Interview: Anne Fortier, author of Juliet

As you all know, I recently read a fantastic novel that retold the tale of one of history’s most renowned couples. And of course, I just had to get inside her wordsmith head to see what her wordsmith journey has been all about, and what other creative tales she might have on the horizon for my bookshelf. Wordsmith Laners, I give you an interview with Anne Fortier…

In a nutshell, describe your writer’s journey so far, which has culminated in the release of Juliet: I started writing novels at age 11, and submitted my first ms to a publisher when I was 13. Twenty years of trial-and-error later, my first novel was published in Denmark in 2005. I learned from that experience, too, and all those tough lessons taught me how *not* to go about things, and culminated in the publication of JULIET now in 2010 – a loooong dream come true.

You had one novel published before Juliet, tell us a little about that one. It is the story of a group of mad scientists, who secretly work to bring about the end of the world as we know it. They take a young woman, Marie, hostage in their bizarre efforts, and the book tells the story from her perspective. It is a genre-defying gothic comedy, which got a lot of reviewers’ underwear in a knot, but those who *got* it and saw all the philosophical slapstick treally loved it. It is a sort of Plato-meets-Dan Brown-but-enacted-by-a-circus-clown sort of story. One reader told me she had been reading the book on a transatlantic flight, but had to stop, because she was laughing so hard that people trying to sleep gave her the hairy eyeball.

What inspired you to take on history’s greatest lovers and change their story around? It really all started with the city of Siena (Italy). I went there with my mother and completely fell in love with the place. Only after deciding that I was going to set a novel there did I discover – thanks to Mom* – that Siena was, in fact, the setting of the very first version of the Romeo & Juliet-story, from 1476. Once I knew that, I knew I simply *had* to write that story.

How much research did it involve? Did you spend a lot of time in Siena? I have piles and piles of notes in my office, all about Siena history and Shakespeare. My mother is responsible for a lot of them, because she was the one who did the bulk of the research on the ground in Siena, while I was living in the US, working full time. I did get to Siena a few times while writing the book, but Mom was my fact-checker and the one who would go around and truffle out unusual tidbits from archives and museums.

Your reading of original stories of Romeo & Juliet helped you discover that the love birds were in fact originally from Siena and not Verona. Were these stories available in English, and if not, did the language barrier prove to be a struggle at all? The funny thing is that all those short stories are available in English, and still, few people know that Shakespeare did not invent the characters. I was able to find two different compilations in online second-hand bookstores, and so the research was no problem at all. That said, the bulk of the specialized literature about Siena history only exists in Italian, and my mother translated several books for me, since she is perfectly fluent in that language.

I love the way Santa Caterina (Saint Catherine) and the Virgin Mary feature (almost) prominently in your story, as though it is by divine will that the couple are meant for one another. Given our increasingly secular society, what prompted you to include that? Apart from the fact that medieval europe was largely Christian, that is, and given the fact that we’re not so public about religious matters these days. I actually think most people are still quite religious – we just dont subscribe to organized religion the way our grandparents did. We still have the so-called religious instinct; we often believe in a higher being, we are superstitious, we talk about fate, we like to see our lives as part of a grand design. And even though we call her by different names, we still long for the protection of the mother-goddess. This is why I think it is so easy for us to accept the way in which people in the book relate to Saint Catherine and the Virgin Mary.

How long did it take you to write the book? About three years, although much of that time was spent editing.

The novel is going to be published all over the world, with rights sold all over the place. Did you honestly think it would get this big? How do you feel when you read its reviews and hear of its successes? Even though I have a pretty good imagination, I never anticipated that the book would be sold in so many countries. I am of course delighted that things are going so well, because that means there is a chance I can turn to full-time writing from now on – my oldest and most persistent dream.

You have a PhD in the History of Ideas. Tell us a little bit about your academic work. What exactly is a PhD in the history of ideas and what was your thesis on? The history of ideas is a discipline that combines philosophy, history, and literature, and which traces certain ideas and concepts through the ages. My thesis was about the idea of cultural identity in the Roman Empire as expressed in the works of Latin historians over a 400-year stretch, and much of my teaching has been about tracing the ideas and realities of empire from Antiquity to later ages.

Your mum played a major role in the production of this book. How was it working with her on the project? It was fantastic. We would be on the phone all the time, discussing her research, and we had so much fun. It was great to have a project to work on together, rather than merely exchanging news, and I think we got to know each other in a whole new way.

I love the fact that you gave Romeo & Juliet descendants. It was like a second chance at love! Were you saddened by the fact that the originals couldn’t be together? Would you have changed the story to give them the happy ending we all feel that they deserve? Why/Why not? Actually, in the first draft of the novel I did give them a different ending, but it ultimately felt too cheesy. That said, I have left enough loose ends for a sequel, so … you never know what new stories might surface. [Sarah squeels with delight upon reading this].

Can we have a peak at your goals list? Right now my goals list is pretty down-to-earth: As soon as the book-touring is over, I want to get my family back into a good rhythm, so we all sleep calmly at night; I need to get myself into shape, so I dont develop writers ass; and oh yes … I need to finish my next book! In the long term I would like to keep writing high-concept books and hope to please readers all over the world.

Will you be doing any book tours in Australia at all? Nothing has been planned for JULIET, probably because I have a small baby. But in the future I would love to visit Australia and New Zealand, and I actually have a lot of friends from there, who keep urging me to come.

This blog is for aspiring writers (both journalists and fiction/non-fiction writers). Any tips for its readers? If I were to give just one piece of advice, it would probably be this: Start thinking about your query letter as soon as possible. Dont wait until the ms [manuscript] is finished, because you may end up with a story you cant pitch.

What’s next on your writing agenda? I have a lot of interviews and blogs I have to write this fall, but after that I look forward to going full throttle on my next book.

Ten in the Hot Seat:
Describe yourself in one word: indefatigable
Biggest accomplishment to date: landing my wonderful husband
You wish you wrote: faster
Can’t leave home without: lip balm
One thing you are currently writing: tips for aspiring writers for the Readers Digest writers blog
First thing you wrote: a story about a girl who gets kidnapped by desert bandits
Addicted to reading: Jane Austen
Top spot on your goals list: keep my family healthy and happy
If you were a character in a novel, you’d be: Robert Langdon. That guy seems to be wonderfully long-lived.
The best thing about being a wordsmith: I can move mountains without getting out of my pyjamas!

* Here in Oz, we spell mum with a U, not an O (American spelling). I kept Anne’s spelling as is for authenticity! Hope that clears up any concerns about my Aussie grammar!

Interview: Laura Greaves, Freelance Writer

Tell us (in a nutshell) about your wordsmith career path so far:

I’ll be 30 next month and it’s a little scary to realise I’ve been writing for publication in one form or another for 15 years! I started out in my home town, Adelaide, as a student reporter on a short-lived youth newspaper called Y; it was put out by News Limited’s South Australian community newspapers division. My work there helped me land a cadetship and I started as a general news reporter on The Advertiser newspaper just a couple of months after my 17th birthday. I’ll be eternally grateful for my three years as a cadet journo. After a six-week crash course in shorthand and the basics of crafting a news story, we were thrown into the newsroom and basically told, ‘Be journalists now’! It was a steep learning curve but I loved every minute of it. I covered everything from car crashes and murder trials to business and sports news, eventually becoming both Youth Affairs Reporter and Fashion Editor simultaneously (a weird combo I know!) I stayed at the ‘Tiser for nearly five years, during which time I was named both South Australian and Australian Young Journalist of the Year.

In 2002 I upped sticks and went to London for 12 months – and stayed nearly five years! I had a few jobs there, including production co-ordinator at Conde Nast magazines, which basically entailed chasing agencies for advertising copy. I was terrible at it and hated every second of it! Next I became Features Editor of a big London suburban paper, which was loads of fun – I interviewed some big names there, including Jack Nicholson, Halley Berry, Reese Witherspoon and a pre-crazy Lindsay Lohan.

I moved to Sydney with my husband in 2007. After a short stint as a book publicist, I became Deputy Editor and then Editor of ACP Magazines’ Slimming & Health. It sadly closed last year – a victim of the GFC – and I decided to pursue my long-held dream of becoming a full-time freelancer. It was a pretty big gamble – particularly as I signed the mortgage papers for my first home the day I was made redundant – but I haven’t looked back!

Sorry, that’s a pretty big nutshell!  (Sarah: ‘Tis ok, shall refer to it as egg shell instead. Dinosaur eggshell.)

What are some of your current projects, and who are you writing for at the moment?

I’ve just finished a couple of features for Notebook magazine and my to-do list for the next few weeks includes stories for Madison, Dogs Life and Studio Brides, plus some in-house subbing work. There’s nothing like a bit of diversity! I’m also a part-time student – I’m studying screenwriting at film school – and as part of that I have a TV pilot and a feature film script to write. No pressure then…!

What made you get into freelance writing?

I think all journalists fantasise about being their own bosses! It was definitely something I’d wanted to try for a long time and when Slimming & Health closed it felt like the universe giving me a kick up the bum and telling me to give it a go. I’d been an editor and wasn’t necessarily professionally or creatively fulfilled, so I felt I owed it to myself to try freelancing.

You used to have a blog, but considering the weight of the material discussed (if you pardon the pun) you decided to shut it down. Do you ever regret this decision, or do you not find it essential for writers to have their own web space?

