Rachel Nott describes her life as the editor of glossy mag Folio
Rachel Nott
Rachel Nott is the editor of lifestyle magazine Folio. The magazine is distributed to 30,000 shops, pubs, restaurants, hotels, health practitioners’ waiting rooms, theatres, libraries, estate agents, beauty salons and so on in Bristol, Bath and surrounding areas. Rachel is also the lifestyle editor of Folio’s sister magazine, Venue.
What made you become a writer and editor?
I love connecting with people, I find them fascinating. I love the fact that being a magazine editor gives me the opportunity to promote companies I believe in. It’s a very positive role to play and I get enormous satisfaction from it.
How did you find your first job in the media?
I did an English degree at Bristol University, and then decided to take an MSc in Computer Science. At school, I was as interested in the science subjects as I was in literature and the arts, so taking this one-year course felt like a way to redress the balance after three years studying English.
It was also a way of getting out of my comfort zone, as I’ve always found the writing side comes fairly naturally to me, and computer science was pretty tough going in comparison, though I enjoyed the challenge.
After I finished the degree, I worked for various web agencies in Bristol and quickly moved from the technical side to being a project manager. I produced some of the copy for the websites which I really enjoyed, and so I set my mind to getting into writing as a career.
I then got my first job in the media, which was as editorial assistant on a craft magazine at Origin Publishing. I managed to work my way up to editor in about a year. A year later, I moved to a larger craft magazine as editor.
How did you become the editor of Folio?
Two and a half years after becoming editor of my second craft magazine, I felt I’d learnt enough about how to put a magazine together to move onto something new. The magazine was in a good position in the market and it felt like the right time to focus on subjects that I’m really passionate about.
I was looking for the next step when the job at Folio came up. It was part time and freelance, and I hadn’t contemplated that before, but I thought: Why not? I decided to go for it. I’ve been at Folio since August 2007, and began in the middle of an issue, with two weeks until press day. Luckily I work well under pressure!
What do you enjoy most about being a freelancer?
It’s wonderful having the flexibility. I can go into the office when it suits me and no one asks what I’m doing. It feels completely autonomous. I prefer to start late and continue working late when the office is quiet. I also love the fact that as all my writers are freelancers, I get to choose exactly who I want work with.
What do you look for in your freelance writers?
I need to have immense trust in my freelancers; that they’ll deliver on time, and be able to deliver something that fits in with the style of Folio.
How would you describe Folio’s style?
Folio’s tone is friendly, bouncy, well-considered, thoughtful, humorous and hopefully uplifting. I want my readers to find the magazine useful and informative but also really enjoyable, like a warm hug!
What would you say are the key ingredients to a successful feature proposal?
It has to have a local element; to be relevant to Bristol and Bath. I look out for anything a bit different, or a new angle on something we’ve already covered. There has to be some sense that the writer has thought the idea through and knows who they will approach. There has to be a strong hook to hang the story on, something meaty that will stretch to more than 600 words.
When a new freelancer approaches me, I look out for a well structured email and a warm tone, individuality and a unique voice.
Please describe an average writing day.
Once I arrive, I check my emails and weed out the wheat from the chaff. This takes about three quarters of an hour. Then I make a list of what I want to achieve that day.
The rest of the day is taken up with phone calls, writing features, commissioning features, considering the cover, proofing pages, planning future issues, and going out and about for restaurant reviews, meetings and so on. It’s a total mishmash!
I also talk to the sales teams about the editorial coverage required by our advertisers – as a free magazine, we rely very much on their support.
What has been the highlight of your writing career so far?
Getting the job on Folio! Everyone thinks you need to go to London, to work on magazines like Vogue, but I love the South West and I love Folio. No other magazine provides the same range. I’m passionate about Bristol and Bath, I love eating out, trying out new beauty and health treatments and meeting people. Folio is pretty ideal.
I also love having the freedom to assert my own style, my own voice. The magazine has been going since 1994 and is the longest-running lifestyle magazine in Bristol and Bath. When I took it on, this was quite daunting as the magazine already had a strong identity. Over the past year or so I’ve come to understand it inside out and I feel Folio is now very much my baby.
What advice would you offer an aspiring magazine writer?
Get some experience. The more experience you have of writing for magazines, the better. Most magazines offer work experience schemes, so take a couple of weeks and join one.
Immerse yourself in the world of magazines and gain as much feedback and advice as possible. Build up your confidence, get your writing published and get out there, put forward ideas to people and email them examples of your published work.
Make sure you understand the specific publication. Don’t send blanket emails. Tell them exactly why you want to write for them. Find your writing niche and become a specialist in that area, find the subject matter you’re passionate about and know what your strengths are.
Related posts:
- Rosie Whitehouse describes the highs and lows of life as a war reporter’s wife - Rosie Whitehouse is the author of Are We There Yet?...
- Editor Sue Bartucca talks about her website The Risk Collective - Sue Bartucca has been working in magazines since she left...
- Author and filmmaker James Runcie describes the horrors of bad reviews and the joy of working with JK Rowling - James Runcie is an author and documentary-maker. He's written five...
- Jane Ingham describes how she became the co-owner of a successful publishing company - Jane Ingham was once the managing director of one of...
- Editor and writer Alexandra Shakespeare tells us what she’s learnt during her years of working journalism jobs - Alexandra Shakespeare is a magazine editor and journalist with 12...
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment