sarah ayoub, Freelance Writer

I answer all private number calls with “Hello, this is Sarah speaking”. Today, Boyfriend has his number switched on private for some work-related reason, and I am having a go at him because I keep thinking he is someone else calling to let me know that I have:

A) Won some magical cash prize that is going to fund at least my car rego and insurance payments, and let’s not lie, a mani and eyebrow wax

B) Scored some kick-ass job that will not have me travel to the far reaches of the galaxy and which will simultanously nourish my super-fund, my mind and my particular distaste for faraway parking spots and traffic

C) Earned a regular column that will sustain me in my current freelancing existence

D) Wowed the editors at some publishing house with the first chapter and synopsis of my novel.

As you can imagine, I am one bored, unmotivated and really tired woman. For starters, it has been almost four months since I was made redundant. My bank account is dwindling and there is so much I want to do and write, but there is limited motivation on my part (I blame recent bad luck for this) and limited opportunity/freelancing funds on the part of many editors. I feel that at 23, I am tired of trying and sick of pushing for a career that is just far too complicated for my liking. Is it really that impossible to be happy and satisfied when it comes to work?

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Rachel Hills does a lot of things. She writes for a number of online and print publications of both the high and low brow, blogs about life and other catastrophes at www.rachellhills.tumblr.com , helps to run the highly-visited NINEMSN home page in her role as Deputy Editor, speaks at festivals, forums and media events, and conducts copius amounts of research for her big thesis on sex and gender. In between, she’s working on a book, plotting her intellectual takeover over our media spheres and guising me through many a crisis as my mentor.

You can see here that I have a lot of nice things to say about Ms Hills, but these are not going to give her enough justice. How about you read this fabulous interview instead, and see for yourself what a goal-oriented, groung-breaking and awe-inspiring wordsmith she really is. Have a fab weekend, wordsmith laners xx

Who are you writing for at the moment? / What are some of your current projects? 

I’ve worked with a pretty broad stable of editors (see here for more info), but who I work with at any given moment is determined more by the stories I want to pursue than anything else – it changes over time. This year, though, I’ve done most of my work with Cleo and the Fairfax newspapers. I’m also working on a feature for Vogue, which I’ve jokingly started to refer to as ‘the story that never ends’. And then there’s my book and thesis.

You sold your first article when you were 22, an age where most young people are still trying to figure out who they are. Not even four years later, you have had over 100 articles published, all while juggling various part-time jobs, expansive speaking gigs, and most recently, a postgraduate research degree. How has this experience been for you? Does it seem surreal, or fast? And how are you able to stay focused on your major career goals and objectives while, in a sense, diversifying your avenues of getting there?

If anything, it’s seemed too slow. Too slow when I was figuring out how to get published, too slow when I was first starting out and couldn’t get the major mags to pay any attention to me, and too slow now that I realise this bloody book is probably going to take me another three years to finish (but when it is finished, I’m sure people will think it was fast, too)! There have definitely been some crises of confidence. That said, I still get a real thrill whenever I get a pitch accepted, and over the past year and a half especially, it’s been really wonderful to reach a point in my career where even editors who haven’t worked with me will usually take on my ideas, on the strength of my portfolio and reputation. That’s what this whole thing is about, really – being able to get your writing out there, and get it read. As for staying focused – obviously it’s hard sometimes when you’ve got so much going on, but overall I’ve found it’s reasonably easy to stay on track if your end goal is consistent. 

How did it feel to head up and participate in projects such as election tracker [which sent four journalists aged under 25 on the 2004 federal election campaign], interface and the Media Bistro events? Do you think that your creative community building efforts aid your career?

Fantastic. I was absolutely in love with electionTracker – at that point, it was the most exciting thing I’d ever done in my life – and Interface was my baby. I was incredibly passionate about both of them, and there’s nothing like working on a project you care about that much. They were also a great opportunity to meet some really talented young writers (if I hadn’t done electionTracker, I wouldn’t have started freelancing until much later) and learn ‘how things work’: things like how to negotiate access, how to get a panel up at a writers’ festival, how to get media coverage, how to manage people and be managed, and so on. That said, they were also exhausting – I was burnt out after both of them. When I was editing electionTracker, I had to be available to my writers between 8pm and 2am each day. I was also working another job four days a week, so I was editing ten articles each day and coordinating seven staff in the evenings. I was working so hard that I managed to come down with a different illness every week.

I got involved with Media Bistro when I met Laurel Touby, the company’s founder, on my first trip to the United States in 2006. She mentioned that she’d always envisioned her events as “salons”, a concept I’m quite passionate about, so I ended up volunteering to co-run her Sydney events. It was a great way to get to know a few more people in the industry, and to get to know those I already knew better, but I had to give it up when I started my thesis last year.

These projects were really good experiences in and of themselves, but they also introduced me to a lot of really interesting, inspiring people. Vibewire [the organisation that ran electionTracker and Interface] has always attracted very talented people, and I think this was particularly the case at the time that I was an editor. A lot of the people I worked with on electionTracker and as editor of Vibewire.net’s politics section are now doing really good work in the media and arts. I didn’t do the work for the purpose of networking, but the networks I developed through doing it were probably the best thing I got out of it.

What was it like to be an ambassador at the Emerging Writer’s Festival in Melbourne this past May?

It was great – one of the most flattering things I’ve been asked to do (and following on from the last question, I later discovered that it was someone I’ve worked with at Vibewire who recommended me to do it). I love meeting people and talking about writing, so it was pretty much heaven. I’ve been involved with four writers’ festivals, and the EWF was definitely my favourite: all the panels were really insightful and well-targeted, and it created an environment that was very conducive to interaction between the audience and participants, which is very different to most festivals.

How useful do you find networking, and how would you recommend Wordsmith Lane readers network for their career potential, without coming across as pushy or annoying?

That’s a tricky one. I suspect most people would say I’m great at networking (whether they mean that as a compliment or not is another matter), but I don’t own businesscards, and I tend to get quite shy and stick to people I know at networking events. That’s what was great about the Media Bistro events, actually. As hosts, we were told our role was to help meet each other - introducing people, checking to see that they were okay and so on - which I think makes it easier for most people to strike up conversations. And as host, it was my job to approach strangers, which made it much easier for me to do than it would have been otherwise.

