Selling millions of copies of his books, CDs and movies, raising over $150 million for PBS, and hosting a weekly Internet radio show was never something Dr. Wayne Dyer set out to do. Long before jet-setting across the world to give sold-out talks in some of the most prestigious venues in the world, this retired college professor was a “dirt poor” orphan who struggled to buy out the first printing of his debut book and schlepped across the country to sell them out of the trunk of his car.

Though he has countless fans around the world now, there are still those who call his teachings a bunch of bunk, accuse him of shrouding real life problems under a cloak of metaphysical psycho-babble, and point to his recent health battles as evidence that his teachings simply don’t work. Such mumblings heated up as he approached the March 2012 airing of his PBS special, Wishes Fulfilled: Mastering the Art of Manifestation, based on the book of the same name.

However, Dyer says he doesn’t need to convince his detractors of anything. “If people believe what I’m saying is just a bunch of nonsense, then they’re right.”

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Name: Dr. Wayne Dyer
Position: Author and motivational speaker
Resume: Put himself through college and became a professor at St. John’s University in New York. Wrote his first book, Your Erroneous Zones, in 1976 and financed his own promotional tour, which lead to 35 million copies sold and 64 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Has since written over 30 books, including several national bestsellers, and has been branded the “father of motivation.”
Birthday: May 10, 1940
Hometown: Detroit
Education: Doctorate from Wayne State University
Media Idol: “Dinah Shore, because she exuded kindness, passed no judgment, and treated everyone the same no matter what their status — kindly.”
Favorite TV show: Real Time with Bill Maher
Guilty pleasure: Poke with avocado. “I eat it four to five times a week.”
Last book read: Dying to Be Me by Anita Moorjani
Twitter handle: @DrWayneWDyer

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You sold your first book out of the trunk of your car. What was the first moment that you knew you were onto something much bigger?

Your Erroneous Zones was the book that went over the top simply because I believed in it so much.

But here’s the thing: My publisher had a list mentality, meaning, once they sold 5,000 copies, they would have considered it a success and moved on to the next author on their list. They wouldn’t have done anything else. I just couldn’t see myself doing a four-month thing.

I started talking about the book, bringing it to the university where I taught at the time, giving talks, appearing on the radio, but that wasn’t enough. I kept calling the publishing house asking them, “How’s the book doing?” They got so tired of me.

So, I decided to take things into my own hands. I became a bookstore. I ordered all the rest of the books in the first printing. Then, they had to print the second printing. I did the same thing after about two months.

Meanwhile, I was willing to do as much media as I could. I got a lot of breaks along the way, hired my own publicist because the publisher wouldn’t pay for it. We tried to get big national shows but none of them had heard of me. So, I did what I had to do. I packed up my car, took my 9-year-old daughter with me, and we went to every state, did any and every local media my publicist could get me.

Finally, somehow, Johnny Carson got a hold of my book, and the rest is history.

There are a lot of people who are unemployed or under-employed right now, particularly in the media business. What can people do to stay motivated?

I think about that all the time, every time I see these stories about these people. They’re just going through unemployment benefits and complaining that they can’t get any work but, if you put in your resume and there’s already a thousand resumes for that same job, you’re just going to be one of a thousand. But there are opportunities everywhere if you’re open to them.

I was walking in Central Park not long ago, and there was this 10-year-old kid there named Shawn who was juggling. He had a unicycle too. “What are you doing?” I asked him. He said, “Well, my dad left; my mom is hurt so she can’t work. I’ve got two brothers and a sister and this is how I earn my money. I can earn as much as $200 a day.” I asked him how he learned to juggle and he answered, “All you have to do is Google ‘How to juggle’ and it’s right on there.” See? You have to be open to the opportunities you’re surrounded by.

Look, if you got fired from a job, then that’s the universe’s way of telling you, “You’ve been doing this long enough.” Ask yourself what motivates you. What do you really love? And figure out a way to make a living at it. There’s so many ways to make money in the world. When I was an orphan, I was the richest kid at the orphanage, because everyone else was complaining about not having anything. But when I discovered that you could get two cents for a Coca-Cola bottle, I would follow people around who were drinking it and ask them if they were almost through with it.

You say to attract something in your life, you should “contemplate yourself as surrounded by the conditions in which you have it.” But how do you do that if you’re worried about bills?

It isn’t that I don’t feel bad about the people who are struggling. Remember, I came out of dirt poor conditions with absolutely no parents. I speak from first-hand experience. Instead of waiting for the government to do it, or for the factory to re-open, they can put their attention on abundance and prosperity will show up in your life. First of all, I’d be grateful that I didn’t have to work at that factory any longer. Put yourself in a state of gratitude. Then, act on those feelings and you will be guided. This is an abundant universe. There are angels out there. The fundamental truth is you become what you think about. If you’re thinking about unemployment, or how bad the economy is, or all the reasons why you can’t do something, you’ll get exactly that. Instead, align yourself with the type of energy you want to attract and those kinds of people will show up in your life.

There are critics who say that all this talk about the Law of Attraction and metaphysics is a bunch of hoopla. To what extent do you rely on science or your own research to prove that your teachings work?

“Whether you believe you can do it or whether you believe you can’t do it,” said Henry Ford, “either way, you’re right.” If people believe what I’m saying is just a bunch of nonsense, then they’re right. They’ve got themselves convinced. I don’t try to convince them of anything. I don’t need science to validate what I’m saying. Inside each and every one of us, we have a divine intelligence. When people think they can’t do something and they act upon that thought, they shut themselves out of the opportunities that exist around them. If they’re focusing on all the things missing, blaming the economy or the President, or the weather, or whatever else, they’re closing the doors. Yet, if you align with the world and see the goodness in it, then you elevate your life.

Authors, in particular, go through some lean times early in their careers. Is it unrealistic for them to want more wealth and to become bestsellers?

One of my favorite quotes is from Michelangelo, and it says “The greater danger is not that our hopes are too high and we fail to reach them, but rather that they are too low and we do.” Authors who are focused on becoming bestsellers are very likely to be disappointed almost all the time, because your success as a writer isn’t determined by what position you hold on a bestseller list or how many books you sell. Your success is based upon being able to express yourself in writing. And if people like the idea, then they’ll get it. My reputation is outside of my control. If I give a talk to a million people, there will be a million different reputations. Some still think I’m the biggest jerk that ever lived. I have nothing to do with any of that. You can only focus on your character. You have to let all the rest of the stuff, including your bestseller’s status take care of itself.

There is a lot of competition out there for New Age and thought leaders. What have you done to separate yourself from the pack, and how can aspiring authors do the same?

I don’t write the books. God writes the books and delivers the speeches. He’s doing this interview right now. He builds all the bridges. I don’t own any of these words. I don’t know where they’re coming from. I don’t take any credit for any of this. The essential lesson I’ve learned in life is to just be yourself. Treasure the magnificent being that you are and recognize first and foremost you’re not here as a human being only. You’re a spiritual being having a human experience. That’s who you are. That is all you need to know. Then, detach yourself from what other people think and from the outcome or how well you’re doing, how you stack up to others. Just trust it and be at peace with it.

What steps did you take to create such a massive empire and how can other authors create multiple streams of income?

I don’t have a step-by-step plan. You’re asking me to come up with a linear answer, and this is all non-linear. One thing though was that I was willing to do what I needed to do. If I needed to pay for my own expenses to travel across the country, I did it. It was worth being brave for. I define professional and personal success the way that David Thoreau described it, “If you advance confidently in the direction of your own dreams and endeavor to live the life which you have imagined, you will meet with success, unexpected in common hours.” Follow your dreams. Be willing to place into your imagination anything that you would like to manifest and be unwilling to place anything in your imagination that you do not want to manifest. So, don’t think, “I’m sick” or “I’m poor.” Contemplate yourself as if surrounded by the conditions in which you have your greatest desire and it will come to be.

