An Interview with Andreas Winfrey

When asked about his job, Andreas Winfrey humorously replied, “Well, I kind of manage everything.”

As the managing director of CLARA Magazine, Indonesia, Andreas Winfrey has some editors to manage, and also comes up and decides on the theme of every issue. “I write, I edit, and nowadays I happen to handle the business side of the magazine as well!”

So, what made him decide to take on editing instead of just writing? “I got promoted to being the managing editor, so editing is part of my job. I have to make sure what goes into the magazine is actually good enough for the audience.”

Any challenges faced in his journey of being an editor? “Trying to make everyone in the company have the same vision and the same taste with me is one of the challenges. Having to get (my colleagues) to share the same vision as me without forbidding their creativity can be a challenge, so I guess I just have to balance it out.”

So what inspires Andreas Winfrey in his writing? Replying with a laugh, Andreas’ answer was simply, “Everything!” “I mean, you can just go out there, see something and just get inspired (by it).”

“There are too many young writers who are just too focused on developing their writing skills. Actually to me, having a good attitude and an interesting personality are just as important as their writing skills. So to all my fellow young writers out there, it’s good to learn how to write good articles, but it’s also good to learn how to present yourself as an writer and as an individual.”