I would like to recommend myself…
6Mar2001 Filed under: Columbia Publishing CourseThis is kind of strange: I asked SDG (the publisher of Lotus) if he would write a letter of recommendation for my application to the Columbia Publishing Course. He said yes, sort of. He asked me to write it for him, and then he’d approve and sign. Now I’m stuck with the weird task of trying to write my own recommendation. “Why, yes! Ariel was always so dedicated and self-directed.”
It’s another gorgeous sunny day in Olympia. Yesterday afternoon Dre and I enjoyed the sun by going for a walk at Priest Point Park. I am blessed to live in such a beautiful place.
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Hey there. I'm Ariel Meadow Stallings, a native Seattleite who's written my way up and down the Left Coast. Electrolicious is where I post daily randomata, but I also write for a living. My first book, Offbeat Bride, was published last year.
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Emily
January 16th, 2006 at 3:07 pm
I am another CPC prospective who Googled for fellow bloggers with a connection to or an interest in the course. I asked a professor for a recommendation and she told me to do the same thing. I was pretty surprised! The head of the department overheard that conversation and stepped in and volunteered to write on my behalf. I’m relieved, after all, I already have to write my own personal statement. Did composing your own recommendation work for you? Obviously, you were accepted, but how did you feel about the process and the result?
Ariel
January 16th, 2006 at 3:20 pm
Writing my own recommendation DID work for me, although certainly it was a bit of a weird exercise. I actually really appreciated it, because it let me focus the recommendation towards the things that CPC would care about … and the publisher wasn’t an especially articulate guy, so I’m quite sure my version was better than what he could have written.
Here’s a copy of “his” letter of recommendation!
Dear Admissions Officer:
I am writing to recommend my former executive editor, Ariel Meadow Stallings, for your course. Ariel has been with Lotus Magazine almost since its inception, and she has been a key player in defining the magazine’s voice and editorial direction.
If I had to pick one quality of Ariel’s that is the most impressive, it would be her self-directed motivation. She was a devoted and energetic member of the Lotus team, and her enthusiasm was a valuable asset to the magazine’s nationwide promotion. It was at Ariel’s suggestion in 1997 that we initiated distribution outside of California — now we are available in 30 states coast to coast.
Ariel has a keen editorial instinct, a deep understanding of our readership, and built solid relationships with the writing staff. Since Lotus is a free magazine we do not pay writers, but Ariel worked with this challenge and consistently brought in solid content from her staff. I credit this success to her personable management style and substantial communications skills.
Although her job was technically Executive Editor, Ariel never hesitated to go far above and beyond her content-related responsibilities. She managed our website launch last year and has acted as a subscription and distribution manager. While I’m sad to see her leave Lotus Magazine, I know that she’ll impress whoever is lucky enough to have her on staff next.