A self-described “perfectionist,” Architectural Digest‘s editor-in-chief (and previous Elle Decor EIC) Margaret Russell has a refreshingly down to earth take on her career and the magazine that has defined it—which is in stark contrast to the sleek, slick veneer associated with the interior design industry and the magazines that covers its styles and stars.

While Top Design‘s fans raved about her glam wardrobe on the show’s blog back in 2007, (Russell told Women’s Wear Daily that once she found her way around the set she jetted home from Los Angeles, unpacked her suitcase full of “Jackie O sheaths” and high-tailed it back to the west coast with “every cocktail dress I owned.”), to hear Russell tell it the experience was anything but swanky. (Long hours! Nasty bloggers!)

To the legendarily loyal editor, the good life is embodied by the things she loves: “Simple, fresh flowers, especially peonies, garden roses, or hyacinths; good, strong coffee; Amagansett; my bed (‘I have a great bed.’); pasta Bolognese; vintage jewelry and really, really high heels that enable me to believe that I’m 5’8″ and not 5’3″. And, oh yes, working for the same magazine for 18 years.”

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Name: Margaret Russell
Position: Editor-in-chief & vice president, Elle Décor
Resume: Joined Elle Décor as part of the launch team as an associate editor in 1989 (“I was the second person hired.”) and was promoted to senior editor before the first issue hit the newsstand. Has systematically risen through the ranks holding various positions at the magazine including design and decorator editor before being named editor-in-chief. Named vice president in 2003. In 2010, moved to Architectural Digest where she holds the position of editor-in-chief. Author of Designing Women: Interiors by Leading Style Makers (Stewart, Tabori & Chang) and the upcoming So Chic: Glamorous Lives, Stylish Spaces (Filpacchi). Began her editorial career at Glamour.
Birthdate: “June 25th, several June 25ths ago.”
Hometown: New Canaan, Connecticut
Education: B.A. From Brown University; triple major in History, Political Science, and American Civilization.
Marital status: Divorced
First section of the Sunday Times: “Section One, page one. I don’t want to miss a thing.”
Favorite television show: “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. When I can’t sleep, I watch Law & Order or Sex and the City. And I TiVo Oprah and wish I would remember to record Charlie Rose and Meet the Press as well.”
Guilty pleasure: “Life’s too short; I’m never guilty about pleasure.”
Last book read: “I tend to read a few things at once. I’ve had some sad news lately, so I did a Nora Ephron extravaganza this weekend; reading her never ceases to make me laugh. But I’m halfway through The Grand Surprise, the compilation of Leo Lerman’s journals, which is fascinating.”

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How would you say you’ve gotten to where you are?

I’m where I am because of a combination of being willing to work hard and kismet—just being in the right place at the right time. Even bad decisions or difficult situations—getting divorced and moving back to New York—have resulted in my being offered some amazing opportunities.

Honestly, it sounds so mundane, but it’s hard work and actually just being curious and interested. Because I was on the launch team at Elle Décor, I’ve done almost every job there is at this magazine except physically lay it out.

A lot of that was because somebody would say, “Oh, we need someone to do this or do that” and I’d say, “Oh, I’ll try that. I’ve never done that before.” So, it’s been a lot of fun and kept me going here. I do think I have a bit of a reputation with my staff for being a bit of a workaholic, which is not fun when everyone wants to take summer Fridays off—I’m the one who is here. I really like work. It’s a pleasure for me.

That seems to be a prerequisite for the job of editor-in-chief. You can’t phone it in.

You really can’t. I feel really fortunate that I get to do what I love every day and actually get compensated for it.

I do think that when it comes down to it, the line between private and public [life] is somewhat blurry. There are days when I think, “Oh Lord, if only I had a job where I could walk out the door at six o’clock and not look at my Blackberry,” but that’s not what I signed on for. .

I actually really love it.

What did you learn in your first job that still has relevance in your career now?

That’s a really good question. I started as an editorial assistant at Glamour straight out of college.

Actually, I took the summer off, which I’m sure shocked my friends and made my family nervous. I worked with Ruth Whitney which was an experience unequaled. She really was an amazing editor-in-chief. For somebody right out of college she was this goddess of publishing—a smart, strong woman and a really good role model. I was trained by a really tough editor, Linda Whitmarsh, the design editor there.

She was really demanding and extremely tough. Whether I was making travel arrangements or sending out letters to readers who had written in, I learned that if you make a mistake the best thing you can to say, “I’ll do my best to make sure I don’t do it again.” I loathed making mistakes. It made me more of a perfectionist than I’d ever been before and [made me] realize the value of working hard. That that’s the way you get ahead.

How did you land your television gig on Bravo’s Top Design?

My trashy reality TV career. [Laughs] Bravo came to us. They spoke to several different magazines; I think there were about ten and they had narrowed it down to a few. They had done very well with Elle with Project Runway.

I was told they had seen my reel from the different times I’d been on The Today Show and that their concern was that I was too nice. I had to go in and be videotaped by this producer where she showed me these pictures and said, “Which of these is like your taste?” The pictures were just vile. As soon as I opened my mouth she realized I could be a tough judge.

Anything about doing television at that level that took you by surprise?

I had no idea that it took forever and ever.

The first day we were taping, we were there until 4:30 in the morning. The earliest night we got out of there was midnight. On average it was about 1:30 or 2 and there was no air conditioning when we were taping because of the sound. We were tired, sweaty, and cranky. It’s amazing that we were nice to anyone.

It was a really good experience because it’s made me more comfortable on camera. It certainly gave me a thicker skin having to write a blog and then finding out that all sorts of crazy people like to write crazy things online.

Everybody said, ‘Don’t read it.’ I read some of it. You take whatever good advice and criticism you can and also realize that some people are just mean.

Did you watch any reality shows before doing one?

I loved Project Runway and I did get hooked, partially because Nina [Garcia, Elle‘s fashion director] was on it.

Did Nina give you any tips?

She said don’t read the blogs. [Laughs] She did warn me and say, “You know, my darling, sometimes they shoot very, very late.” I thought, “Oh that’s just Project Runway, this will be different.” I did watch Queer Eye because I’m friends with Thom Filicia.

Before that, I actually wrote a whole column about it. I hated all those shows like Fear Factor. I just couldn’t stand them. I didn’t really have any great affection for them—unlike [Top Design judge and designer] Jonathan Adler, who was hysterical and made me meet all the housewives from Orange County when we were at TCA. It was funny.

How did you juggle your shooting schedule with your job at the magazine?

It was five weeks in Los Angeles. The first day of taping was October 11. I found out about it ten days before I had to go which is not, by the way, the way to get into reality TV.

I thought, “How am I going to get the magazine out?” I didn’t know something existed called the VPN card which Hachette doesn’t like to tell you about. It’s a code thing so you can break through the firewall so I could get into our InCopy and do all of our electronic bill paying long distance from my hotel room.

There was a lot of FedEx and phone calls. I came home whenever we had a three day break. It was a really interesting thing because it gave me a little distance on the magazine. I came back and made some staff changes, added three new fonts and a few new columns. Sometimes you’re too close to things.

I was also able to manage my time a little better. I actually managed to find time to work out twenty minutes a day.

Did the show have any effect on the Elle Décor brand?

It was good for the magazine because it put it in front of some people who were not necessarily very familiar with it. I think that’s always a good thing.

A lot of editors appear determined to become television personalities. Was that part of your master plan?

Oh gosh, no. Forget it. I have no interest in that whatsoever. Top Design was a lot of fun and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I think one of the reasons I’ve been successful at Elle Décor is because Elle Décor is really about Elle Décor, not Margaret Russell.

Even though I run this magazine, and to a degree it’s my taste or my embracing of other people’s taste, I have a really clear cut vision of brand and that’s my job here. I’m here to create and protect Elle Décor.

It is interesting, though, that so many editors seem to aspire to be stars.

