Not many people can claim to make a living as a writer, however Jenna
Glatzer can make that claim and more. Not only is she the writer of
hundreds of articles for magazines such as Writers Digest and Womans
World, she has authored several successful books including Outwitting
Writers Block, and Other Problems of the Pen (Lyons Press) and Words
You Thought You Knew (Adams Media). Topping off all this, she is the
editor and owner of one of the most popular writing websites on the
web,
www.absolutewrite.com. Jenna Glatzer took time out from her very busy schedule to talk to me.
OH: Have you always had an interest in writing? Where were the first places you began to have your work published?
JENNA: Yes, I've always had an interest in writing, though I didn't
plan to make it my career. When I was housebound with agoraphobia, I
could no longer go out to work, so I had to find a way to make a living
from home. That's when I decided to bump writing up from a hobby to a
career choice. My first works were published in my college literary
magazine, Link magazine (now defunct), and College Bound magazine (I
still write for them sometimes!)
OH: You have had a number of
books published now, on average how long does one of your books take
you to complete, from first idea to publication?
JENNA: I think
I'm unusual in that I wrote nine books in about two years-- I'm now on
my tenth. From idea to publication tends to be about a year for me, but
I'm always working on several projects at once. I was just given a
two-month deadline on my latest book-- that's the shortest deadline
I've ever had and it will be a big challenge to get it done in time!
Some of my books were on assignment, though, which means I didn't have
to come up with the idea. That was the case with Outwitting Writer's
Block-- the publisher had already come up with the title and basic idea
and they were looking for someone to write it. My agent referred me, I
wrote up a quick proposal, and that was that. I've also written
children's books for book packagers, and some of those take only weeks
to write.
OH: What made you determined to become a writer and is it everything you wished for?
JENNA: Well, I didn't have much of a choice because of the agoraphobia.
I knew I had to find a way to feel independent (both financially and
for my own emotional sake). If I couldn't "make it" as a writer, I
didn't know what else I would do. So I learned everything I could about
several areas of writing (from screenwriting to writing articles, book
proposals, and greeting cards) and just kept getting my work "out
there" until I succeeded.
The writing life certainly has its
ups and downs. I will admit to having days when I'd rather give it all
up because of the deadline pressure, the financial uncertainty (I make
a good living, but it's "lumpy"-- I know that I have to keep scoring
assignments to be able to pay my bills). The isolation, the public
scrutiny. I'm really sensitive, and it's hard for me to watch for book
reviews! I've been very lucky that the vast majority of reviews I've
gotten have been terrific, but I always live in fear of bad reviews.
OH: Where do you get the ideas for your writing from and how much research do you then carry out?
JENNA: I'm a big, big researcher! The ideas come from all over--
conversations with strangers, public relations people who send me
stories about their clients, things I read in other publications that I
can then spin off and pitch to other markets, television, web
searches... I specialize in a few areas (like health and nutrition), so
I keep on top of current research and keep my eye out for potential
stories in those areas.
I pride myself on my research skills,
and I think that's helped me to earn the respect of many editors. I
always "over-research," meaning that I do far more than will ever fit
into an article.
[BB]
OH: You write books, for magazines and for the internet (as well as
other writing I might add) you are a very busy person, what is a
typical day like for you?
JENNA: I'm up around 2 p.m., and go
straight to the computer. I check my bazillion e-mails, then do an
interview or have a phone conference with an editor. I spend several
hours researching, and then I write drafts or edit articles. I write to
other potential interviewees to ask if I can set up interviews with
them. I work on AbsoluteWrite.com. I often forget to eat. I go to bed
around 7 a.m. (I know, my hours are ridiculous and backwards and I'm
trying to change that!) I do work all day, every day, about 360 days a
year, and I hope no one ever tries to emulate me.
OH: How would you like to see your writing career advancing?
JENNA: Like everyone, I'd love to be able to do less work and still
earn the same amount of money. I'm getting there. Nowadays, I am able
to command higher advances on my books and better rates on my magazine
writing, so I hope to just keep building on that. There are a few
magazines, like Shape and Family Circle that I enjoy and still haven't
broken into. So I'm working on those, but concentrating on the
book-writing right now. I'm currently doing a celebrity book that I'm
excited about, and I'm also starting to teach writing workshops (I have
one coming up at the Omega Institute in October-- see
www.eomega.com).
OH: Tell us a little about your latest book?
JENNA: My most recent book is Words You Thought You Knew: 1001 Commonly
Misused and Misunderstood Words and Phrases (Adams Media, December,
2003). That was a fun one to put together! I asked my newsletter
subscribers at AbsoluteWrite.com to tell me about the words they often
heard misused by their bosses, their co-workers, friends, the media,
etc., and I got swamped with responses! In the process, I learned a
lot-- like, I had always thought a papoose was the sling that Native
American moms use to hold their babies. Wrong! The papoose is the baby!
And I always thought the expression was "chomping at the bit," when
it's really "champing at the bit."
