An Interview With Absolute Write’s Editor Herself, Jenna Glatzer
Interview by RoseEtta Stone

“Those of you who’ve known me for a while have seen me through lots of different 'writer phases.' I began as a screenwriter.  When I realized that wasn’t going to pay my bills (at least not until I actually sold something), I started writing for magazines and e-zines.  Then I did PR work for a couple of movies and local business.  Then I did a ton of greeting card work.  Nowadays, it’s book writing that takes up most of my time (aside from Absolute Write, of course!).  I’ve written and sold eight books over the past year, and hopefully have another two coming soon.  Working like this is a little nutty (and Anthony keeps threatening to unplug my computer), but it’s exciting too.”

From your account, it sounds like you did all these things, went through all the phases, one at a time.  But isn’t it true that you’re still doing all of the above (except the PR work), simultaneously, AND also manage to keep a romance alive?  My only question is HOW?  How is it humanly possible to do that many things at once?

It is a little crazy, isn’t it?  Well, to be fair, I haven’t written a new screenplay in about two years, but I am still doing the book writing, article writing, greeting card writing, and editing all at once.  How I do it is simple: I’m a workaholic.  And I don’t wear that as a badge of pride, either—it’s my greatest fault.  Why I do it is simple, too: I have a mortgage.  Unfortunately, I don’t have much of a social life.  I spend nearly all of my waking hours at the computer.  I’m lucky that Anthony is understanding.  He’s a musician, so he “gets” creative work.  I see my writing very much as a business, and I recognize that when I’m in my office, I’m working.  No goofing off.  I take deadlines very seriously, and come what may, I get my work done.

Is the book count up yet, or have you still ONLY sold eight books – in, did you say, a year?  How can eight books be written in a year?  And I sound like a broken record already, but how can eight books be sold in one year?  

Yes, I did sell eight books in a year, and I hope that I have a ninth coming up soon.  My first two books were assignments from a book packager (OTTN Publishing), and they were children’s nonfiction books.  If memory serves, it took me about a month to complete each of them.  Then I wrote a picture book for JayJo Books, and because it was a topic I already know a lot about (Down syndrome), that one only took me a matter of days to write and edit.  My next book, Conquering Panic and Anxiety Disorders, was an anthology, so I didn’t do all of the writing—I only wrote a small part of it and edited the rest of the stories.  Next I got an assignment to co-write Internet Freebies for Publications International.  I spent a lot of time doing Internet research, but the writing went fairly quickly.

Then came another assignment to write a coffee table book, photographed by famed children’s photographer Lisa Jane.  What a thrill!  That one went through many edits, but it was a fun project.  Then Outwitting Writer’s Block... that took several months, but I worked on it simultaneously with other projects.  I recently finished Words You Thought You Knew for Adams Media, and am now in the editing phase.

I didn’t get any major advances on any of my books, so it was important to have many irons in the fire so I’d have enough money coming in.  Once I had a couple of book publication credits, it became easier and easier to sell... which, of course, is an addictive cycle!

Then there are the e-books you’ve written. 

Yes, I have three e-books for writers.  The More Than Any Human Being Needs to Know About Freelance Writing Workbook is my most popular one, and it’s gotten fantastic reviews.  I’m always so happy to hear from readers who enjoyed it.  Now I’m trying to sell it to a traditional print publisher.  I have been glad to find out that most traditional publishers won’t discount a book just because it’s been e-published.  Most of them understand that the market for e-books barely touches the market for print books.

And Absolute Write isn’t the only newsletter you edit, is it?  AND you left out that you also design web sites.

I edit Absolute Write and Absolute Markets (http://www.absolutewrite.com/marketplace.htm).  And, yes, I’ve designed some web sites, too.  I kind of got roped into that.  When people I knew saw Absolute Write, they decided that meant I must be a web designer.  I wound up designing a site for Anthony’s wedding band (www.skylineorchestras.com) and my father’s fishing club (www.ssmtc.com), as well as smaller sites for writers.

