Each week for the last decade, Amanda Sheriff has prepared Scoop for publication. Not always without help, but the overwhelming volume of what we deliver in each Friday’s edition comes from her keyboard. And what doesn’t come from her keyboard, goes through it anyhow, since she also proofs what other contributors write.

She celebrated the tenth anniversary of her second stint at Gemstone Publishing two weeks ago, so it seemed like a great time for us to turn the tables and ask her the questions for once.

Scoop: When you were with Gemstone the first time, you were pretty immersed in writing Scoop. Were you already a collector at that point or did that come as a side-effect of the job?
Amanda Sheriff (AS): I still owned some of my favorite childhood toys, and I was collecting things like books and DVDs, but that was about it. Gemstone was my first job out of college, so I didn’t have the extra income to really collect yet. Once I started working with Gemstone, however, I became much more interested in collecting.

Scoop: In many of our publications – but particularly in Scoop – we end up writing about a very wide array of collectibles, including ones with which we have no personal connection. Your original tenure was a bit of a crash course in that. How would you describe your approach to writing about what other people collect when it’s not something you collect personally?
AS: Every type of collectible means something to somebody, so it doesn’t matter if I collect it or that I even understand it. What I see is that people are passionate about a topic, so they, and their collections, deserve to be treated with respect and enthusiasm. That’s my starting point. If I’m covering a subject I’m not well versed in, I do research into why the material is collectible – its historical or cultural significance, value in the secondary market, things like that. Listening to collectors talk about why they care about those collectibles is also a great tool for understanding why all of these things we collect matter.

Scoop: Flipping that around, how do you maintain a professional approach to the niches you do collect?
AS: That can actually be tougher! It can be challenging to truncate everything I love about a type of collectible, property, or franchise into a reasonable amount of text. Usually, I’ll end up writing several paragraphs, then realize I’ve gone a bit overboard, so I switch to editor mode and summarize areas that were too long. It’s also important to be objectively aware of how popular something is in the larger collecting market, and cover it accordingly.

Scoop: In between the time you first worked with us and when you returned, it seemed to me you had become a much more focused or experienced collector. Is that fair to say, and if so, to what do you attribute that?
AS: That’s 100% accurate. Part of it is because I finally had some money to spend on collecting! [laughs] Early in our relationship, my husband, Mike, and I started going to horror, comic, and pop culture conventions. At first, my interest was in meeting actors from movies and TV shows I liked, but the cons opened a world of collecting to me. So, I started buying action figures, movie posters, comics, and other fun stuff that I am interested in now or that I loved as a kid. Mike is also a collector, so we’re a pair of enablers who encourage each other’s collecting habits.

Scoop: What made you want to come back to Gemstone?
AS: In between working at Gemstone, I was editing the Pennsylvania Bulletin, which is the weekly legislative newsletter for the state of Pennsylvania. It’s a necessary publication, but not exactly the most exciting subject matter. My mind would wander back to how fun and invigorating it was when I was writing about Superman and Bugs Bunny in Scoop. The first time I worked for Gemstone, I knew I was lucky to have such a cool job. That understanding became much greater when proofreading changes to child support laws or applications to the Department of Environmental Protection.  

Scoop: In the years since, you’ve written thousands of Scoop articles. What are some of your favorites?
AS: Oh wow, that’s a lot to think about. In general terms, I enjoy writing character profiles and anniversaries (“Bucky Barnes: 80 Years as a Sidekick, Winter Soldier, and Captain America”), I try to write thoughtful tributes when someone passes away (“In Memoriam: Carrie Fisher”), and I’ve written a few on tracking comics that have sold for over $1 million (“Growth of the Million Dollar Comic Sales”). There are many more.

Scoop: Scoop covers a lot of different topics on a weekly basis. What is your overall goal for the website and e-newsletter?
AS: My goal is to be informative and entertaining. In Scoop, we let people know about news within the industry – from new comic imprints to the latest comic-based movie trailers, exciting results from auctions and what material will be open for bidding soon, and upcoming conventions or gallery shows. We also write about the background and history of comic and cartoon characters, profiles on comic creators and other creative types, and the history of how toys were created. And we do all of this with positivity. That’s a key component to Scoop. There’s a lot of negativity out there on social media, comment sections, and other news websites. It’s not in Scoop. We never cover stuff that isn’t good or that we don’t like just to tear it down. We cover news and auctions with objectivity, we only review comics we think people will enjoy, and the evergreen content is meant to showcase the good stuff!

