Anne Nicolai
San Miguel de Allende
Covers:
Personal stories. Your story should answer one or more of these questions: What made you decide to move to Mexico? What are/were the challenges of moving to or living in Mexico? How have you grown?
Doesn't Cover:
I publish personal stories only. I am not interested in articles about places to see or things do in Mexico. Articles offering a product or service for sale will not be accepted.
Writer, book editor, public relations consultant, radio talk show host, karaoke event host (karaokeani.com).
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
Writing profiles of the founders of small businesses for the TwinWest Chamber of Commerce newsletter in west suburban Minneapolis, MN.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
Yes and I adore typewriters. My dad's college Underwood is one of my most prized possessions.
How is social media changing news?
Every voice has a platform now. Timeliness has come to mean immediacy, and relevance has ceased to have meaning at all.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Peppermint Patty. At least I think she will grow up to be a journalist.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
Journalism is a collective record of what life is like on Earth today—so get it right!
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
I dislike hashtags intensely and use them only ironically or under duress.
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Email me your personal story about moving to or living in Mexico. Send a high-res photo, too.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
I'm a Mac user. Microsoft Word with Track Changes for composing and editing. Wordpress, Wix and Drupal for blogging. Cell phone notes app.
What's your favorite social network?
LinkedIn for professional development and business connections; Facebook for staying connected to family and friends; YouTube for leisure.
Who do you wish followed you?
Everyone who's ever been told they can't just pick up and move to Mexico. I didn't have money. I didn't know the language. I did it anyway.
Why did you become a journalist?
I didn't, really. I became a PR consultant when, in a desperate attempt to find paying work, I wrote a press release about a gas can nozzle.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
Yes, I was a reporter and a photographer.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
For Prevention Magazine, I chronicled my five months of training for the Long Beach Marathon in 2008. Readers said I motivated them.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
Check your facts. If the little voice inside wonders if you got a fact or a quote exactly right, the answer is no. Check again.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Before the drinks we talked about earlier. Not during. Not after.
What's your favorite drink?
I adore a good champagne. A quality bubbly goes with everything from steak to flan, and adds elegance to the occasion.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
At a karaoke bar, usually as the host of the show.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
The New York Times. I also spend a fair amount of time on Salon.com.
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That I'm a travel writer. I'm not. I'm an essayist who writes about living in Mexico and about aging, relationships, and the arts.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.