Goodbye Magazines

Well, the magazine section of SPI is over and boy am I glad. Although there was a lot of interesting things about magazines I don't think I will pursue a career in magazines. There's just something about books... Anyways, we presented our finished fake magazines on Friday (my group didn't win but we didn't think we were going to). There was a magazine called Seersucker which focused on the preppy lifestyle which is apparently a thing. It really is just an east coast thing where people go to polo matches and hang out on their yachts. So basically it should just be called douche magazine and everyone would understand. They didn't win either thank goodness.
On Saturday I went to Phantom of the Opera and it was amazing! It also sparked the broadway bug in me and now I want to go to a million and one shows! I also ate at this place called Ellen's Stardust Diner (or something to that effect) and all of the waiters sang songs because they're all trying to be on broadway someday.
Sunday, my roommates and I went shopping! And ran into the gay pride parade on 5th Avenue which was pretty much amazing! I took pictures!
Tomorrow starts the book part of the program and I am excited because a different woman runs this section and I also love books. It seems like this section will be more relaxing than the magazine section which is good because I would like to do things other than sleep on my weeknights! So we'll see if I like book publishing enough to stay in New York or...if my current feelings continue...if I decide that the only part of book publishing I want to be a part of is the part where people are publishing my books!
Pile of Free Magazines we were given throughout last three weeks!

Spot the Naked Cowgirl in Time Square!
Float from the Gay Pride Parade!

Constant State of Tiredness

So I guess everyone wants to know what I'm doing exactly...Well, I'm sitting in a room that is set at the temperature of freezing-my-ass-off, listening to people from the magazine world speak for about nine hours a day. I am always hungry. I am always cold. I am always uncomfortable because I am a person who sits on her feet and the chairs in our lovely igloo room do not allow that.
I have learned all sorts of things like CPM's that's cost per thousands, and unique viewers, and SEO (Search Engine Optimization). I have learned about the business models of the Huffington Post, Consumer Market, Mother Jones, Spin, Rolling Stones, LIFE (It is now a website with really cool pictures on it so you should go check it out) and so many other magazines/content websites that I don't even know what to do with myself.
At the end of these three weeks we are launching a fake magazine brand that must be unique in its idea and expand into print, web, and social media. My group is made up of about ten girls and we are launching a magazine that supports eco-friendly fashion and beauty but will also have a section on green lifestyle. My job in this group is Web Marketing and Business Manager. I really don't have to do anything on the business side thank God because it turns out that numbers and I don't mix (as if Dad wasn't aware of that all those nights in high school when he tried to teach me math and I ended up crying). My job (as well as another girl) is to develop a facebook page and twitter account for our fake magazine and help the web editors come up with blogs for our magazine website. So I'm actually feeling pretty good about that. I knew all those hours on facebook when I should have been doing homework or writing would come in handy sometime! And thank God I joined twitter this year because it's apparently really big. Also something called foursquare is really big too. It has something to do with your city and you become mayor of your city by doing things on foursquare blah blah blah. Everyone hear gushes about it but I really think it's a big city thing. Who has time to become a fake mayor of something on the internet? No one. Or at least not me.
Hmmmm, what else have I done in a week and a half. I visited the offices of Everyday with Rachel Ray and got to eat some pieces of a porkchop made in their test kitchens where they test recipes to put in their magazine. I have fallen in love with too many magazines to count. I have discovered that I could never ever EVER be a vegetarian like one of my roommates (She said she's like a sixth generation vegetarian so it's the way she grew up. But she's also from California so that's not really a surprise.) I have applied for a paid internship which I most likely won't get but hey, it's worth a try and networked with some SPI (summer publishing institute) alums and got a card! I have visited the Empire State Building and the Metropolitan Museum of Art and also lazed in my apartment for an entire day because that's what eleven hour days do to you. (Insert Shannon telling me not to whine about my hours).
And now for something completely different...PICTURES!!!


Me and My roommates at my birthday dinner at the Hard Rock!

Sex and the City cosmo!!

This is the Woolworth building where we go to class and freeze all day long!

This last one's for Shannon!

Empire State of Mind

Hellooooo Everyone,
I'm writing from New York City. I've only been here three days and boy does it seem longer!! I've spent the last three days at the Summer Publishing Institute (SPI) classroom listening to speakers about magazines. The magazine business is kind of in a precarious situation right now so a lot of what we are learning is how to merge online with print and how to incorporate digital readers like the iPad and the kindle and whether we should charge for content and so on and so forth.
We actually get to listen to a lot of high up people in the magazine business. The Executive Editor from the Food Network Magazine talked to us today and we were taught how to network by the Mingling Mavin. She actually didn't tell me anything I didn't already know. I'm apparently very good at talking to strangers.
Hmmmm what else? My roommates are pretty cool. Their names all end in -ina so I'm the odd man out in our apartment. Eating here is kind of hard because none of us have any kitchen supplies. Right now I'm eating and using a paper towel as my plate. Classy! I got yelled at by a subway cop my first day for nothing but I was all "whatever dude!" and went on my way. Living in New York has actually made me revert to my study abroad mode because NYC is such a different culture. I am in the "Don't look anyone in the eye and keep to yourself" mode which is pretty useful.
Well, that's it for now, I guess. I'll have more later and I managed to take a few pictures of the Woolworth building so I'll post those soon.

New York New York

Hey everyone I'm just writing quick to say that I'll be trying to write at least once a week about my time in NYC on this blog so stay tuned for more news! I leave tomorrow very very early!

Also I finished my book....sort of. I still have some stuff to revise and tweak and add in but I have the bulk of it down. Right now it is exactly 50,000 words which is the minimum word count for a standard novel. It's also the longest thing I've written! Oofta! Anyways, I'm working on it a little bit more before I send it off into the unknown publishing world.

So I will report back soon with news of NYC!!