What’s "exciting," Jenna, about "working like this?"

Well, I love the fact that I never get bored.  Since I DO keep so many irons in the fire, I can switch from one project to the next throughout the day.  For example, this morning I’m editing one of my books, and later I’ll head to the library to research body dysmorphic disorder for an article.  Then I have an interview to do for another article.  Whenever I get “stuck,” I can always do something else for a while, like work on my book proposals or query letters, or whip up some new greeting cards.  And having a ticking clock in the background (deadlines) keeps it exciting for me; it’s almost a game for me to see if I can beat the clock.  I usually “wow” editors by turning in assignments way ahead of schedule.

You’ve recently won a screenplay competition.  How do you think or hope that this will change your life?  And what, in your opinion, are the realities versus the myths about winning such competitions? 

It was a small competition, so I don’t expect it to change my life.  If it were the Nicholl, that would be a different story.  However, any contest win is a great thing for a writer, because it’s a nice resume boost.  Right after I won the contest, I put my work on the Writers Script Network with a notation in the logline that it had won the Ajijic International Film Festival.  A few hours after I put it on the site, the William Morris Agency downloaded the script.  I had tried to get them to read my work before, and they flatly turned me down, even when I showed up in person with several option contracts in hand.  So, yes, I think winning the contest was the only reason the agency decided to check out my work.

Contests can open doors for writers, but your writing talent has to keep that door open.  In some cases, the top-level judges are development people, producers, and agents themselves, so even just placing in a contest can bring attention to your script.  Many top screenwriters got their start by winning a major screenwriting competition.

If I’m permitted to reveal this, you’re not even thirty yet.  So my questions are:  1.  How long have you been driving yourself at this frenetic pace?   2.  Is over-achievement contagious?  And  3.  Were you born with a golden pen in your mouth instead of a spoon (it couldn’t have been a computer – in your mouth), making writing what you were “meant” to do?  

Ha!  Yep, you’re allowed to reveal it, even though it makes me self-conscious.  I’ve always been an overachiever (thanks a LOT, Dad).  In school, I built museum-worthy science fair projects and wrote novellas when my teachers asked for short stories.  My frenetic pace kicked in when Anthony and I bought our house.  Suddenly, I had “real adult” bills and I needed a “real adult” salary to match.  As much as I love Absolute Write, that certainly wasn’t going to pay my bills, so I dove into writing anything anyone would pay me to write.  Brochures, articles, books, bumper sticker slogans... you name it.

Over-achievement is definitely contagious.  Each time I had a success, I would think, “how can I top that?”  Right now, my goal is to get published in more national women’s magazines.  My past successes convinced me that I was capable of competing in that arena, so I had to try.  But trying became an obsessive habit; if you’ve followed my tales in the newsletter, you know that I have been sending Family Circle new queries and essays almost every week.  If I don’t break in, no one can say it was for lack of trying!

I was certainly not born with a golden pen in my mouth.  I always enjoyed writing, but I planned to be an actress—that was my first love.  Agoraphobia changed that for me; I had to quit acting when my panic disorder kicked in full force, and I needed to find a way to make a living from home.  So I hopped online, visited writers’ websites, and decided, “Hey, I could do this.”  It’s not romantic, but that’s how it all began.

Did your home-based writing  career work, Jenna?  Did it “cure” your agoraphobia?  Or was it more a case of subjugating yourself, or your lifestyle to accommodate it – letting the phobia control you rather than controlling or conquering it?

Yes, I was making allowances for the panic in my life.  I didn’t have any other choice at the time.  I had to earn a living, and I wasn’t able to leave the house.  Writing didn’t help me conquer my panic, but it helped me to retain my self-esteem, because I was successful at something, even if I was falling apart. 

Aside from referring to it as “nutty,” do you feel that you’re doing too much, or that the rest of us (writers) are doing too little?

I’m definitely doing too much.  I can’t wait to slow down a little.  I haven’t taken a vacation in years.  My biggest hope is that one of my books hits it big and I can rest on my royalties, at least for a little while.

