Like me, you probably tuned in to the Olympic ceremonies, wondering how mortals could pull off such an awe-inspiring spectacle. Or perhaps on New Year‘s Eve, clad in pajamas, you’ve rocked out to the music and dizzying aerial views of shivering crowds in Times Square. Maybe you clear your schedule annually to catch the Super Bowl Halftime shows or the exuberant Victoria’s Secret fashion shows.

Regardless of your propensity for live television events, there’s a good chance you’ve tuned in to one (or many) of Hamish Hamilton’s ambitious productions at some point in your life. You have seen the end results, now here’s a peek at the hectic pre-production world of these events — from the perspective of this award-winning live television director and producer.

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Name: Hamish Hamilton
Position: Live event director and producer, Done and Dusted
Resume: His directing career began at the BBC in Scotland, and he has most recently directed the 2013 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, 2013 MTV Music Awards and Super Bowl XLVII Halftime Show. Next up for him is the 2014 Super Bowl Halftime Show. Hamish is also a Grammy, Emmy and 2013 BAFTA award winner.
Birthdate: April 8, 1966
Hometown: London
Marital status: Married
Media mentor(s): David Mallet, Julia Knowles
Best career advice received: Enjoy the way up, as the way down sucks.
Last book read: Tired of Being Tired, by Jesse Lynn Hanley
Website: DoneAndDusted.com

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How did you become the go-to guy for these huge productions?
I came into the entertainment world as a director at the BBC and became a live event director, which means doing an awful lot of music. As I’ve traveled through my career I’ve stepped sideways, from music to things far from music like the London Olympic and Paralympic opening and closing ceremonies. I’ve also done theater pieces. But my work usually involves an event that is live in front of a group of people, and sometimes also live on television.

What do your days and weeks typically look like leading up to an event?
I would say the minimum planning period is between six and nine months, but it can be multiple years. The first few months are lots of discussion. It’s so varied; there is no such thing as a kind of a standard show that I do, really, but six months prior we’ll talk about what the show will be, the design, the visuals, the narrative. If you have those down, you can get into more intricate production details like locations, talent, storyline and sets. For example, the Super Bowl took about a year to plan, while the Olympics took about three years.

In the few weeks before a big show it’s almost a 24-hour-a-day thing. So many things have to get decided, discussed, analyzed and executed. I know a lot of people who work in film; their timelines are a lot longer than ours. Sort of like a war of attrition, they go for weeks and weeks, weeks and weeks.

“If you take the timeline of a film and literally turn it on its end — that’s what we do because we have to make a huge number of decisions in a very small space of time.”

But if you take the timeline of a film and literally turn it on its end — that’s what we do because we have to make a huge number of decisions in a very small space of time, more so on rehearsal days, and even more so on event days especially if you’re live. The rehearsal days are intense, long, demanding, physically exhausting, mentally exhausting. You have to make very big decisions quite quickly. I try to get a lot of sleep. It’s crucial to be mentally fit on show day. That said, I normally put in between 14- and 16-hour work days.

Having done so many diverse projects, I’ve learned how to control my energy so that I’ve got enough left for the live shows — the last thing you want is to show up to direct a live show being completely and utterly exhausted. That’s really where you need to make lighting-shot decisions. Genuinely, it sounds ridiculous, but I get B12, I exercise and I relax because I have to; otherwise, I would just be anxious or have negative energy. I try to flip it on its head; I try to be the one on the production who’s smiling and happy and confident.

I think it’s really important to remember I’m blessed to work in this incredible field. I made a conscious decision on the Olympics [that] however unbelievably dark it might get, I wasn’t going to go dark; I was going to remain positive. I was blessed to be directing in my hometown, working for the Oscar winner Danny Boyle, who is a creative genius. He’s unbelievably talented and a wonderful gentleman, but he had some creatively and technically crazy requests.

What happens when something on the production side goes wrong during a show?
We were doing a U2 show in Milan many years ago, and the generators broke down and we lost everything. In that kind of situation, you’ve just got to laugh. What can you do, you know? So we had to get a new generator and hook it up. We lost about 20 minutes and went back to work, fortunately. But what are you going to do?

Then, at the 2013 VMAs we had the most disastrous, monumental technical breakdown 30 minutes before we went on air. The entire stage, which was supposed to rotate 360 degrees, became jammed. We were faced with the very real possibility there would be no show. It was one of those moments that’s kind of a nightmare; something you think isn’t ever going to happen. I just went cold. But you just deal with it. You know, when you have a lot of really great people thinking calmly, out of the box, and working as a team to do something difficult, that’s very important. It’s actually bizarre because a lot of people don’t even notice, the program isn’t usually affected — and we had Miley Cyrus and the twerking incident, which kind of overshadowed everything!

It’s very easy for anyone who works with these live shows to go to a place where you’re snapping at people or you’re being curt or rude. If you’re the best at what you do, you really have to be able to deal with it and hope to just rise to the occasion. A few times on live television I wasn’t smiling, but I don’t think I ever lost my temper. I hope that people would say that I’m reasonably relaxed and controlled in my approach to people.

“As the director of a live show, you have an enormous weight of responsibility on your shoulders to do justice to these amazing performers.”

How do you deal with celebrities behaving badly?
Celebrities always behave badly. People watching modern television insist they want to see celebrities, so we have celebrities, and actually when they misbehave, those are some great television moments. Kanye West standing up on stage [at the VMAs] was like, “What the f*ck’s happening here?” But then you think, “This is f*cking great for the ratings.” And it’s the same with Miley, you go, this is gonna kick off! So, you know, I don’t think you’ll find a live director who would want to do shows where celebrities behave themselves all the time.

What are some of your most memorable directing experiences?
I was directing U2 at their lifetime achievement performance, and I had a tear in my eyes. I’m like, “I can’t believe this is happening.” I had another U2 experience when I went live with this amazing tracking shot, and you can actually see me going, “I f*cking love my job!” screaming like a lunatic. As a young boy I queued to buy U2 records. To be working with them was an unbelievable joy!

I’ve also loved directing Robbie Williams… Peter Gabriel or the Super Bowl — [at first] I didn’t really get it because I’m a Brit, but then I’m thinking, “Wow, this is really f*cking enormous.” The Madonna show [I did] was great, and Beyonce[‘s], that was special — they both taught me a lot, and their excellence propelled me to try to be as good as them. As the director of a live show, you have an enormous weight of responsibility on your shoulders to do justice to these amazing performers, which is really important to me.

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

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NEXT >> So What Do You Do, Joe Raiola, MAD Senior Editor and John Lennon Tribute Executive Producer?

Tiffany Shlain, vibrant and charming with her bright lipstick and snazzy fedoras, has catapulted her series, The Future Starts Here, to the top of AOL On Originals‘ list of most-watched shows. She talks candidly to the viewer, punctuating her concerns about society with humor and anecdotes from her own life. But Shlain is much more than the onscreen talent: She is an award-winning filmmaker, the founder of the Webby Awards and a popular lecturer and advocate for social change regarding technology and work-life balance.

With her high level of productivity, Shlain seems to squeeze 25 hours out of each day, while deeply enjoying both her work and relaxation time; her whole family completely unplugs from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday for a “Technology Shabbat.” Both Shlain’s colorful films and the woman herself are like a tonic to our digitally saturated minds.

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Name: Tiffany Shlain
Position: Filmmaker
Resume: Founder of the Webby Awards, co-founder of the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences. Shlain has had four films premiere at Sundance including her 2011 documentary “Connected,” and her films and work have earned 60 awards and distinctions, including the honor of having a spot in the U.S. State Department’s American Film Showcase.
Birthdate: April 8, 1970
Hometown: Mill Valley, Calif.
Education: UC Berkeley
Marital status: Married (for 16 years!)
Media mentor: The actor and playwright Anna Deavere Smith
Best career advice received: Elevate the conversation. Use whatever platform is available to trigger societal change.
Last book read: Daily Rituals: How Artists Work, by Mason Currey. “It talks about daily practices of famous writers and artists throughout history, and what their day and creative process were like.”
Twitter handle: @TiffanyShlain

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How did you discover your passion for filmmaking?
Every Sunday growing up, we would go to the movies, then dinner and ice cream. After, we would sit and wrestle with the ideas [from] the movie. It was very much a part of my upbringing — to use films as triggers for important conversations. But I never thought I could actually be a filmmaker because I was supposed to be a doctor. Everyone in my family was supposed to be a doctor!

