My experience with Group really taught me the ropes of the publishing industry, and during my time there I wrote dozens of articles and created scores of resources, as well as coached dozens of authors in their own creative process and edited their work for publication. About a year after I graduated, I landed an editorial position with Group Publishing in Colorado, and worked there for the next several years–first as a regular book editor and eventually as the managing editor for Group Books. Michael: I got my undergraduate degree in journalism and published my first article while I was still in university. Jeff: How long have you been doing writing professionally?

For me, writing has always felt like something I couldn't not do. The whole thing sounds like a delightfully campy scifi romp–a sort of Gilligan's Island meets Independence Day.ĭespite that early setback, however, I kept writing–short stories, scenes from school, journaling my thoughts, and so on. To my dismay, however, after getting several chapters into the book, I realized that the characters I had created were in actuality the cast of Gilligan's Island (just with new and more awesome names), and therefore I deemed the book totally unoriginal and trashed the whole thing in a fit of creative angst.Īs I look back on it now, I regret not sticking with it. It was a fascinating tale about five colorful and beautifully diverse characters who survived a massive alien assault on the earth, and how they singlehandedly retook the planet in the name of humanity. Michael: Nerdy as it sounds, I actually starting working on my first novel in the sixth grade. Jeff: How long have you been a writer (you know, for fun and stuff)?

He is the author of several books, both fiction and non-fiction, and today we're talking about publishing and transitioning into a full-time career as an author.

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