Job title: Senior speechwriter at Fenway Strategies
What led me to my present position: Ben Krauss, who runs Fenway, reached out to me final yr by way of e-mail. Until then, I had labored primarily as a journalist and overseas correspondent — however, given how influential the determine of President Obama was throughout my coming of age, I definitely knew about this agency, which was based by his former presidential speechwriters.
Although I had dabbled in speechwriting and communications, I didn’t assume it was in the playing cards for me to do it full time, however Ben stated he thought my background in journalism was an asset for the work his agency did, and that my different writing expertise had been transferrable, and he was proper. As a part of my interview course of, which included two writing exams, I nearly met everybody else on the firm, which is now about 15 individuals, all totally distant. I knew I needed to work with them straight away. I joined final October, and it’s been a large privilege to work right here ever since.
How I spend nearly all of my workday: Fenway has been distant for the reason that begin, lengthy earlier than the pandemic, in order that they have operations all the way down to a science. We are a small start-up, so all the things is organized with devoted software program: Monday.com to maintain monitor of assignments, Slack for many communications, Google Docs for modifying all our speeches. Most individuals are on-line from roughly 9 a.m. to five:30 p.m., however numerous individuals could keep on-line a few hours earlier or later once we’re engaged on particular assignments. (And my colleagues are in at the least three totally different time zones on any given day.)
When I’m assigned a given challenge, I normally begin with a name or video chat with our shopper, then discuss by way of it with a colleague, draft it, after which lastly share it with the entire workforce. Anywhere from one different particular person to the whole firm will assist edit the textual content for each kind and content material — one thing we frequently discuss with as “Fenway magic.” It’s wonderful seeing these tracked adjustments pile up, as a result of they invariably go away the textual content in a higher place than it began.
Speechwriting is certainly not a solitary endeavor. I at all times really feel fortunate that so many sensible individuals have their eyes on each doc we ship out — particularly as a result of I’m the least skilled speechwriter there, for now. We could have additional emails and requires additional rounds of edits, so lather/rinse/repeat till it’s “shipped.”
8:30 a.m.: I stumble away from bed and instantly draw two photographs of espresso from my Nespresso machine. Truly not a morning particular person. I open Slack and e-mail; nothing but. I click on by way of German flashcards on this app known as Anki — I’ve simply began studying — till the caffeine hits my bloodstream.
9:30 a.m.: My boyfriend wakes up and goes again to Manhattan. He by no means units an alarm, as a result of he doesn’t have a 9-to-5 job, which I believe is among the final true luxuries.
10:15 a.m.: My colleague Kat shares a draft of an op-ed on Slack that she must ship again to our shopper by the tip of immediately. We have a devoted channel for every shopper. I do a mild modifying go utilizing monitor adjustments.
11 a.m.: I’ve a Quest bar. I don’t actually prepare dinner. Some have known as my workday consuming habits abject, and I wouldn’t contest that; I might merely add that they’ve fueled me by way of seven years of distant work, in a few totally different nations. I wander into the kitchen each hour or two to scavenge for one thing, which immediately additionally contains a buttered English muffin, two soft-boiled eggs with chili oil, an arugula salad, an apple and a Diet Coke.
12 p.m.: My colleague Sammy has shared a draft of a speech define with us, and I go away some recommendations as feedback. I have to admit it took me a few weeks to really feel assured sufficient to counsel edits to anybody else, however I slowly bought the grasp of it by observing how my colleagues edited my very own work.
12:30 p.m.: Time for our weekly all-hands check-in assembly on Google Meet, the place we run by way of what assignments everyone seems to be engaged on and contact base about one another’s lives. Several of my colleagues have written books in current years, for example, which I believe displays on our beneficiant work tradition.
1 p.m.: I ship a direct message to my colleague Adam in regards to the timeline on a draft we owe a shopper; he says it’s been pushed to subsequent week. I maintain tabs on all the things assigned to me on Monday.com, as a result of it may possibly pile up, particularly round busy durations like graduation season.
2 p.m.: I’ve been working with one other colleague, Kyle, to jot down up some speaking factors in regards to the provide chain for considered one of our different purchasers. He’s finished the latest spherical of edits, so I clear up the doc after which share it with Kat, who’s probably the most skilled amongst us in working with this shopper. We undoubtedly want her eyes on this earlier than we ship it again to them, which I’ll do tomorrow.
3 p.m.: Because a lot of my associates nonetheless make money working from home now, we attempt to reap the benefits of co-working alternatives earlier than somebody is summoned again to the workplace. (That particular person received’t be me, as Fenway has by no means had an workplace.) I take the subway to the National Arts Club in Gramercy Park, headquarters of the Newswomen’s Club of New York, the place I’m assembly my associates Laura and Sophie, a newspaper and journal editor, respectively.
3:30 p.m.: I do an modifying go on an op-ed for a nonprofit chief that my colleague Patricia has been engaged on for a whereas. We additionally interact in some mild hypothesis about the way forward for Wordle after its current New York Times acquisition.
5:45 p.m.: I submit immediately’s check-in as a bullet-point checklist on Slack, the place we’re prompted to recap our day at 5:29 p.m. It’s one solution to keep accountable in a comparatively chill and decentralized office — and for letting individuals know when you’ve got a mild week and are free to assist edit extra items, or tackle new assignments. Miraculously, neither considered one of my associates has work spilling over into the night, which is our cue to order a glass of wine. We additionally get some deviled eggs, the precise type of passe menu merchandise I can’t resist. There is a nice Negroni on faucet right here, however none of us is as much as that problem on this explicit weekday.
6 p.m.: I’ve simply had a mind wave about a piece we’ve been hoping to assign at The Drift journal, a literary journal that I assist edit (as a part of an all-volunteer employees). I do not forget that an thrilling author we Zoomed with final fall could possibly be a good match for a piece we’ve been desirous to assign on pandemic-era fiction, so I draft a quick e-mail proposing that to her, which I share with our founding editors, Rebecca and Kiara. They make some tweaks and ship it her means.
6:30 p.m.: Sophie and I’ve realized we’re heading to the identical e book celebration this night, so we stroll down collectively to the Soho loft the place it’s being held. We make a dent in the hors d’oeuvres desk earlier than the room fills up, however the primary occasion continues to be to return. The e book is about public monuments and the creator (artwork crime professor Erin Thompson) has had a cake made in the form of a bygone Confederate monument — which she proceeds to smash with a small mallet!
9 p.m.: Still, hours of small bites have taken a toll, and I’m consumed by ideas of pizza. I head to Upside Pizza in a fugue state and get one plain and one pepperoni Sicilian slice. They gasoline me for the quick stroll to my boyfriend’s home in the East Village. He has to take a name in one other time zone earlier than bedtime, so (after scrolling my telephone for a whereas) I crack into “Within a Budding Grove,” the second quantity “In Search of Lost Time,” which some associates and I try to learn in full this yr. It’s nice to date!