Member Spotlight

Getting involved helped kick start her career

Heather Perry has it together. Meeting her at Tully's one bright Sunday morning, I discovered that she was a brainy student with a sizable altruistic streak who drove boldly across the country by herself to relocate in Seattle, recently tantalized Microsoft with her writing skills, and even had a tape recorder handy for our interview. (Did I mention that she goes regularly to a gym? Please. I should hire her for some lifestyle coaching.)

Seattle Writergrrls has played a central role in Heather's life since she joined in early 2000. She believes that women join Writergrrls seeking two things: exposure and a sense of community. Members can network or volunteer to explore writing and editing opportunities. Heather was drawn to both aspects of Writergrrls and immediately found a fit within the group.

After volunteering to manage the Resources page for Writergrrls, Heather's intelligence and charisma impressed Jenny Neill (a founder of Writergrrls and current List Administrator) enough to recommend Heather for a copywriting position at CVS.com. Later that year, the Steering Committee approached Heather about the Facilitator position, which she began in July of 2000.

Writergrrls exposed Heather to "what's out there" in the writing world and she hasn't looked back—she just finished a copy editing contract assignment at Microsoft. Heather has also found a strong sense of community within Writergrrls, and admits that sometimes it's quite a task to keep the Steering Committee on Agenda Item #3 when everyone is keen to catch up on their personal lives.

In the role of SC Facilitator, Heather has spent the last year keeping our peerless leaders on task. She has managed the Committee's agendas and timelines while using the "spirit-building" and organizational skills she honed at Davidson College. As a the recipient of a social service scholarship she logged more than 2,000 hours of community service that included designing volunteer orientations and leadership curricula.

Heather's eyes shone as she told me about the Steering Committee's retreat which she organized last summer. Clearly she revels in bringing people together to share ideas.

Heather is currently looking for another Writergrrl to take over as Facilitator, and although she only divulged a tempting glimpse of her esoteric Facilitator lore to me, I know that she will be happy to pass on pointers to whoever takes over the position later this summer.

Flexibility has been central to Heather's success in Seattle. She has adroitly tackled technical documentation and training, web content, and advertising copy. She says: "My ability to tackle technical subjects with the same proficiency as more creative endeavors speaks to my flexibility, as both a writer and editor. I took a lot of math and science courses in high school and college, and I think that background knowledge often enables me to work with more technical information."

"And, while I'm not ready to skip merrily down the technical writing/editing path, it definitely gives me options when the more creative opportunities aren't there."

She feels confident taking on new things. For example, when she spotted a training need at Microsoft, she jumped in and did it herself, learning HTML coding in the process.

Her philosophy is that all writers have at their core a desire to help people through their work. If her contribution to an award-winning ad campaign for a defibrillator (yes, the machine that electronically stimulates the heart—watch any ER rerun) is any indication, she's right.

Heather experiences the same conflicts as many other writers: Does she focus on non-profit work or go corporate? Take a permanent position or enjoy freelance flexibility? Whatever she does, she wants to create and develop projects, satisfying her need for variety. So far, Web opportunities have provided her just that while affording her a good quality of life in this pricey town.

She didn't set out to specialize in Web content, but her affiliation with Writergrrls reinforced that direction. While not blind to the financial opportunities for writers in content and technical writing, Heather still looks optimistically for job openings that fit her philanthropic side.

As a new writer reflecting on her successful entry into the writing industry, Heather offered some advice for others hoping to do the same. Networking is crucial, she points out, and although she didn't network intentionally, she clearly did it quite well. Also, she stresses that you must tell others what you are looking for—try tailoring your approach to each person to get the best information possible.

With the solid start and admirable momentum she secured in 2000, her "best year ever", Heather is on a (surely brief) break halfway through 2001. Her next project is an in-the-works men's portal site where she'll highlight her writing skills while getting inside the minds of that challenging population. She's eager to try her hand at more feature-length writing. (Gentlemen, beware.)

Don't let her sweet smile fool you—she's savvy and already quite in charge of her writing career.

Melissa Zimmerman has three cats, two degrees and one really cool pair of pink and orange capri pants. She lives in Seattle and prefers a shot of almond in her lattes.