-time office position and family life.

So I decided for my sanity that I needed to stop carrying some of the weight.

I'm hoping that this will help me, I already feel much better. I need time to recover, time to not have deadlines looming over me like a dark shadow. Recently, there's been a big enough shadow to contend with.

So my plan is to continue with my weekly periodical posts here which I love, and have a little more time for myself and importantly, to spend it with my little family.

Perhaps one day I will return to writing for a magazine, as writing is a passion, but not today or tomorrow. 

G.M. Norton

Protagonist of 'Norton of Morton'

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