I'm on a high right now because the book just got an "Editor's Choice"
review in the Baltimore Sun, and some nice new reviews at Amazon. It's
a book for word lovers and anyone who's concerned about making sure
they get their words right!
The one coming out in April is Make
a Real Living as a Freelance Writer, and I'm so excited about it-- it's
exactly the book I wish I could have read when I was starting out.
OH: What 5 pieces of advice do you have for all those aspiring writers out there?
JENNA 1. Stay open to all possibilities. Don't label yourself as a
sci-fi writer, a poet, a tech writer. Keep learning and be ready to
apply yourself to whatever challenge arises.
2. If you can
stick to your deadlines, you're already ahead of about half the writers
out there. This is a business where days and hours count; never make an
editor sweat it out at the last minute.
3. Share your crayons.
Make friends with other writers. When you find an opportunity that you
can't take, pass it along to someone who might want it. Share your
contact information and leads; don't hoard it for yourself because
you're afraid of the competition. Karma. It'll come back to you.
4. Don't be afraid to negotiate. Contracts are negotiable, and are
usually not written with a writer's best interest in mind. Editors
expect you to negotiate. Do so with fervour, and don't settle for a
contract that disappoints you.
5. Stay away from anyone who
seeks to separate you from your money. Legitimate agents don't charge
fees until after the sale. Legitimate publishers pay you, not the other
way around... and they don't rely on having you hound your friends and
family to buy your books. Seek publishers with established channels of
distribution and watch out for hyped-up claims. Publishers who are
advertising for writers all over are likely not legit-- real publishers
(and agents) don't need to campaign for writers-- they get plenty of
submissions as it is!
OH: You run your own website
www.absolutewrite.com and you have a weekly e zine with nearly 50,000
subscribers and the content on your site runs to over 1000 pages, my
question is when you set up the website and ezine, did you ever think
they would become so popular?
JENNA: Actually, the main
newsletter has 73,000 subscribers, and the markets newsletter has
25,000. And, NO, I had no idea it would become so popular when I
started this! I planned to have this little site to promote my own
work, and instead, it morphed into a writers' site that just kept
growing and growing. It takes an awful lot of time to maintain, but
it's such a big part of my life now. I've "met" most of my
writer-friends through the site, and I'm addicted to the "fan mail" I
get from writers who thank me for being part of their successes.
OH: It is well documented that you suffer from agoraphobia, as well as
the obvious impact this had on your everyday life how does it effect
your writing life?
JENNA: Thank goodness, I can tell you that
I'm no longer agoraphobic. I suffered for several years, but am out of
the woods now. I do still have an anxiety disorder, but it's so trivial
compared to what I went through. When I was housebound, I had to
struggle to find reasons to get out of bed every day. I thought I was
worthless and hopeless and I just about lost my will to live. But I
kept trying different things-- medications, therapy, self-help tapes
and books, relaxation programs-- and finally, with the help of my
fianc, I got back out into the world.
If anything, the disorder
helped my career, because I didn't have much else to do with my time,
so I could spend all day every day just writing. But of course, it
demolished my social life. Now that I'm doing better, I'm beginning to
challenge myself by taking small trips, planning our wedding, seeing
friends, going out to eat... my first plane trip in eight years is
coming up in March, and I feel like that'll be a big test for me. I
can't believe I agreed to it!
OH: As someone who has published
in both print and ebook, firstly how do you think the two compare, and
secondly, do you believe that ebooks will ever replace the printed page?
JENNA: First, let me tell you that my ebook (The More Than Any Human
Being Needs to Know About Freelance Writing Workbook) sold remarkably
well. Now let me tell you that it sold about 2000 copies, maybe less.
Compared to print books, that's pathetic. I'd be so depressed if any of
my print books sold that way. But of course, the royalties are higher
with ebooks, so I did make okay money from it. Ebooks are good for
niche books that a traditional publisher wouldn't find "worth it." For
example, if I wanted to publish a book about how to break in with a
book packager, most print publishers won't touch it. The market is too
small. But if I know that my newsletter audience will be interested in
it, and I'm willing to do a lot of marketing myself, I might do it in
e-book form.
No way will e-books replace print books. I read
them both; I've probably read about 30% e-books and 70% print books
this year. But I think there are very, very few people who will tell
you they'd rather read a book on-screen. It's tiring on the eyes, and
lacks the portability and convenience of a nice paperback.
OH: Lastly, what are future ambitions for you everyday life as well as your writing one?
JENNA: My biggest ambition right now is to have a terrific wedding and
an even better marriage. I still have a lot of planning to do! I'd also
like to get to the point where I can comfortably travel without any
worry about my anxiety disorder. As far as my writing goes, I dream of
seeing one of my books on the NY Times Bestseller list and hope all of
them do well enough to stay in print for many, many years. And I hope
to keep the respect of those wonderful readers who write to me to tell
me they love my books; they're on my mind every time I sit down to
start a new project. Their kind words are what make my work worthwhile.
OWEN HOLLIFIELD 2004
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