Networking=Editor in Chief

So, networking is more important than I realized! I always knew that to succeed in the writing world I had to play the game of "who you know". Never in a million years would I have guessed that it would lead me to a position that some people only dare dream of.

I am the type of person that goes to community events to hunt for magazines and newspapers covering events. Usually I'll find some contacts, get some business cards and then try to write for a new mag.

While interning for Style Magazine in Tampa I networked A LOT! I would volunteer to cover events just to get a contact. A co-worker of mine from Style was about to leave the magazine, but being the contact maker chick that I am I got all of her information before she left.

Needless to say she started working for another magazine, Focus. I jumped at the chance to get more information to possibly get more articles. I got the name of the editor in chief and wrote to her directly saying I knew the new account manager and that I was eager to write.

I was given a probation article and then after that I became a “stringer”. I started writing for the E Pasco and New Tampa editions and was always trying to learn more and get inside the head of the editor.

A few weeks ago I got a call from the publisher saying that the editor gave her two weeks notice. Based on my drive, eagerness to learn and all that jazz the editor recommended me to be her successor.

If you had told me last month at this time that I would be editor in chief of a magazine I probably would not have believed it. However, thanks to networking and building a contact base, here I am in the position of a lifetime.

Networking is so important! Don’t ever leave an event without a contact. Who knows, maybe you’ll end up an editor too!