My blog was about weight loss and I wound it up basically because I was sick of getting nasty comments from people who had obviously missed the point of what I was trying to do with it. So no, I don’t regret giving up an avenue for people to judge me based on my thoughts on just one topic! But I do miss blogging and what is, for the most part, a really supportive online community, which is why my professional website (www.lauragreaves.com) now has a blog. At least, it has a blog page and said page will have words on it as soon as I get five minutes!

How useful do you find networking, and how would you recommend Wordsmith Lane readers network for their career potential, without coming across as pushy or annoying?

My mum always says, ‘It’s only the price of a postage stamp’. But that’s a bit 20th century, so these days it’s probably more accurate to say it’s only the amount of time it takes to fire off an email or Tweet. I definitely think it’s worthwhile electronically introducing yourself to editors and other writers you admire – you just never know what will come of it. I’d steer clear of follow-up phone calls though; from my own experience as an editor, I know that the incessant ring of the telephone is the bane of their lives!

I really think the most important thing when dealing with anyone at all, but especially someone who could potentially commission you, is politeness. It probably makes me sound like a right nanna, but there’s just not enough of it these days. I know I loathe receiving emails with just a press release attached and no message, or a message that starts just ‘Laura’. What’s wrong with ‘Hi Laura’?! Good manners are free, folks!

You seem to have a niche in the heath area? How important do you think having a niche is, and do you ever find it limiting?

I didn’t intentionally set out to become a health writer, but at the time I went freelance my most recent writing experience had been in that arena so it made sense to pursue it. And I must admit I find it fascinating –  there is SO much information out there on health, nutrition, fitness, weight loss etc. I really like the challenge of wading through it all and distilling it into something that a reader may find useful. But yes, it can sometimes be limiting. In the years I’ve been a journalist, I’ve found that many media outlets will base their opinion of you solely on what you did last. For example, I suspect I would really struggle to get a job on a newspaper now, even though I spent the first 10 or so years of my career on papers! My goal for 2011 is to challenge myself to write about subjects and for publications that are outside of my usual area of ‘expertise’!

What were some of the difficulties you encountered when trying to establish yourself as a writer? Did you rely on any tools, mentors, groups or writers centres/courses for help?

I did freelance briefly while living in the UK and found it really difficult there. It’s a much bigger marketplace and there’s loads more freelancers, so editors are generally reluctant to try an ‘untested’ writer. But since I’ve been freelancing here – touch wood – I’ve been in constant work. The only thing I sometimes find frustrating is approaching a publication I haven’t written for before and being told they have a full roster of freelancers and don’t want to see my ideas. I don’t understand that logic – where’s the harm in perusing a pitch? It might be the most fabulous idea you’ve ever read! Maybe some of your editor readers can shed some light on this?!

In terms of tools, I’m addicted to reading the blogs of fellow freelancers and I have freelance friends who are great to bounce ideas off (and have the occasional rant with over a glass of wine!)

Are there any other writing goals you’d like to pursue? Like creative writing, non-fiction books or even writer’s festival panels, for example?

Well, I have written a novel – haven’t all journos?! I did want it to be published but I don’t now – I know I can do better! Writing it was really just an exercise in proving to myself that I could finish something (and it took me four years!) Someday I’d like to write another one that perhaps is worthy of seeing the light of day. I’ve also got the two scripts on the go, and the further I get with them the more I’m feeling I’d really like to write for television as a ‘proper job’!

How do you brainstorm ideas and get your juices flowing?

I walk! Whenever I’m stuck for an angle or a lead, I take my dog out for a stroll and it seems to do the trick. Of course, sometimes I just feel thoroughly braindead and then I find the only thing that works is just sitting down and writing something – anything, even if it’s rubbish. (Who was it that said the art of writing is in re-writing?!) I do have a real problem with procrastinating, but I once I get going I invariably find myself thinking ‘why did I put this off?!’

What gets you inspired to write?

Honestly? Deadlines! I blame starting out in newspapers: if I don’t have a pressing deadline, I will do almost anything but sit at my desk and write. Being self-employed is pretty motivating, too: if I don’t generate ideas and write sparkling copy (!), I can’t pay my bills.

How do you keep up with it in the face of rejection?

Being an editor taught me that you can’t take rejection personally. A knock-back isn’t a reflection on your ideas or the quality of your work – it may simply be that the magazine published a similar feature not long ago, or they may have exhausted their freelance budget for that month. What I find a little harder to take is being ignored – no matter how busy I was as an editor, I always took the time to send a ‘thanks but no thanks’ email. Courtesy goes a long way! (Yes, I am the manners police!)

What is a typical day in the life of Laura Greaves, freelance writer?

When I first went freelance I tried very hard to stick to a 9 to 5-ish routine, but it didn’t take me long to work out that I am absolutely useless in the morning. So these days I tend to get up around 8am and spend a couple of hours checking emails, reading blogs and generally faffing about on the internet. Then I go for a run, do some errands, walk my dog, have lunch and, um, watch The View (hey, it’s research!) I usually start working (writing, interviewing, pitching etc) about 2pm and go through til 7pm (also known as wine o’clock!) Last week I met a friend for coffee on a Monday and it occurred to me that it was the first time I’d done that in over a year of freelancing – so I don’t know where people get the idea that all we do is have long lunches!

What are some of the perks associated with your job?

The freebies pretty much dried up the moment I left Magland, but really I think freelancing is a perk in itself! I work really hard, but I get to do it in my house with my dog at my feet. And I will never, ever cease to be grateful at not having to commute.

And what are your career aspirations?

Ooh, now there’s a question! It’s not very lofty, but really my chief ambition at this point is to continue to get enough work to allow me to keep doing this. I’m also pretty focused on pursuing a new/second career as a screenwriter. (Sarah: Well, stay tuned, we have an interview coming up with a screen writer soon to vary it up a little bit, plus an interview with astonishing first-time novelist)

What advice would you offer to aspiring freelancers and wordsmiths who want to follow a similar career path?

Work, work and then work some more. I think there’s a perception that freelance writers spend weeks or months on every article and only write one thing at a time, but for me I definitely prefer to have lots (and lots) of features on the go at once. It keeps things interesting and it’s better for the bank balance, too! Pitch to any and every title you can think of; don’t just go for the ‘glamourous’ mags. Think outside the square – those free mags you get in supermarkets and gyms and health food stores all have to get their content from somewhere!

And I’ll say it just once more: be nice to EVERYONE!

Ten in the Hot Seat:

1. Describe yourself in one word: Frenetic
2. Biggest accomplishment to date: Completing a full year as a freelancer without becoming homeless
3. You wish you wrote: Jane Eyre. The brooding! The passion! The breeches!
4. Can’t leave home without: At least one of my twelve thousand pairs of sunglasses
5. One thing you are currently writing: A TV pilot about the daughter of the devil
6. First thing you wrote: I literally cannot remember a time when I wasn’t writing. I was big on terribly clunky, rhyming poetry as a kid.
7. Addicted to reading: Biographies. Just finished Jack Dee’s Thanks For Nothing.
8. Top spot on your goals list: Go to New York for my 30th birthday, which I’ll be doing in four weeks’ time. Or 36 sleeps. Not that I’m counting.
9. If you were a character in a novel, you’d be: Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables. I actually spent a large chunk of my childhood thinking I was her!
10. The best thing about being a wordsmith: At the risk of sounding uber-corny, it defines me.

Interview Gabby McMillan, Writer & Editor

I don’t know Gabby McMillan personally, so I can’t write much about her. What I can say is that she’d be a dream to commission (because, despite my tardiness, she fired off the answers to this interview with such swiftness you could say she annihilates deadlines); that she has amazing taste (because I found her when she tweeted me saying that she loves wordsmithlane); that she gets the writing thing (because her novel has not seen her attend to it since February, and mine has had the same treatment from moi but since March); and that she’s a lot like me in that she wants freelance writers to be one big, happy, non-comp-etitive family who occasionally feed off one another’s inspiration (she’s starting a great writer’s networking club soon). See what she is all about below, and have a marvellous weekend. Happy Writing!

Tell us (in a nutshell) about your wordsmith career path so far:  
Ever the ambitious child, I entered writing comps, asked journalists in my former hometown Wagga Wagga for advice and, at the tender age of 18, moved to Canberra to study journalism and creative writing. While there, I wrote for free for BMA, Forte, Lip and The Brag. A week-long internship at hip-hop magazine Urban Hitz also led to a two-year paid writing gig (and a bootylicious CD collection). Three years later, I was in Sydney working fulltime as the chief sub-editor at ACP’s Disney Adventures and DisneyGiRL – a glorious place where it was okay for me to announce that I was Princess Jasmine in a former life. Next stop was DOLLY, as their deputy chief sub-editor and health writer. I was asked to edit a one-shot – the DOLLY 2010 Quizmag – which was an incredible experience. I also freelanced for Cosmopolitan and Weight Watchers Online during this time. After my teen mag stint, I was off to be the deputy editor of the land of breast pumps – I mean the deputy editor of Mother & Baby, Pregnancy & Birth, FamilyFun and Shopping 4 Baby magazines. Cue: life-shattering realisation that I want to be a writer, not climb the ladder to fulltime editor just yet.

What are some of your current projects, and who are you writing for at the moment?   
I’m currently the fulltime staff writer for Text Pacific/Pacific’s Weight Watchers magazine. I’ve put freelancing on the backburner for a few months while I sink my teeth in to the role (although keep your eyes peeled for the next issue of custom title Vital Health – I broke a promise with myself about taking ‘time out’ and wrote a story for them). My other projects are creative and seeking major rewrites: a chick-lit novel, a short film script and a children’s book.

