Janice Erlbaum is the author of memoirs called Girlbomb and Have You Found Her, which chronicle her experiences being homeless (update: I should clarify that the second book is when goes back to volunteer at the shelter where she used to live). I'm two-thirds of my way through the latter, and so far it's great read with sharp descriptions and memorable characters. Here's how Janice tackles writing...
Urban Muse: What time of day do you find you're most creative and able to write?
Janice: My routine goes something like this: Get up around 7:30 or 8, hit the treadmill for an hour, shower, answer some email, and get to my workspace (a writers' room called Paragraph) around 11am. Open my notebook and blow off some steam for twenty minutes or so, then write until 1, when it's lunchtime. After lunch, I get back to my desk for another two-hour writing session, then I stop by the grocery store and go home to yet more email, maybe a blog post, and a recap of the day in my notebook.
UM: How do you stay disciplined when you're working on a manuscript?
J: I stay disciplined through fear! I hate, hate, hate being late or not following through with commitments I've made, so when I have a deadline, I will do anything to meet it. And when I don't have a professional deadline, I've used the unofficial deadline provided by my writers' group. The group meets every few weeks to discuss our recent work, so if I don't have any recent work, I make sure to write some for our meeting. I highly recommend working with a supportive group – it's made all the difference to me.
UM: You write about some pretty personal stuff. Have you had to deal with any criticism for this?
J: Oh yeah, tons. I've heard criticism from reviewers, who feel free to attack not only my writing, but my character, and the way I've lived my life (trust me, I'm not proud of all of it either); I've also heard criticism from people I've written about, who don't care what kind of personal shit I reveal about myself, but would prefer if I didn't write personal shit about them (hey, I tried disguising your character; sorry if you recognize yourself anyway). But most readers are awesome – most readers congratulate me for acknowledging the painful, ugly, embarrassing stuff about myself. That more than makes up for any criticism I receive.
UM: Any advice for first time authors?
J: If you find yourself in the enviable position of having a book published, I highly suggest that you sit down with your agent and ask her or him what you can expect from every step of the process. That way there will be no surprises when your editor announces that they've pushed back your publication date, that they're making your book a paperback original, that you're not getting a book tour, that your chances of getting on Oprah are nil, etc. Keep your expectations low and your gratitude level high. Be nice to everyone, everyone, and always say thank you. Work your ass off to get pieces published in magazines, on blogs, or wherever possible. And don't worry about sales – worry about readers' responses. If you only sell 750 books, but every one of those 750 people loved your book, that's a success. Your publisher might not think so, but your readers will.
UM: What's next for you?
J: Having written two memoirs, I think I'm turning to fiction next. I'm continuing to derive inspiration from my life, but rather than write the-truth-the-whole-truth-and-nothing-but-the-truth, I think I'm going to allow myself (and the people in my life) a little more privacy this time around. And I'm continuing to teach memoir writing, which is a vital part of my life. The satisfaction I get from helping people tell their stories is immense – I hope my students know how much I gain from our work together.
Thanks, Janice. Check out Janice's blog for more.