Carol Ayer: Technical Writer & Freelance Writer

Name: Carol Ayer

Age: 51

College & Majors/Minors: UC Berkeley, B.A. in English

Current Location: Northern California

Current Form of Employment: Technical Writer and Freelance Writer

Where do you work and what is your current position?

I've worked on and off for the last 25 years for a company that produces travel-training software. I'm currently telecommuting for the company part-time. My title is Technical Writer, although I spend more time on editing and proofreading than on writing. Also, a lot of my job is ensuring that the program is working correctly. I work on lessons, quizzes, tests, and workbooks (the latter is in physical form; everything else is online).

I also work as a freelance writer. I've sold poems, personal essays, and fiction to magazines and ezines. A small epublisher published my romance novella in 2009, but I have since gotten the rights back and have self-published the book on Kindle. I'm currently working on a cozy mystery, which I hope will become the first in a series.

Tell us about how you found your first job, and how you found your current job.

Well, I have to confess that my technical writing job is with my brother's company. So I didn't have to take any tests and I didn't have to interview! (I'd like to think that I was hired partly because of my English degree). My first job after college was not a writing job at all. I worked at a storybook park called Children's Fairyland. I was going to be a teacher, and I needed a summer job before I started student teaching, so I applied to Fairyland. I ended up not becoming a teacher after all, and stayed at Fairyland for several years. Although I didn't use my English degree, I later found my time there to be quite fruitful. Many of my short stories and books are set at a storybook park.

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What's a storybook park?

Storybook parks are rather rare these days. They're also called fairytale parks, and were the precursors to theme parks. Walt Disney actually visited Fairyland before he built Disneyland. In the 50s, there were a number of them around the country. They aren't as popular anymore, what with the proliferation of theme parks, but there are still 10 or so left.

They are built around works of children's literature. So any given storybook park might have sets based on Alice in Wonderland, Jack and the Beanstalk, The Three Little Pigs, The Owl and the Pussycat, etc. Live animals are often part of the sets. At Fairyland, we had goats (Three Billy Goats Gruff) and pigs (Three Little Pigs), for example. Usually there are a couple of small rides, too, such as merry-go-rounds or Ferris wheels.

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What was another writing-related job that was important in your career?

I worked at a local newspaper part-time during my college years. The job consisted mostly of proofreading and filing. I was working on the day that Reagan was shot. The newsroom went crazy. It was scary but exciting, and fueled my desire to work in journalism. I later realized that I was way too shy to be a reporter. I also work much better on my own.

 What did you do in college to prepare for your post-grad life?

As just noted, I was interested in journalism for a time. I wrote a freelance article for the Daily Cal, but that's it. I wish I had done more with creative writing during that time.

What is your advice for students and graduates with an English degree?

My problem was that I didn't think I could make a living as a writer, which is what I'd wanted to be since I was a child. So I thought that journalism would be a good fit for me. When I realized otherwise, I flailed around quite a bit. It was suggested to me that I could become a teacher, but that wasn't right for me, either. I wish I had just overcome my practical side and attempted to write way back when. Thirty years after getting my English degree, I'm finally doing what I'd always dreamed of— writing. So my advice would be to follow that dream if that's why you've chosen English. Being a writer is difficult in many ways--not least of which, it *is* hard to earn a living at it--but it's the best job in the world. My other job satisfies my urge to catch spelling mistakes and typos, which I would guess is pretty typical of those of us who majored in English. If you're like that, too, I would suggest looking for an editor position of some sort. Actually, *any* company should be happy to have someone who is good at writing and who uses grammar correctly and knows how to spell.

Visit Carol on her website www.carolayer.com, and connect with her on twitter @storyparkgirl.

Kasey Lee Carter: Internal Communications Specialist

Name: Kasey Lee Carter

Age: 24

College & Majors/Minors: BA in Journalism, Minor in Writing

Current Location: Wilsonville, Oregon

Current Form of Employment: Internal Communications at Xerox Corporation

Where do you work and what is your current position? 

