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Back to Featured Interviews >> MEET JEN JONES
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| Jen Jones |
It would be hard to single out any one book, as I was a complete bookworm. Whether at the dinner table, in bed at night, in the car, or just about anywhere, I typically had my head in a book. Some of my favorite authors growing up included Paula Danziger, Lois Lowry, Judy Blume, Christopher Pike, Lois Duncan, Beverly Cleary, and Noel Streitfield. I also had an obsession with the book MEGAN’S BEAT by Lou Willett Stanek—it was about a young farm girl who learns how to fit in at a big-city high school.
Did you write stories when you were growing up?
I most definitely did! One of my favorite things to do was to type out “Sweet Valley High”-esque tomes on my family’s Coleco ADAM computer (aahh, the 80s). In high school, I also wrote plays, short stories, and fake magazine articles for Sassy. (My secret dream was to be Jane Pratt when I grew up....still working on that.)
When you went to college, were you already pursuing a writing career?
Yes, I attended Ohio University as a magazine journalism major. I’d been editor of my high school newspaper and knew I wanted to pursue a writing-related career. However, once in school, I became intrigued by the other sequences along with Magazine and ended up doing a ridiculous amount of internships to satisfy my curiosity (everywhere from Cleveland’s local CBS affiliate to Burson-Marsteller PR in Manhattan to an online record label to Southeast Ohio magazine). I was lucky enough to get my first magazine piece published as a senior in college, and that set the tone for what would ensue after school!
Was your first book accepted immediately or did you experience a number of rejections?
I was lucky in that I was actually approached by my publisher rather than the other way around. I’d been writing for American Cheerleader magazine for several years when Capstone Press contacted my editor seeking a writer for a six-book cheerleading series. She passed my name on, and when I got the call, I was simultaneously shocked and thrilled! I never thought I’d have the opportunity to become a published author. I had a blast writing the series, and now work with Capstone regularly to write books on topics ranging from figure skating to fashion. It really is a dream come true writing non-fiction for tweens, and I’m grateful to Capstone (and AC!) for making it happen.
What are the topics are some of your books?
I’ve literally written books on a pretty wide gamut of topics — along with those mentioned above, I’ve also written about bullies, cliques, astrology, hairstyles, knitting, just about anything that tween girls love. Another enjoyable part of my work has been the opportunity to write biographies. One of the projects I’m most proud of is “Judy Blume: Fearless Storyteller for Teens,” which came out last summer through Enslow Publishing. (I’m a huge Blume fanatic and it was a honor to profile the powerhouse behind the pen!) Other upcoming projects include biographies of Beyonce, Justin Timberlake, Orlando Bloom, and Oprah.
Do you do other types of writing - for example, educational, nonfiction, magazine work?
Yes — I make my living as a full-time freelance writer, which along with books, has entailed writing for dozens of different magazines, websites, and copywriting clients. In the last few years, I’ve started teaching writing classes for outlets like MediaBistro and StoryStudio Chicago, which has been very rewarding. I also co-lead a creativity class called the Creative Dig with spiritual director Christie Havey-Smith.
Is there anything about yourself that you’d like to share - hobbies, where you were born, special talents other than writing/illustrating, what other jobs you had before you became a writer/illustrator?
I suppose that I am somewhat cat-like in that I feel as if I’ve had nine career lives! Since graduating from college a decade ago, I’ve worked in numerous fields from event planning to film production to marketing. My first year out of school, I took on a wildly fun job that involved planning 30+ events every month for a local singles club in Chicago. (Everything from skydiving to comedy clubs to city architecture tours — not a bad way to earn your keep!) I then went on to become a Website Producer for “The Jenny Jones Show,” which fueled my love of the entertainment industry. After working there for three years, I moved to LA, where I worked on the set of films like “Daredevil,” “The Ring,” and more. I went on to spend a year at E! covering the red carpet and television beats, after which I returned to the talk show realm working on shows like “Sharon Osbourne” and “Larry Elder.” However, writing was always the common thread throughout all my different gigs—as I continuously wrote for magazines on the side and even published my first book series while at “ Sharon!” For the last four years, I’ve been working for myself as a full-time writer and wouldn’t change it for the world.