Nicole Lee Pieri

1. What did you do before becoming a full-time copywriter and blogger?

After moving to Philadelphia, I worked as an intern at a small independent magazine and a resume writer.

2. Were there any particular TCNJ courses/internships that helped jump-start your career?

I took a course with Professor Kathleen Webber called Magazine Writing. I hadn’t thought to take any journalism courses since I had decided to skip the journalism major and do English literature instead, but I took it on a whim as a senior and adored it. That class was where I realized that I enjoyed writing articles better than writing poetry or fiction, which my Creative Writing minor was preparing me for. It was the first time I started considering alternative paths to writing for a living other than academics or publishing.

3. What are the most important skills you learned that you use today in your career?

I’m a better writer because of the professors at TCNJ. Professors Jess Row and Catie Rosemurgy helped me find a creative voice and develop my writing with discipline as a skill, not merely a talent that you either have or don’t have. Glenn Steinberg made me a better reader, and showed me that I was not reading nearly enough. I learned how to format and write a proper pitch from Kathleen Webber that I still use daily when I send my pitches. Nagesh Rao taught me to question other’s narratives more critically, and he was the first person who told me that my writing had promise when I was just a freshman, which pushed me forward for the next four years. Honestly, I think about and use techniques I learned in the English department, every single day.

4. Do you have any advice for current TCNJ students trying to break into the business?

My biggest piece of advice for English majors is to spend less time worrying about their future and more time enjoying being a student. I wrote resumes for two years, and if you’re doing something just because you think it will look good on your resume, don’t do it. It will be obsolete in a year, and you could have spent that time developing your interests or experiencing life as a student.  As for actually breaking into freelance blogging, find a mentor or an online training course. Google the names of freelancers who work locally, look at their portfolios, and email them asking if they’d like to get coffee. You need to meet people, join blogging communities, join meetup groups, go to conferences and networking meetings, watch seminars and read lots and lots of blogs. If you can possibly manage it, live within commuting distance of a city. An established freelancer can live anywhere in the world, but someone just starting out needs access to the opportunities and communities that you can only find in decently sized cities.

5. What are your favorite experiences at TCNJ in the English department?

I adored the time I spent with Sigma Tau Delta, with our advisors Felicia Steele and Diane Steinberg. Going to the annual conference, and all of the events and fundraisers we held to try to pay for the trip, were some of the things I looked forward to the most every year.