When I went to Berkeley, I took this wonderful class, the history of film. I had a great professor, who had this infectious enthusiasm about how technology had changed filmmaking and culture — I was so inspired by her. That’s when I knew I was going to be a filmmaker.

After graduating from Berkeley, I kind of went back and forth between making films and working in technology to pay for my films. At one point, I had been working on a CD-ROM for the musician Sting, and somebody said, “You have to see this thing called the Web.” When I saw the Web I was like, “That’s going to change the world.”

I came back to San Francisco and I was given the opportunity to create the Webby Awards from scratch. They had no budget, and I said, “I know how to do things with no budget! I’m a filmmaker!” So we created the Webby Awards in the early days of the Web, which was very exciting. We used to make a lot of films about how technology was changing our lives, and those films would kick off our show for the Webbys. As soon as the films were able to be shown on the Internet, I wanted to get back to filmmaking combined with the power of the Web to trigger important conversations. So it was kind of full circle from when I was a kid.

“It’s a very exciting time to be a filmmaker. You can make films from your cell phone, you can raise money on Kickstarter or Indiegogo, you can broadcast on YouTube… the world is yours.”

Is the fusion of technology and culture where you primarily get your inspiration for your films?
I think I’m very curious about a lot of things, and usually [my] films are based on something I’m wrestling with, or trying to figure out, or something I hope the larger public will discuss and try to figure out collectively.

You’re a writer, director and you’re on screen — could you tell me about how you do so much, and what your days look like?
By no means do I do it alone. I’ve worked with the same team for years — my favorite part of doing anything is the collaborative aspect of it. I usually write with three or four people and we’re passing scripts back and forth, so that part is really exciting. Doing the AOL series on top of [another] film we’re finishing was really an exercise in efficiency: getting up at five in the morning and writing until seven, being with my kids before they go to school, going to work, working while [my kids are] sleeping.

Right now I’m making a lot of things, but there’s also a period where I do have to travel — for example, the U.S. State Department is sending me to the Middle East to show my films as a cultural ambassador. Every couple months I go to screenings and events.… To be a mom the way I want to be a mom, and to live this wonderful life as a filmmaker, I can only [go to about] 2 percent of the film festivals I’m invited to. When I [do] go, I go for a crazy short amount of time, and in my mind I think, “To do both, that’s what I have to do.”

In your AOL series, you talk about having one day a week when your family unplugs — your “Technology Shabbat.” What’s that like, and does it help you with your work/life balance?
I’m a mother who’s very into being with my kids when they come home from school, but I’m trying to maximize my creative time, which has been a big focus in the last couple of years. I have been so on fire creatively, and I also love being with my kids, so I unplug on the weekends. I feel like I’ve gotten a lot more productive… when I really give myself a full break.

There’s a point where I need to do something so I keep a pad of paper and I just write down things I’m worried I’ll forget. It’s almost like I’m emptying my anxiety. Usually, it will be three or four things I’ll write down, and then it goes away, and that whole next day I feel awesome. Time goes very slowly, which is what you want on Saturday. And it’s not like we wait for the sun to absolutely drop before we go back online. I love technology, but everything in moderation.

What career advice would you give to aspiring filmmakers?
There are so many tools available to experiment and play. It’s a very exciting time to be a filmmaker. You can make films from your cell phone, you can raise money on Kickstarter or Indiegogo, you can broadcast on YouTube…the world is yours. Episode five, Participatory Revolution, talks a lot about the opportunities that are available for filmmakers today.

“I feel like the Internet was the tool that the feminist movement always needed.”

I believe good films find their audience. I think really special and unique perspectives always work their way out. That’s what I love about the Web, really amazing stuff floats around and everyone hears about it. You get 20 tweets and emails the same day about the same thing — there are so many ways for people to communicate something exciting.

Any advice for working parents?
Make your own schedule. Or talk to your boss about a more flexible schedule. I think that what the Internet has given our generation is this kind of flexibility to work in new, creative ways that our mothers did not have. I have friends who work for corporations, but most of my friends work from home as consultants or own their own business. I feel like the Internet was the tool that the feminist movement always needed.

With the corporate structure, you’re [still] not going home until 6 p.m. When your kids get to fourth grade, they really need you for homework and emotionally after 3 p.m. So I don’t think that a corporate structure that was built by men, coming home at 6 p.m. or later, works.

I work as much as anybody else but I do it in a creative way. I don’t watch a lot of TV. I do get up early in the morning, and then when my kids get up, I’m with them, I take them to school, I work. I’m with my kids after school, and then I work when they’re sleeping. Collectively it’s the same amount of hours; it’s just different hours than normal. And, two of those days I’m working straight through. But it’s important to have creativity and flexibility with work, for both men and women.

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

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NEXT >> So What Do You Do, Tracey Edmonds, Award-Winning TV and Film Producer?

I sit, facing my laptop, at a sleek cherrywood desk that was designed and built by my father. I have a green banker’s lamp — a writer’s talisman I had set my heart on at a young age. In front of me, my art: three white squares with handmade paper flowers glued in the middle.

It wasn’t always this simple. I look back four years, when I wallpapered my office with magazine covers and art. I had kept my pet rabbit pen and bird cage nearby, overwhelming the room with a cloud of ammonia. My bird would scream for attention while I tried to focus. The rest of my apartment wasn’t much better — I had too much furniture, too many wall hangings and closets full of untouched stuff.

It’s no wonder I did the majority of my writing at a local caf_?.

My recent conversion to minimalism complements my work as a freelancer. But minimalism, for me, isn’t about challenging myself to see how few things I can possibly hang onto. It’s about rearranging my life around my priorities — a practice that even the hoarders with the largest stash could benefit from.

Adopting a Uniform

The first and easiest thing to minimize was my physical appearance. I love a comfortable, practical pajama as much as the next freelancer, but I’ve found that having a set uniform has two powerful results: First, I don’t waste any time deciding what to wear. I grab one of two black shirts, and one of my two pairs of pants. I don’t have to rifle through hanger after hanger in my closet, because I’ve whittled down my wardrobe to about 20 items — shoes included, gender stereotypes be damned. And because I wear my uniform during work hours, I get the satisfaction of changing into my beloved sweatpants at the end of the day.

“Simplifying personal behaviors, like enjoying one thing at a time and being present for important moments, can serve you personally and professionally.”

The other result of my simplified wardrobe is that I take myself seriously. If those in offices are told to dress for the job they’re striving to have, where does that leave freelancers? We, too, have to dress like the writers we want to become. I don’t envision myself 10 years from now speaking at conferences and promoting my book clad in reindeer print pajamas. Although, then again, that would be kind of awesome. (Will somebody do this, please?)

A Better Balance with My Personal Life

Anyone who works from home knows that it’s difficult to keep personal space separate from work space. I made three major changes to my home environment, each of which has benefited my work life. The first is the most profound: I moved the TV out of the living room. Now, when I’m taking lunch breaks, I sit down at the dining room table and don’t get sucked in to some Full House rerun or episode of Anderson Live. At night, when I’m home with my husband and daughter, we play together in the living room instead of zoning out in front of a movie. This reduction in screen time makes it easier on my eyes and body to sit down in front of the computer, renewed, at the beginning of a work day.