What made you get into freelance writing?
At university, it was the most obvious way to build up my portfolio – and earn a piggy-bank-worthy amount of money on the side. Once I started fulltime work in Sydney, the pressing need to get published faded away, but my passion for writing kept me going. I also mainly worked production-based roles – sub-editor, deputy editor, managing editor – so I craved the creative freedom of freelance writing.

How did you score your staff writing gig at Weight Watchers magazine? 
Short answer: I saw it advertised, applied for it, had a job interview and started a month later. Long answer: this job and I were love at first sight. I am a fan of the Weight Watchers program, having lost weight with it three years ago, so I knew the content was right up my food-addicted alley. I arrived at my job interview with a bulging portfolio, clippings of my very own Weight Watchers slimmer success story and five words screaming in my head: I just want to write.

Do you find it hard to separate yourself from your full-time writing job when you have your freelance hat on?
I’ve stopped sniffing around for freelance opportunities – at least over the next few months while I get settled in the new gig. The ambitious side of me struggles with saying no to freelance writing, though. I had to turn down two projects recently and I was surprised how much I fretted over it. Once I’m ready to slip on my freelancing socks again, I’ll chat with my editor before heading out to market with grand ideas. Writing fulltime means I have to make sure extra activities aren’t a conflict of interest. In the meantime, I’m focusing on my job’s numerous copy deadlines and updating my website each week. I wish I could say my creative writing was underway, too, but it seems to have taken itself on a holiday to Aruba.

How important is your blog and website to you? Do you think it is essential for writer’s to have a web space? 
I do think it’s important for writers to have a web presence. I love ‘Googling’ people and am always impressed to see how many writers have their own site. It’s a quick and easy way for people to find out information about you. I hated the idea of someone ‘Googling’ me and it bringing up random pieces I wrote five years ago. I think it’s essential that your website represents you, though. I think of mine as me in website form: girlie, professional and a smidge cheeky. My blog is another matter – we’re currently in the middle of a love-hate relationship. Sometimes I wonder whether my time would be better spent toiling away on my half-written novel, but my blog calls my name and I come running. I have to remind myself that any writing is good writing.

How useful do you find networking, and how would you recommend Wordsmith Lane readers network for their career potential, without coming across as pushy or annoying?  
Networking is strange. I’m naturally drawn to websites like Twitter because I’m an internet geek at heart and this allows me to network with like-minded people. For others, they couldn’t think of anything worse – and that’s okay, too. I’m also organising a face-to-face club which will be a great opportunity for Sydney writers to get together and talk all things wordsmithery.

Do you think you have a niche, or is your writing portfolio more broad? How important do you think having a niche is?  
My writing portfolio is broad. I’ve covered everything from Chopper Read’s hip-hop aspirations and the rise of Zac Efron, to how to find the perfect cot for bub and fashion tips for hourglass figures. I even have a few published short stories and poems thrown in for good measure. My non-published creative works are much more niche – girlie, first person, light and fluffy, fun, truly ridiculous and packed with hyperbole. As long as you’re writing what you love, I don’t think having a niche matters.

What were some of the difficulties you encountered when trying to establish yourself as a writer? Did you rely on any tools, mentors, groups or writers centres/courses for help?  
The hardest part when starting out is getting your first break. Many editors won’t look twice at your pitches until you have ‘experience’, but you need someone to take a chance on you to nab your first byline. That’s why work experience, internships, writing for free and entering competitions are so important. I am the queen of mentors. During high school, it was my English Extension 2 teacher Cathy Edwards. During university, it was my Scriptwriting tutor Felicity Packard (who’s now one of the brains behind the Underbelly series). Now, it’s every writer I meet. I also make an effort to go to authors’ chats and ask them at least one question about their writing process.

Are there any other writing goals you’d like to pursue? Like creative writing, non-fiction books or even writer’s festival panels, for example?
I’d love to write books one day. Oh, just saying that makes me want to curl up in the foetal position under my desk. But it’s true.

What are your primary reasons for blogging? Does it get your ‘juices flowing’ in a sense?
Blogging makes me (and hopefully a handful of others) laugh and keeps the creative side of my brain switched on. I’ve found the more I blog, the more my brain opens up to new ideas.

What is a typical day in the life of Gabby McMillan? 
My day includes writing, researching, interviewing, transcribing, scouring magazines, going to showings, meeting PRs, working on our slimmer photo shoots and emailing. Lots and lots of emailing.

What made you decide to put the toolkit page up on your website [Gabby’s toolkit page is essential a question/answer post about breaking into the industry]? Have you had a lot of responses to it/questions about it?
Over the past five years, I have been asked countless times how I cracked in to the industry and I figured putting the toolkit page on my website would be the quickest way to answer everyone in one hit. I have received a few lovely responses about it, so that alone makes it worth it. It could probably be summarised in one sentence, though: “Don’t think, just write”.

You have won a few journalism and writing awards at an establishing level. Did they encourage you to push further when it was hard to get a job? 
Yes, I think so. They were a constant reminder that I had what it took; I just needed someone to give me a break. Getting a job in Sydney was tough. When you receive rejection email after rejection email, you can’t help but question whether you’re good enough. I had quite a few meltdowns and tantrums waiting for my fulltime magazine career to come to fruition – my poor family will vouch for that. I didn’t give up, though. I kept freelancing to make sure my portfolio was impressive until the offer for the Disney magazines gig came up.

Do you think you had it easier because you started out in newspapers and mags and were able to make contacts before you started freelancing? What advice would you give to someone who does work experience for a week or two, and then decides they want to freelance, without having had that concrete footing that a more regular stint gives?
Absolutely not. I didn’t have any contacts at the start so I had to build them up as I went, just like everyone else. I must have emailed hundreds of editors while I was university – you need to be extremely disciplined and organised to be a successful freelancer. Actually, I kick-started media work experience way back in Year 10 on the local newspaper, at the community radio station and TV station, so I’d recommend that path, too. While freelancing is fantastic, I think working fulltime reveals so much about the inner workings of the media. It also teaches you little but imperative things like house style, fair freelance rates and what constitutes good/bad writing. I would definitely recommend getting fulltime experience under your belt too, if possible.

What are some of the perks associated with your job?  
Meeting inspirational people every single month, the occasional free beauty or health product and working in an environment that motivates me to be a healthier, happier person. Getting paid to write fulltime is a perk in itself!

And what are your career aspirations? 
I love feature writing and I don’t see that changing any time soon. I go crazy when I’m not writing, so as long as stringing creative sentences is involved, I’ll be happy. It would be fantastic to publish a book one day, but I’ll have to master the art of writing 60,000 – 90,000 beautiful words first. A girl can dream, right?

What advice would you offer to aspiring freelancers and wordsmiths who want to follow a similar career path? 
Write – even on the days you don’t want to; never give up; build up your portfolio; create a strong, professional website that shows your personality; work on your writers’ voice; and ask yourself why you want it so badly and keep this answer somewhere visible so you stay inspired. Once you start getting freelance offers, my advice is: say yes to everything; edit, edit, edit your work; never submit a story in late; and aim to hand your feature in early if possible. When I was a deputy editor, I had to commission writers every month and the ones who handed their clean, tight copy in before the deadline won gold stars every time (and they were often the ones I’d re-commission the following month).

Ten in the Hot Seat:

Describe yourself in one word: Motivated.

Biggest accomplishment to date: I was blown away to win the writing awards at uni, but cracking my first fulltime magazine job in Sydney in early 2006 after months of job-hunting takes the chocolate-frosted cake.

You wish you wrote: the novel The Book Thief, the film American Beauty and the TV series Arrested Development.

Can’t leave home without: Eclipse mints.

One thing you are currently writing: a short film script.

First thing you wrote: a short story called Sammy the Spoon when I was five years old.

Addicted to reading: memoirs (think Eat.Pray.Love), dude-lit (think Nick Hornby and David Sedaris), TV series screenplays (think Seinfeld) and some chick-lit (think Helen Fielding).

Top spot on your goals list: Finish writing my novel. It’s currently ogling me from my third desk drawer because it hasn’t been touched since February.

If you were a character in a novel, you’d be: a combination of Liz Lemon and Bridget Jones – gluttonous and hopeless in every way.

The best thing about being a wordsmith: Seeing my name in print. After 12 years of bylines, the novelty hasn’t worn off. I hope it never does.

Interview: Nicole Haddow, Freelance Journalist

You asked for her, and now you get her! It seems quite a few wordsmiths can’t get enough of freelance journalist Nicole Haddow, who, at 27, has done quite well for herself where women’s magazine features are concerned. She’s been published in RUSSH, Cleo and Madison, among others, and is the type of person who seems to fit seamlessly into the pages of our favourite magazines. Thank you Sharon Green for alerting me to her fabulousness, I think I have a new wordsmith girl-crush. I hope you all enjoy the interview

Tell us (in a nutshell) about your wordsmith career path so far:

Arts/Professional Writing was the third degree I started, and the only one I completed. I was first published in RUSSH magazine in my final year at uni. I had multiple features published with RUSSH, and then I landed a contract with Lonely Planet. My time at LP was bliss on a stick. Loved it. Then, I landed a role at boutique publisher Niche Media. It was a small company, so I was charged with everything from coordinating photo shots, to writing and editing stories. I think I gained about 12 years worth of experience in 12 months, and with that experience I projected myself into the Sydney stratosphere and landed at ACP magazines.

