I Want To... Work At A Domestic Violence Shelter
26 January 2011, 09:38
I received an email from Lizz last year which said…
I saw on your interview with Sayward Rebhal that she contacted you about being a part of the series, and I didn’t even realize you could do that! I’m currently a resident advocate at a domestic violence shelter; essentially, when I’m on shift I work as a house mom/counselor/crisis line operator/jane of all trades. I’ve been working at this job fairly briefly, but I’ve been volunteering in the field for over a year, and I know it’s ultimately what I want to make a career out of (although I know that means it will manifest into something different within the field itself). All that said, whenever I tell people what I do, they always comment about how they don’t understand how someone could be involved in that, they wish they knew how people take the emotional toll, they would like to get involved, etc. I love talking about my experience because there are a lot of misconceptions about domestic violence and the women who come through these kinds of shelters; my experience dispels a lot of the misinformation that perpetuates those misconceptions. Also, working with these women has vastly altered my perspective on humanity, as well as the way I approach the world and my relationships. I’m so invested that my head is there about 95% of the time—even when I’m not working! I would love to contribute, if that sounds like something that would be a good fit!
Of course I wanted her to contribute! I can think of few worthier causes. Here’s our interview, & if you have additional questions for her (or you just want to know more about her!), check out her blog!
Tell us about what you do.
I work as a Resident Advocate in a domestic violence shelter for a non-profit organization that runs three shelters in total (two homeless, one DV). What that means is that I’m essentially a house mom/counselor/crisis line operator/office assistant/jane-of-all-trades.
What does an average day at work look like for you?
I tend to work the evening shift, which means my day starts in the middle of the afternoon. The shifts overlap a little bit so that the person finishing their shift can meet with the person coming on, and let them know what happened within the house, what the general energy is, if there was any drama amongst the women, if we’re expecting any new intakes, if anyone exited the shelter for good, and anything else that seems pertinent. After that, I do a walkthrough of the shelter, say hi to the ladies who are home, and go back to the office to settle in for my shift. Usually at that point, I call to check the availability of the other shelters (the DV shelter runs the crisis line that does all of the intakes for our organization), I check in to see if there’s any other important information left from other coworkers regarding the shelter, and prioritize what I need to get done for the day.
Like any other non-profit, we have a strong team that works really hard on keeping things running smoothly, but there’s so much work to be done that it can feel like we’re constantly playing catch up. Usually I have my own little projects I assign to myself, since I can’t stand to be bored—whether that’s reorganizing a closet, cleaning up client files, updating signs/referrals, etc., I’m always trying to do something with myself that can help all of our team have one less thing to deal with.
The clients often come in and ask for things (to look up directions, to brainstorm on job/house searching, or for basic little stuff, like toiletries or cleaning supplies), and whoever is on staff does a walkthrough of the premises regularly to ensure that everything is calm and safe. The vast majority of time on shift, though, is spent listening. Whether the ladies in the shelter are having a day full of triumph or disaster, they often want to talk about it, and part of my job is just to be available for them to vent, rant, cry, share their frustrations or their successes. It is simultaneously one of the most difficult and most rewarding aspects of my job.
Other than what I’ve already mentioned, everything else is in a constant flux, and never predictable. Sometimes there will be major conflict between residents, that can require staff mediation. One of our staff members does an amazing job of planning celebrations (birthdays, baby showers), and she makes it a party for everyone, staff and residents alike, and so when one of those goes down, whoever is there is running around trying to help and wrangle people. Often I’ll have to pick up an intake, which can take a good amount of time; the first few days in the shelter are the hardest, and usually a woman coming in has a very high level of anxiety and stress, which means that a good chunk of that shift will be spent with her, doing paperwork and talking out the situation that she’s coming from. Sometimes I’ll have to deliver an exit letter, which is essentially telling the resident that they have to leave. Each day can range from relaxed to completely insane, depending on the dynamic of the house, how busy the crisis line is, how each woman’s day went, and what decisions are being made by the higher ups in the program.
Do you work alone or with other people?
Both, really! RAs can be pretty isolated because there’s only one person on shift at a time, but we still have a support network that enables us to do our jobs well. We still have staff meetings, RA retreats, and the overlap between shifts to communicate, support, and pass on work that we couldn’t get to on our shift (we work as a team by “passing on the baton,” so to speak). We also rely on our on-call person for urgent inquiries and other support. Whenever we’ve had an intense conversation, mediated a conflict, or dealt with a resident lashing out on us, we can use our on-call as a consult for what to do, as well as for emotional/mental support.
Is this what you wanted to do as a child? Did you end up in this job by “accident” or was it a planned career choice?
This is DEFINITELY not what I saw myself doing as a child! I grew up in the arts, and for a long time, it seemed obvious that an artistic pathway was my calling. I started doing theatre and dance at three, played piano from seven until about fourteen, went to a performing & fine arts high school, and eventually went to a private arts university for photography. I ended up dropping out of that private arts university for financial and family health reasons, which was utterly devastating. I worked a series of awful, unsatisfying jobs (ranging from a bookstore to a restaurant to a semi-corporate job in a hotel’s sales office), and kept trying to go back to school, but with little success. My setbacks were huge, and I didn’t have the emotional capacity to take on the gravity of the events in my personal life while focusing on school.
I’d always been an avid reader, even when not immersed in academia, and I spent a lot of time reading books from the sociology and women’s studies section of the bookstore, which planted the seed in my head. When I returned to school, all that I’d read encouraged me to immerse myself in a Sociology course or two, which in turn, made me realize how much I wanted to improve the lives of others. Despite my love for the arts, became clear to me that if I was going to be a broke, working class chick for the rest of my life, I might as well do something to improve the world while I’m at it. I had a professor that was also working as an advocate for sexual assault survivors (specifically women and children) in a local district attorney’s office. When she told our class a little bit about what she did, I thought, “That is exactly what I want to be doing.” I talked to her, she gave me some referrals for volunteering, and then that led me here!
How long ago did you start on this path?
Although I didn’t realize it at the time, I believe that this path started back when I became a survivor of domestic violence. It took me a long time to recognize that what happened within my relationship was abusive and absolutely not ok. Reconciling the idea that someone who I loved, and who I thought loved me, could do such terrible, destructive things to me (and to themselves) was extremely difficult. However, once I did, I stepped on the pathway to women’s advocacy. The first step was becoming an advocate for myself.
How long were you doing it before you made it into your career or primary form of income?
I’d been volunteering for a domestic violence non-profit based out of San Francisco for about seven months before getting hired at my current agency. Even so, I had two other jobs at the time, and this didn’t become my main gig until September/October of this year.
What kind of education do you have?
I am currently a four time college drop out. After dropping out of the private university, I kept trying to go back to community college while working two (or three) jobs at the same time, and really struggled. After taking two years off, it got harder. What they say is true: It really is much more difficult to go back to school after working instead of just suffering through it. I’ve made it a priority to keep reading and researching on my own, and I’ve made it possible to return back to school in the spring, which I’m eagerly looking forward to.
Other than that: I’m a state certified domestic violence counselor, which means I went through forty hours of training that included peer counseling techniques, statistical and historical facts, detailed information about Battered Women’s Syndrome and the specific psychology surrounding intimate partner violence.
