In my writing career, I would like to think I am really just beginning. I have a few credits under my belt, including having the opportunity to be the editor for this newsletter. However, there are a few people I can say that I do admire for what they have accomplished. Among the list of writers out there, I have to admit, I hope I could someday say I will be half as successful as the lady I had the opportunity to interview this month. Her name is Sara Webb Quest. If you are like me, you have probably seen her name in many internet writing circles or in print.

Sara Webb Quest is a professional writer in addition to being a book editor for JMH Creative Solutions.  She is the Review Editor for FirstWriter.com.  Not only is she a regular columnist for Suite101.com for "Alternative Writing", she is the course developer and instructor for two Suite University courses.  She is also the Founding/Senior Dean of Suite University’s Writing and Publishing School, and the Associate Editor of Suite101's Professional Writing Hub.

Her latest book, BECOME A WELL-PAID BOOK REVIEWER, has been published by SelfHelpGuides.com.  Her articles, reviews and award-winning poems have been published in Parenting Magazine, Inside Cape Cod, Cape Cod Parent & Child, The Dana Literary Society, and Scribe & Quill, just to name a few. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband and daughter where she even operates her own writing service, S. Webb Quest.

DS: First off, Sarah, thank you very much for this opportunity to interview you.  How many projects are you actively involved in right now, and quite honestly, how do you find the time?

SWQ: I'm currently focusing on four projects: promoting my freelance writing service, editing manuscripts for http://www.jmhcreativesolutions.com, running Suite University's Writing & Publishing School and collaborating on a poetry book with my friend / author Sally Odgers.

DS: To your credit, you have written poetry and fiction, essays and articles, reviews and editorials, instructional courses, and now a guidebook for helping other writers.  How long have you been writing professionally, and do you think your purpose has changed over the years?

SWQ: I have been writing professionally for five years or so. My purpose has changed over the years from writing for fun and publishing credits to writing for those aspects and money! Since the birth of my daughter the money part has taken priority.

DS: What was the first thing you wrote that was published and when?

SWQ: I wrote a free-verse poem called "Success" that was published online at Fluid Ink Press five years ago.

DS: Have you had any projects that haven't sold that are still looking to be published, and do you still actively pitch them?

SWQ: I'm glad you asked! "A Mountain Place" is a spiritual-fantasy book for children aged 6-12. Information about it can be read at http://www.authorsden.com/visit/viewwork.asp?AuthorID=2092&id=6374. The book meets today's spiritual and fantasy demands by children. "Expecting a Grand Baby" is an article that shares my experience and lessons regarding being a petite woman pregnant with a larger-than-average baby. The article offers information that just doesn't exist. Plus, it's funny. I think these two projects would sell if I actively pitched them -- Time is what's lacking!

DS: Besides being a writer and a mother (which is a full-time job in of itself) what other jobs have you held, and did you leave them to write professionally?

SWQ: When I first began writing professionally, I worked in a pottery shop. I became pregnant during that time and wanted to work somewhere supportive of motherhood. I chose to become a pre-school teacher, where I still work one day per week for sanity's sake. Still, this is a hard question to answer as I'm a new editor at J.M.H. Creative Solutions and recompense is good enough that I would give-up the day care if I received a long series of editing projects!

DS: If I may ask, has your husband been supportive of your writing as a profession, especially now that you are a new mother?

SWQ: For the most part he has been incredibly supportive and so has my mother who we rent a house from.

DS: Was BECOME A WELL-PAID BOOK REVIEWER written out of a desire to pen down your advice, or were you trying to write a book that you yourself wished existed once upon a time?

SWQ: There is no book in existence, other than this one, telling how to become a paid book reviewer. I think the reason for this is because it is a very new "amateur" writing venue -- it meets the tremendous augmentation in new authors as a result of increased publishing opportunities.

DS: The book gives many examples from your own query letters and other very specific tricks to getting the edge in marketing one's self as a professional writer.  How much is from your personal history and how much was research?

SWQ: Since there were no facts on starting a paid review job, I had to use my personal, step-by-step process to guide the reader from developing their review craft to getting regular-paying gigs.

DS: Did the manuscript for your guidebook sell immediately? Did you have an agent?

SWQ: The manuscript took a couple months to sell, so it didn't sell immediately. I don't have an agent yet.

DS: How much time do you devote to marketing your book, websites, etc., and what has worked the best for you?

SWQ: Marketing is so much a part of my writing it is hard to pinpoint how much time is devoted to it! I market my book every time I email someone, since it's in the signature. All in all, I market my book five hours per week (give or take) and the websites five to eight hours per week. Tools that have worked are: involving myself as a part of the staff of a big online community, querying topnotch publications, and sending a writing newsletter to 50 subscribers have been great tools.

DS: Do you have other similar books in the works right now, or any plans to write more self-help guidebooks?

SWQ: Friend and prolific author Sally Odgers and I are collaborating on a poetry book to be possibly titled "Other Side of the World." It offers dreamy, sensual, and classical-styled verse and a look at Australian / American themes. I am on Cloud 9 with this project as Sally is an idol of mine!

DS: Is there any genre of writing that you haven't done that you have considered?  Besides the obvious full plate you already have, why else might you not have pursued it?

SWQ: LOL -- Technical writing was a consideration I didn't pursue because other writing venues allowed more room for creativity and emotion. Although, technical writers have a right to disagree!

DS: Is there an author or favorite book that influenced and inspired you over the years?

SWQ: Stephen King's book On Writing was a central inspiration. I had always wanted to turn blunt, simple phrases like him. In the book, King tells how he learned from each of his many rejections before striking gold with his novel Carrie.

DS: How do you define "success" and would you consider yourself to be successful as a writer?

SWQ: I have worked too hard at my writing not to consider myself a successful writer. I define "success" as knowing, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you have produced a flawless work. Microsoft Word helps -- it helps in perfection of overall consistency.

DS: Your book and courses are geared to giving writers the right tools to succeed as professional writers. Do you have any tips or universal advice for other aspiring authors?

SWQ: Focus on a few authors whose careers you wholly admire then submit to the same publications -- and eventually agents / publishers -- they have submitted to.

DS: Thank you Sarah, for your time with me.  I wish you even more success in your career and especially in future writing pursuits.

SWQ: Thank you, Dan. You are a kind and gifted person. Keep writing!