I currently work as the Internal Communications Specialist for the Channel Partners Organization at Xerox Corporation. My main responsibilities include coordinating, editing and writing a bi-monthly newsletter, managing internal social media as well as external social media marketing to end-user and through partner. I also write ad hoc communications sent to internal employees (about 1,400 employees). And I have to do all of this in the VERY SPECIFIC Xerox brand.

In the past, I’ve worked freelance for Sirius Digital Advertising, writing and editing website content and advising on website organization. I also did a little search engine optimization (SEO) work.

My last semester at George Fox University, I held an internship with The City of Newberg, Oregon as Public Information Officer. In this role, I researched, interviewed for and wrote a comprehensive, online and interactive document describing everything The City of Newberg does for the people of Newberg.

How did you find your first job?

I count my Xerox job as my first “big girl” job, and I found it completely by accident. I had been job-searching for about 7 months, and one morning before I went to work, at my in-between job at a spa, I got a call from a recruiter for a position I had applied for that same morning.

She said my resume jumped out at her and that I seemed just right for this internal communications job at Xerox. She did say that I needed to “beef up my resume a bit,” and by that she meant, add loads of text to it to display my writing ability. She said that employers looking to fill writing positions want to see resumes that display writing abilities.

This was so different from what I’d learned about resumes being only one page. So I rewrote my resume, was interviewed once over the phone and then in-person by three people. About two weeks after that initial call, I was putting in my two weeks with the spa and moving to Wilsonville, Oregon, to work for Xerox.

What was another writing-related job that was important in your career?

My senior year (2011-2012), I was the Editor-In-Chief for the student-run newspaper, The Crescent. This position not only required writing and editing, but also leadership and management skills, which I valued learning as much as the writing and editing stuff.

What did you do in college to prepare for your post-grad life?

In college, I sought out as many writing opportunities as I could.

I was asked randomly, at the beginning of my sophomore year, if I would be willing to write an article for the student newspaper. Flattered, I accepted and started writing about one article per issue.

The next year I took on a Section Editor position with the student newspaper, and the year after that (my senior year) I was the Editor-In-Chief. My senior year, I also had an internship doing public relations for the City of Newberg, Oregon.

In addition to my work with the student newspaper and my internship with the city, I also became the resident editor wherever I lived in the dorms. Constantly, I offered my editing services to floor-mates and roommates and other students in class. They would always look at me funny, kind of like they didn’t believe me, and then be pleasantly surprised when I returned with thoughtful edits.

All of this extra writing and editing experience I chased after taught me the importance of versatility. It seems like employers and people in general want you to be able to do five things instead of one.

I also learned how to be hungry for more experience and knowledge, which is still a huge part of my life both professionally and personally.

What is your advice for students and graduates with an English degree?

Make sure your resume reflects the job you’re applying for. I had no idea a resume for a writing job needed to include so much text, I thought that’s what the cover letter was for. So research the resume type best suited to the job you’re applying for. Don’t forget to write and rewrite that sucker until you’ve crafted it just right, and for each position you apply for.

When it comes to quality over quantity, that’s true too. I applied for over 50 positions in 6 months, some of which were quality, but for some, I was just throwing my resume at a job listing. Oddly enough, my big-girl job came from one of the listings I just threw my resume at, which is, supposedly, not usually what happens. I received more responses from employers of positions I put more effort into the application.

Another piece of advice is to broaden and enhance your skill set. Before I got my big-girl job I was doing some freelance content writing with a new digital marketing business, and I asked to learn more about websites and search engine optimization.

When I started at Xerox, I was armed with writing, editing, communication and social media-type skills. Since I started, I’ve taught myself HTML, and learned to use new software programs (on my own). To learn more about marketing, I’ve been chasing down some of the more tenured employees.

I think it’s important to keep your options open and make yourself more versatile. Employers want to see that you’re willing to go above and beyond what’s asked. Nobody likes someone who just sticks to the status quo, or worse, a slacker.

Connect with Kasey on LinkedIn, and check out BloomsFlowerStudio.com, a website she created content for!

