Early in my career as an independent consultant, I began writing specifically to be published in the mainstream press. I began pitching various pieces to op-ed editors. Of all the news outlets, the one I really wanted to write for was The Christian Science Monitor. I thought there was the best fit between overall editorial vibe and my own brand of thinking.

I had pitched other people’s op-eds before, as a part of my job, but this was the first time I was really trying to get my own work published. And I wasn’t writing in order to further an organization’s goals — just to express myself. Clara Germani, who edited the op-ed page,  picked up one of my early pieces. (Here it is.)

Over the next few years, The Monitor published a number of my pieces, and Clara always made them better. I learned how important it is to have a good editor — who “gets” you as a writer, and who makes you into a better version of yourself.

My favorite story of my editorial relationship with Clara — and the only time we disagreed — happened when I wrote this piece. In it, I talk about having a political sign on my front yard ripped down. Clara wanted me to say who the sign was for in the piece. I held firm. She let me have my way which was very gracious of her. (No, I still won’t tell you who the sign was for.)

(Also, note that I had no special relationship with The Monitor. I occasionally submitted, they accepted occasionally.)

Thank you to Clara, for giving me my start in the op-ed world, and allowing me to say something I had always wanted to: “I’m an essayist.”

Here are all the pieces I wrote for the Monitor:

• “A mission Statement of value“, The Christian Science Monitor, January 3, 2007
• “When ‘cool’ messages lose their punch“, The Christian Science Monitor, January 23, 2006
• “What if the US had to write a constitution from scratch?“, The Christian Science Monitor, August 19, 2005
• “Sportsmanship redefined by bushy-haired skaters“, The Christian Science Monitor, August 15, 2005
• “Keep Deep Throat in Watergate Parable“, The Christian Science Monitor, June 6, 2005
• “There’s No Place Like Home for Take-the-Kids-to-Work Day“, The Christian Science Monitor, April 28, 2005
• “Does Matt Santos Really Have to be Fictional?“, The Christian Science Monitor, March 24, 2005
• “Moral Doughnuts, Backbone, and You“, The Christian Science Monitor, February 22, 2005
• “Tiny Screens Change That Holiday Glow“, The Christian Science Monitor, January 7, 2005
• “Polarized? Not in My Backyard“, The Christian Science Monitor, November 24, 2004
• “Open-Source Campaigning“, The Christian Science Monitor, September 22, 2004
• “Polemics of Head and Heart”, The Christian Science Monitor, May 18, 2004
• “Looking For a Voice in All The Wrong Places”, The Christian Science Monitor, April 5, 2004
• “The Meaning in the ‘Message’”, The Christian Science Monitor, November 19, 2003

(Clara is now editor of The Christian Science Monitor’s weekly magazine.)