I’m a middle child. I think that has a lot to do with how I run my life. I have a sister who is an actress and has always been the big sort of high-strung personality one and a younger brother who is a partner in a big law firm. I sort of made my own way. I’m always the peacekeeper diplomat in the family. It’s never been about me being the most important one, so I think the magazine benefits from that.

[Laughs] It shouldn’t be about one personality. It’s about people creating a magazine to attract a wide group of people.

You mentioned your blog for Top Design before. One of your entries was entitled “Fascinating and Terrifying People.” Who’s the most fascinating personality out there and who’s the most terrifying?

[Laughs] We didn’t come up with the names [of the entries]. I hate questions like that. [Laughs] I think Bill Clinton is a fascinating man. I think he’s been one of most fascinating personalities of our time.

And terrifying?

Oh. [Pauses] Honestly, I’m not so easily terrified. I’m not that fragile.

Why do you think people are so intimidated by decorators and interior designers?

I did a whole column on why it’s easier to buy a suit than a sofa. I think there is this sense that you’re making an investment. Not only are you making a statement about your personal life to anyone who comes in if you have a dinner party or a cocktail party, but there’s this idea that it’s hard to get rid of a sofa if you made a mistake.

I think it’s so sad because you can always slipcover something, you can always paint something. You can always change things. I don’t know why it’s so intimidating. It makes me very sad that it is. That’s why I’m glad there are good magazines out there that help demystify things for people. I love it when I see someone going through the magazine and ripping things out.

Often the deciding factor when I’m editing deciding between this and this is, “This one has more ideas.” I do know that people rely on magazines to help them decorate even if they’re using a professional architect or designer. Everybody has some folder of things they’ve collected.

What’s the biggest decorating mistake most people make?

They don’t know how to edit. They don’t know when to stop. There’s too much stuff. Also not looking with a fresh eye at the way they live. That’s the funny thing about shooting people’s houses. We don’t bring a truckload of stuff. Sometimes when we go in, we’ll bring some flowers or fruit or move a chair for a camera angle and more often than not people will leave it the way it was done for the photo shoot.

People keep things the same for far too long. I grew up in a house where, for the summer, my mother would slip cover everything and pull up the carpets and put down sisal [rugs]. Then in the winter, the heavier throws and the velvet pillows came out. It’s just such a nice thing because twice a year you get a refreshed look and it makes you celebrate the seasons.

What’s your biggest decorating pet peeve when you go to other people’s house?

My biggest pet peeve is just boring—when it looks like something just came from a catalog or someone who hired a designer and there’s not one look—a peony or something—that’s a sign of life.

I think rooms that look like hotel rooms are awful. As someone who has spent a lot of time in hotel rooms, I can tell you they should not be inspiring. Maybe the bathrooms—some hotel bathrooms are great—but not a living room.

Any celebrity house you’d love to get into that you haven’t seen?

We don’t do a lot of that. I don’t think celebrity necessarily equates itself into taste. I would think the bigger the celebrity, the greater the chance that someone has come in just like dressing you for red carpet.

I would love to see how the really intelligent actors and actresses of our time live. I would like to see Sigourney Weaver’s house. I’d love to see Meryl Streep’s house. I’m sure they have things that influence them and inform their lives in some way, so it’s less about the celebrity but more about the intellect.

I like seeing people’s offices. I think they’re very telling.

I love seeing people’s offices because you spend so much time there. I’m not a nosy person, but I am a curious person and I love seeing how people live and what’s important to them.

When we shot Julianne Moore’s loft that her brother-in-law had done it wasn’t a surprise that she had chosen to live that way but I loved that she loves interior design and she bought a lot of the stuff herself. I like seeing the thought and the mindfulness that goes into it.

What’s your dream job?

I have it.

Do you have a motto?

Actually it’s not a motto, it’s a word. My dad was longtime IBMer. When he died he was assistant general counsel. The IBM motto is ‘Think’ and it’s emblazoned on every pen, pencil, and pad. I have these vintage signs that say, “Think.” It sort of says it all.

Gearing up to ace an upcoming interview to land your dream job? Michelle McQuaid, author of Your Strengths Blueprint: How to be Engaged, Energized, and Happy at Work, says it’s important to prepare your brain to perform at its highest level. Instead of thinking positive thoughts and visualizing a successful interview, she suggests training your brain for the interview by demonstrating “heartfelt positivity” for prospective employers so they get the sense you are genuine and trustworthy.

In order to achieve heartfelt positivity, McQuaid recommends preparing for your interview by envisioning ways to flex your strengths while interacting with employers. She explains, “For example, can you use your strength of curiosity to ask insightful questions or your strength of creativity to demonstrate innovative ways to solve their challenges?”

She adds if you’re not certain of your strengths as you prepare for the interview, take a free 10-minute survey at The VIA Institute, a Cincinnati-based nonprofit focused on positive psychology that houses the world’s largest database on character and character strengths.

Vicki Salemi
Mediabistro career expert

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Search over 1,000 of the hottest jobs in media! Find great talent by posting your job here today.

The April Jobs Report: Everything You Need to Know (WSJ / MoneyBeat)
After a disappointing March report, economists were expecting improvement, and they got it in the April numbers. Nonfarm payrolls grew a seasonally adjusted 223,000, roughly in line with the estimate of 228,000. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate fell to 5.4 percent from March’s 5.5 percent.

6 Ways to Be Smarter in Your Job Search (U.S. News & World Report)
Where is the first place you go to look for a job? If you haven’t searched for a job in a while, you may not be investing your time appropriately. According to the “Top Sources of Hire 2015” report by talent management software provider SilkRoad, the top sources of hires may surprise you. This study will shows where companies have found new hires so you can restructure where you are investing your time and effort.

Your Interview Take-Along Checklist (Monster)
You’re interviewing for a job tomorrow, and you think you’ve done all the interview preparation you need to do. You’ve practiced your answers to a multitude of common interview questions and have thought up some questions to ask the interviewer. Your interview suit is pressed and ready. But what do you bring to the interview? Read on for a handy checklist.

8 Ways to Stay Optimistic When Your Job Search Drags On (Brazen Careerist)
A job search often begins with unblemished optimism. But as time passes, it’s easy to get upset over what feels like a hundred job applications submitted to countless companies and endless hours spent updating your resume. After all that, you haven’t heard back from a single potential employer. This frustration is common if you’re a job seeker. In fact, a Workopolis survey found it took about 16 weeks for the largest portion of the group (50 percent!) to get their most recent job.

The 10 Best Jobs for Introverts (Business Insider)
About half of the population is made up of introverts. Yet, according to PayScale, our world is largely designed for extroverts. “Crucial aspects of career advancement, from networking to public speaking, can feel like insurmountable hurdles for those of us who gather energy from time spent alone,” PayScale says. “However, introverts excel in jobs that reward their unique abilities.” Here, PayScale lists its top jobs that don’t require a great deal of interaction with others.

10 Ways to Be the Person People Like to Work With (Entrepreneur)
Raw talent, education or experience, and competency are no longer enough to thrive in today’s competitive economy. Nor is it enough to have the right product or service at the right time to court a client and land the contract. Soft skills, including adaptability, a positive attitude and good communication skills, are a vital part of fostering a dynamic workforce and being an effective leader. So here’s how to improve your likability, personally and professionally.

5 Things You Can Do Today to Boost Your Career (Fortune)
If you feel as though you’re in a work-related slump or just want to give yourself a little professional oomph, we’ve pulled together a list of some easy but effective career-boosting strategies that you can implement today. From connecting with a past colleague to putting a few more minutes of thought into today’s office attire, read on for some straightforward and sage advice.

Captain Obvious: Do What You Want to Be (Salary.com)
There are times when negotiating your salary can be a multi-layered and complicated process. Job seekers could be juggling three or more offers, playing companies off each other and stalling for time while the counteroffers pile up. On the other hand is someone who has been at his job for years, feels underpaid, is bringing in real results and dying to be included on an upcoming project, and yet hasn’t received a raise or promotion in two years. He’s frustrated and confused. So the question is: Have you asked for that raise?