In a professional sense, networking is about two things: letting people know who you are, and hoping they end up liking you. A good networker, in my opinion, is not someone who shoves their businesscard in your face, or someone who is only talking to you to get a job or freelance work. Good networking is simply good social interaction with people who happen work in your industry – it’s about being personable, passionate about your work and interested in other people. It’s literally about making someone a part of your ”network” and becoming part of theirs. Its professional payoff also hinges, I think, on doing good work – people won’t think of you or recommend you for a role if your work isn’t up to scratch.

If you want to network without being pushy or annoying, my advice would simply be to reach out to people you genuinely admire, and whose work you connect with – whether they’re editors, authors, bloggers or whatever. I do it all the time – not for personal gain, but simply because I want to be in touch with people I think are cool. Most writers love hearing from people who appreciate their work, and passionate, sincere, talented people will stand out every time.

You seem to have carved up a little niche for yourself in the areas of sexuality and gender, and also write quite a bit about politics and social issues. At the same time, you write a lot for magazines such as Cleo, which are obviously a different kind of publication for a different type of audience. How do you think you are able to tailor your writing topics and style to a variety of varying publications, without actually compromising on your interests or areas of expertise?

Quite easily – most of my writing falls under the broad umbrella of social and cultural analysis, and I just tweak it to make it interesting for different audiences. You do need to make an effort to learn the voice of each publication you write for, but even so, I think my individual writing “voice” comes through. And all my work is shaped by the same basic motivation – to write about the intersection between the personal and political in a way that challenges conventional wisdom.

How does your academic research and writing differ to your freelance work? /What are some of the similarities and differences between the two, and do you find it difficult to switch between them?

I think academic research can make you a better journalist – it’s made me think more carefully about how I approach interviews and phrase my questions. On the other hand, because I’m so accustomed to writing in a journalistic voice, it can be hard to turn off the colloquialisms when I’m writing academically - but then, that also makes your work easier for the markers to read. Overall, I think both use a very similar set of skillsets: talking to people, making sense of information and writing it down.

What were some of the difficulties you encountered when trying to establish yourself as a freelance journalist? Did you rely on any tools, mentors, groups or writers centres/courses for help?

The main difficulty I faced when I first started out was the same as the one most budding freelancers face – building relationships with editors who have no idea who you are (and because I had no contacts in the industry, they literally did have no idea). I think I was equally held back by my own fear and inertia, though. The first 9-10 months I was freelancing, I only wrote for the Fairfax papers - I understood how they worked, and I was afraid to pitch elsewhere. How did I overcome these difficulties? By asking freelancer friends for advice, by devouring websites like Mediabistro.com (not a plug – it’s how I got involved in the organisation!) and The Renegade Writer, trial and error, and good old “time”.

Writers that work from home (part-time or full-time) tend to comment about the merits of being able to work their own hours, or work in their PJ’s all day. Is that something that appeals to you, or do you tend to structure your day around a routine to keep you more productive?

I’m not a very structured person by nature, and when I was freelancing fulltime I would work all sorts of odd hours. I would also procrastinate a whole lot, reading blogs and the like for “research”. It wasn’t all bad – it meant I was incredibly well-informed about the issues I wrote about – but it also meant I could never switch off from work. I still don’t have a very clear delineation between work and non-work (I’m writing the answers to these questions at 11pm the night before I’m due to go on holiday), and I still don’t have a set routine, but I’m more organised now because I have to fit so much in. I recently downloaded a ‘to-do list’ application to my iPhone, and I love it. It’s a really effective way to keep track of everything I need to do, and it’s also really motivating – much more so than a paper or online to-do list, because I take it with me everywhere.

What are some of the difficulties that you encounter when working on a big project such as a book/doctoral thesis?

Staying focused. And not being swayed by the temptation to work on projects with more immediate gratification, like freelancing or blogging. I haven’t quite mastered that one yet.

What are your primary reasons for blogging? Does it get your ‘juices flowing’ in a sense?

I started blogging because I wanted to connect with people who read and enjoy my freelancing articles. The way in which I’ve done that has evolved over time, and will no doubt continue to evolve. As Erica Bartle once told me (quoting Jeff Jarvis), “do what you do best and link the rest”. So, I’ve learned that my “comparative advantage” as a blogger is in writing slightly longer, more considered posts - although still much less considered than my paid writing. I’m not about publishing 10 posts a day, or providing an immediate reaction, or post non-stop photos of myself and my life, although I’ve tried all those things from time to time. I’ve also learned that the audience I reach through my blog is quite distinct from those I’d reach through my mainstream media work – they might not buy the publications I write for, or happen to pick them up on the days or monthsI write for them. If I’m honest with myself, blogging definitely cuts into my paid and thesis work, but I also see it as a vital part of my vocation.

What is a typical day in the life of Rachel Hills, freelance writer?

Not nearly as much freelancing as I’d like! Generally I get up at around 8am, read some blogs while I eat breakfast and get ready, then write for an hour or two (thesis, blog, article research etc…), before heading into work for the afternoon – I work as a part-time editor for a major media company. I get home around 7pm, do some exercise, eat dinner, write some more and head to bed around midnight. That’s a very general outline, though – I go through phases where I get up at 6am, and others where I work until 2am and sleep late. And of course I don’t work late every night – I do have a social life.

What are some of the perks associated with your job?

Free books, movie tickets, the occasional concert (although it’s amazing how quickly journalists tire of these). Being immersed in information all day long. Being able to write and have people read what I’ve written.

And what are your career aspirations – especially now, compared to those at 22?

Well, I have most of the things I wanted at 22, now! I’d like to finish my book and for it to do really well – I’m aiming for influential international bestseller, but I’m also well aware that most books don’t do that. As wanky as it sounds, I’d like to be a kind of new school, highly accessible ”public intellectual” - with a presence across books, research, freelance features and essays, blogging, and whatever other media emerges over the next 20 years.

What advice would you offer to aspiring freelancers and wordsmiths who want to follow a similar career path? 

Work really hard and be persistent. The difference between people who want to be writers and those who actually do it is just that: working hard and not giving up. It took me two and a half years after I finished university for my writing career to even start to look how I wanted it to, although I also had plenty of fun doing other things along the way. That might sound like a really short period of time, but as any uni grad knows, it certainly doesn’t feel like it when you’re living it. I’m also a big fan of sticking to stories you’re passionate about and publications you enjoy reading yourself – if you like a publication, that’s usually a good sign that you and the editor have similar ideas about what constitutes a good piece of writing.