Do you think official qualifications are important for someone entering your industry?
I know that many of my coworkers do not have official degrees. Instead, they have work experience and a passion for working with women who need help. However, I know for a fact that any advancement is significantly predicated on having a post-secondary degree. It’s fantastic to get involved and get the work experience, but to advance and make a career out of this kind of job, one needs to get an education.
If you went to school, did you enjoy studying? Could you see where it might lead you at the time? What advice would you give to someone else who might be studying to get into your industry?
As I said before, I’m a college dropout who is returning to school, so this question isn’t entirely applicable. I do want to say, though, that the classes I have taken (even General Education classes) have significantly improved my ability to succeed at my job. Communications classes? The best way to help people is to know how to communicate with them, and that means all of them. Sociology classes? Knowing about privilege and the way society is socially constructed is hugely important to empathizing and understanding what each of our clients face when they try to re-enter the world as autonomous women. Any class that requires you to research? I have used so much of this skill in a huge variety of ways, whether it’s looking up the answer to an obscure question about work or housing or California law, or learning more about mental illness and substance abuse, or additional counseling techniques. The way that this job made these classes more meaningful is a huge factor in my decision to return to school.
What do you think is the best thing about what you do?
Sharing the successes of the women who are in the midst of dealing with one of the most horrible experiences of their life. The feeling that comes when I know that they are allowing me to be part of their healing. The way that I can see the positive effect I’m having on my community and my world.. The inspiration that comes when I see firsthand their generosity, their sense of humor (that arrives even during their darkest moments), and their unfailing kindness.
What’s the worst thing?
Watching them sabotage one another. Often times, women enter the shelter in pure survival mode, which can manifest itself as stolen items, intentionally destroyed personal items, or flat out aggression and blatant arguments. It’s really disappointing to see women who are coming from equally horrific situations to take it out on one another.
What’s even worse than that is watching a woman break down as she realizes the people around her are abandoning her in her greatest time of need. Listening to a woman with children plead with her parents to defend her in court against her abuser’s lies, saying, “For God’s sake, tell them I’m not crazy!” and crying because her family’s excuse for not helping is that they “don’t want to get involved”. It’s devastating to watch, and the logic behind it is completely unfathomable to me.
Would you call yourself a workaholic, & if so, are you alright with that? Do you think that’s normal for your industry?
Yes, and yes. I have to remind myself to sometimes take it easy, and not beat myself up when I have an off night (read: slightly slower and less productive than hyper-crazy-productive).
I absolutely think this is normal. My coworkers are equally invested, emotionally, physically, and sometimes even financially. It’s not uncommon that someone will call on their day off to check in and see what happened with a resident, or just see how things are going at the house. It’s impossible not to get sucked into this work because of how we get to know these women. We truly see them at both their best and worst, which is an intimate process when you consider the fact that when these women come in, we are complete strangers to them. Plus, almost everyone I know got involved in this work because they felt fervently compelled to help others who were in need. Starting at a high level of investment creates inevitable workaholism.
What would your number one suggestion be for someone who wants to do what you do?
Start learning about domestic violence. I’d bet that there are things about DV that you do not know, and never guessed. Even if you are a well-versed feminist, I would be shocked if you don’t learn a thing or two that challenges your own prejudices and the way you approach the world.
...How about number two?
Start volunteering! The best thing you can do is get involved with your local organizations that work with women and children. You can see if you like it, ease into it, and start getting a feel for what aspect of this world you’d like to be a part of. Plus, your best way to get experience and make the connections required to get a job is to volunteer, volunteer, volunteer.
What do you wish you had known when you first started out?
I wish I’d been prepared for the changes that happened in me as a result of working with these women. And I wish I’d understood how secondary trauma manifests itself. I knew that hearing stories of abuse and trauma would affect me, but I thought it would be immediate. I thought I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from bursting into tears or being openly devastated for the next 24 hours. It’s much more subtle than that, though. I also didn’t realize how working with these women would change my ability to establish and uphold my boundaries within my relationships, how it would change what I’m willing to tolerate from my own romantic partners, and even the kinds of jokes I like. It has changed my entire perspective of the world, and of people, and I wish I’d had more of an understanding as to how deep that shift would be.
Are there any major misconceptions about your job or industry?
Oh, goodness. Yes. There are a lot of classist, racist, and otherwise prejudiced assumptions about the women who come through our shelters and there’s a lot of misinformation about domestic violence as a whole. There’s a wide range of women who come through our shelters, from a variety of socioeconomic classes. Some are very well educated. Some are very mentally ill. Some have major substance abuse issues. Some have been homeless their entire lives. Some have absolutely never been homeless before. Some have well paying, full time jobs, and some can’t work at all. There is a wide range of women who come through here, and it’s not because they are stupid, lazy, or because they “deserved it”.
Do you ever have any ethical dilemmas with the work you do?
The only time there’s any kind of dilemma is when we have to ask someone to leave, and they don’t have anywhere to go. Especially if it’s a woman with children. Unfortunately, though, if it gets to the point where we have to ask someone to leave, we usually have done everything possible to make their stay here successful, and they simply aren’t ready to move forward, which can manifest itself in a plethora of rotten behaviors.
What is the best thing that’s happened to you as a consequence of the work you do?
The inspiration that these women give me. My life has new meaning and purpose because of their strength and sense of humor. If they can do what they do, then I can do anything, and there is no reason not to pursue my goals with unstoppable optimism and determination.
What motivates you to keep doing what you’re doing?
Knowing that I’m not alone in the effort to assist these women and help end domestic violence. There is a huge support network of women (and men!) who help keep my agency, as well as many others, open and running. No matter how hard things get, no matter how much ignorance is out there, no matter how scary this job can be, I know that I’m not carrying the burden alone. We are all in this together, working to support and improve our community. That keeps me going.
Who do you look up to within your industry & why?
I would say I deeply admire Eve Ensler, Cindy Gallop, and Margaret Cho for their feminism and activism—I don’t know if they count since they aren’t necessarily in my industry, but I think the work they do is definitely connected and worthy of admiration. Other than that, I would say that my coworkers are the most amazing people. I am continually shocked and impressed with their intelligence, compassion, cleverness, and insight. They come from all different backgrounds, with different lives and motivations, and we all manage to work together as a team. My supervisor is especially a hero to me—she has encouraged me when I’m breaking down, she has reminded me that I’m entirely capable at succeeding when I’ve felt like giving up, and she’s completely inspired me to follow in her footsteps. She is deeply respected by all of the residents, and she is the rock of support to our team. I am so proud to work under such an incredible woman and person.
Rate how happy you are with what you do out of 100 (100 being the best, 0 being devastatingly awful) on an average day.
That’s really hard to say. I would say on an average day, it would probably be at around 85. Mostly because the average day is filled with average stuff like administrative tasks and menial shift duties. There are days that hit 0 (how many times have I cried while waiting for the BART train, or while driving home? how many times have I gone to sit in my local dive bar, only to be served free drinks by a sympathetic bartender who can see from the look on my face that I had a rough one?), and there are days that exceed the 100 (the baby shower we organized for one of the ladies in the shelter, the days when someone excitedly leaves to go to their own apartment). But for the most part, things run at 85.