5 Toxic Beliefs That Make Success Impossible (Inc.)
We’d all like to be visionary thinkers like Bezos, Buffett and Branson (the Three B’s of Bold Thinking) and achieve great things. But most of us aren’t bold visionaries. And that’s OK, because while you might never come up with the next big thing, you can decide to think differently from other people — and in the process, achieve differently from other people. Here are five things people think ruin their chances for success — and, more important, how you can think differently.

Inside the Best and Worst Entry-Level Jobs (Forbes)
With graduation season approaching, the bottom rung of the careers ladder — and how to grab hold — is on the minds of many first-time job seekers. As such, personal finance site WalletHub took a look at 109 varying types of entry-level jobs, evaluating them across 11 factors to determine which provide the most and least attractive opportunities to those seeking entry-level work.

Like any career changer, you may need to start off in a more junior position while you earn your content-marketing cred. Here’s how to get back on top:

Focus on transferable skills

When crafting your resume and going in for interviews, go beyond merely mentioning management experience and zero in on concrete details: How many people do you manage? What processes do your team handle? What accomplishments have you and your team racked up during your tenure? What initiatives have you spearheaded and what were the results? Do you collaborate with other including PR, advertising, marketing and corporate? No matter what field you’re entering, self-starters and leaders who work well with others are always in demand.

Be proactive

“At content-marketing agencies, there’s a lot of movement, and there is always a way for you to take on more clients and take the lead,” says one VP of content, who rose the ranks quickly after leaving her career as an executive editor at a magazine. “In publishing, it can take you a decade to rise up. At an agency, if you have the experience and lots of initiative, it can take you a year,”

Look for new in-roads

As you gain experience in a lower-ranked position, opportunities will be opening up around you, some at your company and others elsewhere. “Some of the most innovative companies in the world are going to put many millions behind content marketing,” says Joe Piluzzi, founder of the Content Marketing Institute. “The departments and roles are only going to grow and multiply.”

These days, authors are confronted with a variety of publishing choices. Do we self-publish our novel or memoir and bet on our own success? Do we wait years and months before hearing back from a traditional publisher or agent?

After publishing my first few books traditionally with minimal royalties, I was craving the financial control and freedom that hybrid publishing and self-publishing offer. Publishing my work with Transformation Books, a hybrid model for the best-selling series Pebbles in the Pond: Transforming the World One Person at a Time, allowed me to keep my profits while being supported by a strong marketing team to help build momentum for our anthology.

Publishers who do hybrid models, including Booktrope, Samhain Publishing, Entangled Publishing and Spencer Hill Press, act as both publisher and distributor for independent authors and small presses; meanwhile, the author pays upfront for some or all of the production or print costs. Backed by reputable publishers, authors reap the rewards of sales, exposure and brand recognition. Read on to learn more about the pros and cons of hybrid publishing.

Know your publishing goals.

With so many publishing options, authors need to know if hybrid publishing truly meets their publishing goals. Some of this homework involves researching the various models, but the first step starts with evaluating your own needs.

Nina Amir, author of The Author Training Manual, suggests you ask yourself the following questions before signing on with any publisher:

__? Am I cut out for self-publishing?

__? Am I cut out for traditional publishing?

__? Do I have the ability to straddle these two publishing models?

__? Do I enjoy being on the cutting edge and blazing new trails?

Understand the financial side of hybrid publishing.

It would be great if authors publishing with a hybrid model could break even at the start, just like earning an advance with a traditional publisher. But the truth is hybrid authors will need to put aside marketing and production funds to produce a high-quality book. That is not to say you can’t enjoy a high cash flow as a hybrid author, but you need to determine if you are willing to take a bit of a financial gamble.

“I hesitate to say it’s a model that leads to success because success varies from author to author,” says Brooke Warner, co-founder of hybrid publisher SheWritesPress.com. “For us the parallel measure would be that a book ‘earns out’ its expenses, meaning that it breaks even. Many more than 10 percent of our authors are breaking even, so for me, this is an exciting place to be.”

“Hybrid authors will need to put aside marketing and production funds to produce a high-quality book. You need to determine if you are willing to take a bit of a financial gamble.”

But the model may not work for all authors. “Always remember that the self-publishing aspect of being a hybrid author means you are in business for yourself,” says Amir.”You create a startup publishing business, and you must project manage all aspects of that business. You have to know you are cut out to do this job — or else stick with traditional publishing.”

The authors at SheWritesPress.com (all women) do the lion’s share of the marketing for their digital and print books, a trend that Warner sees as more entrepreneurial than in the past. “The author reaps the rewards, but I think that publicity goes hand in hand with sales. We are offering our authors a platform for their publishing… with a team that knows the ins and outs of the industry.”

Broaden your reach with digital platforms.

Building your online platform implies offering your book in multiple formats, including digital. The fact is more readers will read the eBook version more than your printed format, so it’s a good idea to capitalize on this market. You can net higher sales when you go digital as a hybrid author. These sales can also support your work as a traditionally published author, but you still need to learn to straddle the fence between these two very different publishing worlds.

Amir did just that, but made sure to communicate in advance with both publishers of her books. “I have published an eBook that boosted sales of both of my traditionally published books, and I have three more planned that will also support sales of these books,” she says. “[Just] be sure your [traditional] publisher has no problem with the fact that you are also indie publishing. You want everyone on the same page so you don’t run into any issues with your contract. You don’t, for example, want to publish [an eBook] that competes with your traditionally published book.”

Publishing with both models can also skyrocket sales, especially when it comes to producing eBooks. Amir is proof of that. “Write more books,” she says. “The more books you write, the more books you sell. My agent has me writing two self-published eBooks for every traditionally published book I write.”

“The fact is more readers will read the eBook version more than your printed format, so it’s a good idea to capitalize on this market. You can net higher sales when you go digital as a hybrid author.”

Be open to breaking new ground.

Younger hybrid publishers like SheWritesPress.com are indeed on the cutting edge of the publishing revolution. But because they haven’t been around long enough for massive credibility, authors may not want to take the financial risk. Yet no matter how you look at it, both traditional and hybrid publishers are affected by the winds of change.

Warner says, “I don’t think we are publishing in a way that allows us to see the volume that traditional publishers are selling. But we’re still only two years old, so I hope that we’ll grow toward that as we get bigger and have a stronger backlist propelling us along. We’re already making strides in terms of being recognized for our great books and an innovative model.”

Unfortunately, there is really no easy answer for any newbie or veteran author in today’s publishing world. Traditional publishers want to see an online presence, so even if you are still mulling your options, it’s best to continue to grow your platform and have both a Plan A and Plan B. Case in point: I intend to go agent shopping with my memoir, and if no fish bites within six months, I’ll be hybrid shopping.

Dorit Sasson is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh. Follow her at @VoicetoStory.

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NEXT >> Do Self-Published eBooks Help or Hurt Your Career?

You may not have heard of Jonathan Geller, but if you’re in the tech world, you probably know him by another name: Boy Genius. Geller has been hugely influential on mobile tech blogs for years, first as an anonymous 17-year-old-columnist at Engadget, then as the secret head of BGR.com. The site gained a following with tech lovers for its ability to report on new products months before their official release.

Geller revealed his identity in 2010, when his site was bought by PMC Media (which also operates Hollywood Life, Deadline and Movieline, among other sites). As to why he finally pulled off the mask, Geller simply said, “It just seemed like the right time. I wanted to be a visible figure.” And that he is. Geller now regularly appears on outlets like CNBC and Bloomberg, discussing the latest mobile tech trends. Apparently all that publicity is paying off: BGR now has around 8 million unique visitors per month, making it the number one source for mobile tech news and leaks.