Ten in the Hot Seat:

1. Describe yourself in one word: Friendly. And analytical. That’s two, I know.
2. Biggest accomplishment to date: I don’t think there’s any single one I’d single out, more a whole bunch of little ones that all add up. I think my biggest accomplishment is the one I mentioned before – that for the last 18 months or so, I’ve been able to get some pretty hardcore pitches accepted based purely on my clips and reputation. It’s a bit of a writer’s dream, really.
3. You wish you wrote: The Beauty Myth.
4. Can’t leave home without: A bottle of water.
5. One thing you are currently writing: Thesis-related Vogue feature. And just submitted a review of Mia Freedman’s new book to the SMH this morning.
6. First thing you wrote: For pay? An opinion piece on Germaine Greer’s short-lived stint on UK Celebrity Big Brother.
7. Addicted to reading: My Google Reader.
8. Top spot on your goals list: Finish the damn book!
9. If you were a character in a novel, you’d be: None spring to mind. But caricatured and on a good day, I’d be Elle Woods in Legally Blonde 2 – optimistic, idealistic and tenacious. And I’d like to be Veronica Mars: smart and sassy.
10. The best thing about being a wordsmith: Being able to communicate about things I – and increasingly the people reading my work – care about.

Dear Wordsmith Laners,

Due to the fact that I am currently having a meltdown/freak-out/writing crisis, my brain, complete with its top-notch vocabulary and pretty good ability at stringing sentences together, has voluntarily left the building…and this blog post.  

This is because in an attempt to climb out of the career rut I blog so often about, I decided that today will be the day when I genuinely perfect/write my novel, in preparation for my first pitch to a publisher. And I think I am understanding why writers go crazy more often than not, and why Sylvia Plath stuck her head in the oven and died [slight exaggeration here, do not be alarmed].

In light of this, here are a few links which I think will keep you occupied. They actually make for good reading too…much better than my rant which will officially end here. Have a saner afternoon than moi!

25 things journalists can do to future-proof their careers – thank you e-consultancy [and Lucy Kippist for sending through]

You can still be a feminist in four inch heels – by Gillian Nalletamby for The Punch

We need to talk about money – by Rachel Hills

Melbourne Writer’s Festival – at Onya Mag

30 Dresses of pink – at Sassi Sam’s Girly Gossip Blog (love the dresses!)

Tipping Points – at Trespass Mag

Yes, I know you are a writer. And I am sure that you know that so am I. Some of us are freelance writers, or part-time writers who are working an entirely different job until we ‘make it’. Some of us have been trying to ‘make it’ for years, but we might be missing some pieces of vital information as to go about doing that.

I have always wanted to ‘make it’ as writer, but really, I think I just wanted to be able to sell articles. However, having been a full-time freelancer for about three to four months so far, I have realised that what I wanted before, and what I want now, are two entirely different things. These days, my definition of ‘making it’ means having a book published, being interviewed on TV or Radio or in the press, and getting to a point where people are ringing me up to write stuff for them, instead of me hassling editors via email and wondering when they’ll get back to me with a yes answer which is usually a no. (I’m sorry my life is not as glamorous or as successful as you might have hoped considering you are all learning from my mistakes, but hey, at least I am cutting my losses with you as my witnesses so you can learn how things go down before you go down yourselves).

Anyway, that’s not to say I have not experienced some sparing requests for work or interviews, but more to say that I’d rather be famed for my work and innundated with stuff I have to do in order to cultivate this now reaffirmed and redefined concept of ‘making it’. Some of this has been attributed to the work of UK Journalist & Web Designer Sarah-Jane Adams, who I have noticed, has a really good grasp of her work, and how to further herself with it. In fact, what I have noticed about Sarah-Jane is that she’s had so much success because she looks at herself, and the freelancing work she offers, as a sort of brand/company with a whole host of services.

And this is something that has really got me thinking. I mean, considering we work for ourselves half the time, why shouldn’t we treat ourselves as a brand? Why shouldn’t we have a business plan, a niche, a specific clientele and some sort of shopfront? My last few Skill Central posts have been concerned with the ‘work’ side of writing. How to break down writing barriers, how to write pitch letters and the like. Today, I have decided to go back to basics. Inspired by own personal career evaluations, and the examination of my goals list and my personal maps for achieving it, I have decided to bring you my top ways on maximising myself as a brand/business.

1- Have a plan: I didn’t start out with one, but now, my plan is taped to my closet door. Often, it’s not enough just to want to write and you have to be specific. Setting goals will mean making achieving them so much easier, especially when you have a deadline. Having a plan also allows you an opportunity to map out exactly where you are going and how – you might start out with free press first, then move onto online news portals, before pitching to the opinion pages of the papers. Or you might start out by work experience, then asking for a regular internship spot where you can write or go on stories with a particular team member, and then you’re more likely to get work (especially if aforementioned team member lets you in on the intranet job postings).

2- Invest in a ShopFront: In this day and age, NOT having one is no excuse. And before you rush out and splurge your life savings on a little office in some swanky part of town, think that I mean Shop Front in a metaphoric sense. To be a writer, you need to write and publish work. And people need to read it. With blogs and websites becoming more and more accessible and user-friendly (hello WordPress, Blogspot, and Typepad), it’s much easier to upload your work onto a site, thus making it easier for people to find you, or for you to showcase your work. It’s so much easier to say ‘for examples of my work, please see my clips at www.mysite.wordpress.com’ as opposed to attaching a whole lot of stuff that the editor would want to read. Plus, think of someone reading your work in once place and then being able to google you in a flash, or click through to a link in your website. I am telling you, work will multiply this way.

