Feedback

Pam Cope and I greet George Achibra at DFW Airport.

By Susan

Today, I had the privilege of greeting my comrade George Achibra at the airport for his first visit to America.

George is Ghanaian, and has dedicated his life to rescuing children sold into slavery in his own backyard-- the vast and open waters of Lake Volta in West Africa. These children are slaves to fishing masters who work on the the largest man-made lake in the world. Children sold by their own parents out of the dire circumstances of poverty and ignorance. Children that I have come to love, children that we fight for every day at Touch A Life Foundation, where I have the blessing and honor to speak for every day.

Raul on the day of his rescue in 2008.

I will tell you only a little bit about George because I do not have the words inside me to describe him. We sat together this afternoon and discussed his work. While I am here, in Texas, building marketing plans and developing strategies for website development to further the cause for child trafficking, he is there--on a boat in the middle of the night--listening to the cries of children in the darkness, children who are still enslaved, children who do not know the meaning of freedom, children who do not know that they are loved, and that as they cry, we fight for them. He is there, watching Raul, one of the boys rescued from the lake, grow into a young boy with a beautiful voice. He is there, educating children and communities about the evils of slavery. George has made mistakes that he acknowledges. And he has also had great successes in his work as a champion for the trafficked child.

Raul and me in 2010 in Kete Krachi, Ghana.

Today in our conversations he explained to me a new concept he was learning in his Master's program at university in Ghana where he is taking classes. It is a concept called feedback. He described in great detail how you can tell someone the good and the bad of things, the right and wrong of what they are doing, with the intention of making them wiser. Stronger. Better. There is no word for it in Twe, the language of his people. In Ghana, to critique is only seen as a vehicle to tear someone down: to hurt, to show your own power, or to belittle. But the concept of feedback, this amazing way of telling someone something to improve their situation, and to help them, is a new idea to George. He was thrilled with it, this ability to give someone something like this as a gift. The light is his eyes was bright at the idea of it. Feedback.

Today, I challenge you to look at feedback in this same light. As though it is a blessing to you, in your writing and in your life. How can your peers make you better? How can their words shape your choices going forward?

Like George, I am seeing feedback as something new. I was blessed by a writing colleague this week who gave me some very positive feedback on my manuscript. Yet in other aspects of my life recently, I also experienced the frustration of negative feedback, and my ego was checked, my spirit was quieted. I am learning from both of these conversations. And I am choosing humility in both situations.

The choice is ours, you know. To either bask in the positive or to take the negative like a grown up and change what we have been doing, to make ourselves better.

I'm choosing, like George, to make myself better. To learn from mistakes and to take the path of new beginnings. To become a better writer, a stronger voice, and to be a positive influence going forward. Understanding the concept of feedback requires courage, and active decisions. George is one of those guys who gets it--even before he knew the word for it.

As a writer, my heart is open. And as a person? I am taking it all in. Accepting the feedback and working to make myself better.

Are you?

Life

By Susan

In June, my family and I spent a luxurious week at the Paradise Village Resort in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico, a much-anticipated and saved-for vacation. Our sunrise patio overlooked the yacht harbor. Our sunset dinners gave us a view of a Pacific expanse of purple skies, jagged mountain peaks, and a quiet surf. We sang along with the Mariachi band on Fiesta night and drank tequila out of little silly cups the resort staff hung around our necks on strings. We zip-lined over canyons, hiked in the rain forest, and swam in a cool stream famous for- of all things- being the set for the movie "Predator". My eight-year-old, with her hair done up in tight cornrows braided by an elderly Mexican woman on the beach, swam with me in the resort pool on our last day there, smiled broadly, and said "Mommy, this is THE LIFE."