Alicia Cook: ​Associate Director of Admission & Communication Coordinator

Name: Alicia Cook

Age: 27

College & Majors/Minors: Undergrad: Georgian Court University, English Literature Major, Journalism Minor. Graduate: Saint Peter’s University, Masters in Business Administration

Current Location: New Jersey

Current Form of Employment: Associate Director of Admission & Communication Coordinator

Where do you work and what is your current position? 

I currently work at Saint Peter’s University in Jersey City, NJ. I am of two Associate Directors in the Office of Admission. I am also the Communications Coordinator. I wear many different “hats” with this job, and I love that writing and editing is one of them. I take part in the writing, editing, and execution of all targeted electronic communication to prospective students in our office. It is definitely more technical and informational writing, but it’s writing and editing nonetheless.

Prior to being hired at Saint Peter’s, I was briefly employed with a nonprofit organization as their Program Director. In this capacity, I wrote their monthly newsletter and assisted in grant writing. I have occasionally freelanced for local newspapers as well, though news reporting is not a passion of mine.

Tell us about how you found your first job, and how you found your current job.

I applied to my first job at the nonprofit before I even graduated college. Applying for jobs in general is quite nerve-racking! So many qualified (and even overqualified) people are applying for the same position as you. An advantage someone with an English or writing background may hold over other applicants is their strong voice in their cover letter. As an English major I really learned how to write in a concise, engaging, and compelling way while avoiding the cliché statements found in every cover letter.

I had always known that I wanted to go on to graduate school. I love learning new things and broadening my knowledge base. A few months into my first job, an opportunity with Saint Peter’s presented itself and I knew they had graduate programs employees could enroll in with no outside cost to them. I was not looking to accrue debt, and higher education careers always interested me, so I thought this was a wonderful chance for me to move forward. One of the first things that were mentioned in my interview at Saint Peter’s was that I had an English background. They saw that as a “plus.”

What was another writing-related job that was important in your career?

Like I said, I write technical and informational pieces every day. However, my real passion is creative writing, though it is not paying the bills right now. So, another writing-related job that was important to me as a writer, but not to my current career per say, occurred in October of 2012. Superstorm Sandy had just devastated the Jersey Shore, where I am from. On the night of Halloween, I wrote “An Open Letter to the Shore Kids” and posted it to a blog site. My friends began “sharing” it with others. By the next day it had gone viral and major news, including USA Today and CNN, picked it up. I received hundreds of emails from people all over the tri-state area and beyond who felt the desire to share their memories of the shore. This was the first time my writing touched people on a major scale. It is a wonderful feeling and gave me the confidence to start posting more of my writing and poetry online.

What did you do in college to prepare for your post-grad life?

Though I do believe writing is a natural talent instilled from the start, practice does make perfect. I joined anything in college that could help me hone my writing and find my voice. I joined the college paper as a staff writer. This helped me better adhere to deadlines and constructive criticism (there’s nothing like the first time you see your article two paragraphs shorter than it was when you submitted it!). I was also one of the editors and a contributor to the annual poetry magazine. And any time one of my peers asked if I could proofread their work, I did.

I also picked up a Journalism Minor. I did this because in my English classes I was constantly writing 10+ page papers. I felt like I needed the minor to learn how to say a lot in a much smaller space.

I went to a very small school so many of my English professors I had more than once. In one of them, Dr. Woznicki, I found my mentor. Whether he signed up for the mentor-role or not, he was mine! He pushed my writing and red-penned my work like no one had ever done, and I am a better writer for it. I can’t thank him enough.

What is your advice for students and graduates with an English degree? 

If you want to study English, study English. Don’t let anyone tell you that any subject within the Liberal Arts will not translate in the job world. That’s not true at all. I have had plenty of job offers, all with writing being at least one component of the position. The job world has finally caught up with the fact that not everyone – no matter how skilled they are in other fields – can write well. And yet, every single job requires some level of writing. More and more hiring companies are looking for multi-faceted people. Some skills can be learned over time, but high quality writing is a rarity. If you have that skill, you are one hot commodity!