What are some of your current projects, and who are you writing for at the moment? 

I’m currently working on features for Cleo and madison. What are they about? You’ll just have to buy upcoming issues of the mags to find out. I also write for family and kids’ titles to keep things interesting…

What made you get into freelance writing?

The eventual realisation that nothing else was going to make me happy. I was sitting in a marketing lecture (my second attempt at a degree), reading a feature in Harper’s Bazaar because I wasn’t at all interested in the lecture and I thought, ‘this is where I need to be – magazines’. At that moment I gave into my love of mags and embraced instability.

How important is your blog/your website to you? Do you think it is essential for writer’s to have a web space?

I have my blog to thank for a lot of my current work. I started it when I didn’t have much work on but I thought it would be a good marketing tool to sit alongside my portfolio website. I have a friend who knows madison editor, Lizzie Renkert – my friend flicked my blog link to Lizzie and before long I was having coffee with their features editor and working on my first article for them. In this competitive market, you have to find a clever way to differentiate.

How useful do you find networking, and how would you recommend Wordsmith Lane readers network for their career potential, without coming across as pushy or annoying?

I’m all about building genuine relationships with editors. When you send a pitch email, do it with a tone that assures the editor you understand the voice of the publication. Over and above that, offer to meet in person and buy the editor coffee. I always offer coffee to perspective editors. Caffeine donations get you everywhere. They can only say no, and sometimes they say yes.

Do you think you have a niche, or is your writing portfolio more broad? How important do you think having a niche is?

I’ve fallen into a niche I wasn’t planning. My first feature for RUSSH was an account of a personal experience. From there, I wrote another first-person feature for them about my quarter life crisis. Now my features for madison and Cleo are anecdotal first-person style too. It’s great to have a niche, but it’s also good to show diversity in your portfolio, which I also do.

What were some of the difficulties you encountered when trying to establish yourself as a writer? Did you rely on any tools, mentors, groups or writers centres/courses for help? 

My university course was invaluable. I had some stellar lecturers. Friends in the industry were great to bounce ideas around with. I also recommend some work experience to gain a working knowledge of magazines from the inside.

Are there any other writing goals you’d like to pursue? Like creative writing, non-fiction books or even writer’s festival panels, for example?

Absolutely, I’m open to everything. I’m sure there’s a novel in me somewhere, but you can’t write if you don’t live. I’m not convinced I have enough life experience at the age of 27 to pen something great. And I’d prefer to wait until it spews out naturally than to squeeze it into being.

What are your primary reasons for blogging? Does it get your ‘juices flowing’ in a sense?

I blog in equal parts: self-discipline and self-indulgence. It’s also one of the ways I build relationships with other people in the industry. I take an interest in other writers and their creative process and share mine too.

What is a typical day in the life of Nicole Haddow, freelance writer?

There’s nothing typical about my days. Some days I’m in the office at ACP, other days I’m at home smashing out a feature. Sometimes I’m out in the field conducting a social experiment for a story. Just last weekend I had to go bar-hopping for work purposes. The only constant involves chasing my word count and more work!

What are some of the perks associated with your job?

The biggest perk is that my job and my life intersect because I write a lot about personal experience. Something crazy might happen to me and I’ll think, ‘there’s a story in that’. Writing from bed never gets old. The occasional goody bag doesn’t go astray either.

And what are your career aspirations?

I love the idea of being a full-time staff writer on a women’s magazine. Although, I dare say there’ll be an enmeshing of print and online in years to come, and therefore the gig I’m dreaming of might not even exist yet. In short, I’m keeping an open mind.

What advice would you offer aspiring freelancers and wordsmiths who want to follow a similar career path?

Start writing now – no excuses. Send completed articles to editors if you’re still making a name for yourself. Once they know you they’ll accept pitches and ideas alone, but until then you need to give them everything you’ve got. Start blogging. Look at things from a different angle. Get creative. Seek out mentors. Read.

Ten in the Hot Seat:

1. Describe yourself in one word:  Capricorn.
2. Biggest accomplishment to date: Not giving up after seemingly endless rejection.
3. You wish you wrote: The Time Traveller’s Wife. It’s sustained poetry. Gorgeous.
4. Can’t leave home without: my iPhone. I’m addicted.
5. One thing you are currently writing: A cautionary tale about modern dating.
6. First thing you wrote: a bi-annual letter to all of my friends diarising our high school adventures. My first published piece was called ‘driving the lesson home’ for RUSSH in 2005.
7. Addicted to reading: magazine features and biographies.
8. Top spot on your goals list: more feature writing jobs than I can poke an invoice at, and an invitation to cover the couture shows in Paris for one the Australian women’s titles (dream big, right?).
9. If you were a character in a novel, you’d be: I aspire to be any of Maggie Alderson’s heroines. They’re quirky and stylish, funny, acknowledge their imperfections and have wildly wonderful leading men in their lives.
10. The best thing about being a wordsmith: I can do it anywhere, anytime.

Interview: Steph Bowe, Author of Girl Meets Boy

Guest Post by Wordsmith Lane Intern Megan Burke

I’ve known Steph Bowe virtually (isn’t that how all friendships are done these days?) for just under two years and in that time I’ve watched her emerge from an unknown blogger to an internationally published author (well, soon-to-be internationally

published author!).

The sixteen-year-old’s blog, Hey, Teenager, gets enviable thousands of hits and had thousands of loyal followers, and her much anticipated debut novel, Girl Saves Boy, is being published in Text later this year.

She is keeping herself busy with publicity; upcoming appearances at writer’s festivals (including Melbourne and Brisbane) and working on her second novel.

Needless to say, Steph has certainly made a stamp on the industry and judging from the quality of her posts (and other articles in place such as The Age newspaper in Melbourne) and the hype of her debut novel, Girl Saves Boy, it’s clear that she will be around for years to come.

Tell us (in a nutshell) about your wordsmith career path so far.

I am having my debut YA novel, Girl Saves Boy, published in Australia by Text Publishing at the end of this month, and it’s also sold in the US, and will be translated into Dutch, Spanish and Catalan. I’ve written for The Age, and I’m hard at work on book two.

You’ve gone from blogging at Hey, Teenager to being a contracted author – how has your life changed?

My day-to-day life hasn’t changed much at all – I’ve just got more responsibilities. But I’ve done some public speaking as an author, and I’ve got a few festivals coming up, so that will be quite new to me.

Since finishing Girl Saves Boy – and in the process scoring a two-book deal – what is your second novel about?

I can’t tell you about it! I’ll jinx it!

You’ve also been writing some articles for The Age. Is this something you’d like to pursue further?

I’d love to pursue this further. I really enjoying writing articles (as you can probably tell from my blog!).

As well as working on your novel, you are home schooled – what is a typical day in the life of Steph Bowe? Do you feel like you’re missing out on a ‘normal’ schooling experience?

I get up in the morning and do schoolwork, go out and do something in the afternoon, write at night. I definitely am missing out on a normal schooling experience, but if I did go to school I wouldn’t also be able to manage a writing career. And don’t kids who go to school feel like they’re missing out on a ‘Steph Bowe’ schooling experience? I mean, they must miss a lot of Dr. Phil.

Most writers find that, at least initially, it’s very hard to get your writing read by a large audience. Do you think having a large audience base for your blog will make it easier to get exposure for Girl Saves Boy (and any follow ups)?

I think the audience on my blog means I can communicate directly with my potential readers, so it will be easier to get the book exposed to more people.

How did the idea for Hey, Teenager come about? Why do you think it’s taken off as well as it has?

There wasn’t really a specific idea – I wanted to talk about reading and writing, because I didn’t have many friends who shared my interest in it, so I started up a blog. I’ve no idea why it’s become popular – I think if I had set out to make a platform to sell books, it wouldn’t have worked out. I just blogged for the fun of it.

What are your plans after you finish high school? Do you think a creative writing/journalism degree would be relevant to you, considering you’re already a published, successful wordsmith?

It would absolutely be relevant to me – I don’t have much technical knowledge of writing, definitely none of journalism, so a degree in creative writing or journalism would be very helpful, and there’d be so much I could learn from that. But I don’t know whether I want to do writing as a day-job as well. I don’t have any definite plans at the moment.

You were extremely fortunate in that querying two agents and an entrance in a competition wheedled three offers of representation – almost unheard of in the publishing industry. What makes you so unique, so special? What is the key to your successes (especially at such a young age)?

I think it was a combination of putting myself out there (you can’t get a book deal if you never submit your work!), and exceptionally good timing and luck. There’s no special key, and I’m not particularly unique – I did the same thing, and I was on the same level as every other writer. It would be great if there were some secret to getting published, but there really truly isn’t.

What do you believe are key factors into breaking into the YA book industry?

Write write write, be passionate about the genre and the industry and be yourself. Hopefully yourself is someone who a publisher would like to work with.

What was the process of getting your manuscript from your computer to a physical book? Did everything meet your expectations? What were they? How did it differ?

After several rounds of edits, a typesetter typeset the book for the bound proof. So basically it went from a Word doc to a properly formatted PDF then off to the printers and into a book. The editing process and everything after it was what I expected, though very intensive!

Are we allowed to have a sneak peak at your goals list?

Oh, gosh. I don’t have a goals list. Should I have one? I’m just going to do my best to promote this book, write the next one, and finish high school. Just taking it one step at a time at the moment.