Here, Geller talks about dropping out of high school, starting a record label at age 15, almost being sued by Cingular and his long-term goals for BGR.

Name: Jonathan Geller
Position: President and editor-in-chief of Boy Genius Report (BGR.com)
Resume: Built first computer at the age of 13, learned to code by 14, started a record label at 15, was hired as a contributor at Engadget at 17 and launched BGR at 18. Sold the company to PMC Media in 2010. Continues to write and oversee editorial content on the site.
Birthday: April 26
Hometown: Greenwich, Conn.
Education: Dropped out of Greenwich High School sophomore year
Marital status: Engaged
Best career advice received: “If you don’t build your dream, someone will hire you to help build theirs.”
Guilty pleasure: Brunello Cucinelli clothing
Last book read: Flash Boys by Michael Lewis
Twitter handle: @boygenius

When did your interest in computers begin and how did you become known as the ‘IT guy for the music industry’ at only 15?
I was exposed to computers when I was 9 or 10 and I was never a true geek, but I was fascinated by them. A few years later, I got really into design and coding. I just loved it from an early age.

When I was 14, I got really into hip-hop and R&B music. A family friend introduced me to [Justin Bieber’s manager] Scooter Braun, and we really hit it off. So then I started producing music and selling beats online. I ended up dropping out of high school and moving to Atlanta to work with [Braun]. It was a crazy time. I was 15 and hanging out with Usher in these clubs. It was incredible. I was exposed to so much; I learned so much about networking and making connections.

How did you go from working in Atlanta with Braun to writing for Engadget?
So I was still into music, I’d started a record label and I was building connections everywhere. At the time [around 2005], there were only a couple of big tech websites, and Engadget was one of my favorites.

“I liked the hype and marketing opportunities and uniqueness of being anonymous.”

Because of my connections in the music industry, companies started giving me their products before they were released. There wasn’t that much product placement or promotion like there is today. So I’d get a Blackberry before anyone else, and I’d give it to Ludacris. The companies loved it and kept sending me more. Eventually, Engadget gave me my own column.

Did your sources know you were a teenager at the time?
It was weird because some people knew I was 17; others had no clue. The ones that did know didn’t really care. They knew about my connections and wanted their products out there.

Tell us how you started Boy Genius Report.
I started BGR in 2006. Like I said, I had loved Engadget for years, and I started sending them pictures of unreleased phones. When I saw how interested people were, I decided to branch out on my own. At one point, I had Cingular’s entire roadmap, and they called Engadget and said they were suing them for $900,000. I was totally freaked out, but they were like, ‘This is great!'” That’s when I knew I really had something marketable.

Why did you stay anonymous when you launched your own site?
I stayed anonymous because at the time I was doing both music and [writing], and I didn’t want to be known in both worlds. I also liked the hype and marketing opportunities and uniqueness of being anonymous. I was this 17-year-old kid running the site, and the head of AT&T thought there were 1,000 people behind it, and he’s trying to come after me. Everyone in the tech industry feared me.

By the time BGR got acquired by PMC, I decided to finally out myself. It just seemed like the right thing to do. I wanted to be a visible figure and the public face of my brand.

“At the end of the day, you’ve just got to throw everything at the wall and see what sticks.”

How has BGR changed since the PMC acquisition?
At its core, I don’t think the site has changed much. It’s a testament to PMC, because you would think there would be major changes after a big buyout. But they’ve just added more resources and an amazing sales team.

What are your long-term goals for BGR?
My long-term goals would be expanding beyond the U.S., which we’ve already started doing. We just launched BGR India, which is a part of India.com, a joint venture with Zee TV, the largest media company in India. We just want to continue to move the business forward. Last year was our best year in terms of growth and revenue. And it looks like this year is going to top that. Tech sites tend to be one dimensional, and I want to [take] the business offline.

Our reviews are so unique and honest and we were thinking, ‘how can we leverage that?’ We’re doing it by creating the BGR Seal of Approval. Think of it as the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval, but for tech. It will let the average consumer know if a product is worth buying. Is it something that a normal person can use without trouble? Is it going to be supported by the company past the initial release? There’s so much noise to cut through in tech. The BGR Seal of Approval is purely editorial, but it’s something we’re really excited about. We’re launching in next two weeks, and the first company and product we are awarding it to is called Lyve, a new company that helps you simplify and protect all of your photos, videos and memories.

What are the keys to a great tech website?
Content, content, content. You’ve also got to have a great team. You have to know your audience. You need to have that instinct, to know what people want to read.

What is your advice for people starting a career covering tech?
Be authentic, be engaged and interact with your readers. Whether it’s on Twitter, on Facebook, whatever. At the end of the day, you’ve just got to throw everything at the wall and see what sticks.

Aneya Fernando is the editorial assistant at Mediabistro. Follow her on twitter @aneyafernando.

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NEXT >> So What Do You Do, John Newlin, VP of Content for Livingly Media?

There’s the interview — and then there’s the celebrity interview. To many writers, publishing an article on a celebrity can be lucrative___ and yes, just plain cool. It’s not always so easy to land interviews with an A-list star, though.

Often, writers will target a celebrity because the star is in a new movie or television show; has just launched a charity event; or, in the case of a politician or executive, has an issue to discuss. However, just because you want to talk to a superstar doesn’t mean it will happen. Many celebrity pieces are handled in house. But some publications are open to celebrity article pitches from freelancers if there’s a distinctive angle — and, of course, if you already have a personal connection to the star.

A few months ago, I got an offer to interview actor Patrick Dempsey. I cover the health industry, and the Grey’s Anatomy star had recently funded a medical startup — so it was a good fit. I realize that not all writers have an opportunity like this fall into their laps, so I’ve gathered some insight to help you succeed at celebrity interviews.

Understand the nuances of the celebrity interview.

There are a few things that make interviewing a high-profile individual different from other interviews you have performed. First, there will likely be at least another person (the publicist) in the room or on the phone with you. The star’s availability might be tight, especially if you get to talk to them during a press tour. As such, you might have limited time to interview him or her. And then there may be restrictions on what you can or cannot ask the celebrity.

Another challenge may be making contact with your subject. Sometimes a celebrity’s publicist may reach out to you, which breaks down some of the barriers. But if you’re targeting a star on your own, it helps to have an outlet in mind — and an angle.

Track down publicists — and be persistent.

“Publicists tend to work with you more easily if you’ve gotten an assignment to write about their client,” said Michele Wojciechowski, a Maryland-based writer.

The first step is to reach out to the publicist to see if he or she can grant you the interview — even making contact there isn’t easy.

“You need to get creative,” Wojciechowski said. She recommends trying to contact publicists on IMDb Pro, which is a paid service. Googling the publicist is another option. “You’d be surprised how many people have their publicists listed on their own websites,” she said.

“It’s a good idea to try to secure an interview with a celebrity before pitching a publication.”

Of course writers cannot always secure a time to speak with the celebrity they desire. Sometimes, like magazine editors, the publicist will reject your request — or simply not respond to your inquiry.

“Usually, it’s not about you. So don’t blame the publicist,” Wojciechowski said. “And if you get turned down, always ask if there would be a better time to talk with the celeb.”

Also keep in mind that a publicist isn’t your only way “in” with a celebrity. Melanie Votaw, a writer from New York, wrote to a network to get an interview with Stuart Townsend about his role in the show Betrayal without a response until she reviewed the show and promoted it via social media. “When I requested an interview a second time, Stuart knew my name and consented [to an interview],” she said.

Have an angle in mind when pitching editors.

It’s a good idea to try to secure an interview with a celebrity before pitching a publication. Editors are going to want to know that you have an interview lined up, or a sure-thing connection to the celebrity.

“Have a good idea for a story and a market to sell it to,” said Joel Keller, a writer based in New Jersey. “Yes, you can get away with ‘Want a Q&A with so-and-so?’ especially if you have a relationship with an editor already. But, just like with non-celeb pitches, the editor will be looking for a story to hook to the celebrity.”