The second change is reducing my kitchen and food supply to its bare essentials — and cleaning up immediately after a meal or snack. Before, I’d dirty up the kitchen all day making coffee, grabbing snacks and fixing lunch. After I picked up my daughter from daycare, I’d be scrambling to keep her entertained while trying to find space on the counter to cut up vegetables. Now, my home is a blank slate when I switch from writer to family mode.

Finally, I cancelled our cell phone contract and replaced it with a land line. Not only are we saving $150 a month, but I don’t get caught up in spontaneous text conversations and the sound quality is much better than my former cell phone.

A Minimalist Mindset

Organizing and getting rid of your stuff does nothing if you neglect the most important environment: your internal one. Simplifying personal behaviors, like enjoying one thing at a time, knowing when to relax and when to work hard, and being present for important moments, can serve you personally and professionally.

This element, for me, is a major work in progress. I inherited Type A tendencies from my parents, who both are constantly moving, improving and achieving. I jolt awake from sleep and immediately start addressing tasks on my mental to-do lists. Even during heavy conversations with my husband, I get up to do dishes. When my husband pointed this out, I stopped, and five minutes later — without realizing it — I was wandering out of the room to start laundry.

Most people have a number of things they’d like to change about themselves, but few make these changes because they are far too complicated or ambitious. I have found that the most effective way to simplify your mind is to choose one thing — the most important thing — and focus on that until it becomes a habit. My first goal was to be fully present when my daughter returned home from daycare. It had been a major source of stress (and irony) that I missed my daughter like crazy during the day, but was so exhausted and overwhelmed at night that I’d ignore her in favor of getting everything cleaned up and ready for the next day.

“It’s a challenge to think small in a world that’s telling you to go big.”

Once I mastered this, I tackled a much larger goal: I quit smoking cigarettes. It was difficult to feel at peace when my body needed a constant influx of chemicals. Despite how grueling the withdrawal period was, I now feel an overarching sense of calm.

When discovering ways to simplify your mind, start with the thing that troubles you the most, or disrupts your life the most. It could be as simple as making room for an old favorite hobby, or cutting out an activity that clutters your schedule. It could mean reducing your caffeine intake or doing jumping jacks throughout your day.

It’s a challenge to think small in a world that’s telling you to go big. It also goes against our nesting nature to get rid of anything that we might just possibly use again in the future. And it is scary to eliminate the physical and mental clutter, to strip our environments and selves down to their essences, because suddenly we’re facing reality — no gimmicks, no bells and whistles. You may not like what you see. But without really examining how you’re spending your time, money and energy, you can’t possibly know how to save your time, money and energy. You don’t need to make a giant leap into full-fledged minimalism, but try stepping back from the madness and making a tiny change to reclaim what you really want out of life. You may be surprised at the results.

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

@AmandaLaymanLow.

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NEXT >> Balancing Your Freelance Life With Your Personal Life

In the three weeks or so that have elapsed since Shirley Halperin interviewed Justin Bieber for today’s big Hollywood Reporter cover story, all sorts of crazy reports about the singer have circulated. The outlandish items have touched on everything from the identity of the woman who photographed him sleeping and an alleged place of
ill repute in Brazil to some pet-monkey fees still
outstanding in Germany.

With a lead-in like that, Halperin’s cover story is bound to be read by far more than just the usual hardcore Justin Bieber crowd. He’s appeared on a number of other magazine covers this year, including Teen Vogue and Billboard, but the THR feature really sits, more so than the others, in the eye of the Bieber storm.

When we spoke with Halperin, she was getting ready to do a fourth draft of the cover story, something she says is pretty standard for Hollywood Reporter cover assignments. We began by asking how difficult it was to pin down the hard-partying, globe-trotting Bieber.

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Name: Shirley Halperin
Position: Music editor, The Hollywood Reporter
Resume: The two key things to know about Halperin are that she has been writing about music since the mid-1990s and first began working for Janice Min in 2002 at Us Weekly. These two strands have come together beautifully in recent years for Halperin at THR, where she has been responsible since 2010 for many coverage highlights. Halperin is also the author of several books and has previously worked for High Times, Bop, Teen People, Entertainment Weekly and the LA Times.
Birthdate: July 18
Hometown: East Brunswick, N.J.
Education: Rutgers University
Marital status: Married
Media mentor: The late Timothy White (Billboard editor-in-chief from 1991 to 2002)
Best career advice received: Breathe.
Guilty pleasure: Sleep
Last book read: Methland: The Death and Life of an American Small Town
Twitter handle: @shirleyhalperin

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How did the interview with Justin Bieber come about?
This is a story I had been chasing for a long time, five or six months. [His PR team] finally gave us the opportunity, and I think a lot of that is a testament to The Hollywood Reporter. It’s really such a huge get. I did the interview with him in person, just before he left for South America, where all the craziness has happened.

It was definitely a matter of convincing the Bieber camp that this would be a good forum for him, where he could not necessarily defend his actions, but defend his art. I think they knew that they would get a really beautiful-looking cover, a well-written, in-depth fair story. I think all these things came into consideration, but [then it’s about] bugging the camp… and just constantly going, “When are we going to do the cover?”

What’s your sense of Bieber after having spent time with him — is he misunderstood, misrepresented?
That is basically the cover story. Is he misunderstood? Is his camp complicit in any of this? Is this [negative publicity] some sort of attempt to change his image in a radical way? All of these questions are addressed in the piece. And those are the exact same questions that I would have as a casual observer of Bieber. You know, what’s really going on over there? Without giving away too much, I tried to get to the bottom of it.

“It was definitely a matter of convincing the Bieber camp that this would be a good forum for him, where he could not necessarily defend his actions, but defend his art.”

Did anything about Bieber’s physical appearance really surprise you, compared to the last time you interviewed him? [Halperin has also seen Bieber perform at various locations, including a concert in Israel.]

Yes. The tattoos. He’s really covered in tattoos now, and it was a very striking difference from the last time I interviewed him in 2011. At that time, he was just this sweet little kid. I remember that it was such a big deal that we changed his hair style for the cover.

Now, he is covered in tattoos and he just looks like a different person because of that. It’s very striking. And his new movie, which the story is pegged to — it comes out in December — the first scene of the movie is him playing piano, and you just see his arms full of ink. That, more than anything, tells you that this is a different Bieber.

The one challenging thing about writing this piece is that there were so many different ways into it. There were literally six or seven completely different ledes, angles, focuses that I could have done. It was really coming up with the one that was most relevant for right now — that also appealed to Janice and our deputy editorial director, Mark Miller, and was also a really interesting read, [one] that felt exciting. But there were so many different ways to do that.
In the conversations that we’ve had about Min, that’s always what comes up about her. Her intuitive sense of what angle to play at any given time.
She’s so good at it. Reading the temperature of the culture, what people want to talk about, what people want to hear about… What they don’t know yet that they want to talk about. I started working for Janice in 2002 at Us Weekly. So I’ve really seen the magic of Janice Min.

You’ve been covering music for a long time, and you sit in a very privileged position with The Hollywood Reporter today. What has that journey been like for you?
I was at Rutgers and working on the school paper, which I loved. It was a very exciting time musically. It was the early 90s. Grunge, indie rock and everything was happening at the same time. I still remember, very distinctly, where I was when I heard “Smells Like Teen Spirit” for the first time.

After college — I didn’t graduate, I just sort of left — I didn’t want to give journalism up, so I started a fanzine, Smug. It was newsprint. It was only distributed in New York and New Jersey originally, and it was all about music. Our first issue was a little bit more of a think piece. I didn’t know it was called “think piece” at the time; it was about ‘where do you find Paul’s Boutique‘ [and] about the Beastie Boys having such an influence on the suburbs, on these kids and what that meant for the culture [and] the music. I’m sure it was a terrible piece; I haven’t read it since 1995. But it was ambitious and a bit like what I still do today, which is really strange to be able to say.

