Today we chat with an author who took an event that many men go through--getting married--and turned it into a book and the happy position as being a wedding expert. In addition to writing The Engaged Groom, Doug is also a television producer and writer whose work includes Modern Marvels for The History Channel, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire for ABC, and shows for Vh1 and Court TV.

How did you organize the actual writing of The Engaged Groom, in terms of when was research, when was writing, and what order you wrote in?
I had received a lot of helpful feedback and advice from my agent about my proposal before it was sent around to different publishing houses, so I had a fairly solid base from which to begin writing. But I had a fairly limited amount of time. The book sold in April 2005, and HarperCollins wanted the book out by the very beginning of 2006. By the time the contract was signed and I met with my editor, I only had about eight weeks before the manuscript was due. So my organization, in terms of research, was simple: write until something needs research. Once I got to a part of the book that required more information than merely what I could describe from my personal experience, I stopped and dug around. For example, I had a part in my proposal that said I would include a list of where and when to get a marriage license in each state. I didn't think about it again until that part of the book needed to be written, so I stopped writing, went online, picked up the phone, and did my research. Then it was on to the next part.

The only advance planning I did in terms of research was for the
parts of the book for which I knew I wanted stories other than my
own. I posted questions on my blog and solicited answers from
readers. It's how I got so many great perspectives from women about
strip clubs for my chapter on bachelor parties, and it also yielded
one of the better stories I received about a worst-case scenario
involving a no-show photographer. The questions turned into nice
conversations with my readers and I was able to learn a lot from what
they had to say.

Do you think from your experiences that it's a good idea for male writers to try to tap into traditionally female markets, like wedding and childcare publications?
Absolutely. My agent had warned me that wedding books are a tough sell since the category is so crowded, but she was willing to take me on because she felt I offered a different perspective on a traditional subject. Convincing editors of one's unique perspective is often the hardest thing to do as a writer, so if being male is one way to stand out, why not use it to your advantage? I would venture to guess, however, that more and more men are sending queries to wedding and parenting magazines. I've seen a lot of groom blogs and daddy books lately.

You wrote about a personal experience: did you need to float what you wrote by your bride, family etc?
Because I was on such a tight schedule, there was barely any time to let anyone see the manuscript before it was due. My wife offered to read my first draft, but I told her that beyond grammar and spelling I would hardly have any time to incorporate any other suggestions. As much as I appreciated her offer, I was worried that too many cooks would paralyze the head chef. Luckily, our own wedding planning included only a tiny amount of drama, so I was confident I wouldn't write anything that would embarrass my family or send me to divorce court before my first anniversary.

Did you find that you turned into the male wedding expert? Were you comfortable with that role? Do you hope to continue writing on that subject or move on to different arenas?
I was a guest on The Today Show in August, so the short answer would be yes. Once you've written a book and appeared on TV, you take on the role of expert by default! But what does it mean to become a "wedding expert," anyway? It's not like I'm an expert on evolutionary biology or string theory. All I had going into the writing of my book was some useful mixture of personal experience, creativity, and common sense. By now I've done enough homework on the subject of weddings to take it on with some authority and luckily the producers who have booked my appearances have agreed. My appearance on Today was the highlight of my summer, and I don't think I would have had so much fun had I not been comfortable in my role talking about weddings.

As for my writing in general, I don't anticipate writing another book
about weddings. I had a short piece in Time Out New York last spring
that had nothing to do with weddings whatsoever. I've spoken to my
agent about other subject matters, including more personal stories,
so I'd like to think that the door is wide open for whatever I want
to do next.

How did you get into TV writing?
In 1999, I took a screenwriting course and had become friends with a fellow classmate. She was about to start a new job, as the head of research for a new game show scheduled for a brief run on ABC. I was working in PR and marketing and hadn't really thought about a career change, but I jokingly said to her, "Take me with you." She gave me the contact information of one of the show's producers and before I knew it I had a phone interview. I was hired as a researcher almost immediately, but on a provisional basis. I was told not to expect more than five week's worth of work since no one knew how the show would do. The show was "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," and, as they
say, the rest is history. The show became a ratings phenomenon (at
least until it was on eight days a week) and I was promoted within
six months. I wore a variety of hats during my time there, writing
questions and jokes, building contestant segments, creating audition
tests, and briefing the hosts. A five week provisional hiring turned
into four years of a fantastically fun job, and my current career.
Working at "Millionaire" opened up the door to producing jobs at The
History Channel and other networks. Luckily, I've been able to
combine my interest in storytelling with my voracious appetite for
all kinds of seemingly useless information.