Ten In The Hot Seat:
Describe yourself in one word: curious
Biggest accomplishment to date: getting a book published! (of course)
You wish you wrote: every great book I read
Can’t leave home without: sunglasses
One thing you are currently writing: book two
First thing you wrote: I cannot remember
Addicted to reading: YA
Top spot on your goals list: there isn’t one
If you were a character in a novel, you’d be: the third-person narrator, seeing everything
The best thing about being a wordsmith: getting to work in your pyjamas

Interview: Kennedy Estephan, Author of ‘The Day it Rained’

Kennedy Estephan, author of ‘The Day it Rained’

Tell us (in a nutshell) about your wordsmith career path so far:
It all started in a rather unexpected way. Initially I was planning to join a local acting group. When told there was no room left, I started looking into other options. A writers’ group was meeting once a month in the same building (Bankstown Arts & Crafts Centre.) So I joined them. The year was 1994. It was my first step in the thousand-mile journey.

Since finishing The Day It Rained, do you have any plans for new projects? Or are you going to rest easy for a while?
The bulk of The Day it Rained, I wrote in between manuscripts. Currently I am rewriting my very earliest work—a story of unrequited love set in a war-torn city. No rest, I’m afraid.

Most people seem to either excel in the humanities and arts or the maths and sciences. Yet you are a high school science teacher and a published author. Do you find it hard to reconcile those two aspects of your career?
To me the challenge is not in reconciling preexisting differences, but in finding the time to read enough of nearly everything to keep myself informed. Lately, I’ve been reading the history of science. The material tends to be informative, engaging and well-written. A good way, I’ve discovered, to satisfy a brain undecided towards which half it should lean.

Does your teaching inspire your writing at all?
Daily contact with students has helped develop in me a better understanding of  what is common in us. It is this universality which I try to carry into my work.

Publishing short stories is never easy. How did you go about getting yours into a book?
As we all know, short stories have a very limited market. Of course some collections do get published. But they tend to be of exceptional quality and/or written by some renowned novelist with established readership. That leaves many short-story writers out, which might explain why quite a few contemplate self-publishing at some point in their career. In my case I did so only after exhausting all other options. Mind you that many stories in ‘The Day it Rained’ had appeared in a range of anthologies following a placement/prize in some SS competition.  That was a source of satisfaction for a while. Then came the time when I felt the need to compile the work in one volume and have it out there for others to share. Thus, this self-publishing venture.

Do you think it’s easier to work on a collection of short stories on a novel? Explain.
Which of the two forms is easier to write depends on your personality and your overall take on life. I, for one, find short stories to be generally less demanding. It is like skimming in and out of water, without having to plunge too deep at any given time. The idea is to reveal, without having to worry too much about development. Of course, the catch is in having each and every word count. Economy is the key. You can’t afford to digress, tempted as you might be at times.

Your collection was awarded a grant by your local council that enabled you to self-publish. How did you go about securing the grant, and would you recommend self-publishing to other emerging writers? Why/Why not?
An opportunity presented itself. I submitted samples of the work. And I secured the grant. It was a humble amount, I dare say. But it lifted my spirits and provided me with much needed exposure. So thank you, again, to those involved.
As for self-publishing, it is something I’d approach with care. If you were to tread that path, then this is my advice:

• Have your work assessed by professionals. What you need is a constructive and objective feedback—the more reason why you should avoid seeking it from relatives and friends.
• Have the courage and will to rewrite the work as often as needed.
• Enter as many SS competitions as possible.
• Secure a grant if you can. Financial help aside, it can draw attention to your work and help substantiate its literary merit.
• Invest in the services of an editor, if you can afford to.
• Secure a quote or two from people in the know. This will also help with marketability.
• Content yourself with a small print run. The idea should not be to make a profit as much as to test your writing skills and develop some readership before you progress to the next step: securing a publisher.

Of course, there are stories out there of monumental successes following a self-publishing venture. These tend to be the exception, not the rule. Again, my advice is that you tread carefully and be realistic with your expectations.

Your publishing process was helped somewhat by the services of an agent. Do you recommend an agent to us aspiring wordsmiths? Why/why not?
A literary agent can significantly boost your chances of finding a publisher. If you can secure an agent, please do. Mind you this is no easy task. Only a manuscript with a good potential is taken on board. After all, an agent does not get his/her money until a publishing contract is secured. The more reason why he/she has to be extra selective. The agent that represents me is quite renowned. Over the years she has been helpful and extremely supportive. In that regard, I count myself lucky.

What are some of the difficulties that you encounter when working on a book?
When in the thick of things, I find it quite difficult to juggle between writing and work. To write good fiction means to live through your characters with all their emotional peaks and troughs. To hold a full-time job means to wake up in the morning, disentangle yourself from the remnants of emotions lingering from last night’s writing episode and return to normality—whatever that means.

Another difficulty I encounter when working on a book is in the rewrite. Following a feedback changes are recommended. Some are cosmetic, but many are major. This means more hard work and a lot of heartache doing away with scenes and characters you invested months on end bringing to life. To make things a little more of a challenge, there is no guarantee the ms will find a publisher once those changes are made. Only that the new draft stands a better chance with many of its earlier flaws already addressed.

A few of the stories deal with the Lebanese civil war. As someone who grew up in Lebanon, did you find it hard to write it about something that hit close to home?
I certainly did. It was emotionally draining—let me put it this way. Another difficulty was in keeping away from cathartic writing. That would only have served my needs, not the reader’s. Rewriting those stories numerous times, and often when in good spirits, was one way to keep things on the right track.

What are your writing goals now, in comparison to what they were before you were published?
I still crave for some recognition—no denying. It is something you’d expect, given all the hard work you put in over the years. Thankfully, I’ve grown more patient with time. Let things take their natural course, I keep thinking. Meanwhile, I work hard and try to be the best I can. That simple.

What advice would you offer to aspiring writers and wordsmiths who want to follow a similar career path?
Vanity is one’s worst enemy. No one is immune to it. Fight it off with every inch of your being. And work hard.

Ten in the Hot Seat:

1. Describe yourself in one word: passionate.
2. Biggest accomplishment to date: becoming a father.
3. You wish you wrote: The Moon and Sixpence by W. Somerset Maugham.
4. Can’t leave home without: hugging my two children.
5. One thing you are currently writing: I am rewriting a manuscript—my first attempt at a novel. That was nearly twelve years ago.
6. First thing you wrote: a clumsy, melodramatic, poorly-written short story set in a war-torn Beirut.
7. Addicted to reading: anything of depth.
8. Top spot on your goals list: finding inner peace. I fear that might also be the day I stop writing.
9. If you were a character in a novel, you’d be: The nameless English patient in Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient.
10. The best thing about being a wordsmith: the ability to reach across and touch people’s lives.

Interview: Gemma Crisp, Editor of CLEO & Blogger at The Show Pony

Going freelance can be a pretty tough thing if not done right. I mean, I tried it, and within three months I was unbelievably bored and uninspired. Staying in my PJs all day was not good for my mind or my motivation levels, but I could have learned a thing or two from former Dolly Editor turned CLEO editor  Gemma Crisp, who proved that maintaining contacts and motivation levels by working around (and with) others could take you far in freelance world. In this interview, Crisp tells us how she got her start in magazines and how it feels to be back in the editor’s chair for one of Australia’s iconic women’s lifestyle magazines.

Interview: Gemma Crisp, The Show Pony (and newly-appointed Editor of CLEO)

How did you get your big break into magazines?
It’s a long convoluted story and a lot of it comes down to being in the right place at the right time… but the defining moment was scoring a three-month unpaid internship with the features department of British Marie Claire while living in London a decade ago. I made friends and contacts who helped open doors in the publishing industry when I moved to Sydney.

Did you always want to work in magazines, or did you just want to be a writer?
I wasn’t one of those people who knew what they wanted to do from an early age – I flirted with the idea of being a radiographer (despite not having a scientific bone in my body!), a French teacher, a diplomat and a hotel manager… It took a career crisis in my early 20s to make me realise what I really wanted to do – and that was journalism, specifically magazine journalism. I devour newspapers both in print and online, but I don’t think my tone and style of writing suit that particular medium.

How did it feel to score the CLEO Editor’s gig, and does it feel like you’re coming full circle now that you’re going back to the magazine after being their Features Editor and then moving into the Dolly’s Editor’s chair?
Being offered the CLEO editorship felt a little surreal yet also completely normal – I’ve always had a soft spot for the magazine, even before working there as Features Editor and Associate Editor, so it almost feels like it’s fate, as disgustingly cheesy and clichéd as that sounds. Walking into the office after three years’ absence didn’t feel weird at all, so I guess you could say things have come full circle – although six months down the track, I could be warbling a different tune!

You left Dolly not long ago to try your hand at the freelance life. How does a lifestyle of being your own boss compare to working for a company or magazine?
I spent eight months freelancing and was really surprised at how much work fell into my lap – I was lucky to get booked for a couple of lengthy in-house stints at two of the celebrity weekly magazines, which was a nice change having previously only worked on monthly mags. I was also fortunate in that I didn’t have to send out endless story pitches and hustle for work – although that may have changed if I’d spent more time in the freelance world.

Freelancers tend to comment about being able to work their own hours, or work in their PJ’s all day. Is that something that appealed to you, or did you structure your day around a routine to keep you more productive?
I told myself I’d get into a routine and stick to it, but I have to admit the snooze button on my alarm clock was utilised more often than not! I’m not great with my own company, so I rented desk space in a communal warehouse office so I had somewhere to go and could be around other people, as opposed to slobbing around the house in my pyjamas while talking to the walls!