In March I spent two weeks travelling in Ghana, West Africa for my work with Touch A Life Foundation. The capital city, Accra, teems with people; legless men sitting on modified skateboards dart through traffic, begging for cedis, the Ghanaian currency. Women carry baskets full of fresh bread, or bags of water, or shrimp, or hard-boiled eggs; they carry everything perched high on their heads in a Carmen Miranda-esque balancing act of both grace and danger. Their babies are tied to their backs with long swaths of fabric, safely sleeping, suspended there, legs wrapped around and feet pointing forward. People. Color. Sound. Everywhere. Everything smells, whether it's the sweet stickiness of body odor, the bursting blooms from the garden, old garbage, fufu cooking over an open flame, or the stench of open sewage. I work with children rescued from human trafficking -- kids who tackle me with hot and dirty hands and hugs and love every time they see me. I look around and say: "Wow. This is REAL LIFE."

In Texas, I have two dogs and a cat. I live in a neigh-
borhood of families who move silently in and out of their homes, and anything I could possibly want to purchase is within a five mile radius of my house. I have a husband who is crazy about World Cup soccer, the Tour de France, his children, and cooking (not necessarily in that order). My daughters do well in school, love to sing, play guitar, and play sports. I work full time (always have) and at night, when everything is quiet, I sit by myself, curled in a chair with my laptop, and I write. "Hmmm," I think to myself, "This is MY LIFE."

And it's all the same life. Writing is like this life too, whether it's an escape into a luxurious world we're not so sure we belong to, or something far-flung and foreign, or something comfortable and familiar. We can write about things we know, places we've been, and sunsets we've seen.

The important part is to connect -- to find the familiar, to write something that might mean something to someone. By writing this little blog, maybe you see my sunset in your mind's eye. You smell the streets of Accra with me, and you see me sitting here right now, in my quiet home, writing in the dark. We connect, ever so briefly, and share something together, without even knowing one another.

So pick your life, the one you live, and pick the one you write. Have your heroine swept away by that beautiful Mexican cabana boy or the handsome yet lonely stranger who owns the yacht in the harbor. Tell the stories of the scars on the bodies of the little boys rescued from slavery on the waters of Lake Volta, fall in love with a child who calls you "Ma" and leaves grubby smudges on your already sweat-stained clothes. Or write about the heartaches that go on inside every home on every street in America, where the hero lavishes himself with excess and still can't figure out exactly what he is missing in his life, because he already has everything that money can buy.

Just write. Write it all down and connect your story with mine. I'll connect mine, hopefully, with you. Choose your life and choose your story; just keep writing.

Malaak Compton-Rock and Her New Book

By Susan Poulos

If It Takes a Village, Build One! by Malaak Compton-Rock

Available at amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and Borders Books.

In the course of my work with Touch A Life Foundation, I got to know Malaak Compton-Rock, noted philanthropist and wife of comedian Chris Rock. She just released her first book, If It Takes a Village, Build One: How I Found Meaning Through a Life of Service and 100+ Ways That You Can Too (Broadway Books, New York, 2010).

In January, Malaak traveled with me and the Touch A Life staff to Ghana, West Africa, to see modern-day slavery on the waters of Lake Volta, where children are trafficked into the fishing industry to work 16-hour days for a master. We returned in March with representatives from her organization, Journey For Change, where we were able to introduce teenagers from New York to former child slaves in Touch A Life's programs. We also were part of negotiating the release of two children who are now in the care of Touch A Life in Kete Krachi, Ghana.


Malaak has devoted her career to helping others, and in her new book, she gives a blueprint to those who ask "I want to help others, but how?" We had a chance to talk this week about her new book, and she gave great practical advice on publishing in the non-fiction world. Here is our conversation!

SP: Tell us a little about what brought you to the point of writing If It Takes a Village, Build One, and your background in service work.

MCR: I have been in the non-profit field now for about 15 years. Because people have seen me speak publicly about certain issues, NGOs, and my belief that we can all serve, I receive lots and lots of emails, phone calls, and letters from people asking me how they can make a difference. It has been a powerful blessing to my life to hear from people nationwide and to be a part of such an important discussion.

SP: What prompted you to write If It Takes a Village?

