Age: 31

Location: Brooklyn, NY

What are you working on now?
I've been busy doing publicity for my book, "The Engaged Groom" (Harper Collins, 1/1/06, ), which is a wedding guidebook for guys. All the while I've been writing and producing a show for The History Channel with Atlas Media Corp. I'm also working on ideas for my next book which will most likely have me stepping away from wedding territory.

I used to read a lot of books about craft and finding inspiration until I realized I was spending more time reading books about writing than I spent writing. You don't lose weight by reading books about exercise. Writing more is the key to better writing.

What's been the worst career advice you've ever received?
I was frequently told I had to have a goal, some sort of path I could follow. But following that kind of advice can be a death sentence for anyone with a desire to work in a creative field. Still, when I graduated college I wound up working in PR and never felt like it was the right field for me. Finally the need to get my creative juices flowing was too great, so I took a screenwriting class. I became friends with a woman in the class, who later invited me to join the staff at the then-new game show, "Who Wants to be a Millionaire." Taking the job meant leaving a career I had been in for two years for an untested TV program, and the producers were only willing to commit to a five-week contract. But five weeks turned into four years, during which I wrote every day. Sure, I was only writing trivia questions and short jokes, but it was a heck of a lot closer to what I knew I wanted to do than working in PR ever was. Every step I've taken since then has lead me to where I am now and it never would have happened if I hadn't left the safety of a steady career for what could have been a five-week lark. I was glad I took a risk and got off the path, since following one is a good way to get stuck in a rut.

Do you have advice for men on breaking into the wedding beat? Is it relatively easy for guys to get published in that genre since it's so female-dominated?
Some wedding magazines accept pitches from guys with pleasure, as the perspective we can give their readers goes beyond standard features like "Invitation Fonts for Spring" or "25 Different Shades of White." An actively involved groom is still something of a novelty, so any story told well will probably get some attention. It seems obvious, but being engaged helps a guy's chances. I only started to write about weddings because I was in the middle of planning mine and thought it would be a good outlet for my thoughts and opinions. But apart from the occasional first-person essay, I doubt that many male freelancers are pitching articles about bridesmaids dresses or bouquets.

As for the publishing world, it really depends. When she first started shopping my book proposal around, my agent cautioned me that bookshelves were already crowded with wedding books and that mine might be a tough sell. There are so many different types of wedding books - how to have a fairy tale wedding, planning a vegan wedding, advice for parents, hints for bridesmaids, etc. - that breaking through, even with something unique, can be difficult. Still, my agent was very enthusiastic about my idea and found the right editor for it, a guy about my age who had recently been married. I think getting a book published, whether it's about weddings or not, is as much about timing and luck as it is about a good idea and good writing. I happened to hit on a trend that's in a way just an offshoot of a larger cultural shift: guys are more interested in looking good, eating well, and impressing other people than ever before. And a wedding is really just a perfect storm of all those concerns.