Last week, I did an interview with the San Diego Voyager about my Bigfoot research, this blog, and journalistic writing as a craft. For those of you who didn’t see the article posted to my social media accounts, I figured I’d post an excerpt here and link out to the extended interview so all of you have the opportunity to check it out.
Now, more than ever, I think it’s vital to get to know the people we look to for knowledge. Misinformation and biases are rampant—not just in the dark corners of the Internet—but in the pretty black and white pages of our established news outlets.
I want to be someone you can trust and rely on for honesty and accurate information. I hope that my work speaks for itself, but I also think knowing more about the woman behind the Hot Alien can’t hurt.
Hopefully, this interview provides you with a little more insight into my experience as a writer and editor, my motivations for studying Bigfoot and other strange phenomena, and my philosophy on the craft of journalism.
So many of you continue to share your wishes, hopes, thoughts and dreams with me. I figure it’s only fair to give some of that back. So! Behold, the interview…
Life and Work With Krissy Eliot—The SD Voyager Interview
Today we’d like to introduce you to Krissy Eliot.
Can you briefly walk us through your story–how you started and how you got to where you are today. You can include as little or as much detail as you’d like.
Five years ago, I left my home state of Maryland and traveled to the San Francisco Bay Area to become a sex journalist. Why? Because sex is fucking interesting! That, and it bothered my mother endlessly. (BONUS.)
With barely any journalistic experience, I sent an email to Steve Jones, the editor in chief of the now tragically defunct San Francisco Bay Guardian, asking if they needed any freelance writers to cover the sex beat. As proof of my writing abilities, I submitted the only journalistic piece I’d ever written—one longform, first-person story about a three-day-weekend I spent with OneTaste, the orgasmic meditation group sometimes referred to as a cult by its former members. Turns out, my writing wasn’t half bad, and Jones said, “Do you want your own column?” That day, my career was born: naked, confused, kicking and screaming—which, as it happens, works well for a column about kink.
I threw myself into that column, aptly titled “Head First,” and freelanced for a couple of years before becoming a staff reporter and editor at California magazine, where I’ve covered myriad topics from Slender Man to Bigfoot. The latter subject became particularly interesting to me—so much so that I’ve produced multiple investigative stories on Sasquatch, and have continued to obsess over mythical creatures, the paranormal, and subjects otherwise strange.
So the next step in my writing pilgrimage is to go into business for myself as a weird blogger and author—which is why I’ve launched Hot Alien, a blog featuring serious journalism on seriously weird shit. As I explain in the blog’s intro post, I’ll be writing about everything from the legendary Bigfoot to aliens to my increasingly weird life—with an aim of being informative, fun, and fantastically freaky.
That said, I’m not a faithful “Bigfoot believer” by any means—I do like to approach all subjects with a rational, open mind. Do I want Sasquatch to exist? Totally. How cool would that be?! But I don’t let that affect my writing or reporting. The truth is what most interests me.
Has it been a smooth road? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way? Any advice for other women, particularly young women who are just starting their journey?
Has it been easy? Short answer: No.
As a woman, I’ve experienced my fair share of mistreatment in journalism—with many men tossing sexist comments at me the way rock stars toss out guitar picks at concerts.
But money (or lack thereof) is probably the hardest part about being a journalist. It’s not exactly the most lucrative profession, even if you manage to nab a position on a magazine’s staff. That being said, I’m extremely grateful to be able to support myself doing what I love. I got to where I am with a lot of luck, a genuine love of writing, and a tendency to bust my mother-fucking ass.
In terms of advice for women just getting into the game…
The thing about journalism is that, like any other form of writing, it’s a craft—an art—and when you’re expected to crank out a certain amount of stories a week, it can be easy to forget that. Tip: If you want to keep your head above water in this industry, and do well, you can’t afford to forget.
If you want to be a professional journalist, know there aren’t a ton of writing jobs out there, so you have to be good. Damn good. Writing has to be your passion, and it has to show. You have to write pieces that make editors salivate over your talent; you want to make them remember you, and tell their friends about you, and their friends’ friends. Not just so you can get paid, but so you can boost your ever-wilting writer’s ego, which by nature would flagellate itself to death if it weren’t rescued by the occasional compliment…