MCR: While I was a co-judge on “Oprah’s Big Give” a few years ago, people started to stop me in the street to tell me they wanted to give back but did not know how. It was during this time that I knew the book was relevant and that it would have an audience if I took a leap of faith and wrote it.

SP: What are your thoughts on social responsibility that you want to pass on to your generation, and to the next one?

MCR: The title of my book is based on the prolific African proverb “It Takes a Village.” I would love the next generation to live by this simple but necessary ideal – to reclaim it and do a better job than we are doing now. We are all a part of the same collective village, and we have to take care of each other. I truly believe that I have a responsibility to my own children, to your children, and to the world’s children. We cannot be bound by geographic lines when it comes to caring for our fellow human beings and feeling a responsibility toward each other.

SP: For our writers out there, tell us a little about your process for securing an agent and publisher.

MCR: Well, I was very lucky and I profoundly realize it. Unlike most first-time authors, I was able to approach my existing agent who handles TV opportunities for me and ask for an introduction to the literary division. This happens to be a large agency with a phenomenal clientele of talented and successful authors. After meeting with an agent about my idea, I was asked to write a book proposal, which I did. Once they agreed to represent me, my new agent advised me to revise it until it really spoke to what I wanted to eventually write about. Next, my agent called a multitude of publishing houses with the idea. I ended up meeting face to face with three of them. It is actually quite intimidating -- at least to me! With each house, there were three to four people present in the meeting. I had to verbally express my idea, tell them who I was writing it for, how I would write it, how I would organize it, and eventually how I thought I could promote it. We ended up going with Broadway, a division of Random House because they were the ones who truly understood my voice and what I wanted to convey. I must add that because I have lots of friends and colleagues who are talented aspiring authors, I do know that my process is not the norm in terms of securing the agent. I am thankful and blessed.

SP: Your service work has brought you the opportunity to travel the world creating service projects. What has been the most fulfilling aspect of this?

MCR: Without a doubt, the most fulfilling aspect has been the opportunity to meet and learn from the mothers of the world, the caretakers of this earth. I have been filled up beyond belief by the female nurturers whom I have met from New Orleans, LA; to Brooklyn, NY; to Johannesburg, South Africa; to Kete Krachi, Ghana; to Nairobi, Kenya; to Newark, NJ; and even in my hometown of Alpine, NJ. As the Chinese proverb goes, “Women lift up half the sky” and I have been able to meet and learn from many of them.

SP: How did your celebrity status effect your decisions to write a book about service work?

MCR: Being married to a major celebrity is a mixed blessing in terms of my service work. It is a blessing because it has helped in terms of garnering much-needed attention to my programs and the programs of others. This, of course, helps with fundraising and awareness about critical issues. On the other hand, sometimes people cannot imagine that I am a “grass-roots, in-the-field” kind of girl. They cannot imagine that I do so much more than writing a check and that being in the field and connecting with those I serve is what fills me up. Hence, I actually hesitated at first when I thought about writing the book because I did not want people to think that this was a book from some privileged person who does not actually do the work.

SP: Did you struggle with the editing and partnerships that came with writing a non-fiction book? How did you deal with those obstacles?

MCR: I really struggled with editing. It was so important for me to include information about all of the issues that negatively affect women and children worldwide. I wanted people to understand that my work is driven by the U.N.’s Convention on the Rights of the Child. So I wanted to bring attention to all of the ideals that children are denied each day, like the right to an education, the right to proper nutrition, the right to play, the right to not work, the right to not be enslaved, the right to love and protection, the right to proper housing, and so forth. I then wanted the readers to know how they could help if they connected to a particular issue. Unfortunately, my editor felt that I could not include everything that I wanted and this was really difficult for me. Additionally, I wanted to include information on even more NGOs that I did, but it was not possible. I dealt with this by fighting for the things that were most important to me and relenting on those that were not. I also came to realize that several of my editor’s decisions did make sense and were for the best. However, it is so important that you stand your ground for those things that are truly authentic to who you are and how your want the book to be perceived by the readers.

