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On Wednesday, Cynthia Leive, Editor-in-Chief of Glamour, came to my university to give a Master’s Tea, which is basically a conversation between the Master of the residential college, the Guest, and interested students. As soon as I saw the flyer in my school newspaper, I knew that I had to attend and I’m so glad I did!
Leive was very well-spoken, friendly, and refreshingly down-to earth. She started off the conversation by telling us about her career path and sharing the lessons she has learned along the way. When she was in college, one of her first internships was with the Saturday Review in Washington, D.C. That magazine was primarily about literature, but at the time was going through financial troubles, which caused the Editor at the time to take on the responsibilities of another magazine, which was a magazine for Phillip Morris. Leive said that she learned about the tricky relationship between editorial and advertising when she worked at that magazine and had to edit articles in support of Phillip Morris. Another internship she worked was at the Paris Review, where she fact-checked for a volume of Russian poetry that the magazine was publishing at the time. At that job, in the age before computers, this meant that she had to go to the New York Public Library every day and scan microforms to check the spelling of these authors’ names. With that experience, she remembers being bleary-eyed and tired from all the time she spent at the library, but shared that it was absolutely worth it to be around the amazing writers and editors of the magazine.
From there, Leive moved on to Glamour. She remembers the very first thing she wrote that was published in the magazine, which was a small caption accompanying a picture in a beauty article. Just like many people, she started from the bottom and worked her way up. She said that as her writing style improved, she began to pitch ideas for articles, until one day she pitched an article about investigating why cases in New York that were strongly recommended by the police to go to trial were often rejected by the DA’s office. Her boss loved the idea and suggested they get a big-time writer to write the piece. Naturally, she was disappointed because it was her idea, she had already begun researching, and she really wanted to write the article. She said at that point, she could have gone back to her desk and stewed about it, but instead, she sat down and wrote a respectful memo to the editor about how passionate she felt about writing the article. Long story, she got the assignment and wrote a piece that went on to win some awards! Her message with this story was that we shouldn’t be afraid to pursue the things we are passionate about.
She also talked about how she became Editor-in-Chief of Self, where she worked to really focus the magazine on health and wellness issues. Due to her efforts, revenue for the magazine increased greatly. Then she moved back to Glamour in 2001 as Editor-in-Chief. In the second half of her talk, she focused on how digital media has become so important in magazine publication. One example she cites is the case of their September 2009 issue. As soon as that month’s issue was released, the staff at the magazine began to receive emails commenting on “the woman on p.194.” This page featured a small picture of model Lizzi Miller, a normal and healthy-looking young woman. You can read more about the buzz over that picture here, but basically Leive said that it was amazing to receive that sort of immediate feedback from the readers, which wouldn’t have been possible in previous years. Also, she said that the staff is really working to improve the website because they don’t want the website to simply be an online version of the print magazine, but instead to have more content for the readers and more ways that the readers can interact with the staffers and voice their opinions.
In the Q&A section, Leive fielded all types of questions, from the future of couture (which she feels will still continue in the larger, international fashion houses that have a solid foundation) to how she balances work and her family life (saying that her husband is a extremely supportive of her and spends a lot of time with the kids). She said that her entire career has been a learning process, that her job is evolving every day, and that she can only imagine what it will be like in a couple of years!
I thought that she was a stylish, real woman that perfectly exemplified what I love about Glamour. It is fashion and fantasy, but “attainable” for the real woman, as she described. Also, they include articles about issues that affect women and really try to listen to the readers when they voice an opinion. As a fun little activity at the end, she showed us the three covers of the May issue and had us guess which one would be the best-selling cover. Most people chose Freida Pinto or Emma Stone, but I went with Freida because I think she is gorgeous and would totally buy a cover with her on it! At the end, I went up to the front to shake her hand and I have to say it was quite thrilling! I thanked her for coming to speak to us and told her how fascinating her talk was and later, when I tweeted her to thank her one more time, she totally responded! I thought that just showed how she really does care about interacting with her readers. :D
I hope you guys enjoyed this post on my experience and if you have any questions, do let me know in the comments, on twitter, or by email! :D
![It's a very belated book haul! These are the four books I picked up on my trip to Australia back in May. Of course I had to check out some bookstores on my first trip to Sydney and I think I ended up visiting 9 in total (check out my stories to see the mini bookstore vlog I made)!