Is there much career progression available to you? What would you like to do next?
There is definitely room for advancement, both within this organization and others, but most of the advancement does require an education. What I’d like to do next is get at least an Associate’s Degree—that’s a start! Other than that, I’d love to get involved in case management, and I’d love to learn more about non-profit business management so that I can start writing grants. Those are my goals for the next few years.
Do you think you’ll continue doing this for the rest of your life?
In one way or another, absolutely. Even if my career path changes, I see myself always volunteering or otherwise being involved in this world. It is both the hardest and most gratifying thing I have ever done. I am indebted to these women for what they have given me, and how they allow me to help them to the best of my abilities. I am indebted to the agency I work for because of the opportunities they’ve given me. This job constantly reminds me that the world is here, this is my life, and it is amazing.
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I Want To Be... A Lifestreamer!
19 January 2011, 08:36
Jessica & Kelly.
Jessica Mullen’s career path is purely her own: she’s a lifestreamer! What is lifestreaming? It’s an ongoing record of your life, stored online & made accessible to anyone who might be interested.
You might be surprised to hear that it’s also a legitimate way of making a living. (I know I was!) In this interview, Jessica opens up about how lifestreaming has changed her & what you need to know if you’d like to do it, too!
Tell us about what you do.
I am in the business of being. My business model is to figure out how to feel good, follow my inspiration, and share what unfolds. If it makes me feel good, you’ll hear about it.
My personal website, jessicamullen.com is currently home to The School of Life Design, an ad-hoc curriculum created to disseminate my lifestreaming research. The School follows principles similar to graphic design and promotes self-evaluation and self-actualization through iteration.
My Complete Lifestream is a real-time collection of what makes me feel good throughout the day. I maintain my focus on well being by taking special note of an obscenely gorgeous sunset or immortalizing an exquisite kale salad. I collect the most powerful of these thoughts, emotions, and adventures into long-form joy explosions. These rampages, in which I turn my attention towards gratitude, intentions, desires and love, are magick spells I weave to attract more good into my life.
The Popular Podcast is a video lifestyle podcast based in Austin, Texas. Co-created with my business partner and lover, Kelly Cree, in June 2008, The Popular Podcast boasts an over 300-episode (and counting) video archive of Kelly’s and my journey to $ustainable lifestreaming. Though it’s constantly changing, the present goal of TPP is to show others how fun and easy it can be to make your life your living.
I maintain an income stream portfolio as diverse as my interests. I make money through advertising, affiliate programs, donations, fan club subscriptions, merchandise, and sponsorships. Kelly and I also run a tiny vegan food business for our friends, sell underwater fetish videos, and peddle our wares on the bridges of Austin.
What does an average day at work look like for you?
There are three things that I MUST do every single day: write a “magick spell“ post, meditate, and exercise. I consider all of them to be my primary work, because without them I don’t feel right – I don’t get the inspiration to do good work throughout the day.
I wake up sometime before noon and immediately start writing down what I’m grateful for. This forms the beginning of a “magick spell” post. It’s how I line up my energy in the morning, almost like brushing my teeth – I make sure my emotions are all bright and shiny before talking to anyone!
I meditate to clean out mental cobwebs and forget about anything that’s bothering me. Then I go for a walk or a run for an energy boost and to feel good about my body.
After that, anything is possible! Often, Kelly and I will work on editing and publishing podcast videos for an hour or two, and I’ll spend another couple hours writing or brainstorming for the School of Life Design. Website design and maintenance takes up some time too, but we address those needs as they come.
The rest of the day is spent cooking, exploring beautiful Austin, making art and spending time with people I love. It’s almost all “work,” because the experiences inevitably end up on one of my sites in some form.
Do you work alone or with other people?
Kelly and I are partners in almost everything we do. We make the podcast together, and she’s the creative and communications director for the school. We spend all day every day together, so we are constantly brainstorming new business ideas and ways to have more fun.
Is this what you wanted to do as a child? Did you end up in this job by “accident” or was it a planned career choice?
I remember wanting to be a teacher and wanting to create constantly. When I first got access to a computer, I would color all day in a Sesame Street painting program. When I got Internet, I started learning how to make websites to promote my band. I didn’t have any solid plans other than knowing it would involve computers. Lifestreaming didn’t really exist when I was a kid, but if you had told me what it was I would have wanted to do it for sure!
How long ago did you start on this path?
I’ve always enjoyed making websites and online journaling, but it didn’t come together into the title of “lifestreamer” until graduate school in 2008. As a web designer, I was obsessed with bringing all of my online activity into one place. I heard of the idea of “lifecasting” from Julia Allison and found out what “lifestreaming” was through Mark Krynsky at lifestreamblog.com. It was like I found my holy grail and all my research became about experimenting with lifestreaming.
How long were you doing it before you made it into your career or primary form of income?
Luckily I was in school with student loans while getting started. Graduate school was a way to literally buy time to figure out what I really wanted to do with my life, and I got to focus all my schoolwork on what is now my livelihood. Kelly and I did lots of exploration into monetization and content generation. When I graduated in May of 2010, we began making it our business to feel good, and all our good business ideas followed.
Did anything significant happen to get you to that point, or was it a series of small steps?
I learned about the law of attraction last spring! The actual websites and technical bits were mostly developed as school projects, but it wasn’t until Kelly and I started focusing on feeling good that our business took off. All of those platitudes like “give what you want to get” and “you bring about what you think about” are true! When I learned to practice positive thought patterns all the time, my life became a lot more pleasurable.
What kind of education do you have?
I went to Catholic school through 12th grade, received my BFA in graphic design from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2005 and my MFA in design from the University of Texas at Austin in 2010.
Do you think official qualifications are important for someone entering your industry?
No! Anyone can be good at lifestreaming. After you do it for a while, your website becomes your credentials. People get to see what you do every day. They get to see what you’re working on right now, not a piece of paper saying what you used to do.
If you went to school, did you enjoy studying? Could you see where it might lead you at the time? What advice would you give to someone else who might be studying to get into your industry?
When I first got to undergrad, I studied computer science. I couldn’t pass Calculus II, so I had to find something a little more my style. I settled on graphic design because I loved making websites and figured the two must meet somewhere.
I began really taking interest in my studies after an image-making class where I got to make disturbing pictures in Photoshop all semester. Then I had a fabulous mentor, Jennifer Gunji, who showed me what it was like to feel passionate about solving problems with design. Once I became a good graphic designer, the next logical step was to get a job at a design firm in Chicago. I designed websites and print publications at my first (and only) day job, but realized very quickly I did not want to work for anyone else but myself! I freelanced and taught web design for a while, but then went back to school to figure out what I loved.
If you’re interested in getting into lifestreaming, just start doing it. Don’t go to school! Everything you need to learn is online. Your mentors don’t have to be university professors. I LOVED my education but if I had known about lifestreaming before graduate school, I could have saved a lot of money!
What do you think is the best thing about what you do?
I do whatever I want, every single day. No one ever tells me what to do.
What’s the worst thing?
No one ever tells me what to do!
