This week, we thought we'd switch it up on you a little bit. We have a new associate editor who you might not even realize is on the team, but she looks at just about every story that publishes on Inman. So that you can get to know her a little better, I had a little q-and-a session with her, and you can check out her work on her author's page. Without further ado, here is the woman quiet force behind the scenes. CAROLINE'S INMAN BIO Caroline Feeney holds a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Most recently she served as the associate editor for an alternative-health trade magazine. She’s written music reviews and personal profiles as well as analytical research reports, and her experience includes several ongoing freelance projects. When she’s not working, you might find her dabbling on the piano or engulfed in a great read. WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE PROFILED ON AN UPCOMING NEWSLETTER? Just send an email to [email protected] to ask for more details. | What do you do for Inman, and how long have you been doing it? As the associate editor, for most of the day I’m working with words, brainstorming ideas, processing content, developing stories and sometimes putting paper to pen (or fingers to keyboard) when we need the extra writing bandwidth. I joined the team in December 2015. What made you want to get into journalism or more specifically real estate journalism? I was a poli-sci major, and my original plan was to attend law school. A couple of English classes and an internship with the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants led me to refocus my career plans on writing. While attending graduate school at the University of Missouri-Columbia for journalism, I came to realize how much I love editing, too, and that’s been my emphasis ever since. My foray into real estate journalism happened by chance when I saw a job opening through my alumni network, and it’s a really exciting opportunity for me. We have such an interactive and sharp readership, made up of professionals constantly seeking to improve their businesses and their lives as a whole. You can’t say that about every industry. And then there’s the love-hate relationship with technology we’re always covering. It makes for fun and interesting content. What was your favorite article to write and why? This piece on 17 ways for agents to salvage work-life balance was fun to write because it was a mix of my own experience and inspiration from our readers. What do you do in your spare time? Reading, writing, jigsaw puzzles, yoga. What are your passions? Family, red wine, Iowa, equality, the ’90s, grammar (though I’m less pedantic than you might think – know the rules so you can break them), anything by Cheryl Strayed, English breakfast tea, Settlers of Catan, piano melodies. What advice do you have for aspiring writers? Don’t be afraid of the blank Word document. Just start typing. If you find you don’t have anything to write about at the moment, step back and listen instead. What advice do you have for new contributors? The more specific your articles can be, the better. Advice such as, “create a piece of viral content for your blog,” won’t resonate with readers because it doesn’t take them from A to B. Drill down deeper than the initial concept of your post. |