Great advice from Audie Cornish

Browsing through the June 2012 issue of Glamour magazine, I came across an article filled with advice for "how to master an entry-level job (or, well, any job) in a crazy-tough economy" by Lilit Marcus. All of the advice was useful:

• "Don't just learn your job, learn what others do too" from news anchor Erin Burnett
• "Realize that you have to earn people's respect" from Mandana Dayani, vice president of Rachel Zoe Inc.
• "Find balance now, not later" from Sue Naegle, president of HBO Entertainment

I think the advice I found most useful came from Audie Cornish, cohost of the National Public Radio show All Things Considered. She said, "A lot of people I am in touch with now in my career are people I'd asked for help when I was in my first job as an assistant news-writer at a public radio station in Boston. It's easy to be intimidated by big voices, but when you're just starting out, you have the unique license to open any door in the company and ask, 'How do I get to do what you do?' People love being asked for advice. It shows you respect what they do." 

No matter where you are in your career, it's never too late to ask for advice. Why not pick up a pen or open an email window and write to someone in your field who you admire?

Whenever I finish a book I love, I always take a few minutes to Google their name, find their website, and zip them an email. I tell them what I loved about the book and also ask if they have any advice for me as I work to build my own writing career. Not only have I received wonderful words of wisdom and encouragement, I have even been able to forge friendships with writers from all around the world -- novelists, playwrights, memoirists, poets. These are people who I admire greatly, who enrich my life, who make me feel like I'm not alone when I spend my days pounding out words on the computer.

Now I've even started receiving the occasional email from young writers asking me for advice, and they make my day! I am always so delighted and excited to strike up conversations with new writer friends.