18Q Kathleen Shaputis

Kathleen Shaputis

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

Writing choose me in bold capital letters. Born with writer obsession genes, I wrote and produced my first backyard plays by the age of six. I had an old, used black Royal typewriter in my bedroom and used whatever scrap paper I could find to write stories and scripts. However, my mother’s mantra of “writing is only a game,” over the years kept me from pursuing my passion seriously in my adult years.

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

I went to work in the computer field after high school and gained credibility coming in on the ground floor of new technology. In the early nineties I took the Write for Publication program at the University of Riverside in California where I met and studied under Eva Shaw, Ph D.

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

When I took my bows during the applause from neighborhood parents and other kids yelling “author, author” at the end of my plays. Then for decades I hid the passion under a cloak of business attire and only listed ‘writing’ under Hobbies on employment applications. I buried boxes of secretly written articles and short stories under my bed and in the back of closets. I couldn’t “not write.” Ms. Shaw helped me rip off the layers of avoidance and neglect—fortunately in time for my mother to acknowledge my talent and passion before she passed away.

4. How would you describe your style of writing?

Casual, commercial. My words reflect more of a conversation over a cup of coffee between friends than dramatic literature or technical data.

5. What is your writing process?

With a full time day job, and three young ones at home, anywhere I can cram fifteen minutes of alone time I take notes, flush out a theory or character and edit. My best work is early in the morning before others in the household are awake. Once I’m under deadline, it’s usually two to three hours at the keyboard after work, and an hour in the morning before punching the job clock.

6. What was your path to publication?

Ah, here’s the rub. My heart is in fiction, my characters are some of my best friends. Yet after years of Eva Shaw encouraging me to write non-fiction, and telling her I didn’t write non-fiction, one morning in August of 1999 while working at home on my computer I felt like I’d been hit with a 2x4 in the stomach. As a computer technician for umpteen years and a grandmother for six years, what if I wrote a non-fiction book for grandmothers about using a computer? The idea literally made me nauseous. Two neon signs flashed in my mind: non-fiction needed a book proposal, and the San Diego State Writers Conference in January would be a great place to pitch it. I bought a copy of Eva’s How to Write a Non-Fiction Book and studied each chapter religiously. I attended the conference with a completed copy of the proposal and a well-practiced elevator pitch in tow. I sold the idea to a publisher at Ten Speed Press over a glass of wine during the Saturday networking social after classes.

7. What is your favorite self-marketing idea?

Coming up with fun twists for press releases about my books or subject matter. An example I wrote for The Crowded Nest was the “CNS Diet: No Fat, No Carbs, No Food.” I use PRWeb.com or iMediaFax.com for distribution.

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

How diligent you have to be in marketing. Whether you traditionally publish or self-publish, an author has to create and maintain an audience for their book, snag people’s attention constantly.

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

I love watching old movies, and old means anything from black and white classics or B-rated to the late Seventies. A certain character may spark an idea, soundtracks trigger a feeling, or maybe a location is perfect for my next story.

10. What is your proudest writer moment?

My oldest grandson is graduating 6th grade and self-publishing his writings from elementary school. He’s giving a copy of this great collection to each of his teachers and family members. I’m in awe of his word usage over the years and yet he says he gets it from me.

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

One word: tenacity. Without keeping your seat in the chair, you’ll never finish.

12. What is your most embarrassing writer moment?

I invited a top representative from Gateway Computers to hear my presentation at a local Barnes & Noble. He was the only person to show up.

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

I love paper as much as the next writer, but record-keeping is grueling. Contracts and invoices and receipts, oh my. Whether a free-lancer or novelist, it all comes back to accounting practices. I try to have a big box and throw everything into for the year and then sort it out in one long haul.

14. What is your writer life philosophy?

Respect, receive and return. Respect the industry and those dedicated to the call. Receive all the benefits, accolades and joy you can. Then give back that energy and encouragement to other fellow writers.

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

I have three grandsons at home making my house a Fun Zone during the week and spilling out to Little League and youth football games during the season.

16. Who do you like to read?

I enjoy a light variety: J. K. Rowlings, Diana Gabaldon, Michael Crichton, and celebrity autobiographies.

17. What’s your advice for new writers?

Attend writers’ conferences whenever you can. No one understands the voices in your head like other writers. The information, encouragement, support and networking will help you during this incredible journey.

18. What are you currently working on?

I recently submitted a book proposal for a series of how-to books for Baby Boomers to a publisher, have a comedy mystery in progress, and a commercial fiction set during the Seventies almost complete.

Kathleen’s 18Q