SP: Was writing the book a bigger challenge than you at first envisioned? What advice do you have to other would-be authors about taking on a non-fiction project?

MCR: Yes, it was. For me the most difficult thing was budgeting my time to ensure that I completed the book on schedule. I did not. Once I missed my first deadline, I had to really structure my day around writing and not deviate from the schedule that I set for myself. I also had a deadline that was right after Christmas. As a mom of small kids, I wish I would have known that I did not want to be locked in a room around Thanksgiving and Christmas, instead of being fully engaged with my kids. I still regret the time I spent away from them each day leading up to these major holidays, which we cherish as a family and go all out to celebrate. I also struggled with the balance of writing about my life in service and the nitty gritty “how-to” part of the book, which teaches the reader how they too can give back.

SP: Tell us about the role you have taken in promoting the book yourself (social media, etc). How important do you think social media is in promoting a new release?

MCR: Well…let me just say that the authors who told me that you would have to be fully engaged in promoting your own book did not lie! Unless you are super, super famous or an established best-selling author, you have to get out there and be your own advocate. I think, across the board, publishers do not allocate a lot of time or resources to press and promotions. If you did not know better, you would take it personally, but this was told to me so many times, thankfully I did not. You also have to be fully engaged with the PR person assigned to you at the publisher and hope that this person has a passion for your product. So to answer your question, I had a lot to do with the press that I received. I really reached back to the past publicist in me and went for it! I called on all of my old contacts and also took advantage of every opportunity, no matter how big or small. As an avid reader, I know that long-term success is based on word-of-mouth. And so if one person is talking about the book and spreading the word, I am grateful and happy. For me social media was and continues to be a key element. I am still taking advantage of opportunities presented to me, like this one, and seeking others. One thing we did early on, and it was my publisher’s idea, was to film videos on key points and ideals in the book. I think that they came out great and they were able to share them with their online retailers and I was able to post them to You Tube, twitter and Facebook. My twitter followers and Facebook friends have been great as well. They helped me to get the word out by retweeting and posting information on the book to their profiles. Truth be told though, I still have more to do and more to learn! Social media grows at such a rate that I sometimes feel that I can’t keep up! Next for me is to target all of the “mommy blogs”!

SP: What's next for you? Are you planning a follow-up book?

Well, I am looking forward to just focusing on my family. The process of writing, editing and promoting a book is really time consuming. And though I have enjoyed many aspects of it, I want to be home and fully engaged. In terms of service work, we are in the planning stages of Journey for Change 2, where we will take another 30 at-risk youth from Brooklyn and 30 college-aged mentors to Johannesburg, South Africa, for two weeks of volunteer work on August 18. This is followed by a year of service, advocacy and education activities in the U.S. Now, if I were to write another book, it would be something to do with mothers and how we really “lift up the sky,” as the Chinese proverb says. I do not know what it is yet as I do not have it shaped in my mind. However, I do know that we can never talk enough about a mother’s worth.

Writing that Makes a Difference

by Susan

I've been thinking about the basics lately--the basics of reading.

We read for simple reasons: to learn, to escape and to be entertained. We read, I believe, to be changed somehow, enriched and transformed by someone else's story. The beauty of other people's words is that they grant permission, their imagination inspires and experiences give perspective. So reading, in it's most essential nature, gives us often more than we asked for when we opened the covers and began to turn the pages.

I read three books last year that changed things for me. The first, Defying Gravity: A Celebration of Late-Blooming Women, by Prill Boyle, was one of those permission-granting books. Published in 2004, Boyle outlines the stories of 12 women who made dramatic career changes late in life.

It's sounds so simple. Yet last year, I was struggling in my own crisis--feeling mismatched for the career I had called my life for the prior 16 years. For the first time, I wondered if the work I had done for my entire adult life was all wrong.