I would advise minoring in something else as well to make you a better rounded candidate. Or even double-major in something if you can. I went on and got my Masters in Business Administration because as I grew older I realized though I loved writing, I do also like the business world. And guess what? Most of my MBA program required writing!

If you can find a way to blend your passion with a livelihood, then you’re set. It is my opinion that if you love to write, then you love to write even when a paycheck isn’t attached. I post a lot of creative writing and poetry on my Instagram account to share with fellow self-proclaimed writers. If you never share any of your work, how are you ever going to get noticed? Write daily.

Visit Alicia on Instagram @thealiciacook and connect with her on LinkedIn!

Sara Shepherd: Freelance Writer

Name: Sara Shepherd

Age: 26

College & Majors/Minors: English Creative Writing & Theater

Current Location: Portland, OR

Current Form of Employment: Freelance Writer

Where do you work and what is your current position? 

I am currently working as a freelance writer for a few companies. My “bread and butter” jobs are pretty uninspiring; I recently completed a job where I wrote 400-word pieces concerning the demographic information of different area codes. Not exactly the next greatest novel, but hey, I am making money with my writing and I am able to do it from my home. It's especially great because it allows me to stay with my eight-month-old daughter while continuing to build a professional career.

In the past I have held a couple of marketing positions, one for an engineering company and another through the Department of Defense while my husband was in the Army. In both of those positions I was responsible for turning technical information into readable and engaging content for the public.

Tell us about how you found your first job, and how you found your current job.

I found my first job through Craigslist while I was still in school. It was as a marketing and office assistant at an engineering firm in Seattle. The position was entry level, but I gained the marketing skills and experience that lead me to the freelance positions I hold today. The company was a small engineering firm in Seattle owned by some really nice people. They felt my personality was just as important as my skills, as well as my willingness to learn new tasks. The interview was far more personable than I expected. They were looking for someone who could help them create marketing materials as well as update their website, and were happy I knew a little bit of HTML, Photoshop, etc. That was a really great job. I ended up having to leave when my husband and I were moved to an Army base across the country.

What was another writing-related job that was important in your career?

At Fort Stewart I worked as a clerk for the Department of Defense. It's not as exciting as it sounds– I was actually working at the front desk of a school-age childcare facility. The work could be downright dull at times, because I had to prepare a lot of government documents with very specific guidelines. Eventually a new manager was hired who recognized my skills in marketing and design, and I began taking on more creative assignments. I ended up designing the center's activity calendars, fliers, and I co-authored a 30 page customer handbook. The position taught me a lot about following strict guidelines, preparing official documents, and gave me a low-level security clearance which could have been applied to other jobs, had I pursued it.

What did you do in college to prepare for your post-grad life?

One of the most important activities I did while in college was work for the school paper. The job forced me to learn how to write on a tight deadline and made me more outgoing as I was always having to interview people I didn't know. I also picked up some very marketable skills like Adobe InDesign and Photoshop. Many freelance positions ask specifically for writers with news-writing and journalism experience, and I am continuing to write journalistic pieces for my own website.

What is your advice for students and graduates with an English degree?

It took me a while to realize this, but writing is actually really hard for most people. I used to say “I should of gone to college for something practical, like a trade skill,” but writing IS a skill! Since entering the workforce, I have encountered some really terrible writing from folks who are professionals in other fields, but simply can't organize their thoughts on paper. As English majors, we have the education and experience to create high quality content that most people simply can't. We also the ingrained ability to think creatively. Don't sell yourself short – you do have a professional skill to offer, and every business needs someone who can write.

Visit Sara on her newly launched website, PvE Portland! It features nerdy businesses and individuals who live in and around Portland, Oregon. You can also connect with her via LinkedIn.

Andi Satterlund: Self-Employed Writer/Knitting Pattern Designer

Name: Andi Satterlund

Age: 24

Major: English Literature

Current Location: Seattle, WA

Current Form of Employment: Self-employed Writer/Knitting Pattern Designer

Where do you work and what is your current position?