3- Find (and zone in on) your niche: Up until about 6 weeks ago, another thing that was taped into my closet door was a piece of pink paper that had the names of about 40 or 50 magazines and newspapers written on it. Apparently those were the titles I wanted to get published in. Since then, I have shredded the peice of paper and decided to go with the flow. I have decided that I’d rather concentrate on a select amount of publications and really develop my relationship with them, before I decide to branch out more. It’s a quality not quantity mentality – once I have the hang of writing for the first lot, then I can move on to the second. A good way to help prevent me from falling short or underdeveloping in terms of output for them. Another thing is, find something that you are really interested in, and make that your specialty. That’s not to say that you can’t write anything else, but it just means you are an expert in that section, and when commentary on that area is required, you are at a strong point. People who do this well are Rachel Hills (sex and gender); Katrina Lawrence and Zoe Foster (beauty); Erica Bartle (glossy magazines), Mia Freedman (women’s lifestyle/motherhood ); The Sartorialist (Fashion & Style ) etc. I am sure you get the gist. I have decided to focus on issues of race/culture, media and assimilation in Oz, with my main point of focus being the Middle-Eastern community. And, like it does with Rachel Hills, it relates to my university research, which means I get double the credibility, in a sense. For the others mentioned, it is because they developed that strength in their career, which is where their credibility comes from. Again, this is a quality not quantity approach, but it does work wonders. In addition, I’d also recommend not doing 100 things. Offer writing, blogging and speaking. Or writing, speaking and research. Stick to four things that you want to be known for as opposed to 10 on your main pieces of marketing. I myself have a few things offered on my services page, but you wouldn’t find them on my publication bios or on my front page. They are just the additional bits that I do until I am known enough to be able to concentrate on my four faves.

4- Cultivate your profile: Twitter, Facebook, comments on blogs, attendance at festivals, functions and events. Be prolific. When you comment on a blog posting, don’t just put your name/email – put your website there too. Post links to your work on facebook and twitter. Send an email to a favourite writer and see if they have any advice for you. Get an email signature with your name and title (eg: Sarah Ayoub, Freelance Writer), contact number and website. Go to a lot of functions/networking events? Get some business cards. Try match them up with your website too. And if you want to go the whole way, why not get a letterhead/invoice template done up in the process? There’s nothing like a bit of streamlined professionality.

5- You are a brand, but there is an industry: Sometimes, the investors in your business/brand (metaphor for the editors/publications you write for) get struck with things like the GFC and decide they can’t afford your services anymore. Or they might shut down, or get themselves a new editor who’s not exactly a fan of your style. This is where self-publishing comes in. And it works, because there’s always a market in the industry for new writing forms and topics. And what’s even more important is that you stay tapped into industry news. Subscribe to email newsletters, sign up to alerts, etc. Basically, just stay on top of your game, because there is always a chain reaction/process to everything.

As always, am happy to answer your questions. Good luck reaffirming who you are, what you do, and how you will do it

Good Morning Wordsmith Laners, and welcome to another week of writing galore, and the documentation of my personal journey out of a career rut, here at Wordsmith Lane. Not too long ago, I wrote about worthwhile investments – taking on work that required too much of my time for very little return. The past few weeks have seen me tackle some pretty bland copywriting jobs, and it has really sucked. So, I decided to spend all day ridding myself of such jobs, so that I can devote more time to the kind of writing/work that I actually want to do.

I have often talked about writing as a labour of love, but I’ve recently realised how easy it is to destory that love with boring, uninspiring work. The fact that I have experienced this kind of work for a while now, coupled with the fact that the freelancing gig has not gone as well as I had hoped, I have decided to get a little more proactive with regards to what I want to do.

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Picture me at 19. Awkward and naive, I had just finished my first year of uni – where time and time again it had been reiterated to me that getting a job as a journalist and writer was going to be a very difficult (and competitive) feat. But I couldn’t stop wanting it, and I was willing to do whatever it took to make it happen. Even if it meant swallowing my pride and approaching my fave magazine writers for advice. Enter Katrina Lawrence. When I first started reading her work, she was writing all sorts of fabulous fashion features for Shop, but prior to that she had been the beaurty editor at Cleo and one of Shop‘s senior eds.

One of my favourite pieces of work was one where she interviewed women who had either lived overseas/traveled to a particular destination extensively – writing about the best haunts in their respective cities. So, with a meek little wonder as to whether or not she’d think I was an idiot, I emailed, and soon enough, she replied. I expected her to write a few little titbits in an email and shoot it off, expecting to never hear from moi again, but it wasn’t the case. Katrina emailed me back, offering her phone number and suggesting we meet up to discuss my career plans. And I’ve admired her ever since. A few weeks ago, when I was writing about Satchel Girl Erica Bartle, I said that there might be a rare few women in magazine editing who are not as snooty as we believe. Like Bartle, Katrina Lawrence is one of those few. She invited me into her home, where she displayed a genuine interest in helping me out, and answered all my subsequent emails in the months afterward. Nowadays, she’s recently finished a maternity leave contract as Beauty & Health Editor at Madison magazine, and looking to continue work on her fabulous beauty blog www.beautyeditor.com.au while she has a baby of her own! I hope you guys enjoy this great interview – both for its informative titbits of a writer’s career path, and because it’s the last post for beauty writing week. Beauty writing might be all about products, even though we all want to espouse the ‘beauty is on the inside’ kind of mentality, but I stand to think that this woman has gotten her beauty from helping others out without ever taking credit or anything in return. And that is something that warrants a glow that no facial, scrub or serum can compete with. Good to see I have high hopes for this baby being in good hands…and well moisturised ones at that! Have a great weekend everyone x

You’ve gone from being an editor on a number of major magazines [Katrina has worked in senior roles on Cleo, Shop Til you Drop, and most recently, as a maternity-leave-cover Beauty Editor  on Madison] to full-time freelancing. How does a lifestyle of being your own boss compare to working for someone else?

You know, I actually prefer working full-time. I love a salary, it keeps my spending in check! And you miss holiday leave and pay once you are no longer entitled to them. The problem is, I’m at the point in my career now where I’ve become quite picky. I don’t just want a good position, I want a good boss, title, team and publishing house. It’s very rare that you can tick all those boxes. But until a dream job comes up, I’m quite happy freelancing. After almost five years, I’ve finally got my head around it. And, of course, there are the lifestyle benefits. Even though some weeks see you writing 24/7 – which is all too easy to do as you’re living in your office – other weeks see you with lots of free shopping time on your hands. Not always great if your invoices haven’t been paid on time … but that’s another story.

Freelancers tend to comment about being able to work their own hours, or work in their PJ’s all day. Is that something that appeals to you, or do you tend to structure your day around a routine to keep you more productive?

It depends on my energy levels each morning. Sometimes I’m really sluggish so I need to preen myself and power-dress in order to feel ready to tackle my work. Other days, I wake up raring to write and I literally roll in front of the computer and type away until I realise that it’s 11am and I’m still in my robe. It’s essential to have a to-do list every day – it’s just good to be flexible regarding the order in which you tick it off.

