Major in journalism; minor in business administration

2. Where did you go to college?

Central Michigan University (best journalism program in the state of Michigan)

3. When did you know that you wanted to be an editor?

Since I was about 10 years old. I knew I wanted to write for a newspaper for as long as I can remember.

4.Do you enjoy your job?

Very much – I love the Huron Daily Tribune and working at my hometown’s daily newspaper.

 Yes.  From a very young age, as early as four or five, I knew I wanted to be the kind of person who created the things I enjoyed so much: Stories and books and even the cartoons I loved watching.

 2. What inspires you to write?

 I used to believe in inspiration of the ah-ha lightbulb variety, the kind that grips you and propels you to write feverishly and brilliantly, culminating in a celebrated and admired best-seller.

 Then I became a professional writer after I received my Bachelor of Arts degree in English.  The kind of inspiration I mentioned above is the stuff of childish notions about inspiration and what it takes to create a work.  Deadlines were my main inspiration.  Being assigned projects and getting them completed before the deadline was all the inspiration I needed.

 This notion is very true: Show up regularly and the ideas will come.  Show up regularly and the ideas will come.  Sometimes I know what I want to write but more often than not, I’m surprised by what comes out when I get into the flow.

 3. Was it hard to publish a book?

 My gosh, yes!  Was it ever.  Here’s a condensed version of the story.

In 2012, Karen Grencik, my literary agent at the time, told me I had a choice: Let go of the dream of seeing my book STARVED published, or publish it myself.

Karen had sent my book to all of the big and medium-sized Young Adult publishers.  STARVED was rejected by them all, which was quite difficult and discouraging for me.  Some rejections were quite harsh, but most of the rejections were kind and encouraging, and could be summed up in a few ways.

The decision was not an easy one to make.  Karen had done all she could to pitch the book to publishers, but perhaps the biggest gift she gave me was confidence.  Confidence that someone believed in my writing and my story enough to take me on as a client.  Confidence that STARVED deserved to be read by the public.  Confidence that I could accomplish that goal 

The decision was not an easy one to make.  Karen had done all she could to pitch the book to publishers, but perhaps the biggest gift she gave me was confidence.  Confidence that someone believed in my writing and my story enough to take me on as a client.  Confidence that STARVED deserved to be read by the public.  Confidence that I could accomplish that goal myself.

I spent months researching self-publishing, and the amount of information out there was overwhelming. It took a long time to learn what was good advice for my situation, but I finally knew what I needed to do to launch my own press.

Coming up with a name was the hardest part.  Eventually I landed on Rundy Hill Press, which has significant personal meaning for me.  My maternal grandparents — John Bohil and Marguerite Rundy Bohil — started farming in the 1940s on 120 acres on the border of Shiawassee and Saginaw Counties in Michigan.  Tired of working for others, they set out to work for themselves, raising crops and livestock, and making a successful go of it.  They were entrepreneurs, their own bosses, and that’s what I was setting out to do.  So I decided to honor them by naming my press after them.  Every time I type or say Rundy Hill Press, I feel a surge of pride at carrying on their spirit.

Others may take me less seriously now as writer knowing that I self-published STARVED, but that’s not any weight I need to carry.  The book was edited and vetted many times.  It took ten years to write and eventually publish.  It’s a story I stand behind and believe in.  It’s a story I’m proud to say has helped people struggling with eating disorders themselves, or who see a loved one endure them, get help and that’s the most important part of this whole odyssey.

Not who published my book.
I am Rundy Hill Press.  I am an authorpreneur.  I am not ashamed.

 4. What did you major in in college? (If you went to college)

 I hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Albion College (1997) and a Master of Arts in English/Writing from Northern Michigan University (2003).

 5. Do you have any tips on writing a book?

 Don’t get so caught up in the plenitude of advice you’ll find online about writing a book.  Don’t get caught up in the idea of having a best-seller and rolling in money.  The only way to write a book is to sit down and write.  As simple and as hard as that.  

 Each of the books I’ve written have been with different processes.  

