Nancy Knudsen

Cruising Editor - Sail-World

Graduated in:

2005
2010 (and still studying)

Course completed:

Graduate Certificate of Journalism
Diploma of Literature and Writing
Currently completing the final year of Research Masters in Writing and Literature

Currently working for:

Sail-World.com and my first book has been published by Allen & Unwin

How long have you been working for this organisation?

Since 2006

Position title and short job description:

Cruising Editor - I edit and/or write 15-20 stories a week, and send a news magazine weekly to 34,000 subscribers. I do it ALL on the internet, meaning that I can be in any state, any country.

Author (Allen & Unwin) -  I am currently working on a memoir of two years that I spent living and working in Turkey.

Working highlight so far:

Highlights are positive feedback that I get from readers, and the good that sometimes comes from stories which make a difference, but I guess the greatest highlight is Allen & Unwin wanting to publish my first book, Shooting Stars and Flying Fish.

What are the things you enjoy most about your job?

Most of all I enjoy trying to create, in Patrick White's words, a 'garden of words'. Sometimes, to mix metaphors the words fly high sometimes they are like lead. In the journalist job, I love the internet situation, the searching for good stories, the balancing of the variety of stories each week, the feedback from readers, the good that some stories do, and the difference that some stories make.

An area in which you have needed assistance:

Learning the software

What do you intend to do in the future?

It was my mentorship with the Australian Society of Authors, (given courage to apply from my studies at Deakin) that proved the pathway to the publication of my first book.  Now I am working on my second, and I have a biography that I am passionate to write after that.

#1 tip for current students studying your course:

Getting a story published is very confidence-building, but you have to EXPECT rejections.  You won't get one published unless you take EVERY avenue suggested to make this happen.  Never, never, never give up!