The Professionals: GQ Writer, Cole Louison - Page 2

How closely do you work with the GQ staff of photographers, editors, etc. on a given assignment?

Full spectrum. I did a piece about how an Alaskan fishing vessel sank, and sat down with art and edit and we decided exactly how it would look on the page, how the text and illustrations would fit together, the colors, the shape of the life rafts, everything. Then sometimes you send in a story and that's it. My closest relationships are with the editors and older reporters. But maybe it's important to say here that in such a competitive environment, or really any environment, the most important thing you bring is yourself. Your own ideas and your own work, because if you want to be apart from the fray, you I think need to NOT just copy everyone else, and trust those things you don't agree with, and trust what you feel's important.  

What's your day-to-day like? Or, week-to-week? 

Monthlies have a rough schedule where there's a slow week, two normal weeks, then a shipping week where you stay late. That could mean till 8 or that could mean till 2. Really. Because magazines have edit, prod, art, photo, and fact-checking departments, and while this monthly creature is forming you need to make sure it's all timely, making sure it's all accurate, making sure Champagne is writ right, then as it's page by page shipping to the printer stuff is always changing and being held and cut and refitted up until it's out the door-you just have to be there. And then there're a few days after that where you simmer and make sure the printing's going OK and nothing that's been reported has changed. (Like the night W won in 2000, the Times presses were stopped three times.)

With magazines however, the paper and the ink and the production is more elaborate and temperamental, so it's a Very big deal to call the printer. So it's way high maintenance but my God, magazine presses can do anything. Any one thing. Like for the 50^th anniversary issue, there was a little guy at the bottom of the book's spine, and he had a blower and a party hat on, with confetti around his head. And the pieces of confetti, which are about the size of the dot on this "i" are different colors.  

Favorite story you've worked on? 

That's a bit like being asked to pick a favorite record.

Ummmmm, the Blue House story for the Times was awesome, because as a friend said it was 'insane' and yet all mysteriously held together, and I finally had a disguised interaction with the woman. You kind of have to read the story. It was also first blood with them, which you only get once.

Two years ago I did a story for GQ about a reportedly gay horse named War Emblem who won the Kentucky Derby, and learned all about the strange, wealthy, arcane world of horse breeding. A contract an equine lawyer sent over stipulated that said should a civil war break out, the stallion must join the army. Stuff like that. Then Jay Leno mentioned it in his monologue, which was a big deal at work the next morning. The director of publicity ran into the closet where I sat and gave me a Big 10 (that's a double high 5). For our 50^th we had a package about 50 iconic people, and I did Kurt Cobain, Richard Avedon, Samuel Beckett, and Andre 3000. These were short, short bios so they were really hard to write, but came out quite well. 

How do you work to develop new angles on a story? Or, how do you decide how to start an assignment? Or, are you often directed very acutely by your editors? 

Sometimes if a story needs an angle, then it's maybe not an interesting story, and the end result would be more quacky editorial than subject. But maybe I'm saying that because I SUCK at coming up with new angles. Some eds are wizards at coming up with new angles on subjects that are really funny.  

Usually what sparks a story for me is just "DUDE! SWEET!" That flash in the gut feeling that spreads and lingers. Sometimes editors specify what they want, will like dictate the opening of a story, or return your work with notes like ELABORATE or SAY SOMETHING LIKE or TK QUOTE HERE ABOUT. And that's hard if it's not what you'd planned or you don't want to do it. That's hard. And while there's some give and take, but ultimately if you don't want to do it then there's a line of people behind you who do-esp in magazines-and they'll just get one of them next time. But underneath it all, usually editors, like all people who have hung in with writing, are pretty cool and open.  

This little stinker at my first paper once said "You're only as good as your editor" and I don't agree with that, but a finding someone you work well with is very, very important.  

Keith Wallman's a book editor, but he's someone who can walk into your head and put his vacuum together and just go to work.

What is your take on the "print is dying" scare? 

It's intense, especially since the dot com comet was thought to be burning out right after we graduated. Going home last night on the train, I sat next to a guy reading a paper. And it looked for a second like an old, strange thing. Like a wooden surfboard or something. And realizing that it was odd to be feeling this way about seeing a newspaper, I looked around, and no one else in the car had a paper. This really happened. So will print die? Of course not. Recently Dave Eggers wrote a statistics-backed piece about the record breaking amount of books being bought and sold today. But books are one end of the print spectrum, and newspapers are the other, and yeah they're being replaced. But the thing is that when periodicals cut edit pages, a lot of writers reap stocks of stuff they can't get published. And that's the hardest thing-editors saying it's a great piece/idea and then saying no, just because they're so backed up already. And in this way the online world is a Godsend.

I'm sorry to keep bringing stuff back to myself, but you can really only-never mind. The site called Scribd sent me to the inauguration, and I got to write whatever I wanted, and then promoted it on their site next to big books coming out. It's something that was fun to do and no one else would have touched because I'm not all that experienced. And it came out uncut, basically unedited. And anyone can set up a Scribd account, so then anyone can have their stuff in the same place as Lee Child. That doesn't work with other mediums.  So it's a scary time, but an exciting time too. 

Any last minute advice?

Keep in mind that while computers are a different than and pseudo-hated medium by print and Columbia J School ($48610-10 months), ultimately to be involved online as a writer, you're reading and writing. You might email instead of write letters, or post or blog instead of publish, but ultimately you're getting stuff out there. And voices will get out there that wouldn't otherwise, because they're different, and that's always good.