It might take a little back-and-forth with the editor, but if you can get the editor to confirm a spot for the interview, you can then let the publicist know you have secured a home for the article. He or she may then give it the green light. “The better a story it is, the better chance you’ll place the idea with a bigger pub that’ll carry more juice with the publicist,” Keller said.

Prepare your questions in advance.

As journalists, we’re used to “winging” interviews___ who hasn’t? The celebrity interview, on the other hand, is not one that can be improvised. Without planning, your interview could turn into a disaster and leave you with little material to deliver. A poor interview means the publicist won’t work with you in the future, may tell others about the bad experience and tarnish your reputation. That means that your editor may not publish the piece — or work with you again.

“I make sure to research the celebrity ahead of time, and I write my main questions out before the interview,” Wojciechowski said.

In my own experience, I find that high-profile celebrities often have a tight-knit group of publicists that want to evaluate your questions before you speak to the star or know if you will record the conversation (highly recommended) — another reason to gather your thoughts and jot down your questions long before the interview.

Do your homework and get the facts straight.

With a celebrity interview, it’s likely that the interviewee has had some poor experiences in the past with the press. He might be under constant fire for his professional choices, and have probably had untrue rumor spread about him.

“As journalists, we’re used to ‘winging’ interviews___ who hasn’t? The celebrity interview, on the other hand, is not one that can be improvised”

No matter how much you know about the celebrity, take a moment to Google the person. Look into recent headlines, as they may affect your story. If the piece is about a certain issue, try to educate yourself on it. One part of my Dempsey story that made it special was that the actor was supporting a startup that helped people get answers to their personal medical mysteries. I learned that Dempsey’s mother had ovarian cancer, so he understood how hard it was for families to receive an accurate diagnosis — something that brought out the human-interest side of the piece.

“Unless it’s a fact given to me by their publicist, I always ask them if something I read about them is true,” Wojciechowski said. “A few times, it hasn’t been, and that in itself led to some interesting anecdotes.”

Build a rapport with your star subject.

In addition to researching your subject, it’s vital to remain calm and be professional. “If you’re too much of a fan, it can make the celebrity uncomfortable,” Votaw said.

I never told Dempsey that I all but wore out the VHS tape of his ’80s flick Can’t Buy Me Love because I watched it so much___ and I never called him McDreamy or told him I had seen every episode of Grey’s Anatomy. Although I was nervous to interview one of my favorite actors, keeping a professional tone helped foster a better dialog.

Having a good connection with celebrity handlers can also be a plus. “They can be your best friend or they can be a brick wall,” Keller noted.

Keller had a great interview with comedian Louis Szekely, as Louis C.K., when the show Louie was being made. During the second season of the show, the actor had a different representative — someone Keller had a good relationship with. Still, he could not get an interview because the new rep only wanted high-profile coverage for the actor. “So the websites I was writing for didn’t cut it anymore,” he said. “It had nothing to do with my previous interview with Louie or my relationship with his new publicist. It’s all about the juice.”

Get on publicists’ A list.

One celebrity interview can’t make or break your career, but a good one can lead to more. After a good piece, the publicist might contact you for future stories, put you on their press list or share your contact details with colleagues.

“Once they know you’re easy to work with and that they can count on you to publish when you say you will, they will do their best to get you the interviews you want,” she said.

After the story publishes, it’s a nice touch to send the publicist your clip. Post the link of your interview on social media and tag your subject — that could make you a bit of a star if the celebrity shares it, too. And your editor will appreciate the traffic!

Kristen Fischer is the author of ‘When Talent Isn’t Enough: Business Basics for the Creatively Inclined’ (Career Press, 2013).

---

NEXT >> How to Land a Celebrity Journalism Gig

There’s the interview — and then there’s the celebrity interview. To many writers, publishing an article on a celebrity can be lucrative___ and yes, just plain cool. It’s not always so easy to land interviews with an A-list star, though.

Often, writers will target a celebrity because the star is in a new movie or television show; has just launched a charity event; or, in the case of a politician or executive, has an issue to discuss. However, just because you want to talk to a superstar doesn’t mean it will happen. Many celebrity pieces are handled in house. But some publications are open to celebrity article pitches from freelancers if there’s a distinctive angle — and, of course, if you already have a personal connection to the star.

A few months ago, I got an offer to interview actor Patrick Dempsey. I cover the health industry, and the Grey’s Anatomy star had recently funded a medical startup — so it was a good fit. I realize that not all writers have an opportunity like this fall into their laps, so I’ve gathered some insight to help you succeed at celebrity interviews.

Understand the nuances of the celebrity interview.

There are a few things that make interviewing a high-profile individual different from other interviews you have performed. First, there will likely be at least another person (the publicist) in the room or on the phone with you. The star’s availability might be tight, especially if you get to talk to them during a press tour. As such, you might have limited time to interview him or her. And then there may be restrictions on what you can or cannot ask the celebrity.

Another challenge may be making contact with your subject. Sometimes a celebrity’s publicist may reach out to you, which breaks down some of the barriers. But if you’re targeting a star on your own, it helps to have an outlet in mind — and an angle.

Track down publicists — and be persistent.

“Publicists tend to work with you more easily if you’ve gotten an assignment to write about their client,” said Michele Wojciechowski, a Maryland-based writer.

The first step is to reach out to the publicist to see if he or she can grant you the interview — even making contact there isn’t easy.

“You need to get creative,” Wojciechowski said. She recommends trying to contact publicists on IMDb Pro, which is a paid service. Googling the publicist is another option. “You’d be surprised how many people have their publicists listed on their own websites,” she said.

“It’s a good idea to try to secure an interview with a celebrity before pitching a publication.”

Of course writers cannot always secure a time to speak with the celebrity they desire. Sometimes, like magazine editors, the publicist will reject your request — or simply not respond to your inquiry.

“Usually, it’s not about you. So don’t blame the publicist,” Wojciechowski said. “And if you get turned down, always ask if there would be a better time to talk with the celeb.”

Also keep in mind that a publicist isn’t your only way “in” with a celebrity. Melanie Votaw, a writer from New York, wrote to a network to get an interview with Stuart Townsend about his role in the show Betrayal without a response until she reviewed the show and promoted it via social media. “When I requested an interview a second time, Stuart knew my name and consented [to an interview],” she said.

Have an angle in mind when pitching editors.

It’s a good idea to try to secure an interview with a celebrity before pitching a publication. Editors are going to want to know that you have an interview lined up, or a sure-thing connection to the celebrity.

“Have a good idea for a story and a market to sell it to,” said Joel Keller, a writer based in New Jersey. “Yes, you can get away with ‘Want a Q&A with so-and-so?’ especially if you have a relationship with an editor already. But, just like with non-celeb pitches, the editor will be looking for a story to hook to the celebrity.”

It might take a little back-and-forth with the editor, but if you can get the editor to confirm a spot for the interview, you can then let the publicist know you have secured a home for the article. He or she may then give it the green light. “The better a story it is, the better chance you’ll place the idea with a bigger pub that’ll carry more juice with the publicist,” Keller said.

Prepare your questions in advance.

As journalists, we’re used to “winging” interviews___ who hasn’t? The celebrity interview, on the other hand, is not one that can be improvised. Without planning, your interview could turn into a disaster and leave you with little material to deliver. A poor interview means the publicist won’t work with you in the future, may tell others about the bad experience and tarnish your reputation. That means that your editor may not publish the piece — or work with you again.

“I make sure to research the celebrity ahead of time, and I write my main questions out before the interview,” Wojciechowski said.

In my own experience, I find that high-profile celebrities often have a tight-knit group of publicists that want to evaluate your questions before you speak to the star or know if you will record the conversation (highly recommended) — another reason to gather your thoughts and jot down your questions long before the interview.