I wanted to finish my novel, I wanted to leave corporate America...but then, where would I go? I didn't know of any other place. I wanted my work, whether it was as a novelist or any other choice, to have meaning and purpose. Defying Gravity gave me permission to make a major change, and I decided not to wait until I was 50. When the opportunity came to me, I decided I would take it.

I focused on changing my career because Prill Boyle wrote this book.

Silas House's first novel, Clay's Quilt, was published in 2001. Lucky for me, by the time I found him last September, he had also written three more novels: The Coal Tattoo, A Parchment of Leaves, and Eli the Good. I inhaled all four books in two days' time--stunned by his prose and inspired by his imagination. You see, Silas lives in Eastern Kentucky, a part of this planet that I know very well. I grew up in a small town that they call the Gateway--caught between the world of bourbon and horse money or moonshine and coal money. I know the voice that talked to me in Clay's Quilt. He inspired me, and brought me to terms with my own writing and my goals for the novel.

I recommitted to my manuscript because of Silas House.

Then there was Jantsen's Gift: A True Story of Grief, Rescue and Grace, by Pam Cope and Aimee Molloy. This book changed everything for me. It is Pam's memoir of losing her 15-year-old son, Jantsen, and everything I had worried about that seemed so magnanimous was now more trivial than I can ever admit. (I also faced, for the first time, my own terror at losing my children. Nothing else seemed important anymore.)

After Jantsen died, Pam and her husband, Randy, went on to upend everything that they had once called normal, by crashing through their grief and healing by giving to others. They adopted Van and Tatum from Vietnam in the early 2000s, and through a long list of serendipitous events I can only call "God-things," they saved child after child from lives we cannot imagine. (Read. This. Book.) They now support over 300 at-risk children in Vietnam and Cambodia through their foundation. In 2006, she read an article in the New York Times about Mark Kwadwo, a 6-year-old child slave in Ghana, west Africa, and went on to rescue Mark six weeks later. Today, they support over 80 other former child slaves in Ghana. They are committed to their housing, medical care and education until they are grown.

This book, however, became more than just influential for me. In August, I met Pam Cope, who lives here in Dallas. By September I was volunteering my time, providing marketing assistance for the foundation, Touch A Life. In November, I quit my "Corporate America Job" when she hired me full-time. In January, I went to Africa to see the child slaves on the waters of Lake Volta, and I came back fueled with purpose and passion.

As you read this, I am in Africa again, with Pam by my side. We are under this African sun next to these boys who will soon be men--these boys who call me "Ma" and wrap their arms around my neck with love and simplicity. Soon, I believe, they will lead their country as modern day abolitionists. And I will stand behind them, as one of the "Ma's" who changed their lives, all because I decided to read some books.

And because of Pam Cope, my life has flipped upside down (Whoa. You have no idea.)

We read for pleasure and escape and entertainment. But for me, because of these three books, I changed everything in my life. There is a ripple from that change...that flows from little ol' me, here in Dallas, to the hollers of Kentucky, to the wide open waters of Lake Volta. It only takes one person to do something different. I applaud Prill and Silas and Pam for writing these books, because reading their words changed me.

Now, it's my turn to change somebody else.

An Interview with Jantsen's Gift Co-author Aimee Molloy

By Susan
I had the opportunity to have a candid conversation this week with Aimee Molloy, the co-author of Jansten’s Gift. For Aimee, the book was more than her next title, it was a life-changing event. Check out our quick conversation and let us know what you think!

1) Tell our readers a little bit about the story of Jantsen's Gift.
Jantsen's Gift is the story of Pam Cope. In 1999, her fifteen-year-old son Jantsen died unexpectedly of an undetected heart ailment. At his funeral, she and her husband, Randy, requested that people donate to a memorial fund in Jantsen's name in lieu of flowers. They raised more money than they ever expected--nearly $25,000. Pam ended up donating a portion of that money to friends in Vietnam who had started an orphanage. She, Randy and their daughter, Crista, went to Vietnam to visit the orphanage, and it was here that her whole perspective began to shift.

