Ann Friedman does more than just write about politics, gender and culture from her Southern California home. Between reviewing Kim Gordon’s new memoir through an anti-Sandberg lens and telling tech bros to slow their roll in the name of good journalism, Ann finds time to stretch her infographic skills. Turning hobbies into revenue is the freelancer’s bread-and-butter and Ann manages to do so by infusing hand-drawn pie charts and calls to her long-distance bestie with her personal brand of writer’s wit.
LINE OF WORK
I am a freelance journalist, which means I get paid to write columns for New York magazine‘s website and features and reviews and essays for a dozen other places. During any given work day, I answer a ton of email and take phone calls with editors and interview sources for various stories I’m writing. I tweet. I complete drafts of articles. I do boring business stuff like send invoices and harass people who haven’t paid me and meet with my accountant. I also send a weekly email newsletter and co-host a podcast, Call Your Girlfriend, every-other week.
DAILY ROUTINE
My beauty routine is showering and moisturizing. Takes about 10 minutes. Later, at the end of the workday, I put on lipstick and a bra before I leave the house. It’s the opposite of when I used to work in an office and looked forward to taking off my bra and lipstick at the end of the day.
FAVORITE OUTFITS
An oversized button-up shirt and no pants if it’s warm outside and leggings if it’s cool outside. No makeup. Hair in topknot. Sometimes if I feel like I have to be super productive, I put on a cute outfit to to level up my work ethic to match.
I probably should have included at least one attractive photo of myself because these horrible things are now going to show up when people Google me, and I just know some jerk is going to use a sweatshirt photo of me as an author photo. I swear I do wear nice clothes sometimes, like when I work in coffee shops and when I have meetings. And at the end of the work day, when I leave the house.