The short version is that I’m a self-employed writer who specializes in knitting patterns and knitting related content, but like many self-employed writers, my current job is cobbled together from bits and pieces. I’m both a small business owner and freelance writer. I run a knitting blog and self-publish and sell knitting patterns through my business. On the freelance side of things, I’m a regular contributor of knitting articles and patterns for a tutorial website, and I also write articles and patterns for various knitting magazines.

I originally began writing about knitting while I was in college, and I continued to do it on the side while working another job. Prior to being self-employed full-time, I worked as an associate editor at a small cake decorating magazine where I both wrote and edited content. I spent a lot of time editing cake decorating tutorials and working on web content. Although cake decorating wasn’t a craft I did myself, the writing skills I had developed in college and through writing knitting content were useful no matter the topic.

What did you do in college to prepare for your post-grad life?

My hobbies in college led me to my current career path. I started writing a knitting blog just for fun, and I developed a bit of a following. My readers were enthusiastic about my work and encouraged me to start submitting it to publications. I had my first pattern published by a yarn company my junior year of college, and it was so exciting to be paid to do something I loved. I continued to do it just for fun until my senior year when I began to worry about finding a job after graduating. I began running my website more professionally and started to try to make more professional connections through social media. I went from treating my blog like a hobby to treating it like a part-time job.

Andi's work was featured in the 2013 Winter issue of Pom Pom Quarterly.

Tell us about how you found your first job, and how you found your current job (if different).

Like almost all of my jobs, I found my first freelance job by networking, and I suspect I got it through having my blog because it’s like a giant portfolio. I was a member of a message board for knitting pattern writers, and someone posted about a yarn company’s new program to work with up-and-coming designers. I didn’t think much of the original post, but one of my blog readers encouraged me to submit a proposal, so I gave it a try. On my blog I had simple patterns I had written before, and I included a link to them in my proposal, which I think helped convince the company to take a chance on me. Having a wide variety of writing on my blog has always come in handy.

What is your advice for students and graduates with an English degree?

Get experience while you’re still a student! Whether it’s an internship, working on a student paper, running a blog, or getting published— all of it is incredibly helpful when you’re trying to get hired. Your degree gets your foot in the door, but your experience is what gets you work, and it’s a lot easier to find the time and opportunities to get experience when you’re still a student.

My second bit of advice is for content creators looking to build a career online, and that is if someone is profiting from your work, you should, too. The “honor” of getting published by another website or company is not worth giving your work away for free. It can actually be damaging to your career because it’s hard to get rid of a reputation for working for free. It’s the 21st century, and you can get your work out there without a publisher, so don’t let someone take advantage of you. Your work has value. That’s why these places want to publish it. They’re just hoping you don’t recognize the value of your work, too.

Visit Andi on her knitting blog Untangling-Knots.com, follow her on twitter @AndiSatt and check out her knitting tutorials on Tuts+.
 

Melissa Pilgrim: Writer, Editor & Writing Coach

Name: Melissa Pilgrim

Age: 45

College & Majors/Minors: University of New Hampshire (1990). B.A. in English, Minor in Theatre. Graduate of The Institute of Children's Literature (1993).

Current Location: White Mountains, N.H.

Current Form of Employment: Writer, Editor, & Writing Coach

Where do you work and what is your current position?

For the past seven years, I have run my own writing, editing, and script/writing coaching service called Your Writing Muse from my home office (which started in Los Angeles, but is now in the White Mountains of N.H.). In the course of my career since leaving college in 1990, I worked all over the country for seventeen years in all mediums-- theatre, film, TV, and book publishing-- and based on all of those experiences I am now able to help others with their own writing goals.

You can see my full bio on my website, but in short I have had 16 plays produced, four screenplays optioned, one TV show optioned, one children's book and app published, have either edited or ghostwritten over twelve books (both in nonfiction and fiction genres), been a judge in two screenwriting contents, and have been hired by many producers, authors, and companies as a writer-for-hire on various projects (including Martin Sheen's ESP Productions). I also co-write songs as a lyricist with musicians. Besides doing all these types of creative writing projects/jobs, I also work on business websites helping clients with all their business-related writing and editing needs including their page content, blogs, articles, reports, and newsletters.