Would you call yourself a workaholic, & if so, are you alright with that? Do you think that’s normal for your industry?
I am a workaholic in the sense that I love doing what I do, and do it all day every day. But it doesn’t feel like work, because it’s so integrated into my life and it feels so good to create. It’s quite normal–many bloggers are successful because they make doing what they love their living by putting it online for other people to enjoy.
What would your number one suggestion be for someone who wants to do what you do?
Love yourself unconditionally. If you don’t love yourself, it shows through. Major turnoff!
...How about number two?
Don’t care about what anyone else thinks. Comments, Facebook, and Twitter can make us a little dependent on external opinions to make decisions. But the only way to find what makes you feel good is to listen to your emotions.
What do you wish you had known when you first started out?
Life doesn’t have to be hard! If I just feel good and do what I’m inspired to do, everything works out!
Are there any major misconceptions about your job or industry?
Lifestreamers can be seen as very narcissistic. I choose to look at it as radical self love!
Some people think lifestreaming is too time-consuming, but it’s just a natural part of my life, like breathing.
Others find lifestreaming distracting from “living in the moment,” but it helps me slow down and appreciate more moments than ever before.
My father worries about my reputation and ability to get a “real job” because I’m so vocal, but the whole point is to be loud enough to never need a real job!
Do you ever have any ethical dilemmas with the work you do?
A few people don’t like being documented online, so I have to avoid discussing them or taking photos of them. I respect the privacy of others by request.
What is the best thing that’s happened to you as a consequence of the work you do?
I’ve learned how to love myself and enjoy life.
What motivates you to keep doing what you’re doing?
I can’t stop! I’m dependent on lifestreaming to help me focus on the good in life. It’s how I process the world around me. My lifestream functions as my memory, my magickal record, and a pick-me-up whenever I need it. It’s a way of life. If I got cut off from the Internet tomorrow I would find another outlet, but like a painter paints, the web is my artistic medium of choice.
Who do you look up to within your industry & why?
My biggest inspirations are successful web media producers like the extraordinary Gala Darling, Steve Pavlina, Penelope Trunk, and Dawn and Drew. My life philosophy of feeling good came from the teachings of Abraham-Hicks.
Rate how happy you are with what you do out of 100 (100 being the best, 0 being devastatingly awful) on an average day.
Every single day is a 100. Not only do I decide what to do with every minute of my life, but lifestreaming has really helped me see bad experiences as good ones, because I look to document the positive aspects of any situation.
Is there much career progression available to you? What would you like to do next?
It’s likely that I’ll always maintain my personal lifestream website in some form, but I continuously find new creative projects to pursue. Right now Kelly and I are working on a textbook for the School of Life Design, and I expect that project to continue flourishing. All I want to do next is make better and better work–meaning my life will get better and better too.
Do you think you’ll continue doing this for the rest of your life?
I’ll continue doing it as long as it feels good.
How did you find my article on Josh Harris? Is that kind of lifestreaming something you’d be interested in pursuing?
I watched We Live in Public a couple months ago and found Josh’s dystopian view of the future quite limiting. Technology is not good or bad, it just depends what you do with it. The Wired City sounds like the next logical step in reality television. The Human Chicken Coop is a fascinating idea, but Josh appears intent on taking away people’s freedom. Lifestreaming does not have to be about giving up freedom. But Josh’s vision is one possibility that will happen if enough people believe it will.
I do think he is spot on about the death of privacy. I come from the belief that we are all one consciousness, and the Internet is one way that is beginning to manifest in physical reality. When we collectively let go of our fears about privacy, things will be very different!
That being said, I have little interest in 24 hour surveillance. The beauty of lifestreaming is that it is edited–I take an active role in making my life into art. In that way I am designing my life experience, not living by default.
Too much unwanted surveillance can cause people to act out in destructive ways, like what happened in We Live in Public. It’s rebellion against having freedom taken away, or caring too much about what other people think. Surveillance can also make people all conform to the same behavior, like in Foucalt’s Panopticon. But if we’re all one consciousness anyway… it kind of makes sense.
Where do you draw the line?
I don’t complain. I don’t speak negatively. That’s the line. I have no desire to put any more negative thoughts or emotions into the universe.
Would you ever put cameras in your house?
I have lots of cameras in my house! But I choose when to hit record. I don’t think privacy exists on the Internet, but I still value my physical space and time alone. And recording everything can be overwhelming–I’m not interested in reliving every moment in the editing process–just the really good ones.
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I Want To Be... Part Of An Evil Illustrator Duo!
10 January 2011, 11:06
One morning, this email materialised in front of my eyes…
I’d love to share with you (and others) what I do. My boyfriend and I are storytellers. We both work together to achieve the illustrations attached. We came from the world of soul-sucking advertising. After a few years, we both quit our jobs and moved on to a self-directed, self-aware lifestyle. We make book covers, comics for Vertigo and a whole slew of our own stories for TOR.com.
No more explanation needed. Without further ado, our first career interview of 2011!
Tell us about what you do.
There is two of us; we are Kurt Huggins and Zelda Devon. Together, we bring darkly whimsical stories to life.
For a little over three years, we’ve been working together illustrating luscious things like comics, book covers, album art, magazines, chocolate boxes and anything else that would improve exponentially with an image.
What does an average day at work look like for you?
Our mothers would frown if they knew how late we rise, so that will remain undisclosed. We start the day by making a smoothie stuffed with lots of things that might make a rabbit happy. Our day is saturated with the needs of our current project, which includes plenty of research, trips to the coffee shop, and sweating at the drawing board. This tends to continue so late into the night that birds start chirping. They double as our “it’s bedtime” alarm. We usually focus on one project at a time. A chunk of the day is reserved for sharpening the craft by practicing anatomy, watching demos, reading tutorials, buying books, and bitching to/comforting other illustrators. As deadlines approach, it ramps up into a full steam ahead, don’t-you-dare-invite-me-anywhere-I’ll-eat-your-face-manic mode. Finally, we emerge feeling like we’ve just given birth to a 200 pound hippo. I like those days. Diligent days are followed by “off” days, which include only the minimal tasks of putting on pants and drooling.
Do you work alone or with other people?
Kurt and I have always worked together since becoming professional illustrators. For the first few years, it’s only been the two of us. Lately, we’ve had the excellent fortune of collaborating with some of the top veterans in the industry. With our first issue for Vertigo Comics, Unwritten #12, we got a chance to work with artist Peter Gross and writer Mike Carry. We’ve also worked with many amazing art directors, like Irene Gallo, who push us infinitely further.
Is this what you wanted to do as a child? Did you end up in this job by “accident” or was it a planned career choice?
Yes. Accidentally intentional. Both of us doodled incessantly as tadpoles. Adult life caught up with us and we went to grad school and followed pre-designed career paths, working responsible jobs that offered dental insurance. We were financially secure, but happiness deficient. By chance, Kurt and I found ourselves at a small wooden table in our living room, passing a piece of paper back and forth, taking turns drawing panels. What resulted was the embryo of our first story which we posted on our own little blog. We were proud of it to bits, so we began blissfully posting more little fictions. We were entirely unaware these incipient stories were going to lodge in the hearts of people who could give us jobs. Once the first tentative gig came in, the path was set in motion. We were buckled in and were ready for the roller coaster, never longing for vapid water-cooler conversation again.
