Robwrite, From Bay Ridge Brooklyn NY, 183 Fans, 145 Hubs, Joined 2 years ago
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Simone Smith Interviews Robwrite
A behind-the-scenes peek at a native New Yorker, freelance writer, movie expert, and history buff
How did you find HubPages? Why did you decide to join?
I first found it when I was looking for ways to make some extra money by writing online. I found several references to HubPages as a potential revenue source. I thought that by joining HubPages, I could bring in some extra cash and raise my profile as a writer.
You share in your bio that you've been writing all your life, and that now you're trying to make a career of it. What made you decide to bring writing to center stage in your life?
Well, maybe I was having a mid-life crisis, but when I reached my forties, I suddenly started feeling that I'd wasted too much of my life sitting behind my desk and doing boring, repetitious work. The idea of doing it for another twenty-something years, until I retired, just seemed horrifying to me. I wanted to be able to look back at my life in my old age and say I did something interesting and creative. So I quit my job as an inventory control manager at the American Automobile Association. It was suffocating me spiritually and emotionally. I was there for 20 years. I just had to do something else with my life and writing is what I've always been good at.
We really love your Hubs on films and movie trivia - how did you amass so much knowledge on the movie industry??
It came from several sources. First of all, there was my film teacher Mr. Jacobson in high school. We talked together a lot and he had all the inside scoop on the movie industry. After that, I just became a research nut, grabbing any book I could find about films and film making. I love those "Making of..." books because they have so many great, unknown facts. I also worked in the theater for a while and I met a lot of show business insiders, like Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard (From "House MD") and Callista Flockheart ("Ally McBeal"). They were very good sources of information. I wrote a bio-pic once about the Marx Brothers and I managed to get in touch with a film historian and some surviving family members, as well as reading every biography available on them, just to make sure I had every detail correct.
Aside from writing about movies, you've written some Hubs on historical subjects and social issues - what inspired them?
I just love history. I always have. If I'm not reading about movies, then I'm reading a history book. I can read about the revolutionary war or the civil war for hours. As for social issues, I feel it's important to alert people to certain problems. I'm a big environmentalist, so I've written a few Hubs about ecological problems, such as the Great Lakes crisis. I'm also sensitive to situations of people being treated unfairly, which is why I've written a couple of Hubs about the unequal treatment of women.
What do you plan on writing about next?
I'm working on a Hub about the mysterious death of George Reeves, who played Superman in the 50s. I'm also continuing my series of auto-biography Hubs called "The Adventures of the Odd boys". And there will be some new movie reviews coming up soon. Also, I've been contracted by a website to cover NY Comic-Con as a freelance journalist. That will be in about three weeks, so I'll definitely write a Hub or two about my experiences there as part of the press.
Do you have any advice for writers who, like you, are contemplating the possibility of focusing on their craft full time?
You have to be very committed, because it's not easy. You'll need to be very persistent because the writing is the easy part--selling it is hard. Freelance work that pays well is scarce these days. So be sure it's what you want to do, because there will be some difficult times. Make sure you have some money saved up, or know someone you can borrow from in emergencies.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
I just want to say that I appreciate people like you, Simone, who follow my Hubs and give me such great feedback. Having a regular following is an asset when trying to sell my work, because I can always tell a magazine publisher "There are 180 people out there who like to read what I write, so maybe you'll sell an extra 180 copies if you print my article." I really enjoy reading the comments I get. I check several times a day to see if I got any new comments. I love to hear from everyone.
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