An Unexpected Road to Publishing
I never expected to become a writer. My high school English classes never required essay or fiction writing. I almost flunked freshman composition at Douglass College. After graduate school (Rutgers), however, I found myself editing manuscripts for the scholarly journal, Simulation and Games, and offered work as a free lance copy editor for sociology books.
My first publications were textbooks, scholarly books, and academic journal essays. Early in my career I was interested in women's rights, before the feminist movement began. During graduate school, the major sociology journal included in its advertisements 'Men only,' which meant I was paying for a publication that discriminated against my job opportunities. When I complained to the journal editors, they argued that employers could set any requirements they desired. Fortunately, the state where I was studying, Wisconsin, had anti-discrimination laws prior to Federal Civil Rights. I threatened to have the journal prevented from being mailed to Wisconsin, and without any public announcements, nor private notice to me, that phrase and one saying "under 35 only" disappeared from position notices.
Upon moving to Sonoma County, California, I discovered Jack London, whom I had never read. His life and that of those in his circle seemed a perfect prism reflecting major cultural and political themes of the Progressive Era. This led to my shift into trade biographies. My intention was to research books in a scholarly manner, while write them in a style that would inform the lay reader. I have always believed academics have a responsibility to share their knowledge in terms the larger public can understand, whether through public speaking or writing for more than a narrow scholarly audience. My editor at St. Martin Press encouraged me to write further in this vein, and suggested what led to my very enjoyable studies in the archives of major elite families. My aim was to increase readers' understanding of women in society, the way privileged women may be silenced, and in some cases break barriers to make their own significant contributions.
In retirement my writing is more in the direction of songwriting or creating materials for various volunteer groups. Lately I have been sketching out essays for a book on post-WWII New Jersey, entitled Del Ennis and the Jersey Devils. This work has no deadline, so it is very much in slow progress. My trade agent was Elizabeth Knappman of New England Publishing Associates. With her retirement, Roger S. Williams has taken over the agency.
My first publications were textbooks, scholarly books, and academic journal essays. Early in my career I was interested in women's rights, before the feminist movement began. During graduate school, the major sociology journal included in its advertisements 'Men only,' which meant I was paying for a publication that discriminated against my job opportunities. When I complained to the journal editors, they argued that employers could set any requirements they desired. Fortunately, the state where I was studying, Wisconsin, had anti-discrimination laws prior to Federal Civil Rights. I threatened to have the journal prevented from being mailed to Wisconsin, and without any public announcements, nor private notice to me, that phrase and one saying "under 35 only" disappeared from position notices.
Upon moving to Sonoma County, California, I discovered Jack London, whom I had never read. His life and that of those in his circle seemed a perfect prism reflecting major cultural and political themes of the Progressive Era. This led to my shift into trade biographies. My intention was to research books in a scholarly manner, while write them in a style that would inform the lay reader. I have always believed academics have a responsibility to share their knowledge in terms the larger public can understand, whether through public speaking or writing for more than a narrow scholarly audience. My editor at St. Martin Press encouraged me to write further in this vein, and suggested what led to my very enjoyable studies in the archives of major elite families. My aim was to increase readers' understanding of women in society, the way privileged women may be silenced, and in some cases break barriers to make their own significant contributions.
In retirement my writing is more in the direction of songwriting or creating materials for various volunteer groups. Lately I have been sketching out essays for a book on post-WWII New Jersey, entitled Del Ennis and the Jersey Devils. This work has no deadline, so it is very much in slow progress. My trade agent was Elizabeth Knappman of New England Publishing Associates. With her retirement, Roger S. Williams has taken over the agency.
