Recently, I had the chance to interview a very accommodating Jenna Glatzer, a successful freelance writer and new mom from New York, who serves as an inspirational source of hope for writers everywhere. Writing mainly adult nonfiction, she has carved out her own nitch in various genres, including magazines, greeting cards, ghost writing, writing books, biographies and her popular website, www.absolutewrite.com.
A writer can’t help but feel a real sense of possibility after talking to Glatzer, who openly discusses her successes and manages to toss out some great advice along the way.
SP: Thanks Jenna, for agreeing to answer some questions for me. I appreciate your time. Could you tell me a little about your writing career?
JG: Sure! I'm a new mom from
SP:You are the founder of the website absolutewrite.com. And I believe you have now passed the reigns to another editor-in-chief? When and why did you create the site? Why do you think it has it evolved into such a popular site?
JG: I've lost track of the timing a bit, but I think it was 1998 when I started the site. I had never intended for it to become as huge as it has. In fact, I remember telling my first hosting company that one day, it might have up to 75 pages, so I'd need a plan to cover that. Ha! The site has thousands of pages.
Originally, I had a little free website to promote my own screenplays, and for some reason, it got a lot of traffic from fellow writers who'd ask me questions about how I landed an agent, what an "option" meant, what I thought of a particular producer, etc. I wasn't an expert on much at the time, so I enlisted writer-friends to help me answer questions, which I'd post on the site. Eventually, I decided to forget about trying to sell my screenplays, but to create a website meant for writers of all genres and working in all media. I ran it for close to 8 years, then turned it over to my friend MacAllister Stone in November of 2006, when I was about 5 months pregnant and needing to re-figure my priorities. I still hang around on the forum when I can.
When I stepped down, there were 75,000 subscribers to the main newsletter, and about 15,000 members of the forum. I think those numbers are still steadily increasing (the forum is over 16,000 now). I had some superb help in making it a strong resource for writers-- some paid staff and some volunteer moderators who have always been dedicated to making it the most helpful place possible. They helped me find editors and agents who'd answer questions, they organized chats with successful writers, they gathered up helpful links and recommended reading lists... I think what makes the site great, though, is the sense of community on the forums in particular. There are real friendships there, and fantastic humor. It's a great mix of educational topics and fun ones, with plenty of writing prompts, contests, and games to keep people writing.
SP: I read that you are somewhat nocturnal – working at night and sleeping during the day. Since you started a family, has that changed? With two young daughters of my own, I know that kids have a way of shaking up the routine. Has having a child changed your work habits?
JG: So far, my daughter is pretty nocturnal, too, so I'm still up typing away at But yes, she's changed my work habits completely. She's 4 months old, and to be honest, I'm not working much yet. I'm helping to judge the Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards, so I'm doing lots of reading whenever my daughter naps, and I'm very slowly working on my next book, but I'm probably doing about 5% of the amount of work I normally do.
SP: Has becoming a mom altered your writing goals in terms of the types of projects you go after?
JG: Not yet, but aside from the obvious time constraints, I also have a new limitation: I won't travel away from my daughter, so that leaves out certain types of books. When I wrote Celine Dion's book, I picked up and went to
SP: Before you were an established writer, before the national magazines, books deals, and other successes, how did you get the ball rolling? What steps did you take to gain recognition from national publications?
JG: I had really low standards to start. I wrote for anyone and everyone, often for abysmal pay, and pretended they were all paying me the big bucks. I did tons of work so I'd have great clips (even if they were in not-so-great magazines and websites). I kept approaching the national magazines, and eventually one of them said yes. It got easier from there.
SP: In an interview with writersbreak.com you discussed a turning point in your career – when you “learned how to get past the gatekeepers”. What clicked into place at that time?
JG: Really, I just started taking risks. I had been dutifully following rules in outdated (or simply bad) books about writing-- rules that said a query letter must be exactly one page long, that you shouldn't query by e-mail, that you should always be formal with editors, etc. I started to go with my gut instead, and to let my personality show through in my letters. My language got more relaxed, I wrote queries that didn't follow a particular structure, I enclosed pictures of subjects I wanted to write about... oh, and I cracked the e-mail formats at most major magazines I wanted to write for, so I could reach the right editors immediately instead of sending to some generic "editor" e-mail address.
