Writing after Retirement

Tips from Successful Retired Writers

Edited by Carol Smallwood and Christine Redman-Waldeyer

Unlike previous volumes which focus on how to earn a living while writing in very specific areas, this anthology accurately describes a wide range of different avenues an aspiring author can pursue, either for profit or for personal fulfillment. Speaking directly to retirees, this book opens doors to many other areas worth pursuing; its chapters vary from the inspirational (the importance of linking to a community with similar interests, reconnecting to one’s dreams, seeking inspirational sources) to the quotidian (everyday writing tips, and how to use one’s experience to find subjects to write about).

Writing after Retirement provides a variety of vantage points from published authors and paints a realistic portrayal of what it takes to get started in the industry. This book also includes preparation for the challenges that aspiring writers face, and practical guides for overcoming them.

A range of issues are addressed:

Linking one’s writing to current activities
The nuts and bolts of writing
Planning one’s estate
New career paths
Writing opportunities
Practical advice on how to take that first step

Whether writing for pleasure or for profit, the reader will find plenty to choose from in this collection.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 282 • Trim: 6½ x 9¼

978-1-4422-3829-9 • Hardback • September 2014 • $143.00 • (£110.00)

978-1-4422-3830-5 • Paperback • September 2014 • $83.00 • (£64.00)

978-1-4422-3831-2 • eBook • September 2014 • $78.50 • (£60.00)

Subjects: Language Arts & Disciplines / Writing / General, Language Arts & Disciplines / Communication Studies, Family & Relationships / Life Stages / General, Family & Relationships / Life Stages / Later Years

Writing after Retirement

Tips from Successful Retired Writers

Hardback

Paperback

eBook

Summary

Unlike previous volumes which focus on how to earn a living while writing in very specific areas, this anthology accurately describes a wide range of different avenues an aspiring author can pursue, either for profit or for personal fulfillment. Speaking directly to retirees, this book opens doors to many other areas worth pursuing; its chapters vary from the inspirational (the importance of linking to a community with similar interests, reconnecting to one’s dreams, seeking inspirational sources) to the quotidian (everyday writing tips, and how to use one’s experience to find subjects to write about).

Writing after Retirement provides a variety of vantage points from published authors and paints a realistic portrayal of what it takes to get started in the industry. This book also includes preparation for the challenges that aspiring writers face, and practical guides for overcoming them.

A range of issues are addressed:
- Linking one’s writing to current activities
- The nuts and bolts of writing
- Planning one’s estate
- New career paths
- Writing opportunities
- Practical advice on how to take that first step
Whether writing for pleasure or for profit, the reader will find plenty to choose from in this collection.

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 282 • Trim: 6½ x 9¼

978-1-4422-3829-9 • Hardback • September 2014 • $143.00 • (£110.00)

978-1-4422-3830-5 • Paperback • September 2014 • $83.00 • (£64.00)

978-1-4422-3831-2 • eBook • September 2014 • $78.50 • (£60.00)

Subjects: Language Arts & Disciplines / Writing / General, Language Arts & Disciplines / Communication Studies, Family & Relationships / Life Stages / General, Family & Relationships / Life Stages / Later Years

Author

Carol Smallwood co-edited Women on Poetry: Writing, Revising, Publishing and Teaching on the list of Best Books for Writers by Poets & Writers Magazine; Women Writing on Family: Tips on Writing, Teaching and Publishing (2012); Lily’s Odyssey (2010). Her library experience includes school, public, academic, special libraries, teaching, administration, and consulting. Bringing the Arts into the Library (2014) is her sixth book for the American Library Association; Divining the Prime Meridian, a second poetry collection (2014).

Christine Redman-Waldeyer launched Adanna, a print journal for women and about women, in January 2011. Redman-Waldeyer is a poet and assistant professor in the Department of English at Passaic County Community College in New Jersey. She has published three poetry collections, Frame by Frame, Gravel, and Eve Asks (all with Muse-Pie Press) and has appeared in Caduceus, Lips, Paterson Literary Review, Seventh Quarry, Schuylkill Valley Journal, The Texas Review, Verse Wisconsin, and others.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments

Part I Starting In
1. After Retirement: Building a New Writing Life by Connecting to Community
Arlene L. Mandell

2. Following Dreams Put on Hold
Stanley L. Klemetson

3. A Muse of One's Own: Finding Inspiration for Your Writing Life
Alice Lowe

4. Starting Fresh Into Poetry: A Plan for a Late Career
Elizabeth Bodien

5. Transition from Teacher to Author
Rosemary McKinley

6. What Shall I Write Today?
Lynne Davis

7. Writing after Retirement: Using and Tuning Life Experiences
Jinny V. Batterson

Part II Practical Aspects

8. Estate Planning for Authors
Robert Runté

9. In Pursuit of Simultaneous Passions: Writing and Volunteering
Christine Swanberg

10. Joining A Writer’s Group for Practical Help, Emotional Support
Louise Nayer

11. The Public Library: A Treasure Trove for Writers
Lisa Fraser

12. Some Writing Nuts and Bolts
Stephen P. Sottong

Part III Finding Your Niche
13. Compiling an Anthology

14. Discover and Make Sense of Yourself by Writing Poetry
John Presley

15. Grant Writing in Retirement
Nancy Kalikow Maxwell

16. It’s Never Too Late to Start Blogging
Sarah W. Bartlett

17. My Niche—My Way
B. Lynn Goodwin

18. Using Life Experience: Memoir Writing
Rita Keeley Brown

19. Writing About the Body in Sickness and Health
Maxine Susman

20. Writing About Heritage
Maxine Susman

21. Writing for Literary Magazines after Retirement
Barbara Kussow

IV Publication and Marketing
22. How to Become a Successful Romance Writer in Retirement
Lori Leger

23. It Won’t Work If You Can’t Work With Editors
Katie McKy

24. Promoting Your Best Writing Through Good Time Management and Persistence
Carole Mertz

25. Self-Publishing: A Viable Option
Kathleen Clauson

26. A Writer’s Marketing Recommendations
Ann McCauley

27. Writing Children's Books: 17 Steps to Success
Angela Narth

Index
About the Editors and Contributors

Reviews

Rockford has a large and active retirement community, with many perks and opportunities for senior citizens. If you are one of them or know a retired person who has a gift for writing, consider this book: Writing After Retirement: Tips from Successful Writers. . . .I recommend this book highly. . . .Check out the book online. Perhaps it’s just what you or a friend are looking for. Perhaps it could serve as a text for a group of retired writers. I am looking forward to using it in my own workshops for both instruction and inspiration.
— The Rock River Times

There is something for everyone in this book, but above all, it’s practical, down-to-earth, and sensible. It opens the mind to new paths from the traditional to online, to different genres, and to new approaches to the writing life. Regardless of the variety of offerings in this book, however, two key points remain critical. Writers have to write and writers must persist.
— The Commonline Journal

Writing after Retirement

Tips from Successful Retired Writers

Edited by Carol Smallwood and Christine Redman-Waldeyer

Writing after Retirement

Tips from Successful Retired Writers

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