She went on to use the money, as well as her grief and compassion, to start an organization called Touch A Life. First, they worked in Vietnam saving children who lived on the street and were at risk of being trafficked. Then, after reading about the issue of child slavery in Ghana--which, believe it or not, is still a big problem there and around the world--she began to rescue children who had been sold by their parents to fishermen who worked Lake Volta, the nation's largest lake. Now, they have a boarding school in Ghana and have rescued 69 children. While it sounds like a sad story, it's not. Pam is incredibly inspiring and funny, and really puts herself out there in the book. We've heard from so many people, who said Pam's story has changed their lives in very good ways, making them take stock in themselves and figure out what's really important to them.

2) What began this incredible journey for you that became Jantsen's Gift?

The book was actually the idea of Heather Schroeder, a literary agent in New York. The New York Times wrote about Pam's work in Ghana, and after reading that article, Heather knew it would make a great book. She got us together. Pam and I first met at a coffee shop in New York. Our second meeting was three weeks later, at the airport, on our way to Ghana.

3) This is your third collaboration on a narrative nonfiction book, the first, For God and Country: Faith and Patriotism Under Fire, with Chaplain James Yee, and the second, This Moment on Earth: Today’s New Environmentalists and Their Vision for the Future, with John Kerry and Teresa Heinz Kerry. As a writer, how did you gravitate towards this niche?

When I was very young, I used to practice writing by trying to emulate my favorite authors' styles. In fourth grade, I won a contest for writing most like Edgar Allen Poe. Perhaps it was that blue ribbon that set my fate, although I certainly didn't expect to be able to make a living doing this someday. I also got a very fortunate first break. In 2004, I read a story in The New York Times about Chaplain James Yee, a Muslim U.S. Army chaplain, stationed at Guantanamo, who had been arrested on suspicion of belonging to Al Qaeda.

The story seemed fishy to me, and I became really interested in learning more. So I chased it. I was working full-time at a gallery, and doing this in my free time. I interviewed his family, his colleagues and his lawyers. He wouldn't grant me an interview, however, as he was weighing how best to present his side of the story. I was hoping to write an article about his case, but that didn't transpire. That was a big disappointment to me because I had invested a lot of time in it. So I decided to quit my job, become a waitress if necessary, and pursue writing full time. On the last day at my job, Chaplain Yee called me. He told me that he had sold his story to a publishing house, and wanted me to write it for him. Nobody was more surprised by that than I. But I got the job, and it's turned into so many great experiences and opportunities.

4) How has your involvement with Pam Cope and Touch A Life changed you?

The better question may be how has it not. I got to travel to incredibly remote parts of Africa and Asia and interview child slaves, their masters and the parents who had sold them. I never imagined I'd ever get to do that. I've gotten a very rich understanding of how people in other parts of the world live. I've met so many children who have endured so many unspeakable things, and meeting them has had a profound impact on me. I've also gotten to know Pam, who has inspired me beyond belief, and will be one of my closest friends forever. In the end, this experience has taught me that as long as I am fortunate enough to make a living writing, I'd like to be involved telling stories that may contribute in some ways to making a real difference.

5) Of all the travels and children you met while writing this book, who or what location affected you most?

That's a hard one. I think the experience that's affected me the most was visiting Cambodia, where I interviewed young girls who had been working in the sex industry for many years. It was heartbreaking, and two years later, I still haven't fully shook that experience. It's one thing to see children in Ghana sold because of poverty. While that's incredibly hard to witness, I don't think that the intentions behind it are evil. But it's another thing to see these young girls being forced into these situations because men--many of them Westerners--will pay a high price for them. That experience has made me want to explore this issue more and help to tell the stories of girls like those I met.

6) The book strongly carries Pam's voice. What was the process you two used in writing this project?

