Write Your Career: A Seminar on Writing for Political and Government Staff
by AIW Member Anji Keating
Those attendees who braved the snow on Saturday, January 30, were treated to eight speakers at Write Your Career: A Seminar on Writing for Political and Government Staff. This all-day event, held at Johns Hopkins University’s Bernstein-Offit Building in Washington D.C., featured panelists who described their personal experience with career transitions within the writing world. Many talked about transferring writing skills between fields and forms, including AIW president Claude Berube, who, during his welcome speech, shared a story about how he developed an idea for an article that eventually grew into a book. He encouraged writers to cast a wide net as they consider how their skills and knowledge can be used.
Tom Shroder, former editor of the Washington Post Magazine and who now runs a private editing service, opened the first panel discussion, “Using Writing Skills to Boost Your Career,” by describing some common problems many writers face when trying to connect with a general audience. “A lot of people with interesting jobs have material and something to say,” he remarked, but went on to point out that many writers, even trained writers, make mistakes in the delivery. He offered valuable advice for the editing process. Rosemary King revealed her recent career change—going from a speechwriter in government to a speechwriter at a nonprofit—and discussed how she successfully brought her writing and communication skills to a new work environment. She also had suggestions for those hoping to pursue speechwriting. Nolan Walters, who spoke on the first and second panels, has worked as a journalist, in the nonprofit sector, and is currently the communications director for a lobbying firm. He cautioned that “it’s a mistake to go out and try to find the same job,” and with a smile, offered: “I find the most interesting writing is the writing I’ve never done.”
Discussions of career change continued in the second session, “Factual Writing,” with Dan Moldea, a true crime novelist and investigative journalist, who talked about how his career evolved from journalism to investigative consulting. He shared ideas for creating immediacy in stories, including tips on conducting investigations, executing research, and polishing interviewing skills. Mackenzie Eaglen, a research fellow at The Heritage Foundation, observed that “information is the currency in Washington.” She emphasized that a writer in D.C. can make a job out of presenting accurate information in an organized manner, rather than focusing on analyzing the information. She recommended utilizing untraditional writing venues, such as Web sites or blogs, to possibly gain notice. Here, a writer can easily become “a thoughtful, regular, succinct commentator.” She also discussed the value of knowing your audience, and the oft-necessity in Washington of pleasing disparate audiences. The panelists agreed that all writing is good practice, and that even getting a short piece published like a “Letter to the Editor” could yield a viable writing sample.
Author Tim Wendel ran the “Fiction Writing” session solo, as the snow kept the other scheduled speaker, John Gilstrap home. Wendel stressed the importance of storytelling skills. He presented literary forms that help add structure and effectiveness to a writer’s work, discussed advantages and disadvantages of different narrative modes, and emphasized the importance of creating captivating characters. He also talked about the benefits of attending writing conferences to improve your work and to make contacts within a group of writers whose work you admire, advised on how to find an editor and an agent, and explained how to create pitch lines for projects. Wendel also emphasized the importance of carving out what he called “a sacred space” for regular writing, and warned: “Don’t write only when you’re feeling on the top of your game.”
Wendel returned for the fourth session, “The Business of Writing and Editing,” where the discussion of finding editors and agents continued in more depth. Howard Yoon, of the Gail Ross Literary Agency, talked extensively about the business and economics of publishing, which he recommended that every author understand. Yoon broke down how to send a query letter, how to make a pitch, and perhaps most importantly, how to get noticed as a writer. “It’s not enough to have a great idea, you’ve got to sell yourself too,” he said. Before meeting with agents, Yoon urged writers to study the market, understand what’s selling, and think about what makes their work unique. Ed Moser, who recently wrote a corporate history for Abbott, a medical products company, was an example of how taking on varied projects can make a writer unique. His wide range of work experience, which included writing speeches for the President of the United States and writing jokes for Jay Leno on “The Tonight Show,” helped him land the contract with Abbott. He observed that even those projects that may at first seem unsuccessful can pay off in the long run.
The panelists at this seminar provided answers and advice for all kinds of writers—whether they work for the government and dream of writing a novel, are navigating a career transition between the corporate, federal, and nonprofit worlds, or are a freelance writer confused about how to pitch work to editors and agents. In a city that employs the skills of writers in many different settings, it is vital to understand how to transfer your skills across fields, and how to sell your strengths. This seminar gave attendees very good ideas about how to do both.
Comments on this entry are closed.