Inside “In Earnest” – An Interview

In the summer of 2012, a group of women, led by Jennifer Tharp, began meeting and having conversations about something philosophers have debated for years— the “good life.” These conversations would eventually lead to the founding of In Earnest, an online magazine with a clear mission: “To host conversations that inspire and equip women to practice lives of consequence.”

Though the group started discussing the possibility of In Earnest in 2012, the site did not officially launch until 2013.  In an interview, co-founder of In Earnest and King’s alum Madison Peace explained these early origins: “Jennifer [Tharp] was acting as a mentor to several King’s students and also becoming friends with a couple of neat women from Trinity Grace Chelsea. Jennifer noticed common themes in conversations she was having with all these women.”

These discussions lead to the idea for In Earnest, as Peace says: “We started talking about starting a publication that would serve as a platform for conversations we were having among ourselves.” These conversations addressed topics from politics to womanhood to faith and, of course, they all dealt with the good life.

Many of the women involved in 2012 had just graduated from college (Peace had just graduated from King’s) and Tharp began a PhD program around the same time. These circumstances combined to push the publication date to fall of 2013, when Tharp, Peace, and a small group of other women officially launched the magazine. The online magazine had a clear purpose; as the site states, “In Earnest is the convergence of thought—What is the good life?—with action—How do we live well in the every day?”

Women from all around the country contribute articles and illustrations to In Earnest. This contributes to the personal feel of the website, as readers hear from individuals rather than a corporate entity. The website’s design itself also contributes to this welcoming, inviting mood—it’s largely minimalist, with gorgeous watercolor illustrations and a clean text layout. Visiting In Earnest feels like a refreshing break from the otherwise cluttered internet.

In Earnest accomplishes its purpose through a variety of posts on widely different topics, from art to body image to gardening. IEmanages to address every area of life rather than focusing on just one aspect or another. It truly feels like an ongoing conversation with dear and encouraging friends—which makes sense, considering its origins and purpose.

Says Tharp, “In Earnest is founded on the ideal that learning from each other in friendship, through conversation, is one of the most worthy endeavors we can pursue.” This means that a wide variety of people can benefit from IE; no matter their ages, “In Earnest is a gathering place of ideas where young women and mature women alike come to consider” says Tharp.

Interestingly, although IE was designed primarily by and for young women, it reaches a wide variety of readers outside of this demographic by addressing universal themes. “Our target audience is young, educated, city-dwelling women who are thoughtful about life. But we have a number of male readers and older readers, too,” says Peace. “If you’re interested in the question of the good life–In Earnest is for you.”

IE is approaching its first anniversary (October 15, 2014), and within its first year of existence, it’s enjoyed a great degree of success—though “success” is hard to measure when it comes to a site like IE whose primary purpose is encouraging thought and discussion.

Peace summarizes what success looks like for the magazine: “In a general sense, success means that we’re making people think about things differently and that we are providing a platform for our talented contributors to share their gifts.” Peace goes on to propose a possible way for IE to measure its success moving forward: “In the coming months, we’ll be measuring it more by how many readers are coming to the site each day, how frequently we’re converting one-time readers into committed readers, etc.”

IE faces challenges that come with its unique format—as Peace puts it, “The hardest part about In Earnest is that most of the women who work on it also have other full-time jobs.” Hosting contributors from all over the globe allows IE to gain a variety of perspectives and expand  conversations, but it also means that the people contributing cannot devote their time fully to IE.

However, the relationship between IE and its contributors is mutually beneficial; Peace says that IE helped her immensely in dealing with her first difficult year out of college by giving her a creative outlet. This is a role that IE for many of its contributors; as Peace says, “In many ways, [IE] functions as a space for people to practice… It’s really amazing to see how contributors’ gifts are developing because they have a space to share them.”

In Earnest also has a unique relationship to The King’s College—founder Jennifer Tharp currently serves the school as its Director of Student Success, and numerous students, alumni, and faculty contribute to the magazine.  “We are grateful to trace the roots of In Earnest to our connections that began at The King’s College, and we’re excited to continue to welcome readers and contributors from King’s as we corporately and individually pursue lives of significance through incremental learning,” says Tharp.

IE even helps to fulfill the mission of The King’s College–which is ”to shape and eventually lead strategic institutions”— by engaging its audience in conversations about the “big ideas” of the good life and how to live that out, individually or in the public sphere. By addressing all facets of life, IE is consistently relevant and helps to shape the online conversation towards what is good, true, and honorable.

Tharp and Peace both have advice for anyone hoping to found their own similar project. Peace offers this suggestion: “Running a website is a lot of work, so you have to be committed to the project…Also, surround yourself with a good team! That’s what makes IE work: we have great people committed to a common goal.”

Tharp also stresses the importance of a good team, saying, “For those considering a similar endeavor, I implore you to find a team as talented and dedicated as the editors, contributors, and illustrators on our In Earnest team. They are phenomenal.”

In Earnest is a stunning example of what a like-minded group of people can accomplish when they are pursuing the same goal. The influence does not end with the contributors; In Earnest invites the readers into the conversation as well. IE provides a conversation which anyone can engage in and learn from–and conversation in the context of friendship is a vital component of the good life. IEprovides both the  conversation and the friendship.

Visit In Earnest here.

The founding team of In Earnest includes alumnae:

Avery Reed (Editor, full-time at Penguin), Laura Herrod (Associate Editor, in her second year at Vanderbilt for a masters in Community Development), Annie Laurie Miller (Creative Director, a set designer in NYC), and Shannon DeStefano (staff artist, an entrepreneur and artist). Ginger Oakes, former first lady at Kings, is also a staff artist.