Maria Schneider is the former editor of Writer’s Digest magazine. She recently left her job and started a new website for writers: http://editorunleashed.com. We talked with Maria to find out how she smacked down her Inner Critic and went after her dreams.
First, do you have an active Inner Critic?
Yes, I have a very pesky Inner Critic. I’m an editor after all.
I think every writer needs an Inner Critic; it’s necessary because you have to edit your work to make it publishable. It’s a detriment to be unable to take a critical eye to your own writing.
That said, it’s important to make sure your Inner Critic is in her place-and when you’re writing, that place is the time-out room.
You recently decided to leave your job as editor of Writer’s Digest in a time of economic turmoil. How did you overcome your fears of making the leap?
It might seem like an impetuous move, but I trust my instincts and my instincts were screaming at me: it’s time to move on. There was a corporate restructuring, and it became clear to me that I wasn’t going to be driving the editorial vision of the magazine any more; that it was going to become more of a marketing vehicle. That’s a corporate decision that I understand; these are tough times for publishers. But it just wasn’t a place I wanted to be any longer. In publishing, you have to align yourself with people who share your vision; otherwise, it just doesn’t work. I’m taking on freelance writing and editing jobs now to shore up my family’s finances, but yes, it is scary not to have the regular income a full-time job provides.
What are you doing now and what’s your vision for the site?
I realized the things I most loved about being the editor of Writer’s Digest-writing my blog, doing interviews, writing articles and interacting on our forum-I could do all of those things on my own by setting up my own website. As much as I love print, I think I really thrive in an online environment; I like the conversation.
My vision for the site is still emerging. I knew I wanted to start off with a blog and a writers’ forum and those are both up and running nicely just two weeks into it.
I want the site to grow into a community destination for both writers and readers. I think it’s really difficult for writers to get solid, trustworthy information online and I want to provide that for them.
I’m doing the majority of the writing for the blog now, but I will be bringing more voices into the mix through guest posts and interviews. The blog and forum will be filled with resources like creativity starters, essays and articles on writing and publishing, and critique forums for peer reviews. I’ll also be offering premium workshop forums in a few months for writers who want more intensive workshopping with an editor.
I would like to eventually start an online journal and publish some of the work that’s been workshopped on the forum. And I have a long-term dream of starting up my own little publishing house if I see the opportunity.
Right now, though, I’m focused on connecting with and growing my community of writers and readers. I believe that my business model will emerge from that. Being connected to this community of writers and readers will show me what they want and need.
What strategies did you use to calm your fears and take action?
It’s incredibly important-as a writer or anyone with creative aspirations-to seek out and align yourself with people who will support and nurture you, whether that’s an MFA program or a local workshop at your library, or an online forum like mine. A big part of the reason I started the forum, really, is that I like the conversation with other writers. I’ve seen first-hand how being involved in a good writing community can empower you. Sure, you need plenty of alone time as a writer or an artist, but the worst thing you can do is isolate yourself.
Over time, does it get easier to smackdown the Critic?
I think so. Actually, blogging has really been helpful for me in overcoming my Inner Critic. If you really commit to blogging, you need to post every day, and there’s nothing like writing every day to get you over your nagging Inner Critic. I don’t think you ever truly get over being self-critical, though. As I said, you need to be able to put a critical eye to your own work, but it’s best saved for the editing process.
What have you done to ensure that you don’t get paralyzed with inaction as you build your new life?
My creativity is really driving me at this point in my life. I almost feel as if there isn’t enough time in the day to put all of my ideas into fruition. I think that’s when you know you’re moving in the right path, you feel compelled to do something and the ideas for making it bigger and better just never seem to stop.
What do you do when none of your smackdowns are working?
Doing really mundane, routine tasks like folding laundry, loading the dishwasher, sweeping, for some reason those things really help me out when I’m creatively stuck. And the bonus, of course, is your house gets a bit cleaner.
What keeps you motivated?
My curiosity, my ideas, my sincere interest in other people, and my desire to provide an educational, inspiring and nurturing online home for writers.
What are your favorite sources of inspiration?
Music (roots, jazz and bluegrass), photographs, coffee (the taste, the smell, the caffeine!); interacting with other writers.
What advice would you give someone who wanted to start their own venture?
It would be irresponsible of me to recommend leaving your job to start your own venture. But I know that I wouldn’t have gotten my own goals moving if I were still working full-time. Working that much just sucks up your creative energy.
If you have a book you want to write or some other venture you want to pursue, just start a dedicated notebook and write down the ideas when they come to you-a picture will start to emerge. After you have some solid ideas in place, take a week’s vacation from work to start implementing some of your plans.
I think if you find yourself drawn to working on that project every day, all day long for a week or more, that book or project is probably going to have legs for you. It has to be something you’re really drawn toward; something you’d do, at least for a little while, without pay. That being said, it’s important to generate ideas for how your project could become profitable for you in the future. You do have to give some thought to a business model, although I think it really needs to be your creativity and vision driving you.
What advice would you give to someone who was stuck in fear and inaction?
Keeping an idea notebook really has helped me. I’m always jotting down ideas. I think it should be really free form at first, just to start getting your ideas down, but you’ll find yourself being drawn more into the concrete details of a project as you keep brainstorming.
Is there some idea you’ve had at your workplace that you couldn’t push through because of corporate bureaucracy? Is there a book you’ve always wanted to read but couldn’t find in the bookstores? Write these things down in a notebook and start jotting down random thoughts that address that problem with a solution that you could build a book or business or platform around. Think big, but start small.