Do your homework and get the facts straight.

With a celebrity interview, it’s likely that the interviewee has had some poor experiences in the past with the press. He might be under constant fire for his professional choices, and have probably had untrue rumor spread about him.

“As journalists, we’re used to ‘winging’ interviews___ who hasn’t? The celebrity interview, on the other hand, is not one that can be improvised”

No matter how much you know about the celebrity, take a moment to Google the person. Look into recent headlines, as they may affect your story. If the piece is about a certain issue, try to educate yourself on it. One part of my Dempsey story that made it special was that the actor was supporting a startup that helped people get answers to their personal medical mysteries. I learned that Dempsey’s mother had ovarian cancer, so he understood how hard it was for families to receive an accurate diagnosis — something that brought out the human-interest side of the piece.

“Unless it’s a fact given to me by their publicist, I always ask them if something I read about them is true,” Wojciechowski said. “A few times, it hasn’t been, and that in itself led to some interesting anecdotes.”

Build a rapport with your star subject.

In addition to researching your subject, it’s vital to remain calm and be professional. “If you’re too much of a fan, it can make the celebrity uncomfortable,” Votaw said.

I never told Dempsey that I all but wore out the VHS tape of his ’80s flick Can’t Buy Me Love because I watched it so much___ and I never called him McDreamy or told him I had seen every episode of Grey’s Anatomy. Although I was nervous to interview one of my favorite actors, keeping a professional tone helped foster a better dialog.

Having a good connection with celebrity handlers can also be a plus. “They can be your best friend or they can be a brick wall,” Keller noted.

Keller had a great interview with comedian Louis Szekely, as Louis C.K., when the show Louie was being made. During the second season of the show, the actor had a different representative — someone Keller had a good relationship with. Still, he could not get an interview because the new rep only wanted high-profile coverage for the actor. “So the websites I was writing for didn’t cut it anymore,” he said. “It had nothing to do with my previous interview with Louie or my relationship with his new publicist. It’s all about the juice.”

Get on publicists’ A list.

One celebrity interview can’t make or break your career, but a good one can lead to more. After a good piece, the publicist might contact you for future stories, put you on their press list or share your contact details with colleagues.

“Once they know you’re easy to work with and that they can count on you to publish when you say you will, they will do their best to get you the interviews you want,” she said.

After the story publishes, it’s a nice touch to send the publicist your clip. Post the link of your interview on social media and tag your subject — that could make you a bit of a star if the celebrity shares it, too. And your editor will appreciate the traffic!

Kristen Fischer is the author of ‘When Talent Isn’t Enough: Business Basics for the Creatively Inclined’ (Career Press, 2013).

---

NEXT >> How to Land a Celebrity Journalism Gig

If, like me, you think spending two days in LL Cool J’s den co-writing a book or collaborating at 500 mph in an airplane with 50 Cent is the stuff dreams are made of, you’ll be aptly impressed with Jeff O’Connell, accomplished author and editor-in chief-of Bodybuilding.com. His main piece of industry wisdom is as unconventional as it is true: What you perceive as your weaknesses may actually be your greatest strengths. O’Connell’s strength is his preference to listen rather than speak, as evidenced by his confident yet soft-spoken voice. His laid-back nature as a reporter allows his story subjects to let down their guard and speak candidly during interviews. Here, O’Connell shares how he got his start, discusses his writing process, and offers advice on interviewing celebrities and honing your craft.

Name: Jeff O’Connell
Position: Editor-in-chief of Bodybuilding.com
Resume: Previously served as executive writer at Men’s Health and editor-in-chief at Muscle & Fitness; earned honorable mention in both The Best American Sports Writing and The Best American Science & Nature Writing anthologies; co-wrote The New York Times best seller LL Cool J’s Platinum Workout, Formula 50 with 50 Cent, Knockout Body with Mario Lopez, Jump-Off with Mark Jenkins, and Spartan Up! with Joe DeSena; released his book, Sugar Nation, in July 2011.
Birthdate: March 6
Hometown: Born in Baltimore, Maryland, and lives in Boise, Idaho
Education: University of California at Los Angeles (BS, MS)
Marital status: Single
Media mentors: The late Joe Weider, founder of Muscle & Fitness, Shape and many other magazines; Marc Gerald, who heads the literary division at The Agency Group (“We’ve done six books in 12 years on one handshake, and it’s been a great adventure”); and Bodybuilding.com CEO Ryan DeLuca (“for exemplifying inspiring and benevolent leadership”).
Best career advice received: “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
Last book read: The Climate Casino: Risk, Uncertainty, and Economics for a Warming World, by William D. Nordhaus, Ph.D.
Twitter handle: @sugar_nation

How did you get started as a fitness editor?
My career in publishing pretty much had an inauspicious start. I finished graduate school and was actually interviewing with the DEA and the FBI for a job, and I just decided at that point that I would be better suited to be a writer and an editor. I started applying for [these jobs], which was actually very difficult at the time — a lot of disappointments and close calls, in terms of finding a full-time position. So I did freelance gigs for a while. Then I got my training at a trade pub out of Santa Monica, and nine months after that I saw an ad for a copy editor at Muscle & Fitness, and that called to me because I [was already buying] that magazine off the newsstand. So, I applied for that. I actually didn’t get that job, but their sister title Flex needed a copy editor, and shortly thereafter they came back and offered that to me. Another year or two later, Muscle & Fitness brought me over to their title as a staff writer and I basically began building my career from there.

Tell us about the stories that earned you recognition in literary anthologies.
I’ve been honorably mentioned twice in the Best American Sports Writing. The first was the story of a man with the highest IQ on earth, and he was living in a shack on Long Island, living on $6,000 a year, lifting weights, bartending and writing a book on an alternative to the big bang theory. His theory was that the universe is contracting, not expanding, so that piece is called “Mr. Universe,” and it was in Muscle & Fitness. The other story was about a former Mr. America who was living as a caveman on Indian lands and in the mountains off Palm Springs. And that was called “Benny’s Nuts” and ran in Flex. So, I’m mostly interested in these characters who live off the grid, and of course for these magazines, you have to have some kind of connection to physical culture as well.

“It’s really important to find a niche that’s well calibrated to your interests, but also to your talent.”

I got honorable mention in the Best American Science and Nature Writing [anthology] for a piece I wrote called “Into Dark Waters” for Men’s Health when I was executive writer there, and that was an exploration of suicide among males. It was 2009, the height of the financial crisis and we were in the midst of two wars at the time. So I was really intrigued at that point by how some of those things were playing out in the psyches of a lot of men who were struggling. It was definitely an eye-opening piece. I’m glad that I wrote that. At the same time that I’d written the suicide piece, I’d also written a piece called “The Thin Man’s Diabetes” for Men’s Health, which then [evolved into] my book, Sugar Nation.

What’s your process for finding such fascinating human-interest stories?
The cool thing about Muscle & Fitness, you think of it as a niche fitness publication, but it’s great because [you can write about] any person who is involved in fitness, whether it’s an actor bulking up for a role, or an athlete, or just some interesting person who got fit. I found it tremendously liberating, and also it’s a great opportunity if you’re willing to dig around and listen to people for great stories. So a lot of it is just having a lot of contacts, listening well, just talking to people and oftentimes these ideas just come from conversations about something completely different [than the interview topic]. Maybe at the end of it they would just mention somebody; I’d prod a bit to find out more. The next thing you know, that’s a really interesting story. It’s not what we’ve talked about for the prior 15 minutes. So I’m a very inquisitive and curious person by nature. I’m much more of a listener than a talker, so it’s served me well in certain respects.

How did you become a New York Times best-selling author?
I like to thank LL Cool J because I made it as his co-author in 2006. It was the second workout book that I’d collaborated on. It was called Platinum Workout. And the first workout book I had done was, I think, one of the worst-selling fitness books of all time. It did terribly. My magazine career got off to a very rocky start. But I hooked up with LL Cool J on the book and it was a really good workout plan. I think we made it a fun read for people, and he just promoted it relentlessly when it launched. It was great to turn on the TV and see him on Rachael Ray and Ellen DeGeneres, you know, talking about our book.