How long ago did you start on this path?
We started our blog in March 2006, but it didn’t become our career until July 2007. It was at that point I lost my full time job. I had no desire to go back to the same industry. After a week of hopelessness, I made a list of things I wanted to do. The inventory was 3 pages long. Somewhere hidden in that delirious mound of writing, was a shy scribble of me wanting to be an illustrator. I was 27 at that point. A week after cementing that decision, we got one of our first jobs, drawing a cover for a local magazine. I think making the decision was 90% of the battle. The work started to trickled in, allowing Kurt the opportunity to quit his job 6 months later.
How long were you doing it before you made it into your career or primary form of income?
Our first year, we were eating shoe tongues. When those ran out, we started feeding on the laces. Our second year, we could afford jam for our boot gruel. This past year, we actually had a prosciutto panini with no shoe bits at all. If you give yourself no other option but success, you’re going to succeed. Commit to what you want to do and stick with it. Your decision will come to fruition if you don’t give up.
Did anything significant happen to get you to that point, or was it a series of small steps?
A series of very fortuitous small steps. The first was planting ourselves in New York. Living in New York leads to many advantageous accidents/opportunities/meetings/parties. We were also lucky to have won an award and gained the attention of a respectable rep, Morgan Gaynin. It was validation for the path we chose, which is so vital for a neophyte illustrator.
What kind of education do you have?
We both attended a southern art school that featured moss draped trees, antebellum architecture, a few ghosts, but very little learning.
We left college in a zombie daze, absolutely rudderless. The next logical step; more school. We would only learn, years later, how pivotal that decision was. We chose Portfolio Center, a tiny school tucked away at the end of a pothole-filled street. Our grad school time was a huge foil to the Fisher-Price land we left months before. The experience was just as harrowing as that street; a two year intensive design boot camp, taught only by working professionals who doled out critiques harsher than #50 grit sandpaper. It provided us the ammo we needed to confidently head to NY and dive deep into the world of advertising.
After being in the corporate world for three years, Kurt’s interest in painting and drawing rekindled after he found an atelier to attend. He sandwiched the classes between his usual daytime workload. His skills rapidly improved and I was jealous, so I also began going. We still diligently attend, a few days a week, to continue honing the craft. We also frequent seminars, visit other famous illustrator’s studios and generally have an amazing group of illustrator friends here in New York, which is just as educational as any formal training.
Do you think official qualifications are important for someone entering your industry?
It’s more important to have a deep, unconditional love for the craft and an amazing amount of discipline. The only qualification is wanting to learn. There are several instances of people going from zero drawing skills to extremely competent draftsmanship in a matter of a few years. Living in a inspiration mecca like NY or LA doesn’t hurt, as well as having a lot of blind belief in yourself.
What advice would you give to someone else who might be studying to get into your industry?
Work hard and then work even harder. Get feedback from professionals, and take their advice. Surround yourself with the best in the industry.
Approach being an illustrator as a lifestyle, not a hobby. Do what you love, others will love it, too.
What do you think is the best thing about what you do?
Bringing inspiration to others. Experiencing flow: a magic period where everything aligns and you know exactly what to do next. Flow happens when the greatest amount of challenge is met with the most amount of skill.
The state of flow is the best drug in the world. Seeing an extensive project come to fruition.
Not attending pointless meetings, and working on top of each other.
What’s the worst thing?
Handling slow periods, both monetarily and psychologically. Achieving self-discipline, combined with the struggle of two egos working on top of each other.
Would you call yourself a workaholic, & if so, are you alright with that? Do you think that’s normal for your industry?
If you love what you do, it’s impossible to not be a workaholic. It’s darn addictive. And yes, I’d say it is a common aspect of our industry.
What do you wish you had known when you first started out?
None of it, if we knew how grueling it would be, we might never have started.
Remaining blissfully unaware is sometimes a great boon.
Are there any major misconceptions about your job or industry?
Very few people hit the ground running at the beginning. There are exceptions, but for the majority of people it’s going to take time to reach a professional level and then a little longer to break in. Again, the amount of dedication required is astounding. It’s way more energy than a full time job.
What is the best thing that’s happened to you as a consequence of the work you do?
A realization that you can navigate your reality as if it were a ship, steering it in your chosen direction. Basking in the side effects of flow.
Appreciating how far sheer determination will get you.
What motivates you to keep doing what you’re doing?
The satisfaction of doing a good job, the little discoveries while practicing the craft, the exhilaration of fan mail from people we’ve long admired. It all adds up to bringing people visual joy.
Who do you look up to within your industry & why?
Oh, jeeze, my fingers might get tired: Mike Mignola, Joaquin Sorolla, J.C. Leyendecker, Arthur Rackham, Edmund Dulac, Sam Weber, Heinrich Kley, Hayao Miazaki, Alphonse Mucha, Ivan Bilibin, John Singer Sargent, Alex Kanevsky, Claire Wendling, Matthieu Lauffray, Massimo Carnevale, Frank Brangwyn, Dean Cornwell, Milt Kahl, Yoshida Hiroshi, Sergio Martinez, Franklin Booth, and Paul Felix. A few who are not even illustrators, like Alexander McQueen and Guy Hendrix Dyas.
Is there much career progression available to you? What would you like to do next?
As an illustrator, you’re at the helm of your own progression. Also, doing work gets you work, it’s the absolute best form of advertising.
The next step could involve influencing film or animation, which would be a huge rush.
Do you think you’ll continue doing this for the rest of your life?
Yes, we’re already neck-deep in this. It is a fluid career with many forking paths and there’s so much to explore.
The ideal is to keep working, continue growing, and never retire.
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I Want To Be... A Mother!
30 November 2010, 08:21
When Sayward Rebhal of Bonzai Aphrodite emailed me about my careers series, & said that she wanted to contribute her thoughts on being a mother, I was so excited!
She summed it up wonderfully when she said,
“I know, I know. It’s a departure from what you normally cover. But I really feel like as the neo-neo-feminists (ooh meta), the choice to stay at home is an important one to recognize. So I figured I’d put it out there.”
I love this interview. It’s one of my favourites so far. I hope you enjoy it too!
Tell us about what you do.
My first thought: “EVERYTHING!”
As a work-at-home mother I’m on a triple mission: to fully engage in raising my baby boy, to keep the house (read: our lives) running smoothly, and to help bring home the tofu.
Amidst all that I also find space to pursue my passion – mindful living, natural choices, DIY culture, environmentalism, health and food politics, minimal consumerism . . . yeah, basically I’m totally crunchy. But I’m a product of the Grunge 90s, when punk was paired with politics and everyone actually gave a shit. And I’m still trying to change the world, chipping away and chronicling my experiments and my experiences. I blog at Bonzai Aphrodite, where I write about how to be socially conscious – and still stay totally fabulous!
What does an average day at work look like for you?
This is going to be long. But work-at-home parenting is not a picture that many people get to see, so I thought I’d paint it in detail.
