Rachel Hills is a 29-year-old journalist, social researcher, and blogger based in London. She's contributed to publications like Cosmopolitan, Vogue, Glamour, and Jezebel, and is currently writing her own book about Generation Y, sex, and identity, along with keeping up with her blog. WadidoLA sat down with Rachel to discuss her career and to see if she had any advice for our readers who might be interested in journalism!
WLA: When did you first become interested in journalism and blogging?
Rachel: I’ve always been interested in writing, society and culture: in primary/elementary school, my favorite subject was social studies and in high school, I used to write serialized novels, which I’d hand out to my friends to read each Monday morning. I launched my first website back in 1998, and it was writing content for that every week – and coming in to school early to post it online – that made me realize I might want to be a journalist.
WLA: As a freelance journalist, do you stick to certain topics?
Rachel: My major “beats” are sex and feminism, but recently I’ve written about the myth of hook-up culture and why it appeals to people, what it’s like to care for aging parents, why it’s considered cool to be catty online, and the rise of Tea Party politics in Australia. To offer a few examples! The main thread that ties my work together is a desire to cast a critical eye on the assumptions we usually take for granted.
WLA: Can you give our readers any tips on how to break into the journalism world?
Rachel: Be persistent. Even the most talented people need to write a lot to hone their craft, and you need to write even more if you want to convince editors to publish and pay you. Starting a blog is a good way to develop your writing style, connect with people and generally have fun – and I highly recommend you do it, if you haven’t already – but in my experience, the journalism world and blogging world still operate as fairly separate spheres. So you need to be pitching, submitting your work for publication, and developing your newspaper/magazine/curated website voice as much as you need to develop your blogging voice. You can read more of my advice here [http://rachelhills.tumblr.com/post/115107971/seven-enviable-lines-advice-for-freelance-writers] or elsewhere on my blog. [http://rachelhills.tumblr.com/tagged/creativity]
WLA: What have you accomplished so far in your career that you are most proud of?
Rachel: It’s funny, because I’m usually so focused on what I want to achieve next (for the past couple of years, awesome book deal) that I often forget to appreciate what I’ve already done. I’m proud that I’ve published around 200 articles [http://www.rachelhills.net] across almost 30 different publications. I was thrilled when I had a story published in Vogue. I jumped up and down like a crazy person when I got my awesome agent a couple of months back. And I love how lovely and engaged my blog readers are – and that my readership is growing so quickly at the moment. The audience may be tiny compared to when I write for Cosmo or the Sydney Morning Herald, but it has a much bigger impact on people, I think. And of course, I love that I can do this full time and not starve – that’s no easy feat.
WLA: Are you currently working on any specific projects?
Rachel: Lots! At the moment, I’m trying to wrap up about 10,000 words worth of feature stories before I fly back to Australia for a vacation in four weeks, and am putting the final touches on my (70 page!!) proposal for my book The Sex Myth, which will hopefully (fingers crossed!) go out to publishers around the same time.
To check out Rachel's work, visit her website here.
For advice, musings, and really just anything interesting, check out Rachel's Tumblr.
To be kept up to date with what Rachel's doing, follow her on Twitter.
To be kept up to date with what Rachel's doing, follow her on Twitter.
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