Scoop: Over the years, you’ve done interviews with comic creators, actors, collectors, and others. What do those conversations add to Scoop?
AS: Interviews are meant to provide context about a book or a character or a movie, etc., and get to know the person behind them. It’s also a chance to understand how talented people are and how hard they work in their respective field. I spent an hour and a half on the phone with Mike Grell listening to him talk about his process for creating characters or storylines and it forever changed the way I see those characters. I’ve interviewed actors like Tricia Helfer from Battlestar Galactica who talked about the practical side of filmmaking. It’s also interesting to find out how people got into their respective industry and their process for creating work. Hopefully aspiring comic creators or actors find that information helpful and inspiring.

Scoop: You’ve also written or co-written a number of Overstreet books (in addition to editing and contributing to many others). What are the ones you’ve enjoyed the most?
AS: The Overstreet Guide to Collecting Horror is my favorite book I’ve written. I’m a horror buff, so I was well versed in the subject, and it was the first book I pitched for inclusion in our “how to” line. That one was also special because it was genre-focused, so I covered multiple types of collectibles. The Overstreet Guide to Collecting Movie Posters is also a favorite because I collect movie posters and it was my first book.

Scoop: What are some ones you’d still like to do?
AS: Second volumes of the ones I just mentioned! I think it would also be interesting to write some more character/title/franchise specific books like our Overstreet Price Guide to Star Wars Collectibles and The Overstreet Price Guide to Batman. Maybe someday the story ideas percolating in my noggin will turn into books or comics.

Scoop: You cover a lot of comic book and original comic art auctions, so over the last decade you’ve written about an incredible number of record sales. What has surprised you about them?
AS: There have been a few books, art pages, toys, and sports memorabilia that sold well beyond what I would’ve expected, but all you need are two people who desperately want something to drive bidding up to record heights. Sometimes I’m surprised by how a handful of artists will command huge results no matter what, and artists who are at the same level, talent wise, don’t. The period during and just after COVID-19 produced a lot of records. That wasn’t so much a surprise as it was interesting to see more and more records being set at a fast pace.

Scoop: Your job is deadline-oriented, so every week you’re on the clock to get Scoop done and out to the readers. How do you keep the routine from getting monotonous? How do you make sure you still love the topics you’re covering?
AS: I’m actually a fan of routine because it keeps things familiar, structured, and easier to remember. There are days that I feel sluggish or uninspired, but they are the rarity, because even on those days, I’m still writing about really cool stuff! I’ve been a fan of pop culture since I was a kid. I don’t just enjoy what I watch or read and then immediately forget about it. I like to learn about the background, the history, and context of media, and how it impacts us as consumers. To me, that’s invigorating, and I get to share that with likeminded people every week.  

Scoop: When you’re not at your desk writing articles for Scoop or Overstreet books, what have been some of your most significant experiences working for Gemstone?
AS: Oh, that’s a lot. I started writing for fun in third grade, so I realized my lifelong dream of writing a book. I’m blessed to work with a great group of people like Gemstone President J.C. Vaughn and our Editor – Print Mark Huesman, among many others. Not only have I enjoyed the spectacle of San Diego Comic-Con a few times, I’ve also been a panelist at the premier comic and pop culture mecha. I had the surreal experience of drinking a Harley Quinn themed cocktail with Amanda Conner; I interviewed Doug Jones, a great actor whose credits include Hellboy, Star Trek, and so much more; and Linnea Quigley, a 1980s horror movie scream queen and icon, wrote the foreword for The Overstreet Guide to Collecting Horror. I’ve met so many amazing people while working at Gemstone, most importantly my husband, who works for our sister company, Hake’s Auctions. My time with the company has been pretty great and I look forward to many more years at Gemstone Publishing.

– J.C. Vaughn