Coffee With: Copy Director And Novelist Tia Williams

Tia Williams
Location: New York, NY
Job: Copy director at Bumble and Bumble, author of The Perfect Find
Education: B.A. in English and Comparative Literature, University of Virginiago

What was your first job?

My very first job out of college was an editorial intern at Doubleday Books. I was obsessed with big, juicy, sexy novels by authors like Jackie Collins, Judith Krantz (read Scruples now!), and Jacqueline Susann. I thought that I wanted to work in publishing to find more novelists like them – especially ones of color, because we were (and are) so underrepresented. But my super perceptive boss was quick to tell me that I was too much of a writer myself to ever be satisfied editing other authors' work. I heard her loud and clear. Next thing I knew, I landed a position as the assistant beauty writer at YM magazine (remember YM?), and then I went to Elle, and then to Glamour. My journalism career took off from there, and five years later, I wrote my own juicy novel, The Accidental Diva.

Tell us about your career now.

I'm the copy director at Bumble and Bumble, a global hair care brand owned by Estée Lauder. I lead the department that's responsible for the voice of the brand, so I write packaging and promotional copy, name products, and more. It's so much fun. I've been beauty writing for almost two decades, and it never gets old.

You just came out with a novel, too. Tell us about that and about how you write novels and work a separate full-time job.

Yes, my newest novel, The Perfect Find, came out in April! It's about a 40-year-old former "it girl" fashion editor who loses it all and reinvents herself at an online style zine (where she's a clueless digital rookie). It's a total beach read – super dishy and fun.

On top of my day job, I'm working on a new novel right now, which I have ZERO time to do! I wake up at 3am, write until 6am, wake my seven-year-old daughter up for school, take her to school, eat all the croissants in Lower Manhattan, work at the Bumble office all day, write a little after she goes to sleep, and do it all the next day. Somewhere in there I find time for watching Stranger Things and eating french fries.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Slowww down. I was so ambitious and eager to check every career goal off of my to-do list that I never stopped to feel any of my success. Or even just to breathe. In my twenties, I was relentlessly focused on my career. And because of it, I think I made some bonkers choices in my personal life. Bonkers. Then again, that's what your twenties are for, right?

Who is your role model?

Jean Godfrey June. She is such a legendary beauty director. She's been my boss twice! She hired me as her assistant at Elle, and then again a few years later as her senior beauty editor at Lucky. Jean has been the most influential beauty voice of my generation because she isn't just a makeup/skincare/haircare/health reporter; she's a creative writer. She taught me to stretch it past silly, alliterative beauty babble (e.g. “Paint your pucker with these six sex-you-up glosses for spring!") and to instead write like you're speaking to your smartest, coolest friend. Try to make that navy eyeliner sound so divine, so irresistible, so chic and perfect that it would make all other navy eyeliners disintegrate from envy. Jean's a genius.

What has been the highlight of your writing career?

The launch party for my first novel, The Accidental Diva. It was unreal. Iman was the host (I was co-writing her makeup book, The Beauty of Color, at the time). Boy George was the DJ, and all my friends and family were there. It was so exciting – my biggest, oldest dream was to be a published novelist, and I'd gotten there. I was so nervous, though. I spent the whole time running in and out of the bathroom, adjusting the cutlets in my bra, stress-vomiting, and worrying about the typo on page 211 that I didn't stop and feel the moment properly. I wish I could go back and experience it as a 40-year-old!

What do you look for in prospective writers?

There are a zillion great writers in the world – even in New York alone. I always want to see what you can do that's different from everyone else. It can be slight. A tone, a sense of whimsy, gravity, a knack for playing with words ... It's important to show your prospective employer that you have a gift that she or he can't get anywhere else. That's more important to me than experience.

Do you have a mantra that keeps you going?

"I hate writing. I love having written." - Dorothy Parker