You don’t seem to sleep very much.  Neither have many of the world’s geniuses.  Sleep is arguably the time when our most  brilliant thoughts and ideas come to us.  Or it’s a waste of precious hours that could be spent in millions of other, much more fulfilling pursuits.  Or it’s the pause that refreshes and recharges our batteries.  Or it’s when spirits contact us.  What role does or doesn’t sleep, or the lack of it, play in all you achieve and accomplish?

Believe it or not, I do sleep.  Just at odd hours.  But I’m lousy at it.  My doc has prescribed all sorts of sleeping pills, but they don’t seem to affect me at all.  I can take a pill and then work on Absolute Write all night long.

But, anyway.  Sleep is very important!  It’s so much harder to concentrate when you’re running on empty.  When I need to sleep, I do.  Otherwise I’d never be able to get all my work done.

Would you advise wannabe writers to experience as many writing-related opportunities as they possibly can?  Or to just carve out their own niche to excel in?

Both.  That may sound contradictory, but I’ll explain...

Keep yourself open to all possibilities.  Don’t define yourself as “only” a fiction writer, or only a health writer, or only a business writer.  Define yourself as a writer.  Try everything and find out what fits.  Keep learning, keep exploring.  I probably would never have gotten into greeting card writing if I hadn’t taken Sandra Miller Louden’s terrific course (http://www.absolutewrite.com/classes/Louden/greetingcards.htm), and that would have been terrible, because I’ve found out that I really enjoy writing greeting cards!

As you get established as a writer, you’ll find that certain subjects interest you, and you’ll probably have some favorite topics.  That’s great, and you certainly can and should have one (or more) niches.  For example, one of my specialties is disabilities issues.  That’s important to me because my brother has Down syndrome, and he’s my favorite person in the world.  Another is relationships writing.  I don’t have any particular expertise in the latter, aside from the fact that I’m in a good relationship.  But I built up my credits slowly; I wrote romantic tips for a few websites and magazines, and now I’m a columnist for Match.com, AOL, and MSN.  Pretty cool, huh?  I wrote up my first relationships piece on spec, because I couldn’t show the editor any relevant clips that would convince her I could handle that type of writing.  Be willing to go out on a limb when it’s important.  When you want to break into a new market, do whatever it takes—write up some sample articles, work on spec, whatever. 

Becoming a publisher one’s self, editing manuscripts for a publishing house, teaching writing courses, becoming a literary agent, opening a bookstore, etc. – any or all of which are seen by some as means of advancing, facilitating, or enhancing writing careers.  Others try these fields for their experiential value.  Or as a way of finding their ‘true’ calling.   None of which are the routes you’ve chosen, because they don’t work?  Or because...

Nah, it’s just because they don’t fit my personality.  I don’t want to be a publisher, and I don’t think I’d be any good at editing book-length work.  I briefly taught an online course, but it took up too much of my time to make it worth it for me.  I like to write, and I enjoy the thrill of the chase when I send out new queries and proposals.  Although I’m not ruling out anything (I like to redefine myself as often as possible), I think I’ll stick to writing.

You make all the different types of writing you’ve done sound effortless and  painless.  Has that actually been the case? 

Effortless, no.  Painless, yes.  Getting anything published usually requires a lot of effort.  A lot of writing, rewriting, pitching, getting rejections, reslanting, etc.  Not surprisingly, I find the shortest work the easiest (greeting cards, personal essays, and short articles) and the longest work the hardest (books and feature articles).  I was so used to writing very concise articles that it wasn’t easy for me to transition to writing full-length books.  With some of my books, I’ve had a lot of help.  Rusty Fischer contributed a lot to my Outwitting Writer’s Block book, and then Bill Harper came in to help me “funny it up.”  And Mary J. Schirmer is currently helping me make my Words You Thought You Knew book funnier. 