What are you looking forward to the most about editing CLEO?
I’m looking forward to getting my hands dirty, adding my own flavour to the magazine and being part of a team again, which is something I missed while freelancing.

Most bloggers find that, at least initially, it’s very hard to get your writing read by a large audience. Do you think that your work on the glossies made it easier for The Show Pony to work?
The Showpony was more of a “baby” for me to work on while freelancing – after two years of editing a teen magazine, I wanted to write about things that appealed to me – so it was never meant to set the world on fire. I did have ‘send PR release to magazines’ on my to-do list, but I never quite got around to it! Erica at Girl With A Satchel was kind enough to link to my site a few times and it was mentioned in Sydney Confidential and Mumbrella, but I didn’t take advantage of my contacts as much as I could have.

What were some of the difficulties you first encountered swapping from a very senior editing role to blogging? Was it hard to establish an audience, build up the site, find your niche etc?
The major difficulty was trying to balance freelance work with blogging – I totally underestimated how much time blogging chewed up so it was hard trying to juggle my personal writing with paying the bills. Unfortunately my life got a bit hectic towards the end, and I began to find blogging more of a chore, so the Pony is officially out to pasture… but who knows if it’s forever?

Did you consult any mentors or magazine girls turned freelancers to make the process a little easier?
Nedahl Stelio, who was my editor at CLEO when I worked there from 2004 to 2007, has become a good friend and she helped out with advice when I was thinking of leaving DOLLY to do my own thing. She had also jumped from magazines to an online venture (www.cocolee.com.au, a fashion site that has weekly online sales) so had plenty of advice and tips – thanks Ned!

Do you have a goals list that the Wordsmith Lane readers can have a sneak peak at?
Not really – apart from making CLEO as successful as I can! I’m not really a goal/mantra/affirmation person, mostly because I haven’t needed to be…

Do you have any particular direction you’d like to take CLEO in now that you’re in charge?
I definitely have a lot of ideas and plans for the title, but that’s for me to know and you to find out!

What advice would you offer to aspiring bloggers, freelancers and wordsmiths who want to follow a similar career path?
When it comes to becoming a journalist, there are so many different roads and paths that lead to the same place, so don’t feel like there’s only one way to break into magazines or become an editor. Never underestimate the importance of having a good attitude, a willingness to do anything you’re asked (no matter how menial it seems at the time) and the power of great ideas.

Ten in the Hot Seat:

1. Describe yourself in one word: Can I have two? Pretty please? Go on, you know you want to… I can? “Pocket rocket.” Thanks!
2. Biggest accomplishment to date: Having a successful career in the magazine industry – if you’d told me I’d become the editor of two iconic Australian magazines back when I was a teenager growing up on a sheep farm in Tasmania, I would have thought you were on crack. (Not that I had any idea what crack was back then…)
3. You wish you wrote:  For my personal satisfaction – People of the Book, by Geraldine Brooks. Such a great story, I wanted to re-read it as soon as I’d finished the last page.For my bank account – Stieg Larsson’s Millenium trilogy.
4. Can’t leave home without: Getting dressed!
5. One thing you are currently writing: Answers to these questions.
6. First thing you wrote: Professionally? An article for British Marie Claire that involved travelling to the Northern Territory to spend a week on a remote cattle station, interviewing the jillaroos who worked there. I had NO idea what I was doing…
7. Addicted to reading: Vanity Fair and the Bureau of Meterology website – I’m obsessed with the weather forecast.
8. Top spot on your goals list: To survive the next three months – for some reason I thought it’d be a great idea to start a demanding new job, spend a month in Europe, sell my apartment, buy a house and get married, all by October!
9. If you were a character in a novel, you’d be: Little Miss Lucky.
10. The best thing about being a wordsmith: Learning something new every day.

Zoe Foster: Beauty Editor, Columnist & Author

I am going to apologise to Zoe Foster right here on the spot. Zoe, I don’t know how I can get those two dots (wordsmith test: anyone know what they’re called?) on top of the ‘e’ in your name, so I hope you don’t hate me forever. Especially because I am about to say that I think you’re really funny, and anyone who can make this wordsmith laugh deserves a big fat load of something worthwhile (cash, cake, christian louboutins?). And I am also going to give you a load of compliments, and none that I am making up because I am yet to be published in the fiction genre. Those compliments basically centre on the fact that I am frighteningly jealous of you (but in that Christian, envy-is-a-deadly-sin-kind-of-way) because you’ve got the style, smarts and savoir-faire down pat. I love style, smarts and savoir-faire, and I constantly pursue it in my everyday life. In fact, I have copyrighted those words for my blog and memoir and God knows what else. But anyway, Zoe, I know that you possess these lovely qualities because well, you’re smart enough to juggle many wordsmith gigs while looking pretty awesome all the time (even if you, as I suspect, have not slept a wink because you may have been on deadline or something). And mostly because you had enough social tact (savoir-faire) to completely ignore the fact that the workie that I was at 20 was cleaning your beauty cupboard was wearing a Canterbury Bulldogs guernsey (jersey) on the day that your then-boyfriend’s team (Sydney City Roosters) were playing the Bulldogs. And to top it off, you gave me some treats to take home! Happy day it was, and it cemented your coolness in my mind for all eternity. But my Wordsmith Lane readers, you see, might not be so lucky to have encountered this coolness personally, which is why I have decided to feature you as my next interview subject in the Wordsmith Lane Friday Interviews segment. So Wordsmith Laners, I hope you enjoy her all-round awesomeness.

Tell us about your wordsmith career path so far: For the sake of brevity and reader fatigue, I’ll nutshell it: Over the past eight years I have worked at Mania, Smash Hits, Cosmopolitan and Harper’s BAZAAR magazines, had a beauty blog (fruitybeauty), edited a beauty website (primped.com.au) and written two novels and a dating book. I write a dating column for Cosmo and an opinion column for The Sunday Telegraph, and occasionally I eat and sleep.

You’ve gone from being a Beauty Editor on major magazines [Zoe has worked in senior roles on Cosmopolitan and Harper’s Bazaar] to beauty editing online, with extra writing supplements to boot. How has it been juggling the change?

It’s been great, especially since recently moving to editor at large (I lobbied for editor at small) and working from home. I’m one of those psychopaths who doesn’t feel ‘right’ unless they’re doing 389 things, so taking on multiple writing projects at once feels natural, in a perverse way.  The different topics and mediums add to the delight.

You also freelance as Cosmo’s dating guru, and have written a book on romance with Hamish Blake. Is having additional writing work outside of Primped a big appeal for you, a necessity, or something that keeps you more productive?

My passion for dating and relationships equals (possibly surpasses) my passion for beauty so it’s less that it keeps my brain whirring, and more that I would be unhappy if I wasn’t doing it. I derive such genuine joy writing on the male-female dynamic, especially when I receive emails from readers saying what I have written has helped them in some way.

What is a typical day in the life of Zoe Foster?

6.30-7am wakeup, and straight to the computer. My brain is at its best between 6 and about 9.30 so I keep most intense writing for that time slot. (eg my opinion column.) By 10 am my brain is doing cartwheels and forcing me to read  and dreaming of frothy caffeinated beverages.

10 – 12 Primped blog, emails, tweeting, blogging. Maybe a launch/appointment.

12 – 3.30 Thumping keys at my desk, grazing on nutritionally devoid food and trying to refrain from constant email send/receiving.

4 – 6 More writing, emails etc. This is usually the panic stage of the day, where I realise I was, as usual, spectacularly optimistic about time, and have to scream through to finish and submit columns/jobs.

6 -7 Walk with a girlfriend or gym. Exercise is an absolute NECESSITY when writing all day. Otherwise Zoë go loopy. Right loopy.

Most people pick a niche and stick to it. You have two (dating and beauty). How does sticking your fingers in two pots help out your career? 

It’s terrific! I have been afforded so many marvellous opportunities (speaking, writing etc) by having a few different hats to wear. Also, it works well with my career ADD; if I have several different content schools and a multiple of mediums and publications I write for, I have less chance of getting antsy.

Most writers find that, at least initially, it’s very hard to get your writing read by a large audience. Do you think that your work on the glossies made it easier for primped.com.au to work?

Without a doubt. 

Before primped, there was fruitybeauty.com.au. How did the idea for your blog come about? And why did it fade away?

It came about because I had been working at Cosmo for a few years and was competent at my job and needed a new challenge to sink my fangs into. Also, because I was frustrated at having all this awesome beauty information in my head and only three dot points to condense it into each month. Blogging felt like the perfect forum to write long, in-depth explain-its on beauty and also, my writing style is by nature very long and waffly, and I just wanted some more space, you know?

What were some of the difficulties you first encountered swapping from a very senior editing role to online beauty editing?

Because I had already been blogging with fruity for years, the transition as smooth as… that little piece of skin behind your ear. It was incredibly liberating to move wholly online, and I feel like I made the move at the perfect time for both my career and for beauty online.

We have seen the Beauty Writing industry really take off in the last two years or so. These days, we have the likes of beauty portals, beauty manuals, and beauty websites, which means that the beauty pages on the magazines are not as in demand as they once were. What is your take on the issue?

