Meet Rachel Simon, our Writing for the Internet instructor
Do you have hot, incisive takes on pop culture that you’re burning to share with the world? Personal essays that you want on the world’s screen? An intriguing profile subject about whom you’re itching to write? A travel story that needs to be told?
Enter Rachel Simon, deputy editor of Hello Giggles and writer whose work has appeared in NBC News, the New York Times, Glamour, and many others. Rachel will be teaching our first ever Writing for the Internet class, in which students will workshop pitches and stories and will talk about publication, submission, and polishing their work. We talked to Rachel about her career and what students can expect from this course, which begins in January 2021. Read on and then sign up today!
Redbud: What's it like to have a career writing for the Internet? What's your favorite aspect of it?
Rachel: Growing up obsessed with magazines, I always thought I'd write for print, but my career has been almost entirely for digital—and I love it! It's great to know that your work will be seen by many and to not have to wait weeks or months for a piece to go live. Writing for the Internet also gives you a lot of freedom, as you can typically play around with form, length, and topic more than you could in print.
Redbud: What's your favorite new, exciting online venue these days, either to read or write for?
Rachel: It's not really new, but I've loved both reading and writing for NBC News THINK, aka the op-ed section. It's a great mix of entertainment, news, and lifestyle takes coming from a range of voices.
Redbud: Tell us one of your favorite activities or exercises that you'll teach in this class.
Rachel: I'm super excited to talk about writing profiles! It's a fun, creative form of feature writing that's always enjoyable to read, whether the profile is about an A-list celebrity of a regular person doing something noteworthy.
Redbud: What's your favorite book and/or essay/article/think piece you've read recently?
Rachel: I devoured Julia Phillips' novel Disappearing Earth recently and am currently enjoying Emma Cline's short story collection Daddy! Article-wise, I loved reading Rolling Stone's "Musicians on Musicians" installment with Taylor Swift and Paul McCartney, who are far more alike than you might think.
Redbud: What's something about the process of writing for the Internet that might surprise people who are not Very Online?
Rachel: How quickly articles are often turned around, especially timely stories pegged to breaking news. The total time from the forming of an idea to the publishing of the article can be as little as a few hours, which might seem crazy, but happens fairly often!
Redbud: Tell us one fun fact about yourself.
Rachel: As a kid, I was a contestant on Nickelodeon's Slime Time Live—I didn't get slimed, but it was still a truly epic experience.
Redbud: If you were one social media platform, which one would you be?
Rachel: Twitter, unfortunately. It's a total timesuck, but as someone who always has a lot to say, is very tuned into culture, and has a major fear of FOMO, I connect all too well with Twitter.
Redbud: Anything else you'd like us to know?
Rachel: I just moved to Raleigh from NY (where I grew up and have always lived), so please send any recommendations for food, activities, and more my way!
Sign up for Rachel’s class here!