Dream Jobs with LBL's Editor-in-Chief, Lindsay DeLong
Photo by Mary Hurlbut.
Everything in my career has led me to this week.
I officially franchised out the City Living Network with the launch of Lexington Living Magazine, signed two new cities (Denver and San Diego), and had some very interesting meetings with a major Los Angeles magazine about a role I never even dreamed I’d be a candidate for.
I started my career in journalism in college, writing for the student newspaper. The first article I was truly proud of was a cheeky piece about the cute boy who drove the shuttle (hi Karl!). When it was published and all my peers were reading about my crush, I remember seeing my name in print and my 19-year-old brain just exploding.
I was addicted.
I knew journalism didn’t pay well so after college I became a flight attendant with the goal of building my writing career on the side. I wrote for trade show catalogues, retirement magazines, and interviewed bands backstage. I ghost wrote an actual book about child abuse (NOT FUN). I’d write in hotels, on planes, at coffee shops – in Dubai, Italy, and Japan. I gained valuable experience while I traveled, met amazing people, and built my portfolio.
My first editing job was at a private aviation magazine where I interviewed businessmen, wrote about gas prices, and learned how to run an actual publication. I’d get off a plane at LAX, change into a business suit in the car, and meet with the editorial team to sign off on an issue.
From there I freelanced for anyone who would take me.
I wrote free for glossy magazines, created travel guides, and learned how to navigate the many perks of journalism.
When I was contacted by a small blog who needed a Managing Editor I was excited to have my first actual salary paying job and finally went part-time at the airline. With the dedication of a team of wonderful, hard working people, that small blog turned into a top wellness publication that molded me into an editor who could manage a team of 200 freelancers, push out content 7 days a week, and manage a print magazine sold in Urban Outfitters and Whole Foods.
I was there for 5 years, and got cancer the first year, but throughout chemo, radiation, and surgery I kept working the entire time.
It was my dream job and I wasn’t going to let cancer take that away.
I did phone interviews with celebrities in my pajamas, I’d put on a blonde wig and go to a photoshoot, a red wig and go to a launch party. I still showed up. I still networked. I still got the job done.
A few years into my time there, we launched a side project called Laguna Beach Living and ran the two side by side where I learned how to juggle two publications. Right before the pandemic I took over LBL as Editor-in-Chief and branched out on my own. In addition to editing and managing a team I learned how to design a website, sell to advertisers, and manage a budget.
When LBL started to do well I began to get approached by other people who wanted me to teach them how to build a city-specific company in their own town, because — for them as well — it was a dream job. This led me to where we are now: at the very start of the City Living Network, with a booked out calendar till April, and a happy, healthy, and very grateful heart.
Being a journalist is a career where you have to navigate your own path or you’ll end up stuck behind a computer everyday, working for peanuts (and perks). I’m very proud of the road I’ve blazed — bald and bold — and look forward to bringing that same sense of joy to others as I enter this new chapter. What I’ve learned is you have to keep dreaming big, because dreams have no limit.
And dream jobs just keep coming.
Lindsay DeLong is the Editor-in-Chief of Laguna Beach Living and the Founder of the City Living Network. A brand strategist and web designer who specializes in city-specific blogs, she is well-versed at building brands from the ground up, establishing online identity, and streamlining the process. Reach out to her at lindsay@lagunabeachliving.com, access her course, or visit her personal site, iLikeLindsay.com.