Create & Cultivate 100: Content Creator: Orion Carloto
THE ONE TO WATCH.
THE ONE TO WATCH.
Orion Carloto is in Flux.
But her approach to life's realities has a twist.
After writing for Local Wolves magazine, Orion decided to bare her soul, publishing her first book of poetry, Flux. With original illustrations by artist Katie Roberts, Orion pulls from her own experiences with love and loss, creating a safe space for the brokenhearted. Solitude, sex, and yearning for simpler times dot her pages.
Born in a small town in Georgia, the writer and poet first became popular on YouTube. Such is the world we live in. But growing up with her nose in a book and stuck deep in her own imagination, Orion was never fated to stick to the video platform. (It doesn't hurt that she understand the art of a good pic.) A fan of hot coffee, the color yellow and baring it all on the page, she's a Gen Xer to keep an eye on. As she writes on her Instagram, which has over 500k followers, "2017 was magical for many reasons. I traveled the most I’ve ever traveled. I wrote music. I moved to NYC. I came out as bisexual. I fell in love with a beautiful woman. I released my very first book of poetry and prose. I healed."
In this digital age when many young influencers take to video to express themselves, it's refreshing to see the 21-year-old take to paper.
More from Orion below.
Where do your drive and passion come from?
If anyone taught me how to go after the things you want the most in life best, it would be my mother. I know it's a cliché to praise one's own mother, but that woman has continuously enlightened me with the importance of working smart and working hard. Make mama proud.
When you run into a career obstacle, what drives you forward?
Pulling inspiration from everything that's surrounding my life. Literature, films, strangers, travel, music, photographs, stories, big cities, and the people that I love with my entire being. That's what pushes and excites me to move forward. Or by traveling to a place that I've never been to before. Experiencing unfamiliar places has a funny way of pulling heaps of creativity out of you.
What was it like putting your first book of poetry out in the world?
If I could describe that experience in one word, it would be bittersweet. Releasing 'Flux' was something I've always dreamt of achieving even before it was written. Yet, when the social release day came about, I was completely beaming and overwhelmingly terrified all at once!! My heartbreak, something that once only belonged to me, now lives on the shelves of thousands of people and I'm still trying to adjust to that.
My heartbreak, something that once only belonged to me, now lives on the shelves of thousands of people and I'm still trying to adjust to that.
Will you do it again?
Absolutely without a doubt! Exposing your vulnerabilities is a tough position to be in, but I wouldn't trade that experience for the world.
Since you work with curious creatives, where do you think good ideas come from?
My best ideas come from warm coffee in the morning, the people I cross souls with, and both the strange and endearing endeavors my life takes me on.
You have a young following with a ton of ideas and feelings. Based on what you read and see from them, if you ran the world, what one law you would enact?
Easy-- a law that ensures and protects everyone in the LGBTQIA+ community across the entire world.
"Exposing your vulnerabilities is tough but I wouldn't trade it for the world."
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What is your biggest pet peeve?
People who constantly interrupt!
What's something you'd like people to know about your job that they probably don’t?
I think it's easy for people to assume that just because I'm a writer, that I write every single day! Truthfully, it takes a thoughtful sit down, complete solitude, and feeling inspired for me to successfully write a new piece that I'm proud of. Although I try to journal every day, when it comes to poetry or prose, I find myself greeting writers' block more often than I'd like.
What about your career makes you feel the most complete?
When others can connect with my words and truly feel them while reading. To me, that makes me feel like I'm doing something right.
If you had to trade jobs with anyone else in the world, who would it be and why?
Malia Obama. I know being a college student is her full-time "job" at the moment, but MAN, could you imagine having Barack and Michelle as your parents?!
At what point in your career did you find the confidence to really take charge and become the woman you are today?
I can think back to two points in my life. The first was when I began working with my excellent team of strong and confident women. Like my manager, Rana Zand, for example. Watching her work ethic and absorbing her continuous advice inspired me to take charge and to absolutely never stop no matter the obstacle. The second was the moment I finished writing my first book. It was that moment that I let go of all of my heartbreak. I gained an appreciation and better understanding of who I am as a person and my potential in achieving absolutely anything I put my heart to.
What's the best advice you've ever been given? Or your favorite piece of #realtalk?
Patti Smith said it best, "Build a good name. Keep your name clean. Don’t make compromises, don’t worry about making a bunch of money or being successful — be concerned with doing good work and make the right choices and protect your work. And if you build a good name, eventually, that name will be its own currency."
What song do you sing in the shower when you’ve had a bad day?
Anything Amy Winehouse!
Do you have any resolutions for 2018?
To begin and finish my second book. Oh, and also to be reasonable at texting people back much faster.... not days later.
Photo Credit: @davisfactor
Hair & Makeup: @SmashboxCosmetics @TheGlamApp @TheOuai
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Being Interviewed? Here Is the Only Piece of Advice You Need
Ok.. so it's three pieces of advice. We're givers.
photo credit: Smith House Photography
So. It's finally happened. The day has come when an editor or blogger has reached out to YOU because they want to profile you/your business/your brain on their outlet.
Has the panic set in yet? While there is plenty of advice we could dole out-- be AUTHENTIC ( are you sick of that word yet?), be honest, be prepared, ask for the questions in advance so you can prep, know your audience, know your interviewer and check out their past work-- the list goes on. And while most of that advice matters, we're sharing our top three picks.
1. Contrary to what you just read-- Don't ask for the questions in advance.
Does that scare you? It should. Be nervous. Revel in nervous. The best content comes from a place of discomfort. And as such, the best interviews aren't prepared. If you're accepting the interview in the first place, you should have trust that you're in good interviewer hands. But pre-planned answers and media training. You know your work. You need to trust in yourself as well. Actress Zoey Deutch once told us, "I don't know if media trained Zoey is a role I want to play." And asking for questions in advance is just that-- you playing a role.
2. Do it over the phone or in person.
Everyone has gotten pretty lazy when it comes to the interview. In part, the email Q&A is the fault of the content churn and burn-- you can't produce multiple in-person interviews per day. Transcription is time consuming. It's much easier to send things via email and have the subject do the work for you. Everyone is guilty of this because there isn't enough time. TIME YOU DEVIL.
But WHEN and IF possible always ask to do it over the phone or in-person. Your responses and your personality will shine through in the piece. That's what you want the public to see.
And if you're the interviewer, or green to this whole profession and feel more comfortable conducting an interview over email, today's the day: it's time to step out of your comfort zone. That's where the good content is.
"Today's the day: It's time to get out of your comfort zone."
Tweet this.
3. Learn how to speak in Tweets.
Sure, Twitter may have upped the character limit to 280 for some users, (and man, people don't like it) but you still need to talk in Tweets. Call them "sound bites" or "quotables," just don't call them late for dinner! But really, if you want your interview to be shared (which, is the goal for most) you need to make sure that it is sharable. That doesn't mean dumbing down your language. Brevity is the soul of wit. Wit gets Tweeted. Wit gets shared.
When we get nervous we tend to ramble. Rambling lives at the corner of no one is reading and high bounce rate. Don't overthink sounding smart. Sound human. Be human. (Goes back to not asking for questions in advance.)
Many women we've spoken to are masters at this. Kristen Bell. Sophia Bush. Yvonne Orji.
Examples include:
"Don’t let your feelings of self-worth come from detached clicks."
"Let social media be fun. Don’t let it be important."
"I stand my ground and do my thing as me. I can go toe-to-toe with the next guy."
But they're famous you say. People pay attention to them no matter what. Did you ever think people started paying attention because they knew this was key to mastering the interview?
Think about it.