SP: In your book Making a Real Living as a Freelance Writer, you offer insight into breaking into paying markets. Can you summarize the content and tell me what inspired you to write this book?
JG: It was the outdated books that inspired me to write this. As I realized that I was having lots more success by ignoring the advice in other books, I wanted to get out a megaphone and shout, "Hey, writers! We're going the wrong way! Come here and I'll tell you what really works!" So I did. In short, it's a book about how to study a magazine, come up with irresistible ideas, wow an editor with a great query letter, and dazzle the editor with the finished article so you get ongoing assignments.
SP: You also have several other books, including titles about social phobias and disabilities, which are issues you have dealt with this in your own life, correct? Along those lines, how do you feel about the “write what you know” rule we so often hear about?
JG: I'm a fan of it. I'm also a fan of "write what you want to know," though, which means that I've made it a point throughout my career to propose articles and books on topics I don't know much about, but want to learn about. I usually figure that if I want to learn about it, other people probably do, too-- and I love getting paid to learn.
SP: When approaching magazine writing, do you suggest writing to fit a particular publication or finding a publication to fit your writing?
JG: It can really work either way; I'm not sure if one method is better than the other. What I often find is that reading a publication will give me ideas for spin-off articles, which I can then pitch to that publication (and often its competitors). Generally, the type of stuff a person likes to read is also the type of stuff that person will like to write, so it's helpful to start with the magazines you actually enjoy.
SP: How does the greeting card industry, another area you have experience in, respond to new writers? Is it a difficult market to break into?
JG: The greeting card market is very good for new writers. Most card companies don't even ask what your credits are; they just want to see your ideas. As with most writing fields, whether it's hard or easy mostly depends on the writer's talent-- if you're a good greeting card writer, it's probably easy to break into. If you stink, it's very difficult. Grin.
SP: How did living with agoraphobia affect your life? How do you think were you able to overcome it and what role did writing play in your recovery?
JG: Agoraphobia was such a huge part of my life. It consumed me for several years, and I honestly never thought I'd get better-- I wasn't even sure I'd ever leave the house again, let alone live the kind of life I now live. It was a long road to get well, but the main ingredients were meeting my husband (who turned out to be a fabulous "support person") and going on Lexipro, an
SP: Do you believe good writing can be learned? How important is formal training or education, in your opinion?
JG: Oooh, the great debate. My answer has changed a bit through the years, I think. I used to say that I think a base level of talent is necessary; now I'll revise that to say that I think a base level of intelligence is necessary. Assuming a person is intelligent and can recognize how to be interesting, I think everything from there can be learned. Formal training helped me (I had some great college professors who took me under their wings), but I know plenty of writers who have no real training. Critique groups and workshops can be even more valuable than classes, in some cases.
SP: Do you participate in writing conferences?
JG: I've taught at the Omega Institute, but I've never been a participant at a conference. It's something I'd like to do someday.
SP: Which types of writing assignments do you most enjoy?
JG: Although I'm good at research, the assignments I most enjoy are the ones that come from the heart and require no footnotes. I like writing memoirs, humor pieces, children's picture books, profiles, personal essays... I feel fortunate that I've really enjoyed nearly all of my work.
SP: What types of books do you read for pleasure? Do you have favorite books on writing and/or writing websites?
JG: I mostly read memoirs and biographies, and some humor books. I could be here for a long time telling you about all my favorite books and sites for writers, but I'll just start with a few. Books: Bird By Bird by Anne Lamott and Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need by Blake Snyder. Sites: www.AbsoluteWrite.com (of course), www.Writing-World.com, www.WritersontheRise.com, www.FundsforWriters.com, and www.DoneDealPro.com.
SP: What would you say are the top three things that beginning writers do to sabotage themselves?
JG: 1. Give up too soon.
2. Send inappropriate queries in the hopes that a scattershot approach will give them the best odds.
3. Propose stories that are too "big" for a beginning writer, rather than allowing the editor to get to know them with smaller pieces first.
SP: What is the one piece of advice you would want a writer to remember if they begin to question their chances of finding success?
JG: If you love writing, do whatever it takes to be a writer. Learn everything you can from everyone you can; read tons of books and magazines, join writing groups and forums, subscribe to newsletters... remember to take your training seriously, and to always know that there's more to learn and there are more avenues to pursue.