The alarm sounds at 7:15 and sly like a cat I slink out of bed without waking Waits, who sleeps with us. I shower, dress, primp, and make my coffee. I love coming upstairs in the morning, steaming cup of caffeine in my hands, and finding my husband and baby laughing in bed. Best way to start the day.
While Damian gets ready for work, Waits plays on the bedroom floor and I enjoy my coffee and check in with the Internets. Damian’s off on his bike by 8:45, and then it’s baby bath time. After Waits is cleaned and dressed and maybe had some more play time, he’s ready for breakfast. He usually falls asleep at the breast. Naptimes are my work opportunities, and I have to be diligent and adaptable in order to get things done. My one-handed typing skills are pretty damn impressive!
When Waits wakes up it’s dog walk time. I wear him in a carrier and we head out to hike at a freshwater marsh near our house, stopping by the market on the way home. I’ll pick up whatever produce is cheap and that determines our dinner – shopping sales every day is the best way to eat organic on a budget! This whole excursion takes about an hour and doubles as my daily exercise.
Back home I keep Waits in the carrier while I make my green smoothie and putter around – load or unload the dishwasher, tidy the kitchen and living room, water plants, start some laundry, whatever needs to get done. We also do the farm work – take out the compost, harvest the garden, and let the chickens out to free range the yard. We may live in a row house in the middle of the city, but we’re enthusiastic micro-farmers.
Waits goes down for his afternoon nap around 2 and this is my prime work time. It’s a flurry of one-handed speed typing, a race to research, write, correspond, and get all caught up before he wakes. Which is totally a joke, because “all caught up” doesn’t actually exist, right?
Early evenings are open-ended, from taking pictures or other blog prep work, to running errands, to starting dinner. Or maybe we’ll just play until Damian gets home. When Damian takes over baby duty, that means I have two hands again. Yay! I love to cook, so I cherish this ‘me time’ each evening, bustling around the kitchen listening to podcasts (Radiolab!). I keep a vegan kitchen and I cook from scratch. And my shit is good.
After we’re dinnered and digested, I put Waits back into his carrier and we head out on our night walk. 45 minutes in the dark puts him to sleep for the night. And I really rely on this quiet time to recharge my batteries before getting back to work.
Yup, back to work. With Waits asleep I’m back on my laptop, where I’ll be for the rest of the night. Of course, I’m on the couch next to Damian and there’s a movie on in the background, so it’s happy-husband-cuddly-type work time. Finally I unplug around midnight, set the alarm, and hit the sack.
Glamorous? No, I don’t think it is. But it sure does feel good.
Do you work alone or with other people?
My boss is 2 feet tall and frequently pees his pants. But he’s a really awesome guy.
What kind of education do you have?
I have a bachelors degree in biology and I’m a published scientist, but that has almost no relation to what I’m doing with my life! I did break into writing via science writing (textbooks), and I’d love to explore more science journalism someday.
Do you think official qualifications are important for someone entering your industry?
There are certainly qualifications that make being a work-at-home mother easier, but they’re not something you go to school for. Foresight, patience, and positivity will take you far. But it really comes down to work ethic, because – no illusions – this is HARD.
If you went to school, did you enjoy studying? Could you see where it might lead you at the time? What advice would you give to someone else who might be studying to get into your industry?
I’m totally a Type A personality. I threw myself into school, set wildly high standards for myself, and was determined to meet them (for example I graduated with a 4.0 gpa). I really thrive when I’m meeting a challenge, so yeah. I had a blast!
And actually, yes, I did see it leading here. I always knew I wanted to stay home with my babies . . . it was like this dirty secret I felt like I had to keep from my colleagues and mentors.
As for advice, initially I’d say to plan ahead. Secure an online/work-at-home position before getting pregnant. It’ll get you used to the lifestyle and it makes pregnancy a whole hell of a lot easier as well! But if you already have a kid and want to start working from home, my advice is the same as I give to everyone, about everything: Be Diligent. Very few people get things handed to them. Almost nobody gets it right the first time. Successful and happy people got that way by working really hard and never giving up. So scour the Internet for job possibilities. Check your local papers and job postings and Craigslist gigs. Investigate Etsy or the WAHM community on Mothering.com. It may not happen right away, but you can make it happen eventually. And if that’s the life you want, it’s so very worth it.
What do you think is the best thing about what you do?
I’m a born activist; I was raised to stand up and speak out. Being able to do that daily is so meaningful to me. I write about things that matter, things that need to change. That I get to hang out with my kid while I’m doing it . . . well, frankly I don’t know how I got so lucky.
Between my baby and my blog, I get to live what I love every. single. day. I don’t think it gets better than that!
What’s the worst thing?
[Not] Finding balance, and the guilt it creates. I want to be fully attentive to my son, at all times. But I’ve got to make money. And I also have so much drive to do my personal work, which is an integral part of maintaining my sense of self. I struggle every day to find that sweet spot between those three things.
Would you call yourself a workaholic, & if so, are you alright with that? Do you think that’s normal for your industry?
I am the quintessential workaholic. Actually, I’m more of a multitaskaholic. It get’s me in trouble. I actually think I’d be a better mother if I could just learn to slow down and be really present with one thing at a time. That’s something I’m working on…
What would your number one suggestion be for someone who wants to do what you do?
This is not your grandmother’s world, or your mother’s world, or even your older sister’s world. The Internet changes everything for women. Use it. Be creative and work your ass off and make it yours. We can raise our own babies and be financially valuable.
People think that the choice to stay home is a cop out, but it’s actually just the opposite. This is the decision to truly have it all.
...How about number two?
Feminism lives in the kitchen as much as it lives in the board room.
Are there any major misconceptions about your job or industry?
So many! How many stereotypes can I bust? Let’s see, I can assure you that I’m not lazy, dumb, or unambitious. I do not hang out in a velour tracksuit all day watching daytime television and paper crafting. I am not bored, ‘desperate’, or lonely. My role as mother does not entirely define me. I am not ‘kept’ or trapped or disempowered. I haven’t given up my social life – my parties or my cocktails or my short skirts. I’m not conservative or religious. I’m not dissatisfied or un-romanced. I don’t resent anyone – my husband or my baby or myself. I don’t ever eat bon bons!
What is the best thing that’s happened to you as a consequence of the work you do?
The blossoming of self-assurance that comes from following your heart. I’ve gained this quiet confidence just by doing what I love. And I’ve gone through so much personal growth as part of becoming a mother. I am more myself now than I have ever been before. And holy hell, that feels fantastic.
What motivates you to keep doing what you’re doing?
My readers at Bonzai Aphrodite. They are so amazing! They’re some of the most insightful and inspired people I’ve ever encountered. And they are so open, so honest, and so invested in moving towards a better world.
Sometimes I get overwhelmed with my responsibilities or melancholy over politics. But then I’ll receive an email from someone halfway around the world, telling me about how my work has impacted their life; how they think about things differently now or how they’ve gone vegan or how they feel hopeful for the first time in years. These emails always come when I most need them and they are my soul’s food. That’s what keeps me going.
Who do you look up to within your industry & why?
