18Q Joanne Seiff

Joanne Seiff

The Eighteen Questions

18Q

Magazines: Belle Armoire, Organic Producer, Spin-Off, Village Rambler, Back Home in Kentucky, Wild Fibers, New York State Conservationist, The World & I, Greenprints, Interweave Knits, Risley Revue

Newspapers: The Jewish Week (NYC), Midwest Foodservice News, Buffalo News, Durham Herald-Sun

E-zines, newsletters, websites, radio commentary: The Fabulist Flash, Dragonfire, Knitty.com, Magknits.com, Handspinners.com, KnitPicks.com, Seasonalchef.com, Salon.com, Journeys: Hospice Foundation of America newsletter, WBFO Listener Commentary (NPR-Buffalo affiliate), Cornell Jazz Notes

Books: Essays in Knitlit and Knitlit the Third, edited by Linda Roghaar and Molly Wolf

Bibliography

1. Did you choose the writing profession or did it choose you?

Writing has always been a part of whatever profession I’ve done—teaching, educational administration, etc. When we moved for my husband’s job to a small college town, I decided to give full-time freelance writing and design a try because there weren’t other local jobs that appealed to me. In that way, writing happened to me.

2. What is your background? (education, work, etc.)

B.A. Cornell University, Cum Laude in Near Eastern Studies and Comparative Literature, M.Ed. in English Education and ESL from the George Washington University, M.A. in Religious Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Several years experience as an educator: high school English and community college writing instructor, adult education, and even music for 4 year olds to adults.

3. When did you ‘know’ you were a writer?

I’ve always been a writer…at least since I could write. I did resist the title for a long time, because I associated it with flaky artsy people. I’m over that now!

4. How would you describe your style of writing?

Direct and talkative…occasionally too wordy. I edit out big words and complex sentences to please editors.

5. What is your writing process?

I think a lot before I write. Sometimes I do research, if relevant, but more often I walk my dogs, knit, or garden. Something clicks and I’m ready to write. I sit down and write, start to finish, very quickly. Then I sleep on it, sometimes ask someone else to read it for me, and I edit and revise once or twice. Then I send it off. Only occasionally is my process more complicated than this.

6. What was your path to publication

Elementary school literary magazine, Summer camp literary magazine, High School and College Literary magazine…and then an essay in Interweave Knits—that’s when I started getting paid.

7. What is your favorite self-marketing idea?

Mention what you do at social events and other interactions. Hand out your card. I got a phone call recently about a potential job from someone whose daughter met me while I was adopting my dog Sally from the pound. You can never tell how these things will turn out…network.

8. What are the biggest surprises you’ve encountered as a writer?

The publishing industry seems remarkably slow in terms of turn around when compared to teaching full time. I couldn’t believe how slow the response time was for submissions. I graded 120+ essays a week and returned them within two weeks of receipt when I taught school. Now I wait several months before I finally get a rejection or acceptance.

9. How do you inspire yourself? What are your sources of creativity?

I’m an observer—so much inspires or irks me. I’m inspired by my garden, my funny dogs, cooking, creating, just experiencing the world around me. I try to remain intellectually curious and the learning helps me get excited about new things about which to write. Often it’s my outrage about something that spurs me to write, too.

10. What is your proudest writer moment?

When I first started freelancing, I landed a job writing about making jam and the history of canning for The World & I. (This publication is no longer in print; the issue that carried my article was the last print issue.) The editor insisted on photos with the article. Both my husband and father, avid photographers, insisted they could do the photos for me, because I wouldn’t be able to do a good job and they’d just let me publish the photos under my name. I said no. I took the photos for that article not once but twice—the first time, the editor lost the slides and I hadn’t made duplicates because I had so little confidence in my work that I didn’t want to waste the money. The photos worked out very well twice—they used some of them as full page spreads-and I’ve never been so proud of anything since! The pay was the most I’ve ever earned for one piece, too.

11. What’s the best advice you were given about writing?

The publication should pay you to print your work. Never pay them.

12. What is your most embarrassing writer moment?

Oh, there have been so many. I got 50+ rejections before I landed a decent agent for what I write. My husband made me stop writing query letters for a while, because he was afraid I was getting so mortified and depressed that I might not make it.

13. What business challenges have you faced as a writer?

Writing is a business, and it’s not advertised that way. I spend a lot of time chasing down payment, writing invoices, and negotiating with editors…sometimes more time than I spend in actual writing or designing. The biggest challenges seem to be in expediting communication, bargaining and being treated like a professional.

-I have to break through to an actual human and have a positive exchange at a publication in a prompt fashion. That’s hard to accomplish.

Second, I have to believe that yes, my time is worth money, and it’s worth more money than most editors want to pay at first. Even so, I’m often not paid enough for my time. So many on spec. jobs fall through after I’ve spent a lot of time on them, and then I’m not paid.

14. What is your writer life philosophy?

I write because it comes easily for me, and because I like doing it. If it doesn’t keep working for me, I’ll try something else. Life’s too short to keep getting rejections if you don’t enjoy what you’re doing the rest of the time.

15. When you’re not writing what do you do for fun?

Knitting, reading, handspinning, gardening, cooking, inviting friends over for dinner parties, spending time with my bird dogs, Harry and Sally, and my absent-minded professor husband.

16. Who do you like to read?

I read a lot… light mysteries and knitting books, fiction classics and cookbooks. I love J.K. Rowling and M.C. Beaton at the moment, but I also recently read John Galsworthy’s The Forsyte Chronicles. I do a lot of my reading as audiobooks; I can listen while doing knitwear designs or driving.

17. What’s your advice for new writers?

Read a lot. Write a lot. Refer to question #11. Repeat from beginning of this line.

18. What are you currently working on?

Three knitting designs for sweater jackets and an article and two sidebars for a well-known knitting magazine…I’ve just handed my agent a book proposal for a non-fiction knitting book, too. I’m busy.

Joanne’s 18Q