What is a typical day in the life of Beauty Editor?

I do three to four posts a day at the moment (more on Monday, when I’m uploading the weekly content). First I look through all the latest celeb events and decide on a look of the day, which I then post along with a mini how-to. Next I answer a reader question. Then, I have a look at my list of beauty releases and see if there’s anything new on counter that I’ve been testing and that I can review. I try to do product review a few times a week, but some weeks are really slow and I prefer to only review when there’s a product I think worthy of being written up. Finally, I write my diary entry, which is the bloggy bit and is usually some random beauty musing that has been on my mind of late.

The rest of the day usually sees me working on one or two freelance projects, as well as attending at least one product launch.

Are you still writing beauty, health and style for mainstream magazines, or are you concentrating on getting back into your blog?

Sure am – that’s my bread and butter right now. I won’t be able to devote full-time hours to the site until it’s making enough money from advertising to justify that. That looks to be a while off unfortunately. Baby steps …

Most bloggers find that, at least initially, it’s very hard to get your writing read by a large audience. Do you think that your work on the glossies made it easier for Beautyeditor.com.au to work?

I think having the credibility as a beauty expert has certainly helped me to keep the readers. But getting them in the first place is the tricky part, no matter who you are. This process has been really interesting. I’ve had some great support from friends and acquaintances in magazines and newspapers but there’s a surprisingly small correlation between a good magazine write-up and an increase in traffic. The key is online PR and word of mouth – you need that direct link to make sure people are motivated enough to visit. Some of my best spikes have been when I’ve been quoted say on ninemsn. I also syndicate the Beauty Diary section to madison in return for a link, so this has provided a steady stream of extra traffic.

How did the idea for your blog come about?

I wanted something that would be me in a project. I thought about everything I knew and was interested in, threw them all together, and this site just made perfect sense. As soon as I found I could get the URL I wanted, it all fell into place.

What were some of the difficulties you first encountered swapping from a very senior editing role to blogging? Was it hard to establish an audience, build up the site, find your niche etc?

So many stresses in the beginning … Finding web designers. Working with the designers. Having arguments with designers about the aesthetics or intellectual property … It’s a really costly process and, unlike at a magazine, there’s no IT department to help you out. I didn’t mind the fact that I was starting at the bottom again though, because I knew I was building something that would be mine. If I’d stayed in magazines, I would have put all of that effort and words into a magazine’s site, and in the end I think that would have been much less rewarding.

Did you consult any mentors or guides to make the process a little easier?

Not really, which was wrong. I was so determined to get it going that I didn’t do as much research as I should have. I’ve had two design phases though. For the redesign, which is what you see now, I did a lot more research and as a result have a more workable site.

Beautyeditor.com.au has been around for a few years, although in the past year or so, we have seen the Beauty Writing industry really take off. These days, we have the likes of beauty portals, beauty manuals, and beauty websites, which means that the beauty pages on the magazines are not as in demand as they once were. What is your take on the issue?

Consumers increasingly google before purchasing a product, which makes forums, blogs and review sites all the more powerful. I think there’s a whole new world of beauty experts out there and magazines must accept this. Having said that, I’m still very much a glossy-loving girl and I totally get why most advertisers still prefer to see their product on a pretty page rather than a computer screen. But speaking of advertisers … I think magazines need to be very careful about how much sway they let advertisers have over editorial. Of course, advertisers are crucial in these times, and they’re customers as much as readers are, but the key is keeping that balance. Magazines have limited page space and you don’t want to get to a situation as a beauty writer where all your precious space is being devoted to writing about product you might not necessarily love. One good thing to know, however, is that beauty writers are never told exactly what to say. You might know that you have to mention something, but it’s up to you how to write about it. A beauty writer should never personally endorse a product – say, via a tried & tested type execution – if she doesn’t believe in it. (I remember once way back having to write about a really coarse face scrub I absolutely hated – so I included it as a two-in-one value buy, saying it was perfect for feet). The only way beauty pages will remain credible is by getting the right mix – one of being both market-report and editor’s-favourites.

A lot of people dismiss beauty writing as airy-fairy, but there’s obviously a lot of work involved in testing a whole load of product, looking at new research, writing about it in an accessible form for varied audiences (because obviously everyone has different skin tones, hair types etc) – and continuing to do so in an engaging manner. This is obviously a challenge that means beauty writing is just a credible journalistic path to take as traditional news or feature writing. What do you say to this?

You know, I never call myself a beauty journalist, I prefer to say writer. Because it’s definitely not pure journalism. You’re constantly doing a balancing act between giving practical advice, considering commercial concerns, and wrapping it all up in a fun or pretty package. I actually used to want to be a political journalist (can you believe). And I admit, sometimes the limitations in beauty writing frustrate me. But 99% of the time, I simply enjoy it. And if you can find any job that does that for you, you’re lucky.

And, as you said, there’s a lot more to beauty writing than just writing. The testing is fun (of course!). Getting your head around the ever-changing technology of it all is a good challenge. And if you enjoy the business side of beauty, it can be very interesting to meet these amazing marketing and R&D minds working at the big beauty companies.

How do you work with your blog? Are your postings inspired by press releases and industry news, or do you rely on the questions asked by your readers to write up your bits and pieces?

The site is divided up into various sections, so that all depends. For Beauty Spot, which is where I post product reviews, I rely on my PR contacts for access to product and information. Beauty Expert is where I run a Q&A with a beauty industry insider, and Beauty Q&A is where I respond to readers. For the other sections, I mostly use my own knowledge as a basis. But for the blog specifically (Beauty Diary), I tend to react to industry and celebrity trends as they happen.

How do you think the layout and colour scheme of the blog enhance the overall writing experience?

I know that some web designers like a tricky design in order to kind of confuse readers and keep them on site for longer. But feedback from my readers has been that they really appreciate how easy my site is to navigate and that they never feel lost or frustrated. I make a point of writing everything in a quite boxy sub-headed way, so each page is also easy to dip in and out of. I also think that clean elegant font, lovely relaxing colours, and pretty pictures are essential for making the experience a nice one.

Are you freelancing for any particular titles at present?

Yes – currently for Madison, Shop Til You Drop and Harper’s Bazaar. I’ll probably take a couple of months off magazines soon, as I’m due to have my first baby in around five weeks.

Do you have a goals list that the Wordsmith Lane readers can have a sneak peak at?

