Adventures in Event Reporting, Part I: Working with Cynthia Kling

This is part one of a three part blog.

About a year ago I held nothing back, I had not an ounce of fear or doubt,...I totally went after something I wanted, but even more so, believed I could have.

I was applying for an events reporting position with the national design blog, Apartment Therapy.

I worked, I slaved, I got a press badge for a Cooper-Hewitt event, I interviewed members of Eva Zeisel's family and took pictures of the museum director.  For about two weeks, in my own mind, I was absolutely an events reporter for Apartment Therapy.

I did not get the position. Not only did I not get it, but I got no response at all. Not even a little "we regret to inform you" note...and here I was thinking I was going to knock'em dead. Huh!

So, this story doesn't have a happy ending. However, as we well know, life is not about the destination, it's about the journey and to me, this was one hell of a ride. I met some amazing people through the two samples I wrote. I also, got to work with a fantastic writing coach-a story in and of itself. 

So here it is.

I found out about Apartment Therapy's call for submissions from my lawyer friend, Kate Metzger.  She really thought the position would be perfect for me. So did I!

The first person I told about my new "project" was Cynthia Kling-a writer and writing coach.

Cynthia Kling  |  Cynthia Kling  |  Cynthia Kling

I wish there were a glitter font available just for her name because as far as I'm concerned, she's a rock star. And...she's reading this and saying "oh hell no, not glitter." Cynthia's understated and a bit humble.

However, I'm not and I'm just gonna spill it. She's got quite the resume. She's written for national magazines like Conde Nast Traveler. She was the last person to interview Eva Zeisel before her passing for the Wall Street Journal. As one of the founding editors of Domino magazine she helped to shape its content and identity-especially with her regular column, The Adventuress (below). (Also, check her out in action in this video.)

I couldn't have asked for a better pair of eyes on my work. The thing is, somehow these eyes came to me gratis.

I've known Cynthia for years. She used to come into my store back in 2006. She signed up for my email newsletter and followed my updates. She liked my writing. She prompted me to take it more seriously and made the suggestion to start getting experience with small publications. So, I did. I wrote few articles for Hudson Valley Mercantile and one for Hudson Valley Life.

I'm glad I took her advice. I had writing samples and experience to point to on my resume for the Apartment Therapy editors to see. That is, if they ever looked at it. The point is though, I was more prepared for this opportunity and I have Cynthia to thank for that..

When I told Cynthia about the opportunity I had in front of me, she was very excited. Unexpectedly-even for her-she took me under her wing.

I think I need to stop asking "why?" and just acknowledge the fact that she obviously has a passion for what she does. She is in the right place doing the right thing.

Cynthia is a born coach. She is the kind of person who sees the best in people. A natural reporter and writer who is always looking for a story and is supremely interested in what makes people tick and what makes you, you.

This is the person she is and the foundation she stands on from which to teach.

Cynthia turned to coaching after many people asked her to help them edit their work and saw that there was a need she could meet. She also, wanted to be the person she wished she had when she began writing.

Cynthia's writing career began late in life and she wished she had someone with wisdom, who was gentle, but firm and acted as a guide. Cynthia was all of these things and then some to me.

When I spoke with her last week, she said she had some clients who were working on articles for the internet, one is working on a book about gardening, another, writing a graphic novel and two have books headed for publishing! So if you've ever dreamt of being a published author, now you know who to get in touch with for help.

My adventures in event reporting were beyond amazing, but having Cynthia by my side, only lent fuel to my fire.

She is the one I have to thank for inspiring me to start writing in the first place. She was always an acquaintance who took an interest in me, but now I can easily call her "friend".

Sometimes you don't get what you want in life, what you sought after. Instead, you receive something beautiful and unexpected. 

The ending of this story isn't what I wanted, but it's all mine and I'm pretty happy with it.

If you would like to hire Cynthia Kling to work on improving your writing or a specific project, she can be reached by e-mail at ckling@panix.com