As potential SPIers frantically prepare their applications for the NYU 2017 Summer Publishing Institute, we thought we’d ask some members of last year’s class to give you an inside peek at life during and after. Read on to hear from a sales assistant for SHAPE, a member of the production team at Thrillist, and an assistant to a literary agent. Their candid comments are a great way to learn more about NYU’s renowned six-week summer program for recent college graduates interested in careers in books, magazine and digital media. If you haven’t started that application, there’s still time! The final deadline is March 13th. For more information, or to download the brochure and application, click here.
Shape
Secrets of the Freelance Life
Being stood up by Britney Spears in Las Vegas, going on free vacations, and filing stories from sweatshops in Mexico all come with the territory, a panel of freelance journalists told students at NYU’s Summer Publishing Institute (SPI).
As Donna Sapolin, Magazine Director of SPI, deftly moderated, four top freelance writers and editors generously shared secrets and advice about how to get published happily and steadily in some of America’s leading publications. How to get started? Virginia Sole-Smith, who has filed stories from sweatshops in Mexico and whose bylines appear in the Progressive, the New York Times, Martha Stewart Living, and Elle, among other publications, suggested setting up a schedule to help keep on track. When she was starting out, she made a list of potential stories and publications which might run them, and then resolved to pitch three stories a week. Within three months, Sole-Smith was a published journalist. “Set your own goals and deadlines and be strict with yourself,” she emphasized. [Read more…] about Secrets of the Freelance Life