How We Stumbled into Wilmington's Spotlight
Until a few years ago, Ms. Wonder and I were happy to contribute stories and photographs to travel magazines. We strived to make a name for ourselves in the best magazines, which meant something in the world of journalism until the mid-2000s. In those days people actually flipped physical pages instead of swiping screens.
We believed the job was important—a sort of public service— introducing readers to people and places they may not have known about and perhaps had no way to visit.
We believed the job was important—a sort of public service— introducing readers to people and places they may not have known about and perhaps had no way to visit.
Our stories made a small splash in a large pond, and even though the ripples didn't last long, that didn't bother us. By the time an article appeared in print, we were already caught up in something new, eagerly chasing the next feature with the enthusiasm of Island Irv pursuing happy hour specials.
Our work was most often featured in regional magazines like Mid-Atlantic Travel, Our State, Country Magazine, South Carolina Magazine, Pee Dee, and EZ Street Magazine. We also appeared in many newspapers across the south from the Raleigh News & Observer to the Austin American-Statesman.
It was the best job in the magazine business and it still is. Or was. Past tense becomes necessary when discussing print media these days, doesn't it?
Eventually, the internet began taking advertising revenue from print magazines with the systematic efficiency of a digital grim reaper. The big fish magazines ate the small ones, probably laughing about it in boardrooms and secretly fearing the day they would be eaten.
Generic stories off the wire replaced the tailored freelance ones. When original pieces were published, they were written by NY Times bestselling authors. People didn't buy the current issue for the travel destinations. They bought it for the name of the writer.
In our target region of the Carolinas, it was people like Pat Conroy, Nicholas Sparks, Leigh Ann Henion, and Sue Monk Kidd who sold magazine subscriptions and as a result, advertising copy. On the upside, this historical fact gave me an excellent excuse to explain why our bylines don't appear in Condé Nast Traveler.
Came the day we relocated to Wilmington. Nothing to do with writing, we simply wanted to be near the coast and the vibrant artist community in the city by the sea. What better place to heal my wounded journalistic pride than with the salt air and the occasional overpriced coffee from places like The Circular Journey Cafe?
Wonder quickly discovered that art connoisseurs on the Silver Coast couldn't get enough of her abstract photography, which showcases life along the Cape Fear River. For me, the big news came when MovieMaker magazine named Wilmington the Number 2 city for living and working as a moviemaker. It was like discovering spring flowers after a particularly chilly winter.
And that, dear readers, is how I ended up chasing film schedules around Wilmington instead of exotic destinations around the globe. The pay is worse, the coffee is better, and the stories? Well, let's just say Hollywood East—or "Musicwood" as Jack is desperately trying to rebrand it—never fails to deliver material.
It's not exactly the glamorous transition I had in mind while attending creative writing classes in Winston-Salem. However, my biggest supporters tell me I have an opportunity to boost my writing to the level of three out of five Goldblums on The Jeff Goldblum Scale™ of writing excellence.
As for Ms. Wonder, she's well on her way to the photographic art retrospective in New York that her biographers will refer to as her Blue Period, just as her biggest supporter predicted.
Our work was most often featured in regional magazines like Mid-Atlantic Travel, Our State, Country Magazine, South Carolina Magazine, Pee Dee, and EZ Street Magazine. We also appeared in many newspapers across the south from the Raleigh News & Observer to the Austin American-Statesman.
It was the best job in the magazine business and it still is. Or was. Past tense becomes necessary when discussing print media these days, doesn't it?
Eventually, the internet began taking advertising revenue from print magazines with the systematic efficiency of a digital grim reaper. The big fish magazines ate the small ones, probably laughing about it in boardrooms and secretly fearing the day they would be eaten.
Generic stories off the wire replaced the tailored freelance ones. When original pieces were published, they were written by NY Times bestselling authors. People didn't buy the current issue for the travel destinations. They bought it for the name of the writer.
In our target region of the Carolinas, it was people like Pat Conroy, Nicholas Sparks, Leigh Ann Henion, and Sue Monk Kidd who sold magazine subscriptions and as a result, advertising copy. On the upside, this historical fact gave me an excellent excuse to explain why our bylines don't appear in Condé Nast Traveler.
Came the day we relocated to Wilmington. Nothing to do with writing, we simply wanted to be near the coast and the vibrant artist community in the city by the sea. What better place to heal my wounded journalistic pride than with the salt air and the occasional overpriced coffee from places like The Circular Journey Cafe?
Wonder quickly discovered that art connoisseurs on the Silver Coast couldn't get enough of her abstract photography, which showcases life along the Cape Fear River. For me, the big news came when MovieMaker magazine named Wilmington the Number 2 city for living and working as a moviemaker. It was like discovering spring flowers after a particularly chilly winter.
And that, dear readers, is how I ended up chasing film schedules around Wilmington instead of exotic destinations around the globe. The pay is worse, the coffee is better, and the stories? Well, let's just say Hollywood East—or "Musicwood" as Jack is desperately trying to rebrand it—never fails to deliver material.
It's not exactly the glamorous transition I had in mind while attending creative writing classes in Winston-Salem. However, my biggest supporters tell me I have an opportunity to boost my writing to the level of three out of five Goldblums on The Jeff Goldblum Scale™ of writing excellence.
As for Ms. Wonder, she's well on her way to the photographic art retrospective in New York that her biographers will refer to as her Blue Period, just as her biggest supporter predicted.
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