Uh, does giving birth without too much pain count? Or getting my waist back? I’m really not seeing my bigger career picture very clearly at this stage in my life – it’s all getting my head around nappies right now – but I definitely want to keep growing my site and see where that takes me.

Give us one good reason why we should follow your blog.

What my tagline says – it’s all you need to know about beauty.

What advice would you offer to aspiring bloggers, freelancers and wordsmiths who want to follow a similar career path?

Set yourself up as a credible expert first. I couldn’t have gone freelance successfully without eight years of beauty writing at Cleo and Shop behind me, not to mention all of the relationships I had established with editors and deputy editors in this time. While blogs are great for finding your voice, it’s also important to not launch one in a big way until you are seen as at least somewhat of an expert in that field. Everyone has a blog now, so the ones that will stand out in the future will be the ones that have the strongest voice. So that’s just another reason to work as a full-time writer first. Oh and save some money while you’re on a salary – you’ll need it when you go freelance, take it from me.

Ten in the Hot Seat:

1. Describe yourself in one word: Happy.
2. Biggest accomplishment to date: Finding life balance.
3. You wish you wrote: Skinny Bitch.
4. Can’t leave home without: My dog, Daisy.
5. One thing you are currently writing: A piece on new pigment technology.
6. First thing you wrote: A magazine all about Cleopatra for a primary school history assignment.
7. Addicted to reading: Anything on Paris, France and the French.
8. Top spot on your goals list: Right now it’s to be a good mum, followed by dealing with the post-baby body, and getting back to my old yoga routine.
9. If you were a character in a novel, you’d be: Alice in Wonderland, I’ve been obsessed with her since the age of three.
10. The best thing about being a wordsmith: Finding new words and ways to express myself. Believe me, that’s not always easy when you’re trying to write about applying blush for the 1000^th time.

Let’s get one thing straight. I seriously consider myself to be more adept at say, trekking through deserts (though admittedly, I have never tried) than putting on make-up. In fact, I remember our year 12 fundraising trivia night because the girls in my highschool dragged me to the bathroom to give me eyeliner application lessons. Come to think of it, stuff like that happened to me in highschool a lot. And it was not always good (in year 7, the girls in year 8 wanted me to wear blue eyeliner – yes I know – for our college sport carnival. Unlike their much-more mature selves, I had no idea what it was, and as soon as they put it on, I rubbed my eye and ruined it. Needless to say no one rushed to help me out much after that).

Case in point, I was always the plain jane, and frankly, quite content about it. However, most of the time, plain jane’s aren’t as attractive as their bombshell counterparts, especially when they’re always the last to be seated/noticed/served etc. So I figure, I might as well jump on the make-up bandwagon and get a little bit more educated than I currently am with regard to pretty-prepping my face.

Of course, I can’t fund a pricey male-up tutorial on my freelance writer’s budget, but thanks to the beauty writing boom of late, I don’t need to. Websites, blogs and magazines are left, right and centre telling me how to do it on an on-demand basis. And then ofcourse, there’s the beauty manual, and the one to own is none other than the one by cosmetic and beauty queen Bobbi Brown.

With its pretty pink blusher cover, and its inside front coverspread of make-up colours galore, this is definitely a library/boudior must-have/lust-have. Brown covers literally everything about beauty in a step-by-step, language for dummies, photos for example kind of way.

In fact, she starts us off with a basic intro into why she created the book and what it serves to do, then moves on to the advice we need before we start applying – ie, what we ought to be using equipment wise, and the best way to pick, choose and maintain our tools. Chapter three takes us through skin basics – ie, getting pretty on the inside and on the surface before we start applying the fake-stuff. Brown dishes the dirt on everything from cleansers, toners and moisturisers, to the importance of sunscreen and the terms we need to familarise ourselves with when we’re talking epidermis.

Moving on, chapter 4 examines the place where most of the action takes place – the face. Brown tells us how to prep and choose the best concealer and foundation before going through the usual (but lovely) bit about diverse skin types and how they are all beautiful. And in a move I consider to be very smart, she takes us through special skin conditions and how to address them – just before the fun stuff begins – starting with the application of bronzers, blushers, powders and self-tanners.

Fun stuff starts with a look at the colour and application of make-up on the lips, before moving on to the eyes in chapter six. Like a true beauty expert, brown devotes a whole section to eyebrow shape and defintion (because we all know they frame the face), then goes through eyeshadow, liner and eyelashes. Bonus points for a tutorial on applying falsies!

Chapter 7 comes with the ever-necessary face chart tutorial and a ten-step guide to perfect make-up, which, assuming we master, takes us through “Special Makeup Applications” – bridal, teen, agesless beauty, bad-day make-up (I heart this book so much right now) and, in a very smooth move, makeup for pregnancy.

For those of us who want to take makeup to a more prfoessional level, chapter 9 is gold. Brown looks at breaking into the business of makeup artistry in various ways, before delving into yet another guide on the equipment 9this time for the professional) in chapter 10. In like manner, chapter 11 follows through with advances make-up applications for photos, TV and film, and shucks, working with celebrities, plus more.

And in a move that will impress the girly girl inside us all, as well as those of us who think more in terms of beauty and image as a social phenomenon, Brown leaves chapter 10 for memorable makeup moments and legends -  guiding us through the history of make-up and the who’s who of makeup land.

With sub-headings, a consistent format, credible attention to detail (I mean, we’re even told how to clean our tweezers) and great photography, this is the perfect guide to a beautiful world (if you pardon the pun). So much so, that even the plain jane inside me is loving it! This book is art, about art, and I don’t think it would be amiss for every girl to have a copy. Whether you’re clueless or clued-in, it’s an amazing piece of work that really gets women more aware of what they’re putting on one of their most important features- their face! And to add to its credibility, it doesn’t actually just promote her cosmetic brand-  it’s genuinely a piece of education. What’s more, this little investment could even mean less trips to the makeup counter because of its advice on what to choose, what suits, and how to care for what we;’ve got or what we buy. Plus, its step-by-step application instruction means you might never need a make-up artist again!

A sound investment that earns 5 mint patties from the likes of me. Go forth and prettify!

