It Girl | KAITLIN UGOLIK PHILLIPS
General Information
Name: Kaitlin Ugolik Phillips
Age: 32
Job Title/Company: Writer, editor, communications pro
Education Background: BA from Elon University and MS from Columbia University (both in journalism)
In-depth Questions
1.Tell us a little about who you are.
I’m a writer, a reader, a baker, a walker/hiker, and a soon-to-be mom. I was born in New Haven, Connecticut, but grew up mostly in Jamestown, North Carolina. I moved to New York City for grad school and lived there for about 8 years. I loved (almost) every minute of it. I live in Raleigh now with my husband and our cat Lily. I watch a lot of Netflix and do not believe in the “you must write every day” mantra. But I do try to spend some time outside every day for anxiety relief and inspiration.
2. What sparked your interest in becoming a writer?
I’ve been writing since I was a little kid – I used to write songs and poems and short stories all the time. As I grew up, I became more interested in combining my love of writing with a desire to help and inform others. That’s how I ended up going into journalism and later nonprofit communications.
3. If applicable, tell us about your full-time job and/or any side hustles you might have.
I work full time as managing editor of the North Carolina Medical Journal, a health policy journal published by the North Carolina Institute of Medicine (a non-partisan health policy organization where I also do some comms work). Side hustles include writing books (first one published this year, another one in the works!), ghostwriting short memoirs, and various other health and science-related freelance writing and editing gigs. I’ve had a couple of newsletters and a podcast, but I’m trying to focus on just a few main things this year.
4.Who are you most influenced by?
This is a really hard question! When it comes to generating ideas, it’s probably researchers and scientists – I love reading about what people are studying and discovering and seeing what stories there are to tell. When it comes to the kick in the pants to generate those ideas… it’s probably fellow writers on Twitter who influence me most…
“Pivoting isn’t failing or giving up, and there is no such thing as “supposed to” when it comes to how you spend your days.”
5. What was your first job and how long did you hold that position?
My first job ever was as a camp counselor, and whew, I could tell you some stories… but my first “real” job was as a radio producer in Raleigh between undergrad and grad school. I was there for about 9 months. This was before being a radio (or podcast) producer was cool 😉
6. Can you share one of your proudest achievements with us?
The publication of my book, The Future of Feeling: Building Empathy in a Tech-Obsessed World is definitely my proudest achievement. I’m proud of the whole process, from coming up with the idea, to writing the proposal, to pitching to agents and publishers, to launching and doing interviews about the book. It’s been a massive learning experience, and I often think about things I “should” have done differently, but I appreciate any opportunity to think about it as an accomplishment. I think it’s important to celebrate our wins.
7. What were your initial goals with your work? How have they evolved?
Initially, I wanted to be a reporter for a newspaper or public radio station. I also always knew I wanted to write a book. About 6-7 years into my career, I made the choice to transition from full-time reporting and writing to nonprofit communications to have more financial stability and free up some time and creative space in my life for book-writing. I’ve stuck with that approach for a few years now and I’m pretty happy with it, though I do sometimes miss full-time reporting.
8.What do you think is the most important life skill you learned through your work?
Brain skill: writing clear sentences. Heart skill: listening more than talking (I’m still working on this!)
9.Where do you hope to be in five years?
I hope to have book #2 under my belt, and a good chunk of my student loans paid off.
10. What is a typical day like for you?
I get up and spend some time walking or working out or reading (depending on how I feel); spend a little bit of time researching or writing on personal projects; then work my full-time job 8:30-4:30. Sometimes I do some more side gig work in the late afternoon/evening; sometimes I just read, watch Hulu, or play Animal Crossing after dinner. I go to bed pretty early these days…!
11.What was the biggest obstacle you’ve faced so far in the process of pursuing your goals?
Honestly, the state of the media industry. Right around the time I was entering journalism, it was becoming increasingly hard to find full-time employment in the industry that paid a living wage/enough to pay off student debt. I ultimately made the choice to move away from traditional news because of this. I considered full-time freelance, but the fierce competition and financial instability just isn’t for me.
12. What is the best piece of advice you have received?
Focus on the process, not the outcome.
13. When do you get your best ideas?
This will sound cliché, but I really do get them in the shower! I think it’s the sensory deprivation.
14. Can you share with us one time that you failed and what you learned from that failure?
I failed to get into my first-choice college, and it was a real wake-up call. I was totally convinced I’d get in, and when I didn’t (and so many of my classmates and friends did) I was devastated. It taught me that sometimes things don’t go your way, and you may never know why. Ultimately, the “why” often doesn’t matter, and focusing on it will only hold you back.
15. How do you unwind?
I like to just sit on my back porch and watch the birds. For more active unwinding, I read fiction.
16.What would you tell someone else who is interested in entering your field?
With journalism, you really do learn it by doing it. If you’re a student, I recommend taking journalism classes but not necessarily majoring in journalism. You should focus on working for school media and/or internships (which you should be paid for). If you’re looking into journalism as a second career, please know the industry is struggling and staff jobs are hard to come by, and if you want to freelance, you should have several months of savings at all times because it can be very unpredictable. With nonprofit communications, I recommend taking all the professional development webinars and classes you can and don’t be afraid to experiment with things like social media and analytics.
17. What do you hope people take away from your story?
Pivoting isn’t failing or giving up, and there is no such thing as “supposed to” when it comes to how you spend your days.
18. Anything we missed that you would like to share?
I’d like to shout out a local bookstore, Page 158 Books in Wake Forest, which helped me hold an awesome book launch party just before COVID happened and is a great place for quarantine reads!
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This is the Isbn for Kaitlin’s book