I did the fanzine for five years. I had also interned for High Times in college and continued there full time [afterward]. I started out as photo editor, then was an editor, then managing editor. Then I went into teen magazine world. I went to work at Bop [at] the height of Backstreet Boys and N’Sync. I covered that whole scene; it was when I first interviewed Justin Timberlake.

“I still remember, very distinctly, where I was when I heard ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ for the first time.”

At what point did you make the move from the East Coast to the West Coast?
[In] 2005. I was covering a concert for Rolling Stone, which is a sister publication to Us. It was a Gram Parsons tribute concert at the Santa Barbara Bowl. I remember I was driving back to L.A. on the [Pacific Coast Highway] and it was like, “I want to live here. This is where I belong.” I called my husband and asked him what he thought and he said, “Yup, let’s do it.”

My husband [Thom Monahan] is a music producer. He produces really awesome bands and cool records. When I met him, he was in a band that I loved, called The Pernice Brothers. He’s really thrived out here. He works with Chris Robinson — he’s in Sweden right now working with Peter, Bjorn and John. This whole West Coast thing has been really good for him.

Do you work with freelancers?
Yes, quite a few. I edit all their copy, but otherwise, it’s just me. There’s no other music person at THR. Every original, non-aggregated story that is conceived on the website is coming through me. We don’t really do album reviews. We do write a lot about sales and the business. Billboard is our sister magazine, so it’s amazing that we have all those resources: the charts, the numbers, the data.

We cover the business of music, which is so interesting these days. Not only is the business itself at a time of transition, but music is also everywhere, in movies, in TV shows. We write entire articles about the last song of Breaking Bad. That is an interesting, new way to cover music that I don’t think existed as much when I was coming up in the rock journalism world.

Richard Horgan is co-editor of FishbowlNY.

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NEXT >> So What Do You Do, Ryan Schreiber, Founder and CEO of Pitchfork?

When I quit my day job four years ago to become a freelance writer, I aggressively threw myself into the digital and physical world. I signed on to Elance, Examiner and content farms. I tacked up flyers around town advertising my services, called local businesses asking if they needed my help and proselytized former professors and friends about the array of writing and editing I could do. On the side, I did commissioned artwork and opened an Etsy store to sell my existing paintings.

Despite this lofty expenditure of energy, I had little success. In three months I made $100 on Elance, $30 on Examiner and averaged $30 a day writing content-farm material. In my desperate attempt to do everything, I did nothing — and earned nothing.

Then I honed in, focusing on copyediting, parenting essays and service pieces on writing. Ironically, narrowing my focus broadened my opportunities. Though the sporadic nature and pay of our work as freelancers makes it tempting to cultivate every random idea, here’s my advice: don’t. Specialize first, and branch out within your specialty. Here’s how.

Become an expert

Whether you’re a new freelancer or an established one, you may already gravitate toward a specific subject or two. Focus on a topic you’re truly interested in, and the writing will come naturally. Don’t worry about markets just yet. There are paying markets for every niche, and you’ll land those gigs if your work is strong.

“Though the sporadic nature and pay of our work as freelancers makes it tempting to cultivate every random idea, here’s my advice: don’t.”

Camilla McLaughlin, a real estate writer for more than 20 years, fell into real estate writing from a place of passion. “I have worked with an architect and had my house designed and built. I’ve bought new houses and old houses, so I have those insights___ It just gives me a little background. Once you start writing in a specialty and you do it for awhile, you just start to accumulate a lot of knowledge.”

Nicola Joyce has been a freelance fitness writer, based in England, since 2004, when she sold her first piece on her experience swimming the English Channel. “It was always my intention to be the go-to person in my field,” she says of being a writer specializing in fitness. “After nearly nine years, I think this has slowly become the case.”

Reaching out across social media can boost your presence and reliability as an expert in a specific field. Joyce uses social media to “communicate and share relevant, useful information. I position myself not just as an expert voice but as a curator of information and a knowledge hub.” Alerting your readership to news and the work of other writers in your field not only expands your own knowledge, but also generates interest in you as a writer and person.

Choose opportunities wisely

You cultivate your career with both opportunities you accept and those you pass up. Rae Francoeur operates the New Arts Collaborative, a creative services business, after decades of writing and editing on the subjects of fine and literary arts. She recounts a job offer she had as a night editor. “It was a step up for me, but I was a single parent and the commute was a long one. I tried it out; I spent two weeks there, and I just couldn’t do it. It was too disruptive to my daughter. I often tell my friends, just because there is an opportunity, it doesn’t mean you have to take it. There are times I think people should say no and try to stick to the track that they really want to be on.”

If the pay is too low, the amount of work too demanding or the subject is outside of your area of interest, don’t be afraid to say no. A former client connected me with a man who needed help getting his mystery novel published, and when I read his email it seemed that what he really needed was a literary agent. I could have given him advice, working as a sort of consultant. But he seemed a little too proud and inflexible, and I wasn’t sure I would enjoy working with someone like that. Additionally, this type of work wasn’t in line with the direction I wanted my career to follow, so I politely declined.

“One of the most rewarding aspects of specializing is enabling yourself to write what you love.”

Joyce emphasizes the importance of finding paid opportunities, even as a newcomer. “Don’t write for free. It devalues what we, and you, do. Explore the extra avenues of digital. Digital publications often need content for more than main features___ snippets to promote forthcoming issues of a magazine, promotional content for eBooks and add-ons and content to tie in with social media projects.”

McLaughlin also highlights how opportunities can unfold within your specialty if you get creative with it. “Real estate writing can be a story about a property, home or commercial. It can be about an unusual renovation or the experience of the homeowner with the property. Keep a pretty broad focus [within your field of interest], and follow every avenue that you can.”

Never stop honing your specialty

Getting your name and face out into the world can be intimidating, but you don’t have to reinvent the wheel to do it. Start by having your byline out there, Francoeur suggests. Also, consider writer’s conferences, book expos and blog conventions. Joyce accumulates fitness knowledge by signing up for email alerts from fitness organizations, attending business networking and industry-related events, and she is also a member of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) in the UK and Ireland and the Fitness Writers’ Association. McLaughlin connects with local editors and homeowners and attends trade shows to keep her finger on the pulse of real estate.

Or, if you’re a bit of an entrepreneur like Francoeur, consider coordinating your own events. Francoeur has put on literary panels, regional writers conferences and fundraisers to benefit her community. This type of effort may seem Herculean, but even a handful of literary connections can be enough to pull a conference together and get the word out. However, for writers looking to start on a smaller scale and earn some extra income, Francoeur says, “I have friends who have writers groups in their homes for a fee. You can put it on Craigslist or MeetUp, or just posting something in the library.”

Pursue your passion

One of the most rewarding aspects of specializing is enabling yourself to write what you love. Joyce shares this sentiment about her fitness writing, “I sometimes work seven days a week and often start earlier than I would have if I was still in house. But I never feel like I’m working.” Specialization may sound like something you have to fall into by luck, like Internet stardom or lottery winnings. But in reality, if you make valuable contacts with people in your field and take time to brainstorm new or unusual outlets for your writing, you can fuel your career by writing only what you love.

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

@AmandaLaymanLow.

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NEXT >> Finding The Right Market For Your Work

You’re passionate about food, and have devoted hundreds of hours to your food blog. But is it realistically possible to make a career out of cooking, taste-testing, and talking about food to anyone who will listen?

Adam Roberts, who started the Amateur Gourmet in 2004, was able to turn his humorous failures and successes into the kitchen into a book of essays, and later parlayed his food savvy into shows on FoodNetwork.com and Food2.com. Molly Wizenberg, who also started her blog Orangette early on, acknowledges that although newer bloggers have to stand out in a more crowded blogosphere, it’s not impossible if you stay focused and develop your strengths, whether it’s photography or writing about a niche subject. Jaden Hair, who started Steamy Kitchen in 2007, recalled, “After a few months of blogging, I thought seriously about doing it as a full-time job,” she said. She has a cookbook on the shelves and a built-in audience craving for more.

