You may have read a great issue of the Family Times while looking for exciting new events to take the kids, or read an interesting health article written by a medical professional in The Greater Princeton Area Ask the Doctor. If these sound familiar to you, then you already know a bit about Gunther Publications!

With four print publications including The Millstone Times, Family Times, The Greater Princeton Area Ask the Doctor and Monmouth County’s Ask the Doctor, our company targets community resources in the local market to help capture and develop new print advertising strategies.

As one of the leading independent publishers in New Jersey, our mission is to use the pages of each of our publications and free magazines as a “voice” to connect local businesses and charities with the families in their neighborhoods. We love to make a difference in our communities.

Every month, we’ll be highlighting employees and clients of our company. You can get the latest scoop Inside Gunther Publications and learn more about what we do, why we do it and how much we love it!

In this “issue” of Inside Gunther Publications, we meet Susan Heckler, Managing Editor of Gunther Publications. She spoke about her daily duties in this important role, being a mentor to young writers and the rewarding parts of her job. Read on!

GUNTHER Publishing Enterprises, Inc.

Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself -where you’re from, education, whatever you’d like to share!

I grew up in Woodmere, Long Island. I went to college at Bernard M Baruch College in NYC where I got my degree in International Marketing.

I have been living in NJ, between Freehold and Manalapan, for 31 years where I have raised my three kids: Jenna (30), Alex (25) and Brad (23).

Q: What is your current position at Gunther Publications? Give us a “day in the life” of your responsibilities!

I have been with Gunther Publications for six years, beginning as a freelance writer, and started working on advertising sales two years ago. I have been the Managing Editor since February. My “day in the life” is to juggle several responsibilities based on priorities.

I balance writing 20+ articles monthly and I choose and assign the other articles for the four publications. Gunther Publications enjoys having high school and college interns working with us year-round. I am currently mentoring two high school students who aspire to be journalism majors, and over the summer I worked with four college students to help them grow as writers.

I work with advertising clients to help them promote their businesses within our pages, so I help them with the wording and design to get their word out. I do a lot of networking all over Central NJ to promote our brand.

I also do the layout for the four publications, which means determining what goes in page by page, working hand in hand with our graphic artist and amazing sales reps to do what is best for the readers’ interests as well as our advertisers.

Q: What skills have you acquired in this role, and what do you think are the most important qualities to be a managing editor?

Every day is a learning experience as I am new to the publishing business. The writing comes fairly easy to me, learning the new so ware is a challenge and the nuances of the business too. I am a people person, so networking is a time-consuming pleasure for me as is working with our readers and wonderful customers. At the end of the day, seeing the positive feedback from both readers and advertisers is really rewarding as is seeing my hours of work in print form.

Q: What advice do you have for young professionals trying to break into a similar role or industry?

If you have an interest in something or a talent for it, go with your strengths. Use every opportunity to learn and experience more. You may not think it is of value right this minute but every lesson learned makes you smarter and better in one way or another.