Tearing my hair out

Back when I had pretensions of getting into the publishing world (via the editors desk), I would volunteer to do work experience time with any publishing house that was willing to take me. This time was usually spent going through slush piles they had no intention of reading anyways, or answering phones. Occasionally I'd do something neat like write reviews/PR blurbs for upcoming releases. Whenever I did try to learn something, like work out the intricacies of Macintosh's, for one, the designers and layout-people would hover defensively over their keyboards and monitors, like they didn't even want me to see what was going on. I just figured that they were exercising their creative licences and were hired for their professional eccentricities. That, or they'd done too much cocaine over lunch. Now, though, I'm beginning to see why they don't want anyone to "touch their stuff". For I have started the bog end of layouts and editing. I've set correct margins and page lengths and the one second I get one page to look good, something bleeds over into the next page and the other 75% of test then gets put out of whack. It's like moating water in the middle of a sandcastle. It all escapes somehow. I'm starting to get all teeth-gnashy. I am talking to my monitor, using expletives I normally reserve for the neighbourhood dogs who crap in my garden. Still, it's fun. Wish me luck before this sends me loopy..... ...or is it too late for that?