Name, Age, City and State: Melanie Dickerson, Age 40, Huntsville, Alabama

Job-title: Author/Writer

Web/blog site URL: www.melaniedickerson.com

Give us your job description in 25 words or less. I write Young Adult and Adult Romance novels for a Christian publisher.

Describe a typical workday. After I get my kids and husband off to school and work, I sit down at the computer and check my email and read a blog on the writing industry. I try to answer emails in less than an hour, but it usually ends up taking longer. Then I either write on the novel I’m currently working on, do revisions requested by my editor, or I do something writing or marketing related, like fill out interviews for blogs. That’s what I do the rest of the day until my kids get home from school.

What led you to realize that you wanted to do this type of work? I wanted to be a writer when I was in high school, but I gave up my dream for a long time because I thought it would be too hard to get published. I went to college, got a degree and a job, but I felt very unfulfilled. When I started writing again, I just knew that was what God created me to do. It’s about the only thing I really feel like I’m good at!

Did you have any heroes or mentors in your industry that you admired? I took a writing course when I started writing again, and my instructor was Cindy Savage. She was a wonderful writer and a great encourager. Other mentors are Mary Connealy and Julie Lessman.

What type of education or training was required to land your job? Nothing formal, really, but you are constantly educating yourself. I took a correspondence course in which I learned how to write a query letter and copy letter to an agent or editor, how to format a manuscript, and some aspects of how to write good fiction. I read lots of books and online articles and took lots of online classes. I also joined ACFW, a wonderful organization of Christian fiction writers and asked lots of questions of those who were more experienced than I was.

What do you love most about your job? I love writing and revising and editing. I love working with an editor. I just love the whole creative process of making a novel-length story come alive.

What one part of your job do you wish you could hire someone else to do? I guess it would have to be the marketing. Authors aren’t necessarily required to market their book and themselves as authors, but it’s expected. I would love to be able to hire someone to send out mailings about my book, to organize a schedule for me and make sure I don’t forget a blog post I was supposed to do. That kind of stuff.

What advice would you give to teenagers wanting to get into your field of work? Keep writing and don't give up! It takes most people a long time to get published, so be persistent. Secondly, be teachable. Learn all you can about the craft of writing by reading books on writing, articles, and blogs. Thirdly, write as much as you can. Write short stories, poetry, novels, whatever you enjoy writing, and just keep writing. The more you write the better you'll become. Besides, it will give you opportunities to apply all you're learning from the books, articles, and blog on writing. Lastly, after you start submitting your work to publishers and agents, look at rejections as just another necessary step to getting published. Whatever you do, don't let a rejection devastate you. It's okay to be disappointed but you have to keep writing and submitting. A rejection is your "red badge of courage" so be proud of those rejections!

How does your job allow you to use your God-given gifts? I am an encourager, and I am constantly in contact with people through email and the internet as a part of the writing community, and it gives me a chance to encourage others and maybe even influence them for good. And of course, I pray God is using my stories to touch people’s hearts and draw them toward God. Stories are powerful tools to illustrate a point, and Jesus used them in his ministry, and I believe it’s still a viable tool.

Do you have any hobbies or off-hours pursuits that teenagers would find of interest? I like to scrapbook! I like to read and watch movies with my family. Sorry, no snowboarding or bungee jumping in my near future! I guess I’m a pretty boring person. ; )