Is it too cliché to say “my mother”? She died when I was nine, and now as an adult I can look back and understand the tremendous sacrifices she made for me, and also how she never let me see them. She was a single mom and we were dirt poor and I seriously had THE happiest childhood. She was amazing.
Rate how happy you are with what you do out of 100 (100 being the best, 0 being devastatingly awful) on an average day.
Being a mother is the strangest thing. It has the most impermanent trauma, in a way that nothing else ever does.
Like, I could be having the hardest night: Waits has been screaming for ages, my blood sugar crashed an hour ago and I’m shaking and starving, lying in bed in the dark and desperately trying to nurse him to sleep, sobbing. Yes, for real. So what is that, like a 16/100?
But then, Waits falls asleep. My husband brings me a frozen nanner with almond butter, and turns the light on, and I curl up and surf the web for a while. And before I know it I’m soaring at 95 like nothing was ever wrong, because now my belly is full of goodness and I found this awesome activist blog and best of all, the sweetest little dude in the world is lookin’ all cute just snoring in my arms. And I’ve never been happier. It’s a trip, man.
So that’s really a hard question to answer. When I think back over the past 8 months I can recall that I’ve had the lowest lows of my life. But they don’t stick on my psyche, not even a little bit. Motherhood is magical like that. It makes me want to say “100!”
Do you think you’ll continue doing this for the rest of your life?
In some form or another, I sure as hell hope so!
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I Want To Be... A Travel Writer!
23 November 2010, 07:58
Travel writing — for many it may sound like a dream job, but it comes with its own challenges! Enter Kristin Luna, travel writer & truth-teller! She was kind enough to answer some of my questions about what it really means to be a travel writer, & you might be surprised at what you read!
By the way, her personal travel blog, Camels & Chocolate, is fantastic! I just had a big read through & love it, it’s very inspiring & it reminds me to do more travelling!
Tell us about what you do.
I’m a travel writer. I travel anywhere from five to seven months out of the year for a variety of guidebook, magazine and newspaper assignments. I also take a lot of pictures—more as a hobby and a scrapbook of my travels than anything—and I also pen a personal travel blog on the side.
What does an average day at work look like for you?
It varies by the day—that’s what I love about my job. When I’m at home in San Francisco, I spend mornings in front of the computer pitching, researching and writing stories, and often afternoons and evenings meeting with visiting tourism officials or attending media events.
While on the road, my “average” day can consist of anything from mingling with sharks in the Bahamas to swimming in the Arctic Ocean in a bikini to gorilla trekking in Rwanda.
Do you work alone or with other people?
When I’m not traveling, I spend most days alone in my home office. I interact with my editors via e-mail, of course, but I go hours without speaking an audible word to anybody. It can be lonely at times, but that’s why my husband and I recently adopted a Maltese puppy—now I have a constant companion!
While on the road, there are always people around—whether other travel writers or tour guides helping me with a story or interviewees. It’s the best of both worlds, I think: I spend a lot of time interacting with people in other parts of the the world, but I also get my quiet time, too.
Is this what you wanted to do as a child? Did you end up in this job by “accident” or was it a planned career choice?
Ever since I was two years old and dictated my first “book” (about Disney princesses, naturally) to my mother, I’ve said I wanted to be a writer. By the age of 14, I knew I would major in journalism once I went to college, so I started out with gigs and internships at local newspapers. It never really occurred to me, though, until I hit my early 20s that I could travel full time doing what I love, writing, and call it a career. When I was in college, I landed my first weekly travel column and, a year later while living in Europe, scored my first guidebook contract with Frommer’s. It took awhile to make travel writing a full-time paid job, but once I figured it out, I knew I was doing what I was meant to do!
How long ago did you start on this path?
I’ve been working in some form of journalism for nearly 14 years now. Travel, in particular, has been my focus for the past six.
How long were you doing it before you made it into your career or primary form of income?
I started foraying into travel about six years ago. At the time, I was working in New York at a fashion magazine by day and covering the red carpet circuit for a variety of women’s and entertainment magazines by night. I wrote all my freelance travel articles in my “downtime” (i.e. when I wasn’t working on anything in the office or else at home on weekends). Travel writing is a very difficult industry to break into—and doesn’t pay that much in the beginning—so it was important that I had a steady stream of income while I was getting my feet wet. Having what were essentially two full-time jobs while getting started allowed me to afford to do just that.
I still take the occasional women’s magazine assignment, editing gig or celebrity event as supplemental income. One thing you must acknowledge upfront if you want to be a travel writer is that it’s never going to be a particularly lucrative career; therefore, I rarely say no to a non-travel assignment that lands in my lap. But, for me, the benefits of doing what I do far outweigh a lofty salary.
Did anything significant happen to get you to that point, or was it a series of small steps?
All small steps. The media industry is tiny—sometimes alarmingly so—so I’d do one big project for one editor, who would then refer me to an editor at another magazine, and slowly my career snowballed from there.
What kind of education do you have?
I have a bachelor’s of science in journalism and electronic media from the University of Tennessee, with minors in magazine writing, newspaper journalism and photography. I studied abroad during my junior year at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, and I’m pretty sure it was that semester and the solo backpacking I did before the course that cemented my love for travel. I was fortunate to grow up with a mom who loved to travel and took my sister and I all over the United States, but prior to that semester, the only international travel I’d done was to England, Italy, Mexico and the Caribbean. After graduating, I completed a one-year post-graduate degree in international journalism and world politics in Holland and Denmark, though to be honest, that was just an excuse to live abroad again and get some more traveling under my belt. But I met my husband through that very program, so I’d say it paid off in the end!
Do you think official qualifications are important for someone entering your industry?
In all forms of journalism, it’s more about experience and less about education. I think everyone should go to undergrad and get some sort of degree in the media field to make sure it’s what they really want to do, but in most cases, any degree higher than that doesn’t necessarily pay off if you simply want to be a writer or an editor. Rather, it often sets you back: While you’re out spending another year or two in a classroom, your peers, your competition, are out getting a leg up on you by working and gaining actual field experience. Having a few internships is very necessary in landing a staff job. A lot of full-time staffers were also first in-house freelancers, so that’s another way to go—trying to get a temporary gig as a researcher or copy editor—if you can’t get in the door the traditional way.
And sadly it is a field that is much about “who you know,” so networking is crucial. I knew no one when I first moved to New York, but connected with two alumni from my university who helped me land interviews in the beginning. One of those interviews resulted in a job at Newsweek.
For travel specifically, having a region you specialize in, an area you know inside and out—whether it’s where you currently live or have spent significant amounts of time in the past—is key. Now that I’ve established myself as a California “expert,” I frequently have magazines approach me about doing stories from San Francisco, LA and Wine Country. Aiming to specialize in areas that are either remote—like Nepal, where there aren’t a whole lot of English-fluent travel writers on tap—or are widely covered, like London are Paris, are smart moves. If international travel is your desire, knowing multiple languages obviously helps significantly.
If you went to school, did you enjoy studying? Could you see where it might lead you at the time? What advice would you give to someone else who might be studying to get into your industry?
I loved every last one of my journalism school classes, from copy editing to broadcast reporting. I would highly encourage anyone wanting to pursue a travel writing career, or just journalism in general, to go to J-School and take as many varied classes within the field that you can. You might go in thinking you’d like to be a features writer for a travel magazine but come out realizing the TV side of things is more for you.
