WEEN Woman of the Month: Demetria Lucas
Before she was a “Belle in Brooklyn”, WEEN Woman of the Month Demetria Lucas had her nose submerged between the pages of whatever she could her hands on. “I was nerdy. I grew up in a house with books and my mom was an avid reader [so] I always had my nose buried in something.” By the time she entered high school, the budding author looked at writing as a serious ambition. She found herself inspired by the newly launched Vibe magazine and wanted to write about the hip hop she listened to every day.
Despite her love for writing, Lucas eventually found herself at the University of Maryland College Park majoring in law. While sitting in an African American Studies class, her professor relit the fuse that redirected her back to her innate love. “My professor pulled me aside and said, “What’s your plan?” When I told her [what it was] she said, “No honey, you’re not a lawyer, you’re a writer.” That moment was very encouraging for me, and it was a turning point to go versus what my parents wanted for me.”
The talented creative immediately followed up at NYU where a Masters in Journalism ultimately transformed her into the “belle” we know and love today. Over the years she’s served as a staff editor for Harlequin publishing, a relationship editor for Essence Magazine; and of course, founded the award winning blog “A Belle in Brooklyn”.
After graduating from NYU, you almost immediately began your career in publishing. What resistance did you experience, as a woman, on your journey to launching “A Belle in Brooklyn”? [I worked full time] as a book editor and I freelanced as a writer and mostly covered music and entertainment. I really didn’t have a lot of adversity [in terms of me being a woman working in the industry]; the money was the adversity. Starting salary coming out of journalism school started at $25,000 – [and that was] on the good side!
Over the past seven years, your blog “A Belle in Brooklyn” has given us a comical insight some of your craziest misadventures. What inspired you to be so candid about your life experiences and create this blog? I never thought about NOT being candid. I would email my experiences to my best friend and he’d say, “OMG you’ve got to get this published.” Blogs weren’t really big at the time and I felt like there was a void. I wanted to [fill that void, almost like] a young Carrie Bradshaw; something fun and young.
In addition to being a blogger and author, Demetria was most recently featured on the first season of Bravo’s “Blood, Sweat, and Heels”. On the show, we get a glimpse into the lives of her life along with other women working in the entertainment and fashion industry.
How have your experiences on the show influenced your views on women, relationships, and profession? [“Blood, Sweat, and Heels”] for TV. There was a lot of drama that [I haven’t] experienced since junior high; [but overall I would say that the dynamic between] Geneva, Brie, myself, and even Melissa [is a] better reflection of how black women really [interact]. We had a rocky start, but we sat down like women, hashed it out, and built that bridge. There are [so many layers] to every relationship.
Your blog is so successful. With millions of blogs popping up daily, what advice would you have to women who want to create content that stands out amongst the rest? #1 – Have consistency. Starting out you have to treat your blog like it’s a full time job. You have to post every day. There are people who check their favorite blog every day; [that’s why] I’m on Ask FM every single day engaging with my readers. #2 – Have a voice. [When I first started my blog] I was trying to imitate people that were already popular. The moment I started to becoming a successful writer is when I learned to develop my own voice.
Writers are often times multifaceted. What gifts would we be surprised to learn you have? I think people are surprised to learn that I don’t go to a hair dresser. I do my own hair. Even when I had my hair short, I always kept it myself.
What do you want other young women to learn from watching how you work? I come from a respectable family and even when I did the TV show, [I carried] myself much like I [any day]. I do hope if there is a take away it would be this: if you work hard and sacrifice enough you can have what you want in life. You can reach your dreams.
You are an author, writer, life coach, and a force to be reckoned with. What’s next for Demetria Lucas? My new book “Don’t Waste Your Pretty “[is launching this fall] and is a go-to guide for women who want to make smarter decisions in life and in love. We’re prepping for a huge launch!
Introducing a new book, running an award winning blog, appearing in television shows, and planning a wedding would make most of us faint; but not Demetria Lucas. Class, spunk, and innovation make this powerful woman an inspiration to girls everywhere!
Good post. I became looking at continually your blog exactly what influenced! Very helpful details especially the concluding part We cope with similarly info a great deal. I had been trying to find this particular information for any period of time. Appreciate it and connected with fortune.