INTERVIEW FASHION WRITER
GRACE TIMOTHY
has articles for Vogue and Glamour under her belt due to hard work, talent, and the right connections. Where are you working currently?
What led you to fashion journalism?
I have just recently left Condé Nast to go freelance— from Vogue fashion and then Glamour beauty. I have also started a blog: www.the-three-graces.com, which covers fashion, beauty and lifestyle.
I always enjoyed writing, but it was my internship at The Times that really sealed my fate—not just because it led me to Vogue, but also because it proved to me that fashion and beauty were the fields I wanted to cover, and what that kind of life really entailed beyond the parties and free clothes everyone talked about.
Is your background in journalism? I studied History of Art at Nottingham University, with a dissertation in the history of fashion photography. Having written fashion articles for the University newspaper, I then went straight to London and began as an intern at The Times in the fashion department. I was asked to stay for a long-term placement and began compiling their beauty pages in addition to my work assisting the fashion team. After six months I went back to Sussex and worked for a number of regional titles, while contributing to London titles and doing the odd internship. After about a year, I got a job at Vogue as Fashion Coordinator, writing for the fashion features department and liasing between the advertising and fashion teams. So what do you tell people in your “elevator speech”? I write fashion and beauty stories for a range of titles in the UK.
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How do you find writing jobs? Do you pitch to employers, or do they find you? For the most part you have to pitch, but I have found word-of-mouth often leads to approaches by newspapers and magazines as well. So if you work exceptionally hard for someone, his or her recommendations will serve you well in the future. What steps did you take to get started in the industry? Interning at The Times was my main way into the industry. After that, it was just applying by letter to every magazine for internships, until the job at Vogue came up. Is there something you wish you knew but don’t yet? How to produce the perfect pitch, one that is irresistible to editors! How are you marketing yourself? How much of a part does social networking and blogging play? I am using Twitter, a Facebook page and LinkedIn.com to promote my blog, and it does count for the majority of hits. I have also been offered work through LinkedIn, which is a great resource for journalists and PRs alike. I also have a website (www.gracetimothy.com)