With our roots firmly in place, the future looks bright.
Dear Verily Readers,
Greetings! My name is Meg McDonnell, and I’m the new editor in chief at Verily Magazine. It’s a pleasure to formally meet you!
Like so many of you, I’ve been a long-time reader, and also an occasional writer at Verily. When Verily came onto the scene, I was just getting started on a journalism project in Washington, DC. My experience in the industry was that there was a real need in media for a women’s publication that was authentic to the actual experiences of women. I was thrilled that Kara and the team were taking up the challenge of starting Verily!
I cheered as Verily was noticed for their Photoshop, Airbrush-free approach. I found solidarity and practical insights as I read stories from women like me-sorting out the dating scene, their professional lives, their marriages, and mothering. I drew inspiration about how to add more beauty to my home, my wardrobe, and my life. I even still have the print copies of Verily Magazine, because they were just so lovely and uplifting.
My challenge as the new editor in chief is to continue growing Verily’s influence and reach, so that it becomes an even more reputable publication, and to anchor it in a sustainable business model, so that we can continue to deliver content for years to come. I’m humbled to be taking this next step with Verily, so that we can continue to share the beauty and goodness present in the lives of real women!
What You Can Expect From Our Content
As we shared in our previous letter, so much of Verily is going to stay as it is. We will be strong in our values, staying true to our founding mission. We will be compassionate in our tone, intelligent yet understandable in our writing, and beautiful yet relatable in our images and aesthetic. We want reading Verily to feel like a conversation with a dear friend. We want the advice and content at Verily to simplify your lives, and to enhance your ability to live the deeply meaningful and fulfilling lives you desire.
Hundreds of you were so kind to give your time and creativity to our reader feedback survey. We read every single response, and you’ve made it clear to us that seeking your feedback will be a critical part of our work over these next several months. We’ve incorporated many of your ideas into our plans for the coming months and years.
We want our readers to be a bigger part of the conversation at our site. So, we’re going to have several pieces of content that are generated, at least in part, by you the reader. You’ll find a few of those columns explained on a page linked below, as well as submission guidelines for sending in your contributions.
We are working as hard and as fast as possible to get back to regular publishing. That said, we’re still building our team. So, we thank you for your continued patience with us as we continue to settle in.
I promise, we will check in every few weeks, to share a bit more of our vision, provide sneak peeks of new content, and ask for your feedback. You can be assured that when we come back the content will be quality and consistent.
In the meantime, here are some job descriptions for those who might be interested in joining the Verily team (#1, #2). They’re freelance and part-time. And here are some descriptions of columns that will depend on reader submissions-we can’t wait to hear from you!
My sincere thanks, again, to all of you who gave us your honest feedback about Verily! You have given us confidence in the need for Verily, fresh perspective for the future, and energy to ensure Verily continues to be a publication that empowers women to be “less of who they should be, more of who they are.”
Until very soon…
Verily yours,
Meg McDonnell