Here, three food bloggers share six tips for making the leap into a mainstream or high-profile food career.

Take stunning photos. If you focus on food, you can’t just dash off one-paragraph posts or cull headlines from other sources. Trying to make your braised pork recipe or dinner at El Bullí evocative requires great photos, and food bloggers almost always take their own. “Food is so multi-sensory, and blogs are only visual, so you have to appeal to that one sense,” says Jaden Hair. She takes about 50 photos for each of her recipes before whittling down to the “money shots” and editing them. The perfect leading photo draws readers into the story, so work on developing your photo skills and look to sites like TasteSpotting.com or FoodGawker.com for inspiration.

Teach yourself all aspects of making a great blog. In addition to fine-tuning her photography, Hair also taught herself photo and video editing with tutorial sites like Lynda.com. She designed her site by learning to tweak WordPress. “I didn’t know a food stylist, so I just picked up cookbooks and studied them page by page.” Don’t be afraid to ask for advice. Most bloggers, photographers, and Web designers are happy to share tips with anyone who sends a friendly email.

“Some bloggers suffer for not putting themselves out there enough… Ask yourself what you can do to stand out.”

Take initiative in branching out. Chances are, you’ll find gigs that pay. After her blog started to gain momentum, Hair contacted a local paper and wrote for free, which eventually led to paying assignments and a column with the Tampa Tribune. She also contacted a local ABC affiliate and offered to do cooking segments, which led to gigs with NBC and CBS affiliates. “I made it a point to get as much media experience as possible,” she said.

Roberts got on the Food Network’s radar by initially emailing a Food Network blogger who showed up in his traffic stats. The email eventually led to a meeting with an executive who was casting for The FN Dish, then a more permanent show on Food2.com. “Some bloggers suffer for not putting themselves out there enough,” said Roberts. “You have to look at what’s out there and ask yourself what you can do to stand out.”

If you take time to develop great writing and photographs, chances are opportunities will also eventually find you. Because of the popularity of Orangette, Wizenberg was contacted by editors at Town & Country, Modern Bride, PBS.org, and NPR.org to contribute freelance articles, and by Bon Appétit to write a monthly column.

Monetize. If you have at least a few hundred readers a day on your blog, you can make money on your blog. Ad networks like BlogHer, Glam, and Foodbuzz typically pay rates that range from $3 to $6 per thousand page impressions, or more if you boast very a high readership. Over the course of a month, the pay begins to add up. With Steamy Kitchen’s wide readership, Hair said that ad revenue account for 50 percent of her earnings, but “even if it was ad income alone, it’s still a really, really good income.”

Whether your ad earnings can pay for just groceries or allow you to live off blogging, joining an ad network is an easy way to finance your passion.

You can also syndicate your content, like Hair does with the Tampa Tribune, but you should weigh the pros and cons. “I’m more in favor of creating new content vs. syndication,” said Hair. “It hurts SEO when you have duplicate content.”

When you finally score multiple projects, don’t neglect your blog. Learn to manage your time well. “Over the years, I’ve learned to manage my time and my creative energy so I can do the blog, write book proposals, come up with episode ideas for the Food2 show, and so on,” Roberts said. “The secret, I find, is in dividing the day. In the morning I blog, then I clear my head at lunch — taking some time for lunch is important (plus it’s fodder for future blog posts) — and then, in the afternoon, I work on all my other projects.”

While Wizenberg was working on her book, A Homemade Life, she took breaks by posting shorter pieces on her blog. “Blogging still felt like a lot of fun while I was writing my book,” she said. “It was like coming up for air.” Jaden Hair maintains a balance in her schedule, by doing TV only twice a month and limiting the amount of work to eight hours a day. And she continues to blog because she enjoys it. “I get to play in the kitchen,” she said. “That’s not work to me.”

Be a part of the conversation. Popular food bloggers stay popular by taking time to engage with their readers, by answering comments and emails. But you can also chime in on Twitter; the large pool of food editors, cookbook authors, and bloggers there means you can get instantaneous feedback on your posts, find out other other’s kitchen pet peeves, or discuss a hot sustainable food topic. And besides, writing from home can get lonely. “Twitter is my lifeline to other food bloggers out there,” said Hair.

Highlight your strengths. Wizenberg believes that great food blogs can come in all forms, whether the focus is photography, Japanese cooking, or story-telling, as long as the writing is not sloppy and the voice is authentic. Roberts added, “Whether it’s your concept, your voice, your design, your subject matter, or all of the above, those are the factors that’ll determine your success. Plus, your resilience: you’ve gotta keep blogging, even when no one’s commenting. Eventually, they will come.”

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Diana Kuan is a freelance writer who divides her time between China and the U.S. She often blogs on the road for AppetiteforChina.com.

Self-publishing success stories aside, there are still plenty of writers with their sights set on the Big Six and scoring a traditional deal with a major publishing house. And you know the drill: If a traditionally published book is what you want, then a literary agent is what you need.

Assuming you’ve done your homework and already learned the components of a book proposal and how to write an effective query, we’ve decided to drill a little deeper to discover other, lesser-known factors that agents consider before signing an author. And as a bonus, we’ve eliminated all speculation and hearsay and talked directly to agents about what works and what doesn’t.

So if you’ve decided to eschew eBooks and print-on-demand and are holding out for a contract from HarperCollins or Simon & Schuster, this one’s for you. Don’t bury your sales hook

You may write as a means to communicate your innermost feelings or to fulfill your life’s one true purpose, but when you sign with an agent and (hopefully) a publisher, selling books is the name of the game. And for Rachelle Gardner, an agent with Books & Such Literary Agency, a book’s sales potential must be critically examined before she agrees to sign an author.

“As I’m reading [a submission], I’m paying attention to my gut response: Are readers going to enjoy this and want to keep turning the page?” says Gardner. “Then the other side of it is, regardless of my gut response, can I sell this? And could a publisher sell this to readers? And if so, how?”

Gardner recommends writers clearly communicate the sales hook in their initial submission. As in, don’t expect the agent to automatically assume that your cozy mystery featuring a stay-at-home mom turned amateur sleuth will be targeted to unfulfilled women in middle America. The agent may make that connection on her own, but you’re better off displaying your knowledge of the market and the fact that your book actually has an audience (read: buyers).

Do prepare a verbal pitch

As a writer, hiding behind a keyboard comes naturally, and the Delete key is often the most powerful (and often used) tool in a fully loaded arsenal. Even still, there are times when the opportunity to wow a potential agent may come via a face-to-face, on-the-fly meeting as opposed to an emailed query. If you’re frequenting writing conferences and other industry networking events (and you should be!), honing your verbal pitch is a must.

“If you’re frequenting writing conferences and other industry networking events (and you should be!), honing your verbal pitch is a must.”

“The main points with a verbal pitch are to remember that you’re talking to a person, so you’re not sounding like a robot who’s rattling off a written pitch,” says Gardner. “And remember that the purpose of a pitch is to get someone to want to hear more. It is not to tell your whole story.”

Gardner suggests developing a 30- to 60-second, elevator-style pitch as well as one that takes as long as a few minutes. For more tips on how to sell your story verbally, visit Gardner’s personal blog.

Don’t write too niche

J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter franchise spawned a slew of sword-and-sorcery fantasies, and Stephanie Meyer inspired scores of other writers to brush up on vampire etiquette following the uber-success of her Twilight series. Certainly, there is an advantage to monitoring industry trends and positioning yourself to best capitalize on the market, but most agents want to work with authors who aren’t bound by sub-genre.

“What I like to see is that [writers] have the ability to be nimble and change,” says Paige Wheeler, a founding partner of Folio Literary Management. “So, perhaps what are the traits within that vampire novel that can be turned into something else? Is this something that could be turned into a YA or a romantic suspense? How do they want to turn what they love into something that may be more commercially viable as tastes change in publishing?”