I don’t think it’s a case of them being less in demand, but rather that they have to focus on what they can deliver that we can’t. For example, beautiful, lush photos , or really in-depth, meaty beauty features. Online is, by nature, better at serving up extremely timely beauty news and on PRIMPED in particular, how to videos. Both mediums are relevant, and so long as we each remember our strengths and focus on them, we all win. 

A lot of people dismiss beauty writing as airy-fairy, but there’s obviously a lot of work involved in testing a whole load of product, looking at new research, writing about it in an accessible form for varied audiences (because obviously everyone has different skin tones, hair types etc) – and continuing to do so in an engaging manner. What do you say to this?

Obviously there is far heavier and more important content in the world than the latest mascara or fragrance, but I must defend my brethren by saying that it does take a certain skill to make shampoo or pimple gel sound fascinating, and that now, with all of the science and technology (stem cells, melanin inhibitors, ultrasound waves etc) going into skin care and salon treatments, we have to A) Have a reasonable understanding of science, genetics and cell behaviour and B) Be able to translate all of that sciency gobbledygook into simple language for our readers in order to be a good beauty writer. 

Tell us a little about how you went into book writing.

For the same reason I started fruitybeauty; I had too much creative energy bubbling within and thought jotting down all my beauty anecdotes might be a good idea, because beauty editors work in such a fantasy world, and I was fatigued with fashion getting all the attention. From that Air Kisses was born. 

Do you find it hard to juggle your various projects?

It all comes down to discipline and time management. Otherwise it just won’t get done. For me this is both the easiest and hardest thing in the world.

How do you promote your book (with tours etc) with a full-time job?

I’ve been exceptionally lucky at PRIMPED – my boss(es) have always encouraged and allowed me time to go off and promote my books. That said, the amount of publicity I did for Playing The Field was one of the reasons I decided to pull back to Editor at Large… there just wasn’t enough time in the day to get it all done.

Do you have a goals list that the Wordsmith Lane readers can have a sneak peak at?

I don’t, actually. I am living very much day to day. I feel very positive about my new novel, which I will start writing in July (while on sabbatical in Greece/Italy for a few months… oh man… it’s the dream, it really is…) and am genuinely thrilled with all of the work I am doing presently. It was always my gaol to have columns and write books, and I am living it. I am extremely grateful that I have achieved this goal, and it was such an enjoyable, abundant journey that brought me here, too. BIG picture, I’ve love to write a film script one day.

Give us one good reason why we should all become members of Primped?

Because you get SPECIAL PRVILIGES! Like being a VIP prodz tester for us.

What advice would you offer to aspiring bloggers, freelancers and wordsmiths who want to follow a similar career path?

Find your point of difference and hone it: why would people want to read your blog/work over everyone else’s? What do you offer them they can’t find anywhere else? And then, obviously, work hard. I am a firm believer in working your full time job then supplementing it with your passion project (blog, book, photography etc) on weekends or after hours. Eventually (ideally) you’ll see the full time work start to slip in importance, and the passion project build momentum, until you no longer need the full time job and can earn all the money you desire from your passion. And then, as if that weren’t enough: it doesn’t even feel like work!

Ten in the Hot Seat:  

1. Describe yourself in one word: Positive
2. Biggest accomplishment to date: Three books published by 30
3. You wish you wrote: That bloody Twilight series…
4. Can’t leave home without: Keys, BlackBerry, money, lipgloss.
5. One thing you are currently writing: Just finished proposals for two new books.
6. First thing you wrote: ‘Dangling Hoplessly’ (sic) A tale of danger and terror! And school teachers! And mean dogs that chase! Age 10.
7. Addicted to reading: Emails, test messages, tweets.
8. Top spot on your goals list: For one of my books to be made into a film.
9. If you were a character in a novel, you’d be: Grug.
10. The best thing about being a wordsmith: The ability to communicate with so many people. And, if you’re lucky, make them smile.

Interview: Sarah Wilson – Sunday Life columnist & host/producer of the Lifestyle YOU channel

I remember a lot of things about my first foray into magazine land. Most of them bad. Most of them associated with the way my self-esteem plummeted as soon as I stepped into the foyer, or the way that I was judged because of my background or where I lived. It didn’t matter that I carried designer bags or knew how to pronounce Hermes, something about me was inferior. There was one thing that was not bad though, and it was that Sarah Wilson, then editor of Cosmopolitan, was nice to me. I knew this of course. It made the rounds among the workies. We knew who was fake, who was bitchy, who to steer away from. We knew which editor was fake in real life, despite what she preached in her monthly editor’s letter. But someone who did practise what she now preaches in her (Sun-Herald supplement) Sunday Life column  — basically, wellness — is Sarah Wilson. And it’s good to know that she is still nice, helpful and upbeat. So nice in fact, that she sat down and shared her career journey with us. She started out as a wordsmith, and has now moved onto many more great things. Good to see that sometimes, nice girls do finish out on top. So soak up her career know-how, and learn from her path. And most of all, enjoy the interview xx

Tell us about your wordsmith career path so far: Funnily, English was my weakest subject at school. I l loved maths and other things of certainty. But with most things in my life, I’ve always done best with things I’ve struggled a little with. My first gig was writing restaurant reviews for Sunday Magazine in Melbourne. While I was there at News Ltd, I started writing some opinion pieces for the Herald Sun, which led to a regular weekly opinion column. Opinion writing is what pushed me in my writing. I had to find a voice and a rhythm and I spent months (years?) experimenting with techniques. From there I went into editing other people’s writing (as editor of Cosmopolitan), then a column in the Daily Telegraph and now a column in Sunday Life. My “Better Life” column is my 11^th column in my career.

You went from being a foodie reviewer for Sunday Magazine, and straight on to editor of Cosmopolitan Australia. How did it feel to accomplish what many writers (or mag girls) take years to do so quickly, and by passing many a step? At the time, it happened too fast for me to really reflect on the whys and hows of it. All my energy went into surviving the learning curve. But I very much felt like a fraud! Looking back now, I can see I was lucky, but that luck is about working hard to be in the right place at the right time. And the right things happen when your intention is in the right place. All I wanted to do was communicate. I’d worked hard focusing on that intention…and it got noticed at the right time.

What was your time at Cosmo Australia like? A whirlwind. I’d just moved to Sydney when I got the job, so it was a condensed introduction to the industry. The job was mostly about juggling 20938409 balls at once. It was a pretty refreshing change as it forced fast decisions and dynamic creativity. A big part of the job is about branding and marketing which is so important now for any writer – you have to be a brand and know what you stand for.

I remember you for being nice to the workies, in comparison to other editors I worked under. Was that important to you? Why? Oh, that’s lovely of you to say!! There’s a saying in newspapers: “always be good to the copy kid (a junior admin assistant)….because one day they’ll be your boss”. Me, I was hyper-aware of how the magazine industry bred some very overly entitled young women. It’s the way the industry works and propels itself. But I abhorred it. I think coming in from the outside gave me perspective and I tried to stamp out instances of this hierarchical behaviour. Also, I took on the job because I really did feel I wanted to help and inspire young women. And as a leader you should always “be your message”.

I once read that most Cosmo editors spent on average, almost a decade in the editor’s chair. Yet you left before the five year mark (if I am not mistaken). How did it feel to be breaking the trend? I left when I’d done all my original ideas. A publisher in the mag game once said to me that after 3-4 years editors regurgitate ideas and should move on. I tend to agree. I’d hit a point where if I’d stayed it would have been for title (of editor), not for what I could contribute. I’ve seen a lot of editors who’ve become too attached to the title. I never want to be stuck in that kind of attachment – it’s very unhealthy.

I remember hearing/reading it was because you missed writing. And then, I saw a lot of your articles in Good Weekend, covering all sorts of things from New York etc. How did it feel to be back in the writing game? Did you know you made the right decision straight away? Actually, I didn’t really want to be solely a freelance writer as I’d already been a feature writer (for 5 years on Sunday Magazine). I was more interested in trying new ideas, with writing being one component. I don’t think anyone can be “just a freelance writer” any more.

As a freelance writer/columnist, do you agree with (some) other freelancers who tend to comment about being able to work their own hours, or work in their PJ’s all day. Is that something that appeals to you, or do you tend to structure your day around a routine to keep you more productive? I love working for myself. But the hardest bit is creating structure for yourself. In an office, someone else does all that for you. It’s taken me a long time to work out my structure, but it’s been a really important journey to go through. I’ve learnt so much about myself in the process, and it’s steered me to where I need to be. I get up at 6.30am and spend 2 hours getting ready for my day (exercise, meditation, reading). Then I work from an office outside my home and try to stick to 9am-7pm hours. I find it super hard to maintain this routine, but it’s also my freedom!

What is a typical day in the life of Sarah Wilson? No day is typical! I juggle 4 regular media jobs, as well as my blog, MC work that takes me around the country and I’m about to start writing a book. Oh, and I’m studying Integrative Nutritition via a school in New York. I literally set aside chunks of time each week for each activity. I have to be very organised with my diary!

I am a big fan of the niche that you have covered yourself – that idea of ‘wellness’ and living a holistic, healthy life. I feel that has done great things for you career-wise. What’s your take?  Thank you. Yes, I think it’s important now for writers to have something to say. Gone are the days of working on a newspaper for life, writing about whatever comes up on the news desk. Now we have to come to the different media – newspapers, mags, TV, online etc – with something to say, to share. We have to have opinions, a brand. Readers and consumers expect the message to come with relevance and care and experience. I think this is a great thing. Again, it’s about being our message!