As a writer I've found it's great to be able to always stay both creative and versatile, for you never know what kind of writing someone may need help with! Working in all fields has kept me both marketable and employed, for when it's slow in one medium it's normally not in other ones. (Plus, it keeps life interesting!)

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Tell us about how you found your first job. 

My actual first job out of college was very hard to get, for when I graduated in 1990, the country was in a recession. I went all over Boston and N.Y.C. hoping to find work in theatre, film, or publishing, but no one was hiring. But, one interview in N.Y.C. led to a lead for an interview for a job as part of the "starting crew" of Universal Studios in Orlando, which I got. So I moved to Florida where I did a variety of things at Universal, including working in casting for one of Nickelodeon's TV shows. This experience showed me that I really wanted to work with kids more as well as write more. So I started sending out my resume and writing samples to different children's theatres that I knew of in the area, and I was soon hired by one of them.

I found that having great writing samples was very important to get the playwriting/directing job in children's theatre I was looking for, so I always kept writing and trying to improve my craft. It also helped to keep studying in the craft (especially within the children's writing market, specifically), so in the early '90s I also did The Institute of Children's Literature writing program to really learn how to write for every age group of children and teens. This knowledge has helped in many job interviews later on dealing with children's projects in all mediums, for clients can tell I know the field very well.

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What was another writing-related job that was important in your career?

I have worked in different community theatres in several states with both children and adult groups, and not always, but most of the time writing the plays for each group basically "came with the job," and so I was very fortunate to be able to be paid for my writing skills as well as my directing and producing skills all at once. But I wouldn't have gotten hired just on my writing abilities alone in any of these theatre jobs. I found it was an asset to have a variety of skills to offer when interviewing for positions in the field of theatre. People who can handle many types of jobs and responsibilities are more likely to get a job in most small theatres. (But as you work your way up to bigger theatres, this changes and you can then be more specialized into doing only one job, or at least let one job be more of the focus overall.)

For instance, I really got into playwrighting even more when I spent five great years as the artistic director for The Sheil Park Players in the Wrigleyville area of Chicago where I wrote plays for the children and teen groups.  I also did writing workshops for adults to develop new plays out of it for the adult group and helped new playwrights’ original work get showcased.  Many of those workshopped plays went on to be produced in other theatres in Chicago, New York, and even London.

During this whole time I was also focused on evolving my writing in other areas— I started writing screenplays and sending them out to writing contests. One of them placed as a quarter-finalist in both the Nicholl's Fellowships and the Writer's Network Screenwriting Competition, as well as a semi-finalist in the Illinois/Chicago Screenwriting Competition. An agent from Beverly Hills then noticed it, and I moved to L.A. to start writing for film and TV. I went on a lot of what Hollywood calls "meet & greets" and got four of my screenplays optioned over time. I was hired to do a lot of rewrites, script coverage/critics, became a judge in two screenwriting contests, and helped many clients develop their own ideas into screenplays or book manuscripts.

The biggest break of these kinds of jobs came when I was hired to work for ESP Productions (Estevez-Sheen Productions), which is an independent production company in Los Angeles founded by Martin Sheen and his son Ramon Estevez. (It is now run by Ramon and his brother Charlie Sheen.) I worked for them as a writer when it was under Martin Sheen. They are a wonderful family and it was a fantastic experience when they hired me after reading one of my original TV series pilot scripts I had being pitched around Los Angeles at the time. I didn't sell that TV series (yet-- I'm still trying!), but it just shows you never know what is going to happen when you're showing your projects!

I learned early on in my various entertainment jobs that you always have to keep writing new projects all the time and keep pitching/showing your work. Perseverance is key when it comes to writing as a career, in all the mediums, and especially in book publishing... I have helped a lot of people with their book projects (in both nonfiction and fiction genres) over the years, and I really saw how long it took before many books became well known. This kept things in perspective for me as I created my first children's picture book, Animal Motions, which is a fun, easy-to-do, interactive book based on some of my made-up children's theatre improv

games.