Do have a long-term vision

Many aspiring authors have visions of retreating to country cottages in the summer or beachside bungalows in the winter to churn out regular tomes that net a full-time salary year-round. And while there are plenty of naysayers to shoot down your career novelist dreams with pragmatic talk about “real jobs” and 401(k)s, the good news is that agents actually prefer a writer with long-term career plans. Agents are just as invested in developing an author’s career as the author herself, so one-and-done writers don’t rank high on client wish lists.

“You have to plan not just on getting you first or second book published, but your fifth or seventh,” says Wheeler. “When I meet with people one on one in conferences, I often say, ‘What else are you working on? What’s project number two? What’s project number three?’ And if they have no idea, that could be a problem.”

So how can you show that you’re an idea machine without coming off like a scatter-brained creative? Wheeler says the best time to share future plans is after the initial query stage, once she asks for additional materials. It also helps to show some cohesion in terms of genre or subject matter; bouncing from business book to YA novel to political thriller is not advised.

“Having your hairstylist’s best friend’s neighbor call her daughter at the big-time New York literary agency may not be possible, but establishing a connection with an agent is.”

Do establish a personal connection

Wouldn’t landing an agent be so much easier if you knew one personally, or had a friend of a friend who could put in a good word? Having your hairstylist’s best friend’s neighbor call her daughter at the big-time New York literary agency may not be possible, but establishing a connection with an agent is — even with one you’ve never met.

“I kind of like it when people say, ‘I finished your client Rory Friedman’s book, and I haven’t slept for two days,'” says Laura Dail of Laura Dail Literary Agency. “So the connection can be through clients or authors that you both like.”

And if mentioning another client’s book scores points with agents, actually getting a referral from that client will definitely move your query to the top of the slush pile. But before you name drop, adds Dail, ask your fellow writer to reach out to the agent first. “Sometimes — and I always say this to my clients — if you haven’t called me or emailed me and told me to keep an eye out for this person, then I don’t give it much weight.”

Don’t get discouraged

As if moving from blank page to completed manuscript weren’t difficult enough, wading through the uncertain waters of landing an agent and securing a publishing deal may seem more daunting than embarking on a Thanksgiving Day juice fast. But if getting published the traditional way is still your ultimate goal, take heart: The industry needs you.

“I actually do think it’s an incredible time right now,” says Dail. “You can still do a traditional deal. Publishers are still paying advances. They still want amazing talent, [and] they’re dying for something fresh and wonderful.”

The fact that publishers and literary agencies wouldn’t exist without authors and their works is a simple, unalienable truth that is often forgotten. Yes, there’s competition, and, yes, the changes in publishing have made it more difficult for a first-time author to break in. But it’s not impossible. And if you follow these tips — along with the wealth of other resources on our site — your odds of landing an agent and a book deal are bound to increase.

Andrea Williams is a freelance writer based in Nashville. Follow her at

@AndreaWillWrite

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NEXT >> The 7 Biggest Red Flags In Book Contracts

Self-publishing success stories aside, there are still plenty of writers with their sights set on the Big Six and scoring a traditional deal with a major publishing house. And you know the drill: If a traditionally published book is what you want, then a literary agent is what you need.

Assuming you’ve done your homework and already learned the components of a book proposal and how to write an effective query, we’ve decided to drill a little deeper to discover other, lesser-known factors that agents consider before signing an author. And as a bonus, we’ve eliminated all speculation and hearsay and talked directly to agents about what works and what doesn’t.

So if you’ve decided to eschew eBooks and print-on-demand and are holding out for a contract from HarperCollins or Simon & Schuster, this one’s for you. Don’t bury your sales hook

You may write as a means to communicate your innermost feelings or to fulfill your life’s one true purpose, but when you sign with an agent and (hopefully) a publisher, selling books is the name of the game. And for Rachelle Gardner, an agent with Books & Such Literary Agency, a book’s sales potential must be critically examined before she agrees to sign an author.

“As I’m reading [a submission], I’m paying attention to my gut response: Are readers going to enjoy this and want to keep turning the page?” says Gardner. “Then the other side of it is, regardless of my gut response, can I sell this? And could a publisher sell this to readers? And if so, how?”

Gardner recommends writers clearly communicate the sales hook in their initial submission. As in, don’t expect the agent to automatically assume that your cozy mystery featuring a stay-at-home mom turned amateur sleuth will be targeted to unfulfilled women in middle America. The agent may make that connection on her own, but you’re better off displaying your knowledge of the market and the fact that your book actually has an audience (read: buyers).

Do prepare a verbal pitch

As a writer, hiding behind a keyboard comes naturally, and the Delete key is often the most powerful (and often used) tool in a fully loaded arsenal. Even still, there are times when the opportunity to wow a potential agent may come via a face-to-face, on-the-fly meeting as opposed to an emailed query. If you’re frequenting writing conferences and other industry networking events (and you should be!), honing your verbal pitch is a must.

“If you’re frequenting writing conferences and other industry networking events (and you should be!), honing your verbal pitch is a must.”

“The main points with a verbal pitch are to remember that you’re talking to a person, so you’re not sounding like a robot who’s rattling off a written pitch,” says Gardner. “And remember that the purpose of a pitch is to get someone to want to hear more. It is not to tell your whole story.”

Gardner suggests developing a 30- to 60-second, elevator-style pitch as well as one that takes as long as a few minutes. For more tips on how to sell your story verbally, visit Gardner’s personal blog.

Don’t write too niche

J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter franchise spawned a slew of sword-and-sorcery fantasies, and Stephanie Meyer inspired scores of other writers to brush up on vampire etiquette following the uber-success of her Twilight series. Certainly, there is an advantage to monitoring industry trends and positioning yourself to best capitalize on the market, but most agents want to work with authors who aren’t bound by sub-genre.

“What I like to see is that [writers] have the ability to be nimble and change,” says Paige Wheeler, a founding partner of Folio Literary Management. “So, perhaps what are the traits within that vampire novel that can be turned into something else? Is this something that could be turned into a YA or a romantic suspense? How do they want to turn what they love into something that may be more commercially viable as tastes change in publishing?”

Do have a long-term vision

Many aspiring authors have visions of retreating to country cottages in the summer or beachside bungalows in the winter to churn out regular tomes that net a full-time salary year-round. And while there are plenty of naysayers to shoot down your career novelist dreams with pragmatic talk about “real jobs” and 401(k)s, the good news is that agents actually prefer a writer with long-term career plans. Agents are just as invested in developing an author’s career as the author herself, so one-and-done writers don’t rank high on client wish lists.

“You have to plan not just on getting you first or second book published, but your fifth or seventh,” says Wheeler. “When I meet with people one on one in conferences, I often say, ‘What else are you working on? What’s project number two? What’s project number three?’ And if they have no idea, that could be a problem.”

So how can you show that you’re an idea machine without coming off like a scatter-brained creative? Wheeler says the best time to share future plans is after the initial query stage, once she asks for additional materials. It also helps to show some cohesion in terms of genre or subject matter; bouncing from business book to YA novel to political thriller is not advised.

“Having your hairstylist’s best friend’s neighbor call her daughter at the big-time New York literary agency may not be possible, but establishing a connection with an agent is.”

Do establish a personal connection

Wouldn’t landing an agent be so much easier if you knew one personally, or had a friend of a friend who could put in a good word? Having your hairstylist’s best friend’s neighbor call her daughter at the big-time New York literary agency may not be possible, but establishing a connection with an agent is — even with one you’ve never met.

“I kind of like it when people say, ‘I finished your client Rory Friedman’s book, and I haven’t slept for two days,'” says Laura Dail of Laura Dail Literary Agency. “So the connection can be through clients or authors that you both like.”

