The FMC Spotlight: Sabrina Grimaldi

Sabrina Grimaldi always knew she loved words. Since she was little, her free time has been spent reading and writing. At 24 years of age, not much has changed. She just gets paid for it now. With a journalism degree and a few years of freelance writing under her belt, Sabrina now proudly boasts the dual title of Creator and Editor-In-Chief of The Zillenial Zine, an online and print magazine that focuses on the online trends that appeal to Millenials, Gen-Z and those who identify as "cusps" on the generational divide. With the help of interns around The United States, The Zillenial posts daily articles about fitness, beauty, fashion, lifestyle, pop culture and anything else that the world at large has deemed in vogue.

On top of running a website that consistently racks up over one million Google Impressions monthly, Grimaldi also freelances as a book editor. With her assistance, indie authors are able to take their stories to the next level. Trusting their tales to someone who not only knows how to write but would also be an engaging member of their target audience, a fact that Sabrina says makes all the difference.

Sabrina happily sat down with The FMC to fill us in on what it takes to run a quickly growing outlet, the things she wishes she knew before starting the platform, how she avoids burnout and more.

Tell me about The Zillennial. How did it start?

The Zillennial Zine is an online magazine for Gen Z, Millennials & anyone in between. I'm the creator & editor-in-chief. I went to school for Journalism and after graduating, I did a ton of freelance writing – picking up skills and knowledge about writing on an online platform. After learning through experience and doing a ton of online research, I decided it was time to start my own online magazine. I called up my bestie and we got to work on it. Since August 2021, we've had new articles out on the website every single day.

What steps did you take to turn it into what it is now?

Since its start – it's expanded so much. Every semester, we hire interns from around the United States who are looking for journalism experience and want to add work to their portfolios. So far, we have had 15 amazing interns and it has been such an incredible experience getting to mentor and work with up-and-coming writers. The Zillennial Zine is all about online trends – beauty, relationships, health & wellness, fashion, pop culture & lifestyle.

You said The Zillennial has new articles everyday. That takes so much work, especially when the content is based around trends. How do you plan out your content?

It is so much work but it is so much fun! As mentioned, we have an amazing team of Fall Editorial interns right now (6 of them!) and they do the majority of the writing. I'm the editor and do all the back-end work. Every week, each intern turns in story pitches and then I go through and assign them stories! It is so important to me that the interns are writing about topics that they think are fun since that means our readers will find them fun too! It is so important to me that we hire a diverse group of interns who live all throughout the United States so we can touch on topics from all over! Since we write about trends, our deadlines are pretty fast but it is really worth it to come out with articles about things people are wanting to know about right now!

Alongside the website, there are print editions of the magazine. For people that may only be familiar with one format, what do you like best about your printed publication?

We just launched our very first full-size print magazine, which is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble! We are hoping to come out with a new print magazine quarterly which will be available online.

Our first one – The Sustainability Issue – is all about sustainability. [laughter] Making a print magazine was a huge goal of ours because of so many reasons! First of all – it gives interns a chance to have print published work, which some of them have never had the chance to do before. Additionally, it provides our magazine with a source of revenue, so we can keep on providing daily news and providing internship opportunities for semesters to come. Here at The Zillennial, we believe all news should be free. We don't have a paywall or any subscription boundaries. News should be accessible for all – so every article that is within our print magazine is available for free on our website. However, the print version is a fun keepsake for anyone who enjoys reading screen-free and has a bunch of fun print features like a bucket list, posters, quizzes and more! Buying one print magazine helps The Zillennial Zine continue to another day.

Is there anything you wish you knew before you started running the zine that you know now?

Patience is a virtue! I am a rather impatience person so I really wish I knew how long it was going to take to feel like the magazine was a success. I started the magazine in August of 2021, so it has been more than two years since then. It has taken several years to get to 1M Google Impressions monthly, 1M Pinterest impressions monthly, to make over $500 a month in revenue. But beyond the stats – some other really crazy amazing things happened this year for the magazine. We were featured (and I was interviewed) by CNN & USAToday (along with some other awesome publications) about the magazine and what it means to be a Zillennial! I NEVER thought there would be a day where I check my email and I see a CNN or USAToday interview request in there! It was mind boggling and I am so so thankful that happened to us. So – patience is key. Be patient, and be consistent, and your mind will be blown. Success takes time!

On top of running The Zillennial, you are also a freelance book editor. How did you get into that field? 

