Congratulations to the second winner of the Renegade Writer Career Makeover Contest — Jen Miller! Jen is looking to jump from health and service writing into her dream gig — writing about books and authors for major publications. Keep an eye on the blog for more from Jen, and we’re determining which of our experts would be best to help Jen meet her goals.

Jen’s winning entry:

Team Renegades! Help!

I’m a year and a half into full time freelancing – best job in the world. I’ve written about everything from dating to architectural marvels. Heck, I was even groped by Pauly Shore (okay, my foot was). I’ve broken into some major markets, too: Woman’s Day, Health, Wired, The New York Times.

My problem is focus. What I’d really like to do? Be the person who writes about books and authors for major publications, like Vanity Fair, Elle, GQ, Esquire, Playboy. I want to review for the New York Times, Washington Post, LA Times and the New Yorker. I have author interview clips from national magazines (Psychology Today, Pages, Paste, Poets & Writers), I now review for The Philadelphia Inquirer (after FOUR YEARS of pitching), plus I’m a member of the National Book Critics Circle. But I can’t seem to jump over that hurdle into dream markets. I have been having active email conversations with editors at Entertainment Weekly for months but haven’t been able to land an assignment yet. Same thing with Discover and Playboy. It’s encouraging to hear back from those editors, but frustrating at the same time when they keep saying “no, but keep trying.” I wonder if I’m casting my net too far and/or too wide. I’ve been poking at Elle for two years now. I got a response once – a rejection that basically said the editor was more impressed I was from her region than the pitch. I followed up a few times but nothing, and now she has a different role with the publication.

The bulk of my salary comes from service and health pieces, plus some corporate writing, and that’s all fine and dandy. But I’d rather be interviewing authors and sitting on my couch reading and be able to count it as work. One of my happiest moments this year was roaming the isles at Book Expo America. I ran into Philadelphia Inquirer book critic Carlin Romano in the BEA press room, and it was like I’d met a rock star. I was sitting on the floor, repacking my suitcase, and I heard him introduce himself to another person in the press room. I literally yelled “You’re Carlin Romano?!” I couldn’t help but be rude. I’d been reading his criticism since high school, and there he was. He looked a little startled and said I was the first person to officially “spot” him – ever. I couldn’t wait to tell my friends who I met. None of them cared, but they thought my enthusiasm was encouraging.

Help me be a book dork for life! Look, I’m cute and nerdy enough. Just look at this picture of me after catching the bouquet at a wedding…

Jen A. Miller

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