Hastings Business Support
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Background |
First Efforts
An early baby-boomer, I grew up in Northbrook, Illinois, about 20 miles from Chicago.
I was a child prodigy of the typewriter. From the time I was in third grade, this machine was part of my life. On Saturdays, I sometimes went with Dad to his office in Chicago; and, while he worked, I would entertain myself by making up stories, hunt-and-peck style, at the keyboard of a manual typewriter.
In junior high school, when I started learning the right way to touch-type, it wasn't as easy as Susie, Dad's secretary, had made it look at the keyboard of her IBM Model B electric; but after several years of patience and steady drills, I, too, was able to push past 80 words per minute.
Educational and Workforce Preparation
I majored in music, completing my degree program in violin performance. During part of this period, I twice auditioned for a seat in the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, training school of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, winning both auditions. Applicants have to re-audition each season. No one is "in" or tenured. Yes, I am one of those kids, now grown, who can say that they have played under the batons of Sir Georg Solti, Pierre Boulez, William Steinberg, Rafael Kubelik, and composer Aaron Copland — to name five famous conductors.
Before the end of the second season with Civic, I felt strongly that orchestra playing was not what I wanted to do for a living. I made the decision to resign my chair, thereby opening the way for an associate member waiting in the wings.
I have never regretted the decision. I'm sure I could list a whole page of reasons why I'm grateful that I decided not to go into music professionally. But the important thing is that I enjoy music more now than I did when I was planning to make a career of it. I continue to practice and play — currently about three hours a day.
Shortly after finishing school, I joined what was then known as the Bell System. This was more than ten years before the breakup of AT&T.
In preparing training and technical material for distribution, I found that some of the writers, although they obviously knew their subject matter, expressed themselves imprecisely in their writing.
I had a keen intuitive sense, as well as linguistic sense, of what these writers were trying to convey. When I would ask them about something in their text, they nearly always confirmed my sense of the matter. Soon I became known for making their technical and instructional writing look and sound better than it had been originally. They gave me rave reviews. It was a great period in my working life.
The rapidly advancing field of electronic editing and typesetting provided me new opportunities for development. Before branching out into freelance writing and freelance photography, I had a lot of contact with experienced writers, editors, and proofreaders. I can't thank them enough for their advice and guidance. Special thanks must also go to the dedicated teachers I had in school.
First Published Pieces
Although I had been writing letters to the editors of different newspapers for a number of years — with quite a few letters being published — I didn't attempt full-scale opinion pieces until 1990.
My first attempts to break into print in this genre brought rejection letters — chiefly because competition for newspaper space is fierce, especially on op-ed pages, where columns have to be extremely timely. A major international crisis can push all other subjects off the page overnight. This was often the case during the 1990 Desert Shield buildup phase to the Persian Gulf War of 1991.
Despite the competition and tight deadlines, persistence soon paid off. In October 1990, my first op-ed pieces appeared in the newspapers of San Diego, Denver, Houston, and Hartford. Although these pieces were not on the subject of the Gulf, I did find time to send letters to the editor on that subject as well — in thanks and support for the troops. Two of the papers that ran them were the Daily Oklahoman and the Boston Globe.
My most recent op-ed piece ran in the February 16, 1992, issue of the Boston Herald after Jeff Jacoby, who was then Chief Editorial Writer, requested me to submit a column for the pro-and-con “Counterpoint” page. Since then, I've had less time for my own writing but have kept busy helping other writers with their efforts. As I've indicated on the home page, being able to help in this way is, indeed, fulfilling.
I am most grateful for the experience of working with editors and publishers. The process of seeing a piece through, from initial conception to publication, often involves rewriting and getting second opinions from fellow-writers. This can be time-consuming and sometimes grueling, but it is highly rewarding.
Going Solo
In 1993, I began making plans to start my own business, building on the experience I'd gained in the preceding 20 years. I began operations in Traverse City, Michigan, in May 1996. Since then, I have also operated the business in Boston, Massachusetts, and Huntsville, Alabama.
I have customer bases in all of these cities — plus two cities in Pennsylvania where I have spent some time: Pittsburgh and Williamsport.
NOTE: The link to Jeff Jacoby's page, given above, is provided with the knowledge and permission of the columnist, per my e-mail exchanges with him on this subject in summer 1997. It does not imply his endorsement of any material on my site. The views and opinions expressed in his columns are his own. They may or may not coincide with mine.
J. H.