And if mentioning another client’s book scores points with agents, actually getting a referral from that client will definitely move your query to the top of the slush pile. But before you name drop, adds Dail, ask your fellow writer to reach out to the agent first. “Sometimes — and I always say this to my clients — if you haven’t called me or emailed me and told me to keep an eye out for this person, then I don’t give it much weight.”

Don’t get discouraged

As if moving from blank page to completed manuscript weren’t difficult enough, wading through the uncertain waters of landing an agent and securing a publishing deal may seem more daunting than embarking on a Thanksgiving Day juice fast. But if getting published the traditional way is still your ultimate goal, take heart: The industry needs you.

“I actually do think it’s an incredible time right now,” says Dail. “You can still do a traditional deal. Publishers are still paying advances. They still want amazing talent, [and] they’re dying for something fresh and wonderful.”

The fact that publishers and literary agencies wouldn’t exist without authors and their works is a simple, unalienable truth that is often forgotten. Yes, there’s competition, and, yes, the changes in publishing have made it more difficult for a first-time author to break in. But it’s not impossible. And if you follow these tips — along with the wealth of other resources on our site — your odds of landing an agent and a book deal are bound to increase.

Andrea Williams is a freelance writer based in Nashville. Follow her at

@AndreaWillWrite

---

NEXT >> The 7 Biggest Red Flags In Book Contracts

In addition to having the good fortune of goofing off for a living in an office on Broadway across from David Letterman, MAD magazine senior editor Joe Raiola is also responsible for one of only two officially sanctioned annual John Lennon tributes.

The 33rd edition of this great event is set for Friday, Dec. 6 at New York‘s Symphony Space, with a lineup that this year includes Steve Earle, Joan Osborne and Marc Cohn. Raiola launched the event in 1981 with Alec Rubin, the late founder of Theatre Within. All proceeds go to a rotating, designated charity (this year, Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Spirit Foundation).

The 58-year-old Raiola has also been a part for many years of WDST 100.1 FM’s Sunday morning two-hour program The Woodstock Roundtable and performs, when he can, his First Amendment one-man shows (Almost Obscene, The Joy of Censorship). He scales back that part of his busy schedule during the months leading up to the Lennon Tribute but is making time this Saturday, Nov. 16 for a rare free library performance in Long Beach, N.Y., one of the communities devastated by Superstorm Sandy.

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Name: Joe Raiola
Position: Senior editor, MAD magazine; executive producer, John Lennon Tribute
Resume: The best way to summarize Raiola’s professional trajectory is “a charmed life.” He has been for 28 years one of a small group of full-timers responsible for MAD magazine, and for 33 years, the producer of an annual John Lennon tribute held on or around the date of the beloved Beatle’s death. Raiola is also a theater and comedy performer who has now visited 44 states with his one-man First Amendment shows.
Birthdate: October 12
Hometown: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Education: B.A., Adelphi University
Marital status: Married
Mentor: Alec Rubin, founder of Theatre Within
Best career advice received: “Better to die on your feet than live on your knees. Wait, maybe not.”
Guilty pleasure: Sex
Last book read: Furious Cool: Richard Pryor and the World That Made Him
Twitter handle: Non-tweeting and loving it!

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What was the Beatles’ connection to MAD magazine?
The most famous Beatles-MAD connection is in the movie A Hard Day’s Night. There’s a somewhat famous scene early in the film when the Beatles are on a train. They walk into one of the cars and the actor who plays their manager is reading a MAD paperback. The Beatles were also on the cover of issue #121, featuring the band and Mia Farrow visiting the Maharishi. [MAD‘s mascot] Alfred appears on the cover as the Maharishi.

Did you ever see the Beatles or Lennon live?
Not as a group, but I’ve seen all of the Beatles in concert individually. I saw Lennon in 1972 at Madison Square Garden when he did a One to One benefit. I can’t help but think, when I see Paul McCartney doing all these concerts lately, what John Lennon might also be doing if he were still alive. McCartney opened his recent tour with “Eight Days a Week,” which is a song John sang. I’m trying to imagine John Lennon on tour, opening his concert with “Eight Days a Week.” Would John do that? I don’t know.

How did Yoko Ono become involved with the John Lennon Tribute?
It happened by accident. It was a small neighborhood event that had been happening for years since 1981, but Yoko didn’t become involved until 2004. Keep in mind this was a small workshop show that moved around the city a little bit. Over the years it evolved into a charity event, benefiting an education program for homeless kids living in community housing in Harlem.

In 2004, a little blurb appeared in the Daily News about the 24th annual John Lennon tribute. Willa Shalit, Gene Shalit’s daughter, was working with Yoko on a book called Memories of John Lennon featuring celebrity contributors like Elton John and Eric Clapton. Willa was the editor and she tracked me down. She left a voicemail, which basically said, “I work with Yoko; will you call me back?” And I have to tell you — I was scared! I was like, “Oh no, am I in trouble?” We were using some Lennon artwork to promote the show.

“The thing you have to keep in mind about MAD is: If you mature, you get fired. It’s a place where you stay perpetually young or silly or both.”

When I spoke to Willa, she asked, “What are you doing?” I explained, and Willa said, “That is amazing; that is so beautiful.” The next day, I got an email from Yoko inviting me to write an essay for the book. The book is alphabetical by author last name, so my essay appears between Billy Preston and Bonnie Raitt. That put the tribute on Yoko’s radar and because we’d been doing it for 24 years, she intuitively understood that this was the real deal — that this wasn’t something exploitative.

The next year, we did the 25th anniversary at Lincoln Center. We started to get some working musicians involved and recast the show in a more professional way. Since then it’s been unbelievable. It’s one of two tributes in the world that Yoko supports, along with a Dream [Power] Concert in Japan that has been going on for 12 years. This year Steve Earle is among the artists and one thing that struck me as funny — I’d forgotten this — he wrote a piece in that [Memories] book!

What charities has the Tribute most recently supported?
In 2007 and 2008, we worked with Why Hunger. We really helped them a lot because out of that came this relationship with Yoko and Imagine There’s No Hunger Global, which has raised millions of dollars to feed hungry people around the world. In 2010, we raised money to build schools in [developing nations]. Last year it was for Hurricane Sandy relief. And this year, we asked Yoko and she invited us to make it for the Spirit Foundation.

Spirit Foundation was started in 1970 by John and Yoko. Before it was started, John was writing checks to charity organizations and what he was finding was that they weren’t cashing the checks. They were framing them because they wanted a John Lennon autograph!

So as a way to give money without having to sign his name to checks, he and Yoko started the Spirit Foundation. It’s what they call a non-operating foundation. They don’t solicit funds; they don’t have employees. But it’s a great thing because it connects our event with John in a way that we have never [done] before.

Now, back to MAD magazine…What’s the atmosphere like at the office?
Well, the thing you have to keep in mind about MAD is: If you mature, you get fired. It’s a place where you stay perpetually young or silly or both. I don’t have a real job — I’m senior editor at MAD. The MAD creative staff is small. There are five editors, and the art department is three people.

I’m a huge fan of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. Stephen recently wrote an introduction to one of our books, and Tim Carvell [head writer] of The Daily Show writes for MAD. He’s got a [column] called Planet Tad, which is sensational. We all are comedy fans. We try to make ourselves laugh and if we’re making each other laugh, we figure someone else will laugh too.

“When I first started working at MAD, movies didn’t want to cooperate with us. That’s all changed. Today, they want to be on the cover.”

What advice do you have for readers interested in pitching MAD?
MAD has always been freelance written. We’re always looking for new talent and new writers. Pitching stuff to us now is pretty easy; you can do it via our website. And we’re actually foolish enough to review everything that comes in.

Writers don’t need to include illustrations. When I sold to MAD for the first time in 1984, I didn’t have any skills as an artist at all. I suggested a couple of art notes and had some ideas as to how I thought something could be done, but that was about it.

