We are kicking off a brand new series today called “How I Got My Dream Job.” It’s built on the idea that wellness encompasses feeling our best in every part of our lives, and our careers make up a huge portion of that.

My hope with these episodes is that they’ll both demystify and maybe deglamorize quote unquote dream jobs a bit while also highlighting the behind the scene awesome elements that the public is typically less privy to. And of course, there’ll be plenty of pragmatic advice, whether you want to actually pursue the career or not—on this episode, for instance, we talk a lot about how to kickstart any creative process, dealing with jealousy and a surprisingly positive take on procrastination.

My guest today is Andi Bartz, the author of NYtimes best-seller and Reese’s Book Club pick We Were Never Here, as well as The Herd and The Lost Night, all of which you can find wherever books are sold.

• What it’s really like to work your way up the ranks of the NY magazine world
• Her advice for anyone who wants to work in editorial
• The less glamorous parts of travel writing that no one talks about
• Exactly how to pitch travel articles
• The top advice she’d give to people wanting to freelance write
• The trick she uses to actually complete her writing each day
• An inside look at her creative process
• How she silences her self-critic to actually create art
• Her surprisingly positive take on procrastination
• What happened behind the scenes to get her books optioned by Mila Kunis and Molly Simms/Netflix and selected for Reese’s Book Club
• What it actually feels like to become a NYTimes best-seller
• The surprising thing no one shares about your dreams coming true
• How much money (like, real figures!) she makes as a best-selling novelist and how much she made in her magazine career
• How she deals with jealousy

Were you surprised about anything Andi shared about novel or magazine writing? Do you agree with our Emily Nagoski theory about creativity? We’d love to know so screenshot as you’re listening and tag us on Instagram—I’m @lizmoody and Andi is @andibartz.

PS: My Patreon is live! You can join Green Smoothie Society and get access to ALL of my green smoothie recipes and advice AND you can subscribe to A Very Moody Morning, my brand new morning show podcast, which drops once weekly and features casual, fun convo, super intimate Q&As, and more. Get all the deets at patreon.com/lizmoody.

This episode is sponsored by Kyoto Botanicals, makers of my favorite CBD. You can get a whopping 25% off your order (AND they always have free shipping!) by using the code “HEALTHIERTOGETHER” at kyotobotanicals.com.

This episode is sponsored by Paleovalley, who make incredibly high quality supplements. If you’d like to check out their Turmeric Complex, Vitamin C, Neuroeffect, or any of Paleovalley’s other amazing products, head over to paleovalley.com and use the code LIZM for 15% off.

Healthier Together cover art by Zack. Healthier Together music by Alex Ruimy.