How do you get on the topics that you do when you write your columns? Is it mainly things about your own life that inspire the themes? Yep! Each week I aim to be as authentic as possible with the themes for my Sunday Life column. That was how I structured it – to be an account of a period in which I make life better. I read a lot on the topic and talk to lots of people, but also, many opportunities come to me. I was invited to meet the Dalai Lama, for instance, because the publicist for his visit liked my column.

Tell us a little about your work for Lifestyle Channel and the program ‘You’. What’s it about and what is your role as a producer on the show? I describe the channel as “a chat over the back fence with the neighbour” – it features content that’s about understanding how we all tick. I’m a presenter and host and am working with the channel to develop new content – shows and instituals.

What are your biggest inspirations?  Radio National’s Life Matters program (it has been since I was 12), the ocean at 6:30 in the morning and, yes, the www.

Do you have a goals list that the Wordsmith Lane readers can have a sneak peak at? Ohhh, I don’t.

Give us one good reason why we should follow your work. If you have a yearning, too, to understand life a little more deeply and to have a sweeter experience of it, than you might connect with what I’m committed to exploring.

What advice would you offer to aspiring bloggers, freelancers and wordsmiths who want to follow a similar career path? Simply write authentically and then the right things will flow your way.

Ten in the Hot Seat:

1. Describe yourself in one word: intense
2. Biggest accomplishment to date: interviewing the former PM John Howard and PM Kevin Rudd for Cosmo
3. You wish you wrote: a wonderful new book The Elegance of the Hedgehog. It’s my kind of book
4. Can’t leave home without: my glasses!
5. One thing you are currently writing: a book…the details of which I can’t share quite yet.
6. First thing you wrote: my name on a painting I did for my little brother Ben.
7. Addicted to reading: Salon.com
8. Top spot on your goals list: to be more grounded
9. If you were a character in a novel, you’d be: the little girl in The Lovely Bones
10. The best thing about being a wordsmith: being able to write emails quickly, with confidence. I feel for people who find writing a chore.

Interview: Lisa Dempster, Writer, Editor & Director of the Emerging Writer’s Festival

I first met Lisa Dempster when I was waiting to go up and talk about Trespass mag at the Emerging Writer’s Festival, and she was the perfect panel host. I was nervous and the fact that she made me feel a lot calmer was worth a lot in my book. That was 2009, and she’s come a long way since hosting that panel to be the festival’s Director for 2010. But that’s not all she does – in addition to copy writing, Lisa is also a writer, editor and author specialising in vegan food (a niche most of us would find limiting, but one that she has mastered the art of well). Check out her work and bio at www.lisadempster.com.au and read on as she divulges her plans for the busy year ahead.

Tell us (in a nutshell) about your wordsmith career path so far:

From an involvement in the indie publishing scene as the publisher at Vignette Press I started writing unpaid articles for various places, which led to co-writing a reference guide (Veg*n Shopper), which led to editing a restaurant guide (The Melbourne Veg Food Guide), which led to paid writing for various publications, which led to writing a travel narrative (Neon Pilgrim), which led to editing a creative anthology (The Words We Found: the best writing from 21 years of Voiceworks magazine), which indirectly all led to an involvement with the Emerging Writers’ Festival and my appointment as the Director of said festival. Oh, and I’m a copywriter as well.

What are some of your current projects, and who are you writing for at the moment?

Book proposals – I’m hoping to get some new projects off the ground in 2010. Plus I’m working on an exciting publishing project through Vignette Press.

You’ve had four books published so far. What was it like seeing your name on the cover for a first time?

It was a rush. The excitement never dies, either – I love that moment of seeing my books for the first time.

Was the experience of working on a big project daunting at first, and has it become a lot easier now that you have more than one title to your name?

Not really. Every project is different and offers unique challenges. My first book involved a lot of research but was straightforward to write, and Neon Pilgrim was more about mastering structure and narrative. I suppose I’m probably less daunted by a big project than I used to be, but I don’t think it necessarily gets easier.

One of your works, Neon Pilgrim, tracks your “journey from overweight dole bludger to intrepid explorer” in Japan. What inspired you to turn your travel adventures into such a unique book? Did you write as you travelled, or did you come back and revisit it all?

I knew right from the start that I would write a book about my trip on the 88 temple pilgrimage – I think most writers are constantly thinking of ways that they can turn their experiences into material. I didn’t write as I travelled but I did keep a detailed journal. Writing on the go would have been a disaster… I thought it was best just to let the experience unfold then try to organise it into a book later.

How important is your blog to you? Do you think it is essential for writer’s to have a webspace?

My blog is so important to me! I love writing it and I love the interaction and feedback I get from it. But I don’t think blogging is vital for writers; the medium suits some people more than others, and if you’re maintaining a website out of some sense that it’s important for profile then I would say don’t bother. There are plenty of successful writers out there who don’t blog.

What was it like to start of as a punter, then panellist, at the Emerging Writer’s Festival in Melbourne, and now, how does it feel to be directing it for 2010?

Exciting and nerve-wracking! I have been a massive fan of the festival for ages, and my continued involvement over the years has been a source of great pleasure, so being director really is a dream job for me.

Are there any particular aspects of the festival you are looking forward to more than others, or anything you’d like to change? The outgoing director was so fantastic, I’m inheriting a really wonderful festival. I’m currently looking forward to programming! I think that the fun part – and getting to see it all in action in May, of course. There will be changes, as it’s the challenge of any good festival to remain innovative and keep engaging its audience in new ways.

How useful do you find networking at such events, and how would you recommend Wordsmith Lane readers network for their career potential, without coming across as pushy or annoying? I don’t like the word ‘networking’, but getting involved in events like that is absolutely a good idea. If you have a genuine interest in the event and the kinds of people that go to those events then it’s not pushy at all – most people who go are keen to meet likeminded people. It would only be annoying if you were aggressive in the way you approached people or only interested in talking about yourself.

You seem to have carved up a little niche for yourself in the areas of veganism and healthy food. Do you find this limits the scope of where you can publish or are you happy sticking to books and guides, as well as your blog?

It limits the scope of what I can publish, but that doesn’t matter because I wouldn’t be interested in writing about steak or whatever anyway. Sometimes I wish there were more mainstream opportunities to publish vegan stuff but in the end it doesn’t really matter – over the past few years I’ve helped to create a robust vegan media in Australia, which has been enormously satisfying. In a lot of ways my niche topic has been a boon to my writing career, as I’m not competing with lots of other writers to get the jobs!

What were some of the difficulties you encountered when trying to establish yourself as a writer? Did you rely on any tools, mentors, groups or writers centres/courses for help?

Difficulties include trying to balance work with time to write, feeling frustrated about the industry, dealing with rejection, lack of confidence that my work is any good… some fantastic people along the way have helped a lot. I think I’ve achieved success because I’ve put myself out there, by becoming a publisher (Vignette Press) and going to events and being a participant in the industry as a whole. It’s an active process – getting involved, meeting people – rather than the almost-passive action of just sending things off and hoping to get picked up.

Are there any other writing goals you’d like to pursue? Like creative writing for example?

Yes, loads of goals. I’m writing a novel which is one in a series, and am pursuing more opportunities to do essay-writing, and would love to put together a cookbook. I’d get bored just working on the same style of thing all the time.

What are some of the difficulties that you encounter when working on a big project such as a book? Is it a big process that tends to go back and forth between yourself and your publishers/editors?

It can feel pretty epic. I’m working on the next edition of the Veg Food Guide at the moment and it’s a big job coordinating the 20-odd reviewers and editing the 200 reviews and getting all the end matter and intro and production stuff going at the same time. There is always a lot of back and forwards between everyone involved. With Neon Pilgrim the crazy time happened at the end, when the manuscript was going between me and the publisher and the proofreader, while the typesetting and design were all happening too. It can be a bit mental. But it’s a buzz – I love it.

What are your primary reasons for blogging? Does it get your ‘juices flowing’ in a sense?

I don’t really see blogging as writing practice. I view a blog as a self-publishing platform, a way for me to report news, broadcast my ideas and connect with other people.

What is a typical day in the life of Lisa Dempster, Writer & Editor?

Very varied, depending whether I’m at the Wheeler Centre working on the festival or working from home, or doing freelance work, or doing Vignette Press work… Everyday I get up early and walk my dog though, which is about my favourite time of day, and a coffee once I hit work is essential. Every day is different, which is important to me.

What are some of the perks associated with your job?

Getting to meet and hang out with all sorts of writers, and doing different things all the time.

And what are your career aspirations?

I’m not really aiming towards anything. Mostly I’d just like to be happy with whatever I’m doing.

What advice would you offer to aspiring freelancers and wordsmiths who want to follow a similar career path?

Every career path is different so don’t worry about it too much, if you work hard and put yourself out there it will happen.

Ten in the Hot Seat:

1. Describe yourself in one word: Ridiculous.

2. Biggest accomplishment to date: Hiking 1200kms in Japan.

3. You wish you wrote: Too many to mention!

4. Can’t leave home without: My bike – I ride everywhere.

5. One thing you are currently writing: Copy.

6. First thing you wrote: I was the first person in my prep year level to attempt to write in full sentences.

7. Addicted to reading: Travel books are a particular weakness.

8. Top spot on your goals list: Get another book deal.

9. If you were a character in a novel, you’d be: Ellie Linton from the Tomorrow series.

10. The best thing about being a wordsmith: Writing!