Sports Illustrated Copy Chief Julie Kliegman Talks Sports, Mental Health, and Her Forthcoming Book

Seeing athletes like Kevin Love and DeMar DeRozan open up about their own mental health struggles cemented for me that it’s worth writing about.

On February 9, 2022, Sports Illustrated copy chief Julie Kliegman joined Study Hall to discuss copy editing, writing about sports and trans athletes, and her forthcoming book, Mind Game: Inside the Mental Health Playbook of Elite Athletes. Kliegman has several years of experience editing copy as a staffer and freelancer. Before Sports Illustrated, she worked at The Ringer. Her work has also been published in The Washington Post, BuzzFeed, The Verge, Vulture, and Washington Monthly. Lately, her beat focuses on transgender athletes in sports.

 

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Can you explain a little of the process for choosing Rowman & Littlefield as your publisher? How do you decide on the right publisher for your book? 

My agent was immensely helpful in being my guide to different publishers and editors. Unfortunately, we just kind of struck out with Big 5 publishers. But we met with a few smaller houses, and I could tell that the editor at R&L got it when my agent and I peppered her with questions. She was a professional soccer player herself, so that helped. 

Let’s talk about mental health! How do you balance your job and writing a book?

I don’t know that I balance it particularly well! I’m feeling pretty stressed right now. I take Friday evenings and Sunday mornings to myself — that’s time for cleaning, sleeping, Switch, TV, and reading for fun. No book work or Sports Illustrated work during those times. I’m also leaning heavily on my friends for support and encouragement.

Julie, what inspired you to write MIND GAME? And how far along are you in that process?

Growing up, I loved sports. I ran cross country and track in high school until I injured myself. What I thought was just severe depression got worse when I couldn’t play, and I didn’t realize I was bipolar until I got a diagnosis a few years ago.

Since then, bipolar has always been on my mind. Seeing athletes like Kevin Love and DeMar DeRozan open up about their own mental health struggles cemented for me that it’s worth writing about.

As far as the book, my deadline is September 1. Right now I’m in that awkward phase where I’m writing but still pretty heavily reporting. I’m using a freelance developmental editor, so she has my intro and the first chapter right now. 

That sounds like a lot to a balance. Has the developmental editor helped?

So far she’s helped by boosting my confidence and assuring me that I’m not terrible. But I’ll know a lot more once she gives my first couple of drafts back. As a first-time author, hiring somebody was really important. I also struggle with big-picture structure. I know my publishing house editor will be fairly hands-off, like I suspect many are, so I wanted that extra safety net. It’s a big expense, though!

Has your reporting helped you write the book? And have you been able to take some of what you’ve learned about mental health into practice?

My reporting is so overwhelming. Once I transcribe everything, it’ll be more useful. I like that my Sports Illustrated beat and my book overlap. Mental health is a critical issue for trans athletes, so I’m trying to make sure they’re represented in the book. I think the biggest thing I learn from elite athletes is that routines are key for staying grounded. Their whole lives revolve around very structured routines. If you don’t know who you are outside of the routine, it can be damaging., But as long as you have a sense of self, a routine can do wonders for you.

Do you think there are some particular editorial oversights or misunderstandings that keep editors from publishing stories about ace people?

The first thing I’ll say about my reporting on trans and asexual stories is that the former helped me realize I was trans (I’m nonbinary) and the latter helped me realize I was ace! So it’s always a nice thing to be able to examine why you’re drawn to certain coverage areas and what they mean to you. I encourage freelancers — especially but not exclusively trans freelancers — to get in on this beat. There aren’t enough of us writing about the attacks on trans athletes. I think that’s because sports is considered a low-brow beat, but this is something that is about erasing trans people from public view, which requires a lot of attention. Asexuality is another thing nobody writes enough, or frankly thinks enough, about. If you’re ace I’m always here to chat about story ideas. I wrote a story about asexual online dating four years ago now and it’s still super relevant today. Be the queer content you wish you could Google in the world!

Yes. I think they think practically no one is ace (not true! We just don’t have great data, though that’s slowly changing). For some reason, talking about my lack of interest in sex sounds very salacious to some editors. I don’t really know how, it’s just my impression. I think they also find ace-specific terms like demisexual and gray ace to be confusing or eye-rolly. Ace stories are some of my hardest to sell. One essay got killed and sat in my back pocket for like a year until I had a new peg for it. Never give up on a story you believe in. 

On that point, are there any ace, trans, and queer friendly pubs that you like working with? And are there other writers you’d like to spotlight?

I recommend Them, Into, and Bitch (editor’s note: RIP), among others. Some writers to highlight on the ace beat — though they write about plenty of other things too — are Angela Chen (get her book!), Lily Herman, and Sara Ghaleb. On the trans sports beat, I recommend Katie Barnes, Frankie de la Cretaz, Sydney Bauer, and Jo Yurcaba. Michael Waters also has a dope book about old-timey trans Olympians he’s working on! He’s also a great writer on long-forgotten queer stories, in general. I’m sure I’m forgetting many fantastic people!

Julie, I ask everyone who comes on to talk about some labor issues they see affecting freelancers and writers. Accurate representation is definitely a big one, but is there anything else you’re keeping an eye on these days?

I’ve given so many rights away for pieces when I didn’t know better, or when I did but didn’t feel like I was able to negotiate them. Legal protections for freelancers just aren’t there in most contracts. Something I think a lot about at Sports Illustrated is the many ways we could be treating freelancers better. I think something like Defector’s freelancer policies — which they created in partnership with the National Writers Union — are a great start.

I’m also open to feedback on what freelancers would like to see from Sports Illustrated, if you ever want to chat with me on the Study Hall Slack or via email. You can also pitch me on queer and/or women’s sports stories at Sports Illustrated to [email protected]. 

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