**********************GIVEAWAY ALERT******************GIVEAWAY ALERT************************

THANKS TO THE COOL PEEPS AT HEADLINE, WE HAVE TWO COPIES OF THE MAKEUP MANUAL TO GIVE AWAY. SIMPLY EMAIL SARAH[@]WORDSMITHLANE.COM AND ANSWER IN 25 WORDS OR LESS, ‘WHAT KIND OF BEAUTY QUEEN ARE YOU AND WHY?’ . BUT SORRY GUYS, COMP ONLY OPEN TO RESIDENTS OF THE FAIR LAND DOWN UNDER (OR AUSTRALIA, WHATEVER FLOATS YOUR SURFBOARD REALLY). YOU HAVE TILL AUGUST 31ST TO GET YOUR ENTRIES IN. GOOD LUCK.

**Image courtesy of the Irish Beauty Blog

Beauty Writing. It’s everywhere. Make-up Manuals are hitting our bookstore shelves in waves, making it easier for us to learn the tricks of the beauty trade without having to store all our old copies of Cosmo or memorising tips we learnt at the Clinique Counter. Beauty portals are making it easier for us to network with other women whose interests in beauty mirror our own. Beauty websites and blogs mean that we can ask whatever questions we want when it comes to our regimens, our tastes and whatever suits us – meaning that we have a beauty expert on hand 24/7. What’s more, these beauty blogs also ocasionally come with beauty tutorials, so we have on-demand demonstrations that take us from desk to date, and frumpy to fabulous, in no time.

And then there’s the writers behind the beauty boom. Where the world of beauty was once a sophisticated, almost secret society that rendered magazine power-women even more inaccessible than a coveted, limited-edition perfume, it is now an access-all-areas arena for us to all absorb. Take Zoe Foster’s Air Kisses. Although it was a work of fiction, it did look into the role of the beauty editor – complete with product avalanches landing on desks quicker than copy, PR mayhem, manic launches, and as main character Hannah seems to experience, a no-need-for-training-and-practice-before-you-start-telling-us-how-to-apply-lipstick kind of life.

And to keep up with the rapidly evolving industry, magazines aren’t relying on their fun and flirty pages to keep themselves going anymore. Take ACP’s 30 Days of Fashion & Beauty, which comes with a whole host of interactive things to keep you firmly in tune with the industry, as well as its gatekeepers. We can finally have access to overseas products within moments, and find out exactly what looks our fave celebs are chanelling and how we can emulate them. We can literally be part of a new world.

With so much to keep you in the loop, beauty writers are working better and harder than ever before. Which means that critics of beauty writers might have a lot more to answer to. In addition to reviewing the latest products and dishing out noteworthy advice, beauty has also moved to an increasingly holistic approach. And with the onset of new technologies that offer a whole range of treatments for a wide array of conditions, beauty writing has taken on a scientific angle that is peppered with research into the skin, hair, and body. A lot more serious, don’t you think? And what’s more, men are getting in on the action – in fact, David Smiedt has ocasionally done a beauty write-up or two (albeit funny, sarcastic ones) for glossies such as Madison and Shop.

So for the aspiring beauty writer reading this post – don’t dismiss beauty writing as a solid career. It is rapidly growing, and evidently going places. I’ve always discussed that writing is an art form and a labour of love, and personal experience has shown me you’ll never be happy unless you are truly writing what you want to be writing. And with bigger audiences lapping up your work, and the opportunity to turn your expertise into books and personal ventures, you can never go wrong. Plus, at least there’ll always be a pretty package of goodies landing on your desk to keep you satisfied!

In other news, new writing forms in the land of beauty aren’t restricted to editorial either. When a Model Co press release landed in my inbox earlier this week, I was mightily impressed. It was the most gorgeous press release I had ever seen, it was hard to remember that it was marketing material! So you see, even PR is getting innovative, making beauty a jackpot worth buying into – especially considering it’s cheaper than the It-Bag!

Finally, someone who caught on to the Beauty Boom Bandwagon pretty early in the game (and it’s paid out for her) is online Beauty Queen Jackie Maxted, who is the founder and CEO of Australia’s number one beauty website www.beautyheaven.com.au. We caught up with her online (is there any other way to do it when you’re discussing new ‘booms’ in beauty writing that have mainly taken place on the web?) to discuss all things reflective of this boom. Maxted’s expertise sheds light on the launch and running of her own beauty information and beauty marketing networking portals, why beauty is such a big deal to women, and why we’re seeing it in more ways than one with the onset of new technologies.

I hope you enjoy this insightful interview. And do tune in tomorrow and Friday, because we’ll be reviewing Bobbi Brown’s make-up manual (and giving two lucky readers a chance to win a copy each), checking out some new releases in beauty land courtesy of Planet Earth, Sebastian Hair and Invisible Zinc, and interviewing the lovely beauty editor-come-beauty blogger Katrina Lawrence of Beautyeditor.com.au

Do you think that the beauty industry has gone through a significant boom in the last year or two?

The beauty industry undergoes constant change – it’s an exciting place to work because there are always new products to launch, new ingredients to learn about, new trends to follow and an ever-growing number of brands from around the world with great stories to share.  In the last year or two, with the growth of online media, it means that products, news and general beauty information is now globally available, so Australian women can be as ‘in the know’ as the rest of the world.

Would you attribute this to the rise in digital media (most of this boom seems to be online), and the fact that we are part of an increasingly image-dependent culture?

I think the growth and success of digital media has enabled women to enjoy the freedom to participate in the beauty world from a global perspective.  What I mean by that is that Australian women are now connected to beauty trends and beauty news from around the world  – which also gives them round-the-world shopping freedom.  Overseas brands that were once highly-coveted and could only be snatched up on overseas trips, can now be purchased from the comfort of your own home online. This development has totally opened up the market by making everything accessible.  Women are developing an expectation that if a product is available in the US or in Europe, then we in Australia are entitled to it as well! 

What roles do you think beauty manuals, like the ones by Bobbi Brown and Natalie Bloom, and fictional books about beauty editing (like Zoe Foster’s Air Kisses), have in this boom?

Many women now have amazing depth of beauty knowledge – and this can most definitely be attributed to the availability of beauty information.  While beauty manuals like those from Bobbi Brown and Natalie Bloom would certainly be contributing factors, the growth and diversity of expertise has arisen for two reasons – first, women want information about beauty because they see it as their right to know and second, the information is widely available through so many different sources.  You can visit a cosmetics floor of any department store and consultants, brochures, samples and product trials are instantly available. Many thousands of beauty product reviews are available online (beautyheaven has 30,000 already and this is growing everyday) as well as the amount of printed material in glossy magazines, it’s no surprise that we now have a generation of beauty experts.