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It was so fun book shopping over there since majority of the covers are different from our US covers. I couldn't resist this pretty edition of PACHINKO, which I've already read. And when I picked up this copy of PEOPLE PERSON, I was so excited to see it because it wasn't out yet in the US at that time. I also bought two books that I hadn't heard of before I discovered them in the bookstore: IDOL and LOVE AND OTHER PUZZLES.
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Do you tend to prefer US or UK book covers?
[P.S. This is an old photo that includes a HarperCollins UK title, but please note that I support the HarperCollins Union.]
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[ID: A stack of the following books sits on top of white bedding in front of a white wall (from top to bottom): PACHINKO, IDOL, LOVE AND OTHER PUZZLES, PEOPLE PERSON.]
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#Pachinko #Idol #LoveAndOtherPuzzles #PeoplePerson #whattoread #beautifulbooks #bookhaul #booksandtravel #travelandbooks #bookishaesthetic #bookstacks #bookstacklove #ukbookcovers #ukbookhaul #newbooks #bookbuying #bookpurchases #coolgirlsread #readerslife #bookishcommunity #australiatrip #stackofbooks #bookwormlife #booksandbooks](https://starcrossedsmile.com/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed/img/placeholder.png)
Hey nnenna, what a great opportunity for you! I love glamour and am not surprised that such a strong woman like Cynthia is the power force behind the mag! Thanks for sharing your experience at the masters high tea! I'm going to read my new issue of glamour now!
Ooh I loved reading this and learning about her!
Great summary! She's definitely an inspiring woman, and it's amazing how a seemingly small photo got so much response! I still remember Glamour's "size" issue with Alessandra Ambrosio, Brooklyn Decker, and Crystal Rehn.
What a great speaker, listening to such accomplished women really is inspiring, and shows that hard work does pay off ;)
~Giselle
http://www.machinewashwarm.blogspot.com
Thanks for posting about this fantastic unique experience! Now others can learn from it, too. xo style, she wrote
Ooo, can't wait to see what you made! Thanks for the great ideas Jamie and I won't forget to show you the results :D
wow! that's so great that you got to see her! and i'm not really looking for anything in particular. I do have some jobs in line, it's a matter of which one fits me the best :)
http://samalamode.blogspot.com
I really enjoyed reading this – she sounds very interesting!
You're so lucky you got to go see her,
Rosie x
Nnenna!! Yes girl try it and lemme know how it turns out :) turning buttons into earrings = also very cool! im finishing up the Pay It Forward 2011 jewelry and will post them on my blog and prob sell some stuff on etsy too because i made a whole lot of stuff! so i hope you find lots of cool buttons and make lots of cool jewelry! xoxo!
jamie, blogredhead.blogspot.com
Wow, what a great experience! We never had any cool people come talk at my school! :o(
Thanks for visiting my blog, I'd love if you followed! :o)
-Samantha
http://thisfashionista.blogspot.com
oh wow, how exciting! so inspiring.. so happy you were able to experience this :) its so cool she responded to your tweet too, hehehe!
your school is amazing for arranging something like this. would've loved to be there :)
http://fashioneggplant.blogspot.com
How cool. Thanks for that great description of the event. I feel like I was there! So cool what a down-to-earth Editor in Chief she is. I love Glamour magazine! it's one of my faves!
Claire
http://spinning-threads.blogspot.com
that's so cool!!
Cynthia sounds like a really interesting woman. I think it's always great to meet people with impressive careers because it shows how they worked to get where they are now.
I am so glad that you shared this!
http://www.glamkittenslitterbox.com/
Twitter: @GlamKitten88
I'm so glad you went to this – I was really curious about it and it sounds like an amazing experience!
xoxo ~ Courtney
http://sartorialsidelines.blogspot.com
this is amazing, im very jealous!
Helen, X
areyoudressingupordressingdown.blogspot.com
wow that is such an amazing opportunity i am jealous i wish i could have gone!
<3 steffy
Steffys Pros and Cons
Soooo elegant dress! Love it!
http://lovestylemagic.blogspot.com
OMG!!! This is absolutely amazing!!! I love Glamour! You're so lucky!!! THanks for sharing this experience :)
XoXo
Plami
http://fashion-thrill.blogspot.com/
This sounds FANTASTIC! She honestly sounds like such a fantastic editor… I love when I read a magazine and feel a connection like this.
xo Josie
http://winksmilestyle.blogspot.com
what an amazing experience!! thanks for sharing :)
I t was great to read about her career path and know that hard work and perseverance pay off.
http://roamwhereyouwantto.blogspot.com