You started your career as George Plimpton’s assistant at The Paris Review. What was it like working there?
The Paris Review was just fascinating. [George] had been working on and off for 10 years on a book about Truman Capote, and I ended up having the time of my life helping him finish this book. I found Truman Capote’s former grade school teacher still living on the Upper West Side. But I was also, at the same time, you know, chopping carrots for his literary parties, ordering liquor from the local liquor store, getting the same three hors d’oeuvres made for every single literary party, and those parties were an education in themselves. All of New York City walked through those doors. We had Richard Ford, William Styron, lightweight boxing champions and Norman Mailer.
After The Paris Review, you worked at Vanity Fair on and off for 10 years. During that time, why did you decide to quit your plum job and move to San Francisco?
It was 1998, and the whole Internet was exploding. Every single person I knew was going out West and either starting a company or joining one. I had been at Vanity Fair for maybe two or three years, and I had always wanted to drive cross-country and I always wanted to be in LA, in California, out West somewhere. The vague “Out West.” And I thought, “I have to do this now.” So I quit my job, jumped in the car, called my friend in San Francisco at one point and said, “Can I sleep on your couch?”
What did you end up doing out there?
I got a bunch of freelance gigs — enough to feel like I could make it work. But I lived there for not even a year, and Vanity Fair called me back and asked if I could sit in for someone’s maternity leave and then said, “We’re thinking of starting [the Fanfare section], and we want you to help launch it.”
So you came back, but went to Marie Claire a few years later. Were you reluctant to leave Vanity Fair for the world of women’s magazines?
I went to a book party at the Waverly Inn, and I thought, “Oh, this is the world I’d be leaving, and it’ll be really hard to give up.” And I had a great time at the party. But sometimes great opportunities present themselves and you have to make choices in life, and I was really turned on by the opportunity and really excited about taking that next step in my career.
Was it hard to get used to working mostly for and with women?
I think the first week I was like, “Wow, there are a lot of women here!” [Vanity Fair] is about half and half. It sort of took me about a week or two, and now I don’t even notice it.
You also have two young children. As a working mom with a demanding full-time job, what did you think of Sheryl Sandberg’s book “Lean In”?
I really enjoyed it, and I think her experience has been a great one. Every woman’s experience is completely different, and one woman’s formula is not going to work for every woman. And I think some of the backlash of Sandberg’s book is about that, but I find her contribution to the conversation extremely valuable. At Marie Claire, we talk to so many women with so many work experiences. I really like hearing how women make their lives work: When do they get up in the morning? How do they make it work with their schedule?