Writing Tips
By Wendy Markham (who also writes as Wendy Corsi Staub)
©2005 Wendy Corsi Staub. All Rights Reserved.
While I am, first and foremost, an author, I have worn many other caps in my literary life. I’ve been, at various times: a book store clerk, a back cover copywriter, a freelance reader, a writing instructor, a temp and administrative assistant at several publishers, a literary consultant, a book doctor, and an Associate Editor at Silhouette Books.
I should point out that none of this happened accidentally. I had decided in the third grade that I was going to grow up to write books for a living. My parents told me anything is possible and that hard work makes dreams come true. After all, my father rose from bank teller to executive vice president with only a high school education, and my mother (with three children at home) obtained her undergraduate and masters degrees, summa cum laude.
Of course, by the time I was in college myself, with a vintage wardrobe, a set of artsy, flamboyant friends, and multiply-pierced earlobes upon which I hung multiple chandelier earrings, my conservative father became seriously alarmed about my career path. He was convinced that if I moved alone to New York City to pursue my writing dreams, I would be doomed to a life of bohemian poverty, sans health benefits and 401K. That did eventually happen for awhile, but it was far more cathartic than dire.
The point is, from the moment I made up my mind to become an author, I set about achieving my goal in a most calculated manner, even as a kid. This didn’t just mean writing for the school newspapers and yearbooks every chance I got. It meant learning how the book industry worked behind the scenes, as soon as I was old enough to have a part time job.
I very deliberately clerked in two different book stores as a teenager, and acquired a wealth of information about the industry itself—publishers’ imprints, print runs, sales figures, bestseller trends, advance publicity, sell-throughs and returns, etc. I also learned about the countless variables that might make a consumer buy one published book over another at the point of sale, such as title, cover art, shelf placement, back cover copy, word of mouth. Those were lessons that stayed with me to this day, and have guided my career path. When aspiring authors ask me for advice, I often tell them to work part-time in a book store for awhile. You can’t beat the hands-on experience or built-in inspiration.
Perhaps even more valuable, for me, was a stint working in account management at a major Manhattan advertising agency. It was there, I believe, that I first realized that I wasn’t as determined to create “art” as I was to sell a “product.”
Does that sound mercenary? Maybe. But it’s honest. And it’s propelled me onto the bestseller lists, which is precisely where I always wanted to be.
In my opinion, every aspiring writer faces a major decision early on. Ask yourself why you’re compelled to write, and what your goals are.
<< Previous Article | Next page >>