After pitching Animal Motions many different places (to both big and small publishers), I finally found a great publisher, Indigo River Publishing, who understood the book's concept and importance to kids right away and I got a publishing contract with them. They found a wonderful illustrator, Ira V. Gates, and we all worked together on the book's creation, with me using my theatre background to "direct" the design of each page as the story unfolded. So once again, I learned how valuable it was to know how to do more than one thing when it came to working on a project like this. An app for the book (published by Authorly.com) was also created in this fashion and it is being launched in February 2014, which is very exciting!

Each of these experiences have all been very important in my career, and I hope they show all writers reading this that working on any and lots of different kinds of projects is possible-- you just have to stay focused and keep writing all the time (as well as bring as many other skills you can to the table/project). If one medium isn't working for you (or you just need a change from it), then do a different one. It's all up to you to keep writing and trying until the right project falls into place at the right time, then you can go on to the next one.

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What did you do in college to prepare for your post-grad life?

I always knew that I wanted to write in a variety of mediums one day, but my first love was the challenge of writing for the stage. I felt it was a great way to learn characterization, dialogue, and plot development skills that would then always help craft any other kind of writing to make it even tighter, better, and stronger overall. So I became an English major with a creative writing focus while I also minored in theatre to really learn as many theatre skills as I could. (Even back then I was advised that to work in theatre you should have several different kinds of jobs/skills to be marketable in the field.) At the time, the east coast had the best programs in writing, but there wasn't as much opportunity for learning about how to write for film and TV, which I knew I also wanted to do. So for my junior year I did an exchange program with San Diego State University to learn the craft of screenwriting out west, where the best training for that was offered. By the time I graduated, I felt I had covered all the mediums and was ready to work in any of them!

At the University of New Hampshire, I was involved with UNH's concert choir, drama groups, several different writing groups, UNH's Student Exchange Club, and SCOPE (a music/performance club that got professional people to come do shows and events at our school including rock groups like The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Inxs, comedians like Jay Leno, filmmakers like Spike Lee, etc.). They were all fun and great activities, but SCOPE was the one that put me around professional people who were doing creative, writing-related types of careers for a living, and that inspired me to know it was possible for me to do it too.

Also keep in mind that just because you're out of college doesn't mean you shouldn't stop learning about or working on your craft. For instance, I always knew I wanted to write for children as well as adults, so I enrolled in The Institute of Children's Literature writing program and studied how to write for children and teens pretty soon after I graduated from UNH. Always look for ways you can keep improving in your craft so others will see you're highly skilled and valuable to their specific project/job.

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What is your advice for students and graduates with an English degree?

My advice to anyone just starting out in the world of writing (beside perseverance, which I already mentioned) is to learn to have patience… things take a long time to get done in this whole "writing world," both the actual writing part and the trying to get it sold (and then hopefully produced) part. So patience is a big lesson in this field (along with a good sense of humor when a project you thought was all set to sell or go suddenly "falls apart")!

I'd also like to mention that it's important to always respect (and appreciate) other people's time and only pitch them something you feel is truly relevant to their own needs or goals (in all mediums, always). I can't tell you how many times I've worked for companies or people who say they only want to read romantic comedies at this particular time, yet get pitches for all genres anyway. Do your research before you pitch, always! For it only makes you look unprofessional if your project doesn't seem relevant to their current needs or tastes.

And lastly, if this is a career field you truly want to do for a living, then respect that it is an actual career choice and expect to get paid for it. Know that your skills--and eventually experience-- are worth being paid for. I see many "free/spec jobs" listed for writers all the time and it saddens me, for all forms of writing takes time, focus, and skill to do, and if someone is going to put all of that into a project they should also be paid for their time, focus, and skills. But for some reason people try to talk them into doing it for free or very little money. But I, like other professional writers I know, normally work on their own projects for free until they're ready to be pitched and sold. Working on other people's projects is then an actual job. Believe it will be for you, too.

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Visit Melissa on her professional website YourWritingMuse.com for more examples of her work and writing tips. You can also check out her latest project at AnimalMotions.com!