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Headlines, hard work, and hot water: New Yorker staff writer Jia Tolentino shares lessons from eleven years in journalism
From a stint in the Peace Corps to dealing with hate mail, Tolentino has seen it all. Here’s her advice to young writers, plus what she really thinks about getting an MFA.
Jia Tolentino may not have had many examples to imitate, but she hasn’t let that fact hinder her. In the past decade, this razor-sharp writer has built up a resume that includes placing work in respected journals, making the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in the media category, and even composing a New York Times bestseller. She visited Interlochen Arts Academy as a guest author in the Creative Writing program this October. Here, she shares honestly about her struggles as a young journalist and offers insights into a challenging and exciting career field.
Chasing the dream—from Kyrgyzstan to Craigslist
In the ever-changing world of journalism, the path to success isn’t always clear-cut. Tolentino knows this well. Just as she graduated college, the 2008 recession swept the country. Tolentino, who didn’t have the funds to move to New York, began to feel like she’d never get a job in journalism. She opted to join the Peace Corps instead.
“I was 20 years old, and I felt like I had some time to just try something,” she says. “I’d always wanted to do something like the Peace Corps. I thought it would be hard, which it was, and interesting, which it also was.”
After a year of experience in Kyrgyzstan, Tolentino began to earn her living as a copywriter. She took random Craigslist jobs to make money, all while dreaming of a day when she could write freely and be paid for it.
“I wanted to figure out: ‘How can I find a way to get paid to write whatever I want?’ That was and remains the dream.”
She decided to apply to fully funded MFA programs, and was accepted to study fiction writing at the University of Michigan. The program didn’t end up opening many doors for her, but was valuable in other ways—in effect, she was paid to write and take classes.
“An MFA does not help you get jobs, unless you want to teach,” Tolentino says. “But being at Michigan gave me a lot of time which was paid for. And I used it to my best advantage.”
She used her spare time to pen articles for a variety of websites across the Internet. Slowly, Tolentino began to build a portfolio—and a reputation for boldness.
As a writer, you are not well served by caring what other people think about you. Your greatest pressure has to come from within.
Becoming a tough-skinned writer
Tolentino has never shied away from challenging topics. Race, marriage, abortion, and more have featured prominently in her writing, and she’s also quite formidable when it comes to music criticism.
“I’ve intentionally tried to keep my lane very wide,” she says. “It was something that I had to do at the beginning when I was working for very small sites, and I needed to demonstrate broad abilities.”
Her hard work paid off when she began landing regular writing positions. In 2013, she started writing for the women’s website The Hairpin. Three years later, she took a job as deputy editor at the feminist news site Jezebel.
Finally, she began to experience some of the freedom she’d always craved.
“As an editor, I wrote about politics, pop culture, ethics, feminism, and capitalism. I wanted to tackle thorny conceptual issues,” she says. “I tend to write about things that inspire strong opposing reactions in me. Do I feel attraction and repulsion at the same time, or understanding and disbelief? I think that those combinations of emotions tend to interest me.”
When asked if she’s ever gotten into hot water over something she’s written, Tolentino has to laugh.
“I've been writing on the internet since I was 22, so I can’t even give you an isolated incident,” she says. “This craft requires that you have a tough skin, especially if you’re a woman. As a writer, you are not well served by caring what other people think about you. Your greatest pressure has to come from within. ”
Tolentino’s skill and audacity eventually earned her a coveted position as a staff writer at The New Yorker. The years that followed brought more success in the form of Trick Mirror, her debut collection of essays. The book was an instant New York Times bestseller.
By any young journalist’s definition, Tolentino had arrived.
Waiting tables gave me a much deeper understanding of the human condition than being someone's assistant at The New York Times ever would have.
Tolentino’s advice for young writers
Jia Tolentino’s journey has provided her with more than a decade’s worth of wisdom on how to navigate a writing career. Now, when she shares her story with young students, her first admonishment is simple: don’t be in a rush.
“It’s tough for extremely gifted students to hear, but it's true,” she says. “I didn't even start calling myself a writer until I was in my twenties, and I've ended up with one of the luckiest, most fortunate positions that a writer my age could hold.”
Along the same vein, she encourages young writers to temper their eagerness for publication.
“Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should,” she says. “I wrote a novel while I was in my MFA program. I could have published it. I didn't think it was good enough, and I'm really glad I didn't publish it. I think patience is really important.”
When she looks back on her time in the Peace Corps and the numerous other jobs she’s held, she sees experiences that have made her the writer that she is today.
“Do anything you can that improves your brain and your writing itself,” she says. ”I got a lot better at my job from working random minimum-wage jobs. Waiting tables gave me a much deeper understanding of the human condition than being someone's assistant at the New York Times ever would have.”
She speaks warmly about the Interlochen advantage, saying that Arts Academy students are off to a great start simply by virtue of their school choice.
“Just by being at Interlochen, these students are far ahead of the pack in a long and confusing game,” she says. “I want to encourage them to conceive of their passion as a lifelong practice that they can cultivate irrespective of the market. It's a profound privilege to be able to engage your passions in your paying work in any way.”
Throughout her journey from overwhelmed college student to New Yorker staff writer, Tolentino has exemplified all the guts and adaptability that success in online journalism requires. Her presence at Arts Academy showed aspiring writers how unique experiences can add up to an exciting and meaningful career.
“I don't presume to think I’ll be remembered for my work,” she muses. “But that's not what I'm after. I hope that in real time, I will help people through my writing. I’m much more concerned with that.”
Each year, Creative Writing students at Interlochen Arts Academy learn from renowned guest authors like Jia Tolentino. Learn more about Creative Writing at Interlochen Arts Academy.