What do you think is the best thing about what you do?
I get to see the world on someone else’s dime! I also would like to think I’m a more open-minded, well-rounded individual thanks to all the places I’ve seen and people I’ve met. I grew up in a small community in the heart of the Bible Belt, where many people have never been west of the Mississippi, so my work has allowed me to expand my horizons a bit.
What’s the worst thing?
People, without fail, tell you you have “the dream job.” And sure there are parts of it that rock. But—just like with any job—there are parts that suck, too. My friends tend to see the amazing trips I get to go on, but not know the 18-hour days I log, all the hotels I have to inspect, tourism officials I meet with, the hours late at night and very early in the morning before my day even begins where I’m stuck in front of a computer trying to meet deadlines, the days of sitting in my home office in San Francisco when I’m not actually traveling, the pitching a story 27 times before someone finally shows interest. I’m never really off the clock. I pretty much work in some form or another seven days a week, and it’s hard to separate my work and professional life—much to the dismay of my husband, who would like more of my undivided attention.
You also have to be ready to pack up and go at a moment’s notice, or be willing to pull all-nighters for several days straight when an editor offers you a last minutes assignment with a quick turnaround. In essence, it may sound like a fun job, which it is some of the time, but it’s not all lounging on beaches and staying in five-star resorts. And it’s tough to maintain some semblance of normalcy or a routine in your home base if you’re always on the go.
Would you call yourself a workaholic, & if so, are you alright with that? Do you think that’s normal for your industry?
Without a doubt, yes. I’d like to be less of a workaholic, but in the current state of the media where page space is limited and publications have slashed their rates, I find myself doing double the work I was doing two years ago for no more money. I do think this is fairly standard in my industry—especially now with the number of magazines that have folded and jobs that have been cut in the last three years.
What would your number one suggestion be for someone who wants to do what you do?
Get out there and travel on your own first. Know that it’s what you want to do before you pursue it as a career, because one thing’s for certain: It will be a long metaphorical road ahead of you should you choose this path. As an unknown writer, no one is going to pay to send you around the world. In the beginning, you need to have an initial pool of trips from which to write. You don’t have to exhaust your savings fund to do it either. When I was starting out, I did a lot of cheap backpacking by using CouchSurfing as a means to stay in many different countries for free.
...How about number two?
Intern. Don’t ever say no to an opportunity, even if it pays very little or not at all. Nothing’s going to be handed to you on a silver platter—not in the travel writing world. You have to be scrappy to make it in this industry.
Start a blog. Even if no one reads it, it will get you in a habit of writing daily—and you never know who in the industry might stumble upon it and be impressed by your writing panache.
What do you wish you had known when you first started out?
That people will do what they have to to get ahead. Hailing from the South, I was pre-wired to give everyone the benefit of the doubt and assume that all people had good intentions, and that came back to kick me in the ass many times. Have a thick skin, and look out for yourself. I won’t say don’t trust anyone, but definitely watch out who you do. Again, it’s a small industry—particularly the magazine world—and people will have no qualms with slandering your name if it means they get something in return. It’s sad but unfortunately true.
Are there any major misconceptions about your job or industry?
That it’s easy. That’s it’s not really “a job.” Often, people just see the travel side of things and think I “vacation for a living.” The travel is the easy part—well, jetlag and insane amounts of time spent inside airports and planes aside—the fun stuff if you will. The hours of time spent behind a computer trying to sell your work, meet ridiculous deadlines and condense a two-week trip into 1,000 words—or much less—is when it gets hard.
People also tend to think that a) I must get to fly first class everywhere (I wish!) and b) I must have mega miles. Not true on either part. If I’m on an assignment, the person footing the bill picks the airline (the cheapest seat and most convenient route, I imagine), and when I fly for personal reasons, I always wind up buying the most inexpensive ticket out there. What this means is that I do have hundreds of thousands of miles, but they’re scattered among a good 10 airlines or so, which doesn’t do me much good at all!
Do you ever have any ethical dilemmas with the work you do?
For sure. Magazines and guidebook companies are hardly footing writers’ bills anymore, meaning we often rely on comps from boards of tourism, hotels and restaurants. Obviously, when a hotel knows you’re coming, they are going to try to show you their best side. You have to keep this in mind when writing your review. Thus, I always like to read a variety of consumer feedback from sites like Trip Advisor to see what other people think. That said, I’ve been to some places where I was staying for free and didn’t end up writing about—or else, wrote bad things, the truth—because they simply weren’t up to par. If a place sucks, I’m not going to say nice things just because they put me up for the night. But I think a lot of travel writers do, which is why people often question what we write—and rightly so.
Companies also like to approach journalists to review products, and especially now with the far reach of the Internet, so many writers and bloggers are eager to take the product and write a glowing review in exchange for free stuff. Not me. I get a lot of these requests through my blog. I’m not a free billboard. I’m happy to sell ad space or write up products I use on a regular basis or am truly passionate about, but nine times out of 10 I decline such offers.
What is the best thing that’s happened to you as a consequence of the work you do?
I learned to scuba dive. I was deathly afraid of the ocean until I went to the Maldives on an assignment a few years ago and was coaxed into diving on a dare, more or less. Today, I try to plan the majority of trips around where I can dive—my husband and I went to Borneo on our honeymoon to do just that—and never would have imagined I could turn my crippling fear into an all-consuming passion.
What motivates you to keep doing what you’re doing?
Knowing that there’s still so much of the world to see. Last I counted, I’d visited in the neighborhood of 80 countries, which means I’ve yet to explore a good two-thirds of the globe!
Who do you look up to within your industry & why?
Andrew Evans. He’s a fellow travel writer, who is now a contributing editor for National Geographic Traveler, and he’s such a hustler and gets things done. For example, his lifelong dream was to go to Antarctica, and he made that happen this spring by coming up with this fascinating concept in which he spent 10 weeks taking a series of buses from DC to the tip of South America, then boarded a Nat Geo boat that sailed the Southern Ocean. I loved following his Twitter and video footage on his journey; he’s just so poetic and can really convey the spirit of a place in a mere 140 characters. I’m also a fan of the work of Andrew McCarthy—yes, that Andrew McCarthy. He recently nabbed the biggest award in the travel industry, and it was much deserved!
Rate how happy you are with what you do out of 100 (100 being the best, 0 being devastatingly awful) on an average day.
80. I’d like to be doing more long-form features and less 200-word pieces here and there, but it’s all about paying one’s dues, right?
Is there much career progression available to you? What would you like to do next?
Eventually—like, 10 years down the line—I see myself doing less commercial travel writing and delving more into the humanitarian side of things, as well as lesser known cultures and their people. I’d also like to pen book-length travel narratives, like Bill Bryson, but perhaps with more a fictional slant.
Do you think you’ll continue doing this for the rest of your life?
I will definitely be continuing to travel—and for a job—in one form or the other for as long as I continue to work. Ditto to writing. Whether or not magazines specifically are my future depends largely on the outcome of the industry and whether or not it can survive the Internet take over. My fingers are crossed!
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