Funny story actually! I have ALWAYS loved reading and writing, ever since I was a little kid. When deciding what I wanted to major in, I wanted to choose something writing/reading adjacent but something I knew would be steady. News never sleeps – so journalism was the perfect choice for me. While getting my degree, I worked at my college's paper and did other freelance work on the side. One day, I was at a coffee shop doing an interview with a music duo for a magazine I was writing for. I was writing an editorial about them and their life on the road and the wife, Desiree Brown, asked me if I did editing. She told me that she was writing a book and was looking for an editor. Book editing has always been a dream of mine but I was on such a different path – I didn't know how I could break into that industry. Yet, here I was in a little Flagstaff coffee shop, with my dream being handed to me. So, I said, "Yes! I sure do edit books! Actually, I never have but I'd like to!" and she took a chance on me. I edited her debut novel Desy's Diaries and realized it was my calling. I had SO MUCH fun editing this novel and desperately wanted to edit more. With COVID-19 changing the entire world, every industry was shifting. This included the publishing industry. More than ever, there was an increase of indie authors wanting to independently publish their work. I realized that these authors were my key and they became my bread and butter. Finding an affordable editor is almost impossible, so I set competitive rates and started reaching out to indie authors I saw on TikTok and Instagram. I would comment on their BookTok posts, DM them and try to promote myself online. Now, I am currently editing 4 indie manuscripts and it has been the most exciting, invigorating time of my life. It was an industry I accidently leapt into and I love it so much. I learn something new every day but it is so much fun working with indie authors who are just like me.

What are your favorite kinds of books to read? Do you ever get so caught up in a story, you forget to edit and you have to go back? 

Oh, absolutely! Personally, my favorite stories to read are romance, YA, new adult fiction, and women's fiction. However, I'm currently editing a fantasy novel and it has been the coolest and best experience in my career. Fantasy worlds are so expansive and having a hand in editing one has been so thrilling! I always read a novel all the way through before I start editing it because I need to be sure I know what the author has planned before I start giving my opinion. Editing as a reader first really makes all the difference!

Do you find it hard to separate reading for work versus reading for pleasure?

Yes yes yes yes! As mentioned, I am currently editing four novels so I have had a really hard time figuring out when I can read for pleasure. When reading is your job, it becomes a hard balance! But even so, I am so thankful that I get paid to read people's beautiful stories. It is such a privilege and a dream come true.

Do you find yourself unintentionally editing when reading for fun? I sometimes do it and I’m not even an editor! [laughter]

Every time I read a book, I definitely think of all the things I would have said if I were that author's editor but this just makes reading even more fun to me!

What do you enjoy most about being freelance and on the reverse side, what do you think is most challenging?

I love being freelance for so many reasons! Working remotely gives me so much freedom so in my free time I can travel and experience the world. However, I would say that working from home makes setting your own boundaries really hard. It takes a lot of effort to allow myself to rest and relax – because the lines have become so blurred. On the weekend or in the evening, I sometimes dive back into work but have to remind myself that just because my work is at home doesn't mean I have to be doing it all the time. I also find that people don't respect my work as much as someone who goes to an office to work – it's often forgotten that just because I'm at home doesn't mean I'm off the clock. It's tricky sometimes to set boundaries with myself and others but it is a luxury and a privilege all the same.

With everything that you do, how do you avoid burnout?

Good question! As I was talking about in the last question – you have to set boundaries with yourself. You HAVE to have time to rest, to relax, to enjoy life. It can't be all work and no play. It can be so hard sometimes to set down the work and just sit around (I often feel like I'm being selfish or wasting time) but you have to. In order to avoid burnout, you must prioritize your self-care. I try to take weekends and evenings off as much as I can and try to unplug completely. I'm not perfect and I can't say that I never feel overwhelmed or stressed out, but I do put in the effort not to!

I definitely struggle with that as well. Looking toward the future, where do you hope to be both professionally and personally in 5 years?

Wow! 5 years is so far away and yet so close. In 5 years, I will be 29! I just turned 24 (Nov 8)! Where would I like to be at 29 years old? I try not to set too concrete of goals because the world is so unpredictable but I hope, above all things, that I am happy. I hope in 5 years that I have started my family – my husband and I aren't ready yet but I think we will be by then. I hope that The Zillennial Zine has flourished. I hope I never give up on it. I hope I have edited at least 10 books total by then. I hope maybe I have even released a book of my own! I hope I have traveled internationally at least once. I hope I am getting close to checking off my bucketlist. I hope all is well!

That’s a great answer! Lastly, since this is The FMC, which Female Main Character archetype do you relate to most?

I love this question!!! I am definitely without a doubt The Girl Next Door. I try my very best to have a can-do attitude and to be optimistic! I think having a positive mindset can change your life!