Earlier you spoke of  the ‘up’ side of writing.  The “excitement” of writing.  One answer ago, it was the “thrill of the chase.”  Now you give us the down side:  The effort, energy, and time-consuming tedium of writing, revising, and rewriting, trying to get published, the ceaseless search for freelance assignments (to pay the bills, till you hit it big), etc., etc., etc. 

In your opinion, are believing writing is exciting; being seduced by beating the clock, meeting deadlines and the thrill of the chase; and the ability to handle what some would consider the less appealing aspects of writing, the prerequisites of a successful writing career?           

I think you have to be seduced by the whole process to have a lasting career in writing.  Some people love to write, but they hate to sell.  Some don’t love writing, but love having written.  Some get caught up in the potential fame and fortune and forget that they must have a love affair with the blank page before they can start that Academy Award speech. 

To truly make a career out of writing, you must fully embrace every step of the process.  You must know how to beat writer’s block.  You must find a modicum of enjoyment and satisfaction from the actual writing process.  You must be wholeheartedly open to editing, which means accepting that outsiders (editors, agents, producers, etc.) may have ideas that could actually improve your work.  It means not being so attached to your words that you’re constantly trying to shield them from outside influences. 

And it means accepting that much of writing is hawking your wares; you will be spending half your life trying to convince people to spend their precious time reading your work.  First you have to convince editors, agents, and publishers, and then you have to convince readers to shell out money to read what you wrote.  Some days it’ll feel like you’re a used car salesman.  But if you can’t stand up for your writing and become its best promoter, I can almost guarantee you won’t last in the writing world.

About the “help” of  colleagues – does their help constitute collaboration, in the sense of monetary  compensation?

It depends.  When I’ve had a co-writer, then yes, I split the money with him or her.  But there have been some times when I’ve asked friends for help or feedback and they’ve done it out of the goodness of their hearts.  I always try to find a way to pay back that sort of kindness.  I do remember the people who’ve helped me out along the way, and I have referred them to my editors, agents, etc.

What about rejection, does that spur you on to greater writing activity and/or reinforce your determination to succeed?  Or does it depress you into a slump?  Obviously it doesn’t make you give up!  And writer’s block – you wrote a book about it, but have you ever personally experienced it?

Usually, it just spurs me on.  I’m cocky enough not to take rejection personally.  I know that all rejection means is that one particular piece wasn’t right for one particular person at one particular time.  That doesn’t mean it won’t be right for someone else. 

I have only experienced writer’s block a few times for any length of time.  The hardest time was in college, when I was supposed to write a memoir for a writing class.  It was supposed to be about a turning point in my life.  I didn’t want to get “too personal,” so I spent an awful lot of time trying to write something relatively trivial, when there was this giant ghost standing over my shoulder, demanding that I write what I was meant to write.

Right before the deadline, I tossed the trivial junk and sat down and wrote the story that was burning a hole in the back of my brain: what it was like to be raped when I was 10 years old.  That story became the first work of mine to be published.  I learned to listen to that ghost and write the things that mattered, even when they scared the hell out of me and made me feel “exposed.”  Take the risk.  Write the scary stuff.

It sounds like your college memoir wasn’t a bona fide case of writer’s block, Jenna.  You seem to have just blocked (not let yourself, tried to avoid) writing the torturous story that needed, that HAD to be written.  But the compulsion to write THAT story, and none other, was so overwhelming and   consuming that the story screamed out in its own voice, demanding to be told.  To be released from Purgatory. 

Excuse my histrionics.  But I didn’t want to belittle or ignore your painful ‘revelation.’  And, reading between the lines, do you think the ‘message’ writers would or could get from the trauma you personally experienced be about writing’s therapeutic, cathartic value?   And/or about the use of writing as an exorcism ritual, if you will – a transference, ridding one’s self of, or excising the psychological and emotional scars imbedded in the deepest, darkest recesses of our psyche by committing them to paper?

