Simon Says... Who's Ready For Summer? (Me. I'm Ready.)
Bring on the fun, June. Or else.
Welcome to Simon Says, a weekly newsletter from Rachel Simon all about freelance life—from the inside scoop on just-published stories to advice on how to pitch to what it’s *really* like to leave a cozy full-time gig for the chaotic, unpredictable world of invoicing (jk, freelancing, but IYKYK).
Happy June, friends! I don’t know about you, but I am so looking forward to this month. We have a lot of fun things planned, like our mini-moon in Charleston coming up this weekend, a weekend visit to friends in DC, and a trip to Brooklyn (my first time back there in over a year) to celebrate two other friends’ wedding. So much travel, after so little of it for so long! I can’t wait.
As exciting as I am for all of those trips, though, what I’m really looking forward to most about June is the time we’ll spend here, at home in Raleigh. Last summer, we’d only just moved into our house and didn’t have a big (or any) social network, so we didn’t get to explore the city as much as we would’ve liked. This year, though, we’re fully settled in, have a bunch of great friends nearby, and have every intention of making the most of Raleigh’s summertime offerings.
(Plus, we joined our local swim club and are now spending 3-5 afternoons/evenings a week drinking Trulys and eating watermelon by the water, so it’s already off to a good start).
Pool-life aside, here’s what I’ve been up to recently:
Some Stories I Wrote Last Week
In my first story for Insider, I spoke to several single moms who have popular TikToks about how they’ve found support and community through the platform.
For Shondaland, I wrote about eight actresses who’ve successfully become directors, from Olivia Wilde to Courteney Cox.
And for Better Homes & Gardens, I reviewed a not-Jenga-but-basically-Jenga toppling tower game that’s super fun to play in the backyard.
The Inside Scoop
Each week, I’ll pick one story I’ve written (new or old, if needed) and explain how it got from pitch/assignment to publication. This week, it’s the Insider story about single moms of TikTok.
Despite not having (nor wanting) kids myself, I always find myself drawn to TikToks from single moms talking about what it’s like to raise their kids. The videos are usually both hilarious and heartwarming, but the comments these parents tend to get from viewers are… intense, with wayyyy too many strangers weighing on on what they’re supposedly doing right or wrong.
I thought it’d be interested to ask some moms with popular accounts how they feel about interacting with their audiences, and so I pitched the idea to an editor at Insider who had tweeted about wanting TikTok-based features. She was on-board, so I set about reaching out to a couple moms I followed and a few more I found, and interviewing them about their experiences sharing their kids’ lives on the platform. The conversations were super interesting, and I hope you like the resulting story!
Other Work/Life Stuff Of Note
Reminder that there’s still time to order a custom crossword puzzle for Father’s Day or graduation! And that you can pre-order my book Pickleball For All right now, and get a free personalized puzzle made by yours truly if you send me your receipt.
You can also still sign up for my upcoming Zoom Creative Nonfiction class with Gotham, starting in July! Hit me up with any questions if you’re interested.
Coming Up…
In addition to my class, I’ll be hosting a one-hour open house all about Essay & Opinion Writing with Gotham (also via Zoom) on Tuesday, June 28. These are great opportunities to do a bit of writing and learning without committing to a full course, and you can sign up here!
Also, I’m finally meeting with my book’s marketing team tomorrow to get some details about Pickleball For All’s promo plan for this summer, and I can’t wait to share all that info with you soon! It’s getting so real, y’all.
Have a great week, and talk soon, friends!
-Rachel