What’s the process that goes into co-writing with a celebrity?
You know, I’ve done a book with 50 Cent, too. I do spend a lot of time with my co-author up front, rolling a lot of tape on them in different situations. I’ll travel around with them. I interviewed 50 Cent at length on a plane ride with Floyd Mayweather from the East Coast to the West Coast, just hanging out with them, [capturing] their voice and learning what they want to say in the book.

At that point, it’s me taking the transcriptions of those interviews and doing a lot of the work in terms of the draft. And then once the initial draft is done, I spend a lot of time with the subject, crafting it, really honing it, making sure it does reflect what they’ve said on tape. So, it is very much their voice. And they’ll be coming in, after the draft is done, and extensively working on it. But that book was very much LL Cool J’s book. We spent two days in his den going through the final version line by line. Not surprisingly, he had amazing instincts when it came to language and turns of phrase.

“Active listening is more than just hearing the words that are spoken. It’s about developing trust with your subject, guiding the conversation [and] holding eye contact.”

What advice would you give to newbie writers and editors?
To me, writing is mostly about re-writing. I wish I was somebody that could sit down and bang out 1,000 or 2,000 perfect words, but I’m not. A lot times I can be a perfectionist, and that can be really paralyzing, so I think that it’s important to just get something down on the screen or the page and realize that you’re going to work it over multiple times anyway, so you might as well get started. I admire writers who can just crank out something incredible right off the bat, but for me, I really do have to shape something that I’ve done initially.

And then it’s important to find a niche that’s well calibrated to your interests, but also to your talent. I think health and fitness is really well aligned with both of those things for me. I think I was able to reach the top of the field in health and fitness, whereas maybe in some other fields it may have been more difficult. I don’t think I would have ever reached the top of the masthead at The Economist, for example.

Do you think that’s because you happen to know and care a lot about your subject?
Yeah, it’s helpful if it’s your passion and if you’re a practitioner of the field. You know, I’m probably never going to write a novel, but I write well enough to write really good service journalism, and that’s what you need in health and fitness. Making sure your interests are very well aligned with what you’re actually pursuing; I think that’s important. If you want to write fiction, but you’re limited chops-wise, there’s no shame in treating that as a hobby. But I think some people are really delusional in thinking that will become a career.

What interviewing or reporting tips do you have?

Reporting for me is about listening, first and foremost: listening to sources, listening to colleagues and listening to anyone with something relevant about the subject at hand. Active listening is more than just hearing the words that are spoken. It’s about developing trust with your subject, guiding the conversation [and] holding eye contact. That’s why I tape a lot and have it transcribed. I want to really be in the moment with the subject when I’m interviewing that person. I don’t want to be scrambling, scribbling notes down frantically the whole time.

So much of it is making the other person comfortable, especially if you do a celebrity interview. They’re so on guard, they’re so wary to begin with. You basically have 45 minutes or maybe an hour in certain situations, to get to the real stuff and release very intimate details. I’m a very laid-back person, so I think that helps me, because sometimes people relax when they’re with me… whereas if you’re kind of intense and aggressive, they tend to recoil from that.

Something I thought would be a liability when I got into this business, which was being kind of shy and quiet and a listener, has actually helped me along the way. Don’t assume what you think are your weaknesses won’t help you at some point. It just depends on what you’re doing.

Amanda Layman Low is a freelance writer and artist. Contact her on Twitter @AmandaLaymanLow.

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I had been working as a freelance writer for about four years when I noticed that one of my clients had an opening for a full-time writer. At the time, my husband was unemployed and we had a 2-year-old who depended on us, and although my income was plenty in the good months, the lean months were legitimately scary.

If the potential for a steady income wasn’t motivation enough, I couldn’t deny the nagging feeling that I was missing out on something by working in solitude. I wondered about the office camaraderie my peers talked about, and the sense of accomplishment and loyalty that could come from working regularly for one company. Well, as it turns out, maybe I am a corporate ladder kind of girl. Here’s what I’ve learned about myself as a person and as a writer since making this switch.

I can focus on what I do best: writing.

I’ve met some freelancers who are proficient at wearing all the “hats” — researching, marketing, social networking, accounting and business planning. I certainly enjoyed many of those aspects as a freelancer, but I wasn’t great at them, and my opportunities were limited because of it. Now, because I have a very clear role as a writer within a company, I’m not concerned with finding jobs or crunching numbers. I wake up, sit down at my desk and write. Occasionally I edit or help with quality assurance. But as a result of this narrowed focus and frequent feedback, my writing has improved. Which brings me to___

“Now, because I have a very clear role as a writer within a company, I’m not concerned with finding jobs or crunching numbers. I wake up, sit down at my desk and write.”

There are new opportunities for growth.

Sure, my title, sales and technical writer, sounds very specialized, and it can be the upper limit or end goal if I want it to be. But actually learning about what my coworkers do on a daily basis — editors, project managers, creative directors, marketing and sales professionals — allows me to imagine where I might be 10 or 20 years from now. With freelancing, the main growth opportunity was to find higher-paying jobs, but without the experience or connections, it might have taken me years to earn even what I’m earning now.

The team environment is fulfilling.

I had little to go on, because I’d never held a professional job outside of freelance writing, but if my years as a server and bartender taught me anything, I knew that I enjoyed working with other people. I love giving and receiving feedback, small talk and big talk. And although I still work from home, I’m on the phone or instant messaging the same group of coworkers daily. Even from 600 miles away, we’re sharing ideas and advice, joking around and becoming friends.

I’m broadening my areas of expertise.

Another amazing aspect of working with others is the frequency of learning opportunities. Sure, I made a point of reading and learning when I worked as a freelancer, but the deliberate mentorship I’ve received at my new job is pushing me in ways I wouldn’t have explored on my own. I’m writing scripts for animated videos, documents to guide salespeople through a sale, and internal marketing materials to brand and promote our company. I’m delving into ad writing and copywriting, storyboarding and more.

“The mentorship I’ve received at my new job is pushing me in ways I wouldn’t have explored on my own.”

Any freelance work I do is a bonus.

Obviously I’m still freelancing, or you wouldn’t be reading this. But now I have the freedom to be more selective about the outlets I write for and the stories I write. I don’t have to take every little job that comes my way because money is no longer the driver. I choose to freelance because I love to share information and stories with the world, and any work I do becomes more rewarding to me.

I’m learning a lot about why I write and who I am.

When I was a full-time freelancer, every moment was an opportunity for more income, more ideas. I never stopped working. As a salaried technical writer, I work from 8 to 5, Monday through Friday, with no worries about missing an opportunity and losing out on a bunch of money over the weekend. With my new routine, I have extracted myself from my work; and as it turns out, there was an interesting person buried under all that stress and obsession.

I had always used my writer status as my main identifier because it represented everything I wanted to be perceived as: smart, witty, creative, a little secretive. But by putting my writing into a box labeled “my job” and turning off the computer at 5 p.m. every day, I’m allowing myself the freedom to emerge into the world as just a person. And it turns out, it’s so much more rewarding to live and actually be smart, witty, creative and secretive around real humans than to sit at home and only be perceived as those things.

I won’t say that going from freelance to salaried employee is right for everyone. As I mentioned, I’ve met plenty of freelancers who truly excel at wearing multiple hats, and who wouldn’t trade their independence (or even all that tax-time stress) for anything. But for me, I believe I’ve made a good choice. Regardless of where I am 20 years from now, even if I’m freelancing again, I know I’ll be armed with a new array of skills and a level of confidence I wouldn’t have had otherwise.

Amanda Layman Low is a freelance writer and artist. Contact her on Twitter @AmandaLaymanLow.

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