You publish both Beautydirectory.com.au and beautyheaven.com.au . What is the difference between the two publishing platforms?

Beautydirectory is a research tool designed and developed by beauty editors to access beauty product information online as they write their beauty stories.  It was launched ten years ago and now has more than 600 brands and 20,000 products in its database.  Beauty companies join the website to have their brand and product information made available to this powerful group of influencers.  Beautydirectory now has a team of nine people working with the beauty brands and writing daily updates as well as reporting on all the beauty social events that take place each day. This enables its members to stay in the loop and keep in touch with what’s happening in the beauty world.

Beautyheaven is a consumer version of beautydirectory – an online beauty community of more than 100,000 women each month who come to the site to share, learn and do their pre-shopping beauty research.  With daily beauty updates and an ever-growing bunch of beauty-fanatics it’s the online beauty hub where chatting about beauty is the main focus, but chatting about anything and everything is also the norm.  beautyheaven is like an online magazine, but very different in that we don’t tell women  how to do beauty, we share our beauty experiences and they do too!

What made you establish them, and did you encounter any criticisms from the outset?

When we started beautydirectory the industry welcomed the idea and thought it was an amazing innovation. Since then we have been asked many times where the concept came from – but it actually was original!  We were lucky enough to have a good idea at the time when digital was just starting to happen.  At the outset, in 1999, email and internet access was only just starting to be widely available so we were asking for a fairly significant behaviour change if the idea was to work.  Ultimately it did work because the technology matched expectations of those using the site – we got there early enough and established ourselves as trusted experts in the online environment. 

Beautyheaven was simply a natural progression – we took all the learning’s from our early digital participation with beautydirectory and used it to create a ‘next generation’ site – using web 2.0 technologies – to deliver a mix of high-quality information, a huge product database and combined that with social networking features including the forum, real women’s product reviews and the ability to share and chat about our content.  Beautyheaven is as much the product of our business and the people who work here as it is of the members who spend time with us.

What do you think it is about your work that makes you one of the country’s 50 most influential women in the digital media industry?

Probably that we started early, made our mistakes and learned the hard way – but always looked for innovation and quality in the online environment.

Beauty has so obviously moved from just make-up counters in department stores and pages in magazines.

In your opinion, what are some of the directions that the beauty industry will go in, now that there are wider publishing platforms and opportunities? What do you think is of utmost value to audiences in this day and age?

The industry will probably have to accept that if you want to keep in touch with women and talk to them about beauty, they can no longer afford to remain only in the realm of print publishing and television. 

Many beauty companies are already embracing this and are delving into lots of exciting activities in new media – we have recently run some great campaigns for beauty clients like Nivea, Palmolive, and Neutrogena – but brands like Clinique and L’Oreal have been venturing into online for a few years now. 

What beauty companies are challenged with is how to deal with the unknown potential for online shopping.  But online is not all about shopping!  What the digital age has created is the amazing opportunity for companies to understand their consumers better than ever before.  And what is of value to audiences is the chance to share experience and information with other consumers and with the industry too.

Why do you think beauty is important to women?

Most women want to be the best they can be – and beauty is one of the ways that we judge ourselves.  The beauty industry offers women the opportunity to enhance natural features using clever and innovative tools and techniques.  It’s actually quite sophisticated and it constantly amazes me that women of all ages have all these incredible skills in make-up, hair or body products to create the best look for themselves.  What I love about this is that they also share that knowledge and expertise with their friends too. It’s also important to remember that while looking beautiful can be important to women, it is also a way of having fun as well!

Do you think beauty writing is a credible form of journalism? Why?

Absolutely!  There are many aspects of beauty and hundreds of different product types – but the differences between these and the benefits of using them requires in-depth knowledge of some very technical ingredients and an understanding of what makes them work.  This is especially true of age-management skincare products – which is probably one of the most fast-growing parts of the industry.  Even once you have grasped the technical side, the journalistic challenge is to explain this in a friendly and interesting way to the audience.

You also have loads of experience (and success) in public relations – why did you decide to branch out into web-publishing?

I have a short attention span! While I loved my PR career and had great clients too, I love a new project.  Actually, it’s ten years since we started now and must be time for pastures new……

Last night, my Facebook status went something like this: 

Sarah Ayoub has spent the last 6 hours and a bit waiting for her turn at the doctor’s surgery. During this time, she played a series of songs from her Mp3, wrote an article on her laptop before the power ran out, made friends with about five other patients, kicked up a stink, read the latest InStyle magazine, threatned to smash a window, debated looking for a new doctor with her boyfriend and ordered takeaway when hunger struck.

As you can see, yesterday I spent the time between 10am – 4pm hanging for my turn in my doctor’s waiting room (I’m a newbie to his surgery, but he’s really good). During that whole time, all I could think about was all the work I could have done at home and the blog entry that would never be (you could imagine that my brain was just about fried from spending all that time in the one room).

That said, things are pretty delayed for me as a result. I am on deadline for a couple of articles (one’s a paid piece due Monday, and the other is a free piece of work), so I’ll be conducting interviews left, right and centre today. Plus, I have a couple of copywriting jobs due (and I am ready to kill myself because they are so immensely draining, and boring) and I really want to churn out some uni work and some creative writing.

Plus, I haven’t forgotten our beauty special this week. This arvo, I’ll try and post a little snippet on why we’re running beauty week, and tomorrow and Friday there’ll be interviews and reviews for you guys to read through to learn more about the beauty writing industry which is positively booming!

Stay tuned, and apologies for my lack of attention. I am literally typing with one eye open ’cause the other one is half asleep! Any ideas on time management?? Or shall I say, motivation-enhancement?

Dear Wordsmith Laners,

Due to the fact that I am otherwise engaged in absorbing the warmth outside, my brain has decided to stop functioning long enough to string a sentence together. In fact, it is so pretty outside that I am willingly doing outdoor household chores to soak up as much of this odd winter weather as possible.

But fear not, I shall be back with more wordsmith postings tomorrow, as well as some beauty reviews for gorgeous hair, skin and hands. Plus, in honour of  beauty writing week, I’ll also be giving away two copies of Bobbi Brown’s Makeup Manual for our Aussie readers (sorry everyone else!).

Hope you’re also soaking up some sunshine from where ever you are xx