The Professionals: Magazine Writer, Joanna Goddard

The Professionals is a new Imprint column, where we invite people with established careers to confess about their professional lives. Think of it like a virtual careers' day.

First up is Joanna Goddard, a magazine writer living in New York City. She currently blogs for Glamour, and runs her own personal blog, Cup of Jo. She also freelances for media powerhouses, like New York Magazine and Elle.

Image Courtesy of Joanna Goddard

Joanna, when did you know you wanted to work in magazines? When I was in junior high, I would go into our family's den for hours writing even just a few lines. I adored reading and writing to a nutty degree--for example, I believed in Peter Pan (truly thought that he'd come to my window!) until I was embarrassingly old. I took advanced English classes in high school and majored in English in college. But it wasn't until my senior year in college that writing for magazines (versus writing books or teaching English) occurred to me. My then-boyfriend suggested it, and suddenly it all clicked. I was like, Yes! This is what I was meant to do!

What do you feel really propelled you into the industry? And what was the first step? After graduating from the University of Michigan, I saved up a couple thousand dollars by working three random summer jobs, and, that fall, I moved to New York. (I rented a tiny, cockroach-filled apartment with a friend--and slept on the floor in the living room for a year!) I interned at Cosmopolitan Magazine (for free) for a few months, and worked side jobs and just tried to do as much as I possibly could. I accepted every single assignment or job that came my way. I didn't turn anything down. I worked for free a lot at the beginning, to get my foot in the door, and made a (teeny) salary by working part-time evening jobs, like tutoring. Once I had Cosmo on my resume, it helped me get paying jobs at other magazines.

What was the moment (if any) where you just felt completely reassured about who you were or what you were doing professionally? I wrote a story for New York Magazine last spring about New Yorkers who always dress in the same color (gray, green, pink...) It was a really fun story to scout for and write, and lots of people responded well to it. Kanye West even blogged about it! It was really funny, and at that moment, I felt like, yes, this is where I've wanted to be. That said, you have to always stay current in the magazine world, and, as my boyfriend, who is also a writer, says, you're only as good as your last story. So you have to keep on plugging along!

Do you surround yourself with people with similar career goals? I grew up in Michigan and didn't know a single person in the magazine industry. (I always wished that my parents had powerful media friends, but no such luck.) So I was heading into it on my own. But after I moved to New York, I naturally gravitated to people in journalism, so many of my friends now are in the same field.

Does magazine writing really take over your life? In other words: If it is your job to write about an exciting life, do you find it necessary to live that life? Absolutely. Absolutely. A thousand percent. I am ALWAYS thinking of story ideas. When I meet new people, or am talking to old friends, I'm always, always, always staying aware of potential stories in the back of my mind. (Oh? You said you're moving into a houseboat? Oh? You were a bridesmaid 20 times? Oh? Your brother left his finance job to be a farmer upstate?) You have to constantly be on the lookout.

And I definitely network ALL the time. When you work for magazines, your social life is often blended with your work life. I have lunches with colleagues, attend media events whenever I can, try to accept lots of personal invitations, invite people out to dinner even if I don't know them very well, stay in touch with people via email, chat with people on the street, host big parties a few times a year so I can keep up these contacts (plus, it's just fun!), etc. etc. etc. I definitely think it's important to create a large community of like-minded people. Not only is it lovely and fun to get to know all these fascinating people, but, as you advance in your career, many, many jobs and assignments are via word of mouth, and most magazine articles are inspired by people you know, so it's important to stay in the loop and create a community around you.

One final tip: It's great to network both "up and down." Connect with your bosses and people you want to emulate--but also with your interns, assistants and co-workers. That way, you can all help each other as you move forward. You never know where someone will end up!

Do you feel blogs are beneficial, or prepare individuals for the real industry? Yes, blogs are very beneficial for networking (such lovely people in the blogging community!) and getting your name out there. They also keep you current on your subject--whether it's travel, design or fashion. And blogging is just really fun. There are so many talented, fabulous people and fresh voices out there; I love the whole community.

But blogging is wildly different from the print magazine industry. Blogging is much more straightforward than writing for magazines, which is incredibly competitive, critical and multi-faceted. Magazine stories sometimes look easy but there is so much work behind the scenes that you'd never know about. When you write a magazine article, you have the pitch, the original assignment, deadlines, interviews, scouting, typically a more formal writing style, extra demands (that the story be timely and new with multiple levels, etc.), word counts, the tone of the magazine you're writing for, fact-checking, multiple rounds of editing, assignments changing for a million different reasons, editors with their own requests and viewpoints, publicists, calling in products for photo shoots, dealing with the art department, etc.

It definitely takes time to learn all the ins and outs. But it's a really exciting and fun challenge and never gets boring--and it's such a thrill when your story comes out!

So, where do you see the industry going in another 5 or so years? Is print really dying? I do think that magazines are having a tough time at the moment. Lots of editorial is moving to the web, and publications (such as the New York Times and Glamour, which I blog for) are pouring lots of money and talent into their websites. Blogging is a great way to get your foot in the door, since you can try to guest blog for magazines or write a story for a web magazine, like the Huffington Post. I think the web will be a much larger force within the magazine world in five years, and I'm really excited for that! But I hope magazines can make it through this hard economic time, because holding a print magazine in your hand with the stunning photos and fantastic text and gorgeous layouts--that's the true art form. (My heart swells!)

What have you learned from your career about your life in general, and vice versa?

• Be nice to people. This is so, so, so important, not only in regular life, but also in your career. I've seen people skyrocket to success since people simply enjoy working with them, whereas I know a couple of very talented people who are held back because they are cantankerous and hard to get along with. It's too bad for them (and us), because they could be so successful and have so many great things to say. It's amazing how much just being nice and upbeat matters. Plus, isn't it, well, just nicer to be nice?

• Learn from criticism but don't take it personally. This has been hard for me because I get really sad when I am criticized and take it personally. But my mom always says to take it in stride, and I'm definitely learning to have a thicker skin. The magazine world is really tough and it's your job to take criticism, so it's something you need to learn how to do and benefit from. Even media giants--Malcolm Gladwell,Vanessa Grigoriadis, Eric Wilson, Guy Trebay, Anthony Lane--get criticized constantly by their editors, I'm sure. It's just part of the job, and you have to remember that criticism is good and will only help you and your work.

• Just do it. It's important to take risks to move forward. You can say, "Oh this will never work out..." or "I'm sure they won't be interested in my idea..." but you never know until you try. I've pitched lots of ideas that have been turned down, but sometimes the most "out there" ones end up being the best. Just keep believing in yourself and reaching up and up!

• Take time for yourself. I can be a bit of a workaholic, but my boyfriend has taught me that it's really important to take time to do...absolutely nothing. To take an evening walk around the neighborhood with no destination. To sit by the water and watch the waves. To lie down on your bed, stare out the window and just let your mind wander. These moments of quiet relaxation are essential to having a life of well-being and balance. You need those moments to recharge and refresh. Sometimes I'll find my boyfriend sitting in an armchair after work, just peacefully staring into space. It makes me laugh, but he says he's just relaxing and letting his mind wander. What a great lesson!