It was very intense, and it worked so well mainly because Pam was willing to be very open and very honest with me from the beginning. We spent a lot of time talking to each other, and we travelled together a lot too, which was very helpful. It's easier to come to an understanding of another person's voice when it's all you hear for two-week stretches and are forced to share beds, clothes and toothbrushes in the middle of Africa and Asia. She also shared with me all of her journals, which was an act of trust that I will always appreciate. Then we just sat down and went to work. I holed up in a little hut in Bali and wrote a first draft, which Pam read very carefully and made tons of suggestions. We went back and forth several times before we got to a place--and a book--that we both fell in love with.

7) Did you begin Jantsen's Gift with specific goals in mind, or was the goal to simply tell Pam's story?

Elizabeth Gilbert's inscription at the beginning of Eat, Pray, Love reads: Tell the truth, tell the truth, tell the truth. Pam and I read that book at the same time, and whenever we hit a rough patch in the story telling or wondered where we were going, we'd return to the idea that we just wanted to be honest. Of course, this was a much different, and probably more difficult, process for Pam, as it was her life we were delving into. But I think that this, above all else, was the thing that was most important to both of us, and the reason why people are responding so well to Jantsen's Gift. It's definitely something I've always believed in: a book can't be really good if it's not completely, 100 percent, brutally honest.

8) For other writers out there seeking publication of nonfiction, how do you recommend they get started?

I get asked this question a lot, and even after three books, I still don't know if I'm qualified to give advice, because, unfortunately, there really is no formula for it. Some people find going to school or taking classes helpful, but I didn't go that route. I do know that there were many years that I spent talking about wanting to be a writer far more than I was actually writing. The one thing that I do know is that the trick to writing really is simple: you have to write. Write all the time, at least every day. It doesn't have to be a great work of art, or something you even intend to show to anyone. Right now, the best writing I'm doing is in my journal, and it was like that for me for many years.

Once you feel comfortable--meaning you've found your own voice and have overcome all the demon voices in your head questioning your ability or right to write--there are steps you can take to get published. I started very small, with local magazines, which, as long as they exist, are great resources for new writers. Write as many articles as you can, even if you don't get paid. If you want to publish a book, you must get an agent. Publishing houses will no longer look at work unless it is presented through an agent. That may sound like an impossible goal, but there are many agents who will take their chances on unpublished writers with good ideas and a strong voice.

9) What writers and/or works have influenced you the most?

That's kind of like asking me to choose my favorite child! Because I write narrative nonfiction, the writers who have influenced me the most tend to be novelists. Ian McEwan is probably my all-time favorite. I've read Enduring Love so many times, I think I may have memorized it. I recently went through a stage of discovering writers from the 1950s and '60s. Richard Yates' Revolutionary Road and his short stories are works of genius. I'm also drawn to writers who are willing to take risks. The best example I've seen of that in the last few years is Joshua Ferris' Then We Came to the End. Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird is never too far away from me. Anyone who has aspirations to write should read this book. It's a great tool on the writing process, and on working your way through the moments of utter horror and lack of confidence that are a constant and never-ending part of the writing process.

10) If there was one key to publishing a successful non-fiction work, besides solid writing skills, what would you say it is?

I'd love to know the answer to that one myself. While I don't think there is one key thing, there are certain elements that I believe have to be part of anything artistic: as I said earlier, you must be willing to be honest. You must be able to quiet the part of you that judges yourself for even writing, and put yourself out there. Then you must find the right people who are willing to support you. I've been very lucky to work with great editors--people, who I believe, don't get nearly enough credit for all that they contribute to the process of publishing a book. Then when it's all done, you have to just sit back, believe in what you've done, and hope that others want to read it.

11) What's next for Aimee Molloy?

I'm currently working on a proposal for my own book. It stems from the research I started with Jantsen's Gift, and will profile sixteen girls who are sixteen years old from sixteen totally different cultures from around the world. It feels like a big step for me to be pursuing my own book, rather than co-authoring, and I'm excited, terrified, and relying a lot on trust right now.