I'M PUBLISHED! February BH&G

Happy February! I know I have already posted this month, but this post (which I am so beyond excited to hit publish on) is focused specifically on this month.

This year I am interning with Better Homes & Gardens magazine as an Editorial Apprentice. It has been an absolutely amazing experience, and... drumroll please... the February issue of Better Homes & Gardens includes my FIRST PUBLISHED PIECE with my name in the credit as the writer!

The February issue has actually been out in our office since I returned to work following winter break, and the moment I got my hands on a copy I had to take a moment to calm down. Seeing my name in print in a nationally distributed magazine with a rich history was overwhelming, amazing, and so much more! I immediately took a video flipping open the magazine to the first of two pages I worked on and zooming in on my name in the "gutter." I also grabbed multiple copies that day to keep for my records and share with friends and family. I can now say with confidence, that I will never get tired of or get over this feeling. As if I wasn't sure that I wanted to pursue a career in magazine journalism, this first piece solidified this desire.

PHOTOS BY: Alli Renee Photography (@alli.renee on Instagram)

While I would love for you to go out and find or purchase the issue, here's a little about the specific piece I got to be the editor of:

First, you should know that I did not get to choose the topic of my piece. Magazines work months and months in advance both selecting and photographing their pieces. A few months into my internship, as we began working on the February issue, my supervisor informed me that I would get to write the February trends piece on velvet. Our trends pieces always have a large concept shot on the first page with a description of the trend. Then the second (or following) pages include products that fit with this trend. The images were all shot and the products were all selected before I sat down to write the piece so I got to work with what I was given to craft the copy. It was fascinating to see the entire process one story goes through. As an apprentice, I worked with my supervisor to revise it many times before starting to route it to higher-ups. Through this process I learned a lot about copy editing and the specific style of Better Homes & Gardens.

It may not be large, but in that last picture you can see "By: Madison Pincombe" in the gutter and that's all that matters!

This first published piece means so much to me, and I know it definitely won't be my last! When I think back to high school and when I was determining what I wanted to study in college, I remember being nervous about what my parents would think about Journalism. Print media continues to be a difficult industry, but I was so excited about the opportunity to write and create for a living. Now, I look back on that time and am so glad that I pursued what I was passionate about. I can't wait for all of the pieces, issues, and magazines to come!

Thank you for joining me on this journey! I can't wait to continue sharing more about my internship experience with you. As always, thank you so much for reading and if you have any questions or comments, leave them below!

#LIFESTYLE