Do you ever hear from any of the people you lampoon?
Probably the most famous example of a show or person that loved being spoofed was L.A. Law. When MAD spoofed L.A. Law, with the entire cast on the cover, Stephen Bochco and the cast loved it so much that they actually recreated the illustration in a photo and sent us the photo of them posed, as they were drawn on the cover.

It used to be people didn’t want to be spoofed. Now people want to be spoofed, even politicians. Sarah Palin wants to go on Saturday Night Live, so she could show everyone she has a sense of humor. Al Gore was on SNL. When I first started working at MAD, movies didn’t want to cooperate with us. That’s all changed. Today, they want to be on the cover.

How long have you been doing the radio show The Woodstock Roundtable?
Thirteen years with Doug Gunther. I’m really fortunate, because I have a career as a comedian, a speaker — I’ve performed in 44 states with this First Amendment/censorship show. It also ties in to MAD, which came of age during a tremendous era of censorship in the 1950s.

Last week on the radio show, for example, we did segments on dreams, bats and a half hour of political stuff. It’s a free-wheeling talk show, where literally anything goes within FCC rules. Authors, nutrition, sports, politics, humor, live music… We kind of do it all.

Also, as someone who thinks that George Carlin is the Babe Ruth of comedy, it’s great fun to be able to work with George’s son Patrick. He’s a frequent guest on the show.

Richard Horgan is co-editor of FishbowlNY.

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I’ve said that writing fiction is the most painful thing I’ve ever done — and I’ve given birth to three children. I’m only half kidding.

But, seriously, most writers know that going from blank page to fully developed novel is no easy task. Thanks to Chris Baty and National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), however, the process is slightly less difficult — albeit it in a “let’s all get our wisdom teeth pulled out together without anesthesia” kind of way. As of this writing, there are more than 226,000 people signed up to participate in this year’s 30-day sprint to noveldom.

As testament to the magnetic pull of unwritten prose, Baty in 2012 stepped down from the organization he founded to have more time for what he spent 12 years encouraging hundreds of thousands of people on six continents to do. Here, the author of two novel-writing guides takes a break from his own literary pursuits to discuss what it’s like to launch a cultural phenomenon and what it really takes to cross the NaNoWriMo finish line.

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Where did the idea for National Novel Writing Month come from? And how did you know it was a strong enough concept to share with others?
First off, I’m kind of one of those people that tends to have a lot of bad ideas. So I love coming up with these kinds of ridiculous ideas and then forcing my friends to do it, and National Novel Writing Month was very much in keeping with that. I was 26 years old, and I absolutely loved books and had a group of book-loving friends, but none of us had written fiction before, much less book-length fiction. But I think this idea just seemed appealing in that it was a good opportunity to get together. The very first year we did it [in 1999], it was July. So we all had a lot of free time. I never in a million years thought that it was going to become an annual event. I thought we were going to do it once, that we would all spectacularly fail — probably in the first week — and then we would sort of never talk about it again.

“I never in a million years thought it was going to become an annual event. I thought we were going to do it once, that we would all spectacularly fail, and then we would never talk about it again.”

The first year, six of us (the group of us that were getting together each night and writing) all crossed the 50,000-word finish line. The books were definitely bad books, but they weren’t irredeemably bad. They had potential, and that’s when I was like, “OK, I’m going to do this again.” The next year we moved it to November just because nobody was available in July the next year. And I sent out the email again, and it got forwarded, and we grew to 140 people. The next year it went to 5,000, and it just kind of took off from there.

If you had to credit one single catalyst as the reason for NaNoWriMo’s breakout success — in the pre-social-media era — what would it be?
The amazing thing is it was truly word of mouth in a time when there were not a lot of easy ways to spread [the word]. It was back when the main social networking tool was email. And also, the year when it really kind of exploded was the third year, and that was 2001, and blogs were just starting to come into their own. I think that National Novel Writing Month was helped by the fact that suddenly there was this category of websites called a blog, which were to be updated regularly, so people needed things to write about. And then a lot of the people who would write about it just to have a blog post would end up blogging about the process. That’s when people started watching folks who had never written a book before really set aside a month of time for it and get a lot out of it.

What advice do you have for someone else who has a great idea to share with the world? What’s the best way to get it to the masses?
Well, the first thing I would say is that you absolutely have to pursue it because whatever it is people have been waiting for it. I never would have dreamed that of all of the bad ideas I’ve had, the one that would completely change my life is this idea that we’re going to get strangers to write novels in a month. It just does not seem possible. But then [I did] it, and it opened part of myself that I didn’t know was there. It completely changed the way I saw the potential in everyone around me. And these little things really can change lives all over the world. So get it out there.

“Making sure you stick with something long enough to give it a chance to start going and growing is really important.”

The second thing is [that] you have to commit to the long game. You really do need to be set on doing it a couple times because it just takes time to build. If I had stopped after the second year I would have said, “Yep, I was right. About 140 people, that’s the most people [I’ll get].” And then this avalanche comes just seemingly out of nowhere. You make that leap from 140 [members] to 5,000 — at that point, the snowball is rolling. It just sustains its own momentum. Making sure you stick with something long enough to give it a chance to start going and growing is really important.

The NaNoWriMo concept kind of suggests that anyone can write a book. Do you think this is true?
Oh my god, yeah. And I think everybody can write dozens of novels. You look back to the time when we were kids, and if you gave me a stick that I could make into a toy, I was basically good for seven hours. We were all so imaginative at a young age, just sort of running amuck in our imaginations and pretending. All of that is still in us. When we hit puberty, we start to do this thing where we ask, “Am I good at this?” We’re looking around and we’re seeing other people who are better than us at these things. That’s when we start to shut down those parts of ourselves. We have internalized this sense of, “Novels are not written by people like me; novels are written by novelists.” And it turns out novels are written by everyday people who give themselves permission to write novels. Everybody can do it, and everybody should do it.

To me, it feels like most people who take part in National Novel Writing Month are doing this just to have this month-long adventure where they do get to lose themselves in their imagination and reconnect with that spontaneous, creative, joyful, making, doing part of themselves that as adults we don’t tend to make time for. It’s not about hitting The New York Times bestseller list. It is about this giddy sense of fun that comes when you set aside time to just make stuff.

“We have internalized this sense of, ‘Novels are not written by people like me; novels are written by novelists.’ [They] are written by everyday people who give themselves permission to write novels.”

What is more important to your legacy — that you are remembered for founding NaNoWriMo or for your writing?
You know, I would be so happy if my legacy was that I founded National Novel Writing Month. I just think I will be proud for the rest of my life and feel so incredibly lucky to have been involved in it. And if that’s it, if I never publish a novel or sell a screenplay or ever get anything else done, I just feel so lucky. But, for me personally, I do need one or two novels. I feel like that will be also a hugely satisfying feeling. Whether or not it ever is read by anybody other than my mom and my dad is almost irrelevant to me at this point. I just really want to finish it, and I feel like then, at that point, the angels will sing, there will be a lot of dancing in the streets of Berkeley.

Chris Baty’s tips for writing a book in 30 days:
1. Lower your expectations. “Writers put a lot of pressure on themselves, and they look at this first draft as sort of a bellwether about the future potential of that book. Inevitably, first drafts are disastrous. Every book that we’ve loved probably started out as a completely nonsensical, flawed piece of writing. I think you really have to shoot for completion rather than perfection.”

2. Make it a social event. “Our lives are just so crazy and busy with work and school and family that the only way that you’re going to build accountability into the system is to have a support network. Part of that is making sure that your friends and family know that you’re doing this crazy thing for a month. I always encourage people to get on Facebook [and] declare your intentions.”

3. Enlist a writing buddy. It pays to have “a friend or family member or somebody that maybe they met on a NaNoWriMo message board,” as a writing buddy,” says Baty. “If they know that there’s one other person out there that they can swap word counts with and encourage, they are so much more likely to make it through to end of the book and win the challenge.

Andrea Williams is a freelance writer based in Nashville. Follow her at @AndreaWillWrite.

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