by Sullivan Sanders
Within the field of writing there are several directions one can take. The term professional writing can often carry a connotation of structure and restriction, which is a major underestimation of the field. Considering my major in professional writing and my interests in creative writing, I was relieved when I sat down with M. David Hornbuckle, UAB alumna with a Master’s in English, to talk about his windy track through the professional world of writing.
Hornbuckle’s in-field positions following undergrad ranged from freelance journalist to technical writer and copy editor. Outside of his field, however, David kept his hands full working in bookstores, restaurants, landscape crews, and even leant a hand to a beekeeper for a while. His first real position of interest came when he “stumbled into a magazine job” down in Gainesville, FL. Starting as a sort of office manager, six months passed before he got a shot at something real – he became managing editor of the free monthly magazine which serviced Gainesville and Orlando. “Now this was a valuable experience,” he remarked looking back on his first impressions of that position. It provided countless lessons learned as his first position of responsibility as a writer. He later spent eight years as a technical writer for a company that he says, at first, was just a typing job. His path then led him to New York where he freelanced articles for various online publications writing and editing columns.
Tritone Media published David’s first book, The Salvation of Billy Wayne Carter & Other Stories as a collection of short stories he’d put together in his free time, in 2009. This kind of creative writing has always been his passion, though he never anticipated it to be very lucrative. Recalling the aftermath of his book being published, he says with a smile, “I never saw any money from it. Well, once in a while I’d get a check for 40 dollars in the mail.” His work led him to another technical writing job in New York for two years before moving back down south.
Upon returning to Birmingham he earned his Master’s degree in English (is currently earning a Master’s in Education). His work experiences have been much of the same since then – writing or editing pieces here and there for any number of publications. With a laugh he exclaimed, “If it involved words and getting paid, I’ve probably done it.”
His next project was founding the Steel Toe Review, a local journal based here in Birmingham that publishes creative pieces – short stories and poetry for the most part. He says he always wanted to contribute to the literary community in any way he could; building a platform to publish and circulate creative works has become that contribution. The journal has released 19 issues online and publishes an annual print issue. Though the platform is for creative pieces, there can be no publication without technical writing, web designing, and copyediting – all of which fall under the professional writing category of skills. David does all copy for the website himself, he’s the chief editor, web designer, advertiser, and runs a “kickstarter” campaign every year to promote the journal. “I do a lot of things I would make an intern do, if I had an intern.” The site is set up similar to a blog to keep the maintenance low, but there is still some HTML customization that goes in the site’s upkeep. Considering professional versus creative perspectives of writing, David admits, “I love adding to the academic conversation,” but, “in an ideal world, writing creatively would be how I spend my time.” He went on to explain the relationship between the two fields of writing saying “my experience as a professional writer has benefitted me as a creative writer.” He credits his abilities writing cover letters, working on his website, and promoting himself as a writer, all to his experiences in the professional writing field.
Not only have the skills as a professional writer benefitted his creativity, they’ve allowed him to be creative. His jobs tech writing and copyediting, freelancing and web designing, have all afforded him the time and funds to facilitate his interest in writing creatively. To put it all in perspective, David says the ability to write can allow countless avenues for employment, “If you have the skills to communicate with words then there is any number of things that you can do.” David’s résumé and curriculum vitae stand as Exhibit A and B for this contention.
So, if you’re one who would’ve said that professional writing is a boring or restricted field of writing, think again. Because behind every creative piece of writing is a set of professional writing skills that made reading it possible.
