April 2018 is Issue Three of The Covey Magazine for CoveyClub

Issue 3

April 2018

A letter from the editor, Lesley Jane Seymour

Why I Hate DIY

A friend sends me a query from a reporter looking for female journalists with great advice for getting a scoop. “Are you interested?” she asks. “Sure,” I say, “happy to talk to them.” When I look into the query however, there is no request for an interview, just a form to fill out with my bio and my photo and my tips. This is weird, I think, but fill it out anyway. Next thing I know it’s published—first on Buzzfeed, then on Thrive. Though I’m thrilled to be included in this list of 59 female journalists, I think to myself, “This is journalism?”

The same thing happens after I’m approached by another friend to contribute my story to a book called, “Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Empowered Woman.” When I examine the link, it’s the same thing: I fill out all the information, submit my essay, and they get back to me if they like it. I tell my friend I don’t really have time to submit things and see what happens but I’m happy to do it if I can speak with the editor. I finally do connect to a human; I write the story and I’m in.

But when the publicity group approaches me, it’s DIY again: fill out a form with all of my press contacts (I have 1000, so I told them to fuggedaboudit). And on it goes: Want to learn more about an interesting content management system that I’ve stumbled across on the web or more about why I need The Instant Pot? Watch the videos! Read the FAQs (frequently asked questions, for those who aren’t knee deep in this stuff) and read the reviews.

Oh wait, it gets better. Now we’re invited to chat with a bot in a pop-up window who is about as intelligent as a rock and who keeps surfacing the same irrelevant FAQs or articles that never answered my question in the first place. Look, I get the efficiencies of the you’re-on-your-own economy. But this lack of human contact is making me long for the days when I had to hang on the phone pounding the “0” (for operator) button and shouting “rep-re-sent-ative!” to the robo voicemail.

How do you feel about DIY? Post your thoughts on the CoveyClub Facebook page here.

 

Hot flash!

On April 5, 2010, there were four women in space at the same time, the largest female gathering off planet to that point

Say what?

"You may not always have a comfortable life and you will not always be able to solve all of the world's problems at once but don't ever underestimate the importance you can have because history has shown us that courage can be contagious and hope can take on a life of its own."

Michelle Obama

CONTRIBUTORS

Betsy Carter

Betsy Carter

Betsy Carter’s novel, We Were Strangers Once, was published by Grand Central Publishing in August, 2017. When Carter isn’t writing, or trying to sleep, she is playing piano or swimming.

Dr. Barb DePree

Dr. Barb DePree, M.D., has been a gynecologist and women’s health provider for nearly 30 years and a menopause care specialist for the past ten. She is also the founder of MiddlesexMD, where she shares practice-tested and clinically sound information with women on keeping an active and joyful sex life during and after menopause.

Amy Sunshine

Amy Sunshine

Amy Sunshine is a New Jersey-based writer and a former editor at Parents and Self magazines. Her expertise writing about healthcare for physicians and patients has gained her clients such as Harvard Medical School and Boston Scientific as well as several agencies including ICC Lowe, Natrel, McCann, and CDM.