Before answering, I want to say that although there must be many more examples, much of what you went through, suffered, is reminiscent of Alice Sebold’s rape and its aftermath – her ‘road’ to recovery and wellness, that she too chronicled.  In a memoir she called “Lucky.”      

I’m going to pick up that book!  Yes, writing can have a very cathartic value.  Without even meaning to, I find that certain themes keep cropping up in my writing, and those are the themes of my life.  The ones I’m working on, personally.  Sometimes the pieces are meant for publication, and sometimes I only pretend they’re meant for publication, because I don’t like to admit that I sometimes write just for myself.  For healing.  I think every writer should be able to turn to their keyboard or journal when they have something gnawing away at them.  Write it down, let it out.  I used to write terrible poetry (which I thought, at the time, was extremely deep) and then go down to a boat dock and float the paper away in the water.  A literal “letting go.”

Okay, our session’s just about up now.  Incidentally, my fee for 45 minutes of analysis is $175.  Lightening up a bit:  If the Friars roasted you, what would they say about you (that censors would allow us print here)? 

I have absolutely no sense of direction.  I have trouble navigating my way out of my driveway.  My office looks like a recently bombed library.  I have yet to master the use of makeup.  I believe my cat can read my mind.  I believe sour cream and onion Pringles are a major food group.  I only cook using a microwave.  

And getting back to writing, writers must constantly ask you for help and advice.  Could you share with us three tried and true writing tips that worked for you?

1.    Study your market.  What does that mean?  If you want to be a magazine writer, read magazines.  Study the format.  Know what topics appear in which magazines, and with what frequency.  Learn which articles are written by freelancers, and which are staff-written.  Know which departments appear in every issue, and how many words are in each article.  Learn each magazine’s “voice.”  Are the articles edgy and humorous?  Fact-filled and instructive?  See who advertises in the magazines.  Study the magazine’s media kit and learn its demographics.  Then figure out what you could write that would interest this magazine’s readers.

2.    Take risks.  E-mail that editor.  Ask for an assignment.  Challenge yourself to write things outside of your “comfort zone.”

3.    Get feedback.  Join a writing group and trade manuscripts, query letters, proposals, etc. with other writers.  Learn from each other.  Don’t be afraid to ask for help, and make sure you give help in return.  Or hire a professional editor.

At this point in your life and career, do you feel as though you’ve pretty much done it all?  Or, are there things you still want to accomplish or achieve?

There are plenty of things I still want to accomplish.  Like I said, I want to be published more regularly in national women’s magazines.  I also want to sell a screenplay, write a novel, and sell more children’s picture books.

So what do you see yourself doing ten years from now?

Hanging out on a beach in Hawaii with Anthony and our (as yet unborn) kids, writing only what I love.

I’m glad you brought Anthony up again.  Backtracking to the beginning of our interview for a moment, since, to quote you, you spend “nearly all of [your] waking hours at the computer,” when and how did you manage to leave your computer long enough to find Anthony?  And how, with your booked-up writing life do you have time to squeeze him (no pun intended) in?   

Oh, boy, now I have to admit that I didn’t leave my computer to find Anthony.  My old boss told me I had to meet his band’s new saxophonist because he was perfect for me.  I was agoraphobic at the time.  I told my boss I couldn’t meet anyone, much less date.  He gave Anthony my website address. 

Anthony visited Absolute Write, found my “About The Editor” section, and memorized my entire “Stuff” list.  Then he e-mailed me.  I ignored his e-mail because I didn’t want to get my heart broken.  He e-mailed me again the next day—a haiku this time.  I thought, how can you ignore a man who sends you haikus?  I later found out that he didn’t even own a computer when we began corresponding—he bought a computer just to “talk” to me.  It took several months of e-mails and phone calls before I agreed to meet him.  By then, we were already in love.  Now we’ve been together for more than three years.

We’re both workaholics, which means that we don’t spend enough time hanging out with each other.  But the time we do spend together is terrific.

Our interview being so unexpectedly different from most of my other author’s interviews, any last words, Jenna? 

Fortune favors the brave.

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