 For example, STARVED was written rather haphazardly.  I wrote down chapter titles and ideas on a piece of paper and went down the list each week, writing the book completely non-sequentially and out of order.  When I reached the bottom of the list, I printed up what I had, laid the chapters out on the floor, and identified which areas needed bulking up and what gaps needed to be filled.  Then I wrote chapters to fill those needs.

 With the sequels to STARVED, which haven’t yet been published but I’m actively working on preparing, I wrote sequentially, from beginning to end, very traditionally.  I went through the same process of identifying gaps to fill and areas to bulk up.  

 Feedback from people who are your friends or family is nice, but they usually want you to feel good and tend to hold back on serious critiques they might have.  It’s worth finding someone who will be honest and constructive.  I’m lucky that I have friends who can be direct with me, like Mrs. Anderson, and I’ve also paid freelance editors to read my work and give me feedback.  I think what separates professional writers from amateurs is the ability to seek – even demand – honest, critical feedback without falling apart if they need to do a lot of revision.  Each of my books has required plenty of revision and I’ve had to put my ego aside in order to make the changes.  I really want to write the best possible story I can.  Plus, I worked in advertising and journalism and learned to tame my ego so I could write the best ad or feature I could.

2. Do you need (or would it help) to have a masters degree in Creative Writing?

3. Do you have an estimated number on how many students at SVSU major in Creative Writing?

4. Do you think that SVSU would be the best place to go to get a degree for Creative Writing?

And these are the answers I received:
From Professor C. Vince Samarco: The job question is the biggest question students have about a Creative Writing degree.  Students who graduate from SVSU with a degree in creative writing fall into these three camps:  About a third of students go to graduate school to become high school teachers or university professors.  About a third go into the writing professions--advertising, journalism, public relations, marketing, etc.  And about a third choose their own path--going to law school, for instance, working a job in sales, etc.  About 90% of our graduates report getting jobs within a year of graduation.

There are two reasons why a graduate degree in creative writing would be helpful.  First, if you want to teach you'll need an advanced degree.  If that's not your path, a number of folks get a graduate degree in creative writing simply because they want two to three years to focus on their writing, with no other distractions.  That can be personally enriching, if that's what you want for yourself.

We have about 75 majors at SVSU and about 50 minors.

SVSU can be a good place to get a degree in creative writing, depending on what you're looking for.  We have an intimate program; only two professors teach in the field.  That means we get to know our students well and can meet with them frequently one-on-one.  That's not always the case at larger schools.  We're also good at what we do.  We've both been teaching for a number of years and have a good track record helping students develop their work. 
From Daniel Gates: Hello, Alexis. I’m glad to know you are interested in majoring in Creative Writing. The Creative Writing program includes courses in fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction. All majors practice their craft in each genre, and all eventually produce a portfolio of work. Most Creative Writing courses are taught by two faculty members, Dr. Arra Ross and Dr. Vince Samarco. I would estimate that there are about 35 majors and 40 minors in the program right now.

 To answer your first question, it is not necessarily difficult to find a job after earning a degree in creative writing, but the field that you are interested in, publishing, is very competitive. It’s possible, but you might have to move to a city where publishing is a bigger industry. To get a leg up, you might also want to pursue a graduate program in publishing and editing after college. You would certainly need to develop excellent skills as an editor of other people’s writing. You would also need to do a lot of research on the publishing industry to find the niche you wanted to work in—textbooks, popular fiction, scientific publishing, etc.

 People with degrees in Creative Writing pursue many different careers after graduation, and many of them make use of their writing skills on the job. A number of our students in Creative Writing also pursue a major or minor in Professional and Technical Writing. These two degrees can work well together, especially if you want to work as a writer in government, the tech industry, or the many other fields where good communication skills are valued.

 A Master’s degree in Creative Writing is often an M.F.A. (or Master’s in Fine Arts). An M.F.A. in Creative Writing would allow to devote even more time and practice to developing as a writer. It would probably not be a required degree if you wanted to pursue a career in publishing.

 There are many good universities that offer degrees in Creative Writing, of course. SVSU has committed professors of creative writing and a community of students who are developing as writers. The right place for you will have classes that you are interested in taking with professors and classmates you can learn from.