Scott Edelstein is a literary renaissance man. Over the course of his 30-year career, he has worked as a publishing consultant, literary agent, ghostwriter, editor, university professor, writing and publishing coach and freelance writer. Scott Edelstein's latest endeavor, publishing "The Complete Writer's Kit," a how-to guide for wanna-be writers, draws upon his vast knowledge and experiences.
Edelstein sees the writing process as personal for each writer, but discovering and figuring out certain ins-and-outs is universally tricky and confusing. Edelstein has authored several writing instruction books, including a more natural guide called "No Necessary Experience," which tailors to the more wandering writer, and now "The Complete Writer's Kit," which he feels appeals to those who wish for more structure in writing.
"This book is for people who say 'You know what? I'm serious about this. It's something I've wanted to do. I want to be focused on my own writing. But I want someone to actually say what do I do first, what do I do next, what do I do after this...'"
The Complete Writer's Kit is a three-tiered approach that includes the step-by-step guide to beginning your writing career in "30 Steps to Becoming a Writer." Also included is a nuts and bolts guide to publishing in the mini-book "Get Published in Six Months or Less" and some creative inspiration in card deck, "Write Right Now," authored by Natalie Goldberg.
"It is the only physical object you can buy that has the three parallel tracks to it: The creative side, the inspirational side, and the publishing side. But more to the point, what a lot of people are looking for is a how-to, step-by-step guide."
Whereas many people view writing instruction books with the skeptical eye, Edelstein assures that his "The Complete Writer's Kit" is more of a tailored guideline rather than a book of empty promises.
"It is not going to provide you any kind of magic bullet or magic button to press. You as the writer needs to be out there, writing as much as you can and if you're interested in getting published, being assiduous, careful and focused about getting published," Edelstein explains.
"But what (the Kit does) is pare it down to the essentials, so you are able to get there as fast as possible and don't get distracted by all the nonsense out there. It's about finding your way as quickly and accurately as possible."
Although his own career path has been rather circuitous, Edelstein has always known writing to be his life's work. His first writing piece was published at the young age of 16, and he continues to be a prolific writer in various genres.
"I knew I always wanted to write, and I knew I wanted to be a writer, a rabbi or a professional bowler," he laughs. "In college, I bowled three games a day and could not ever get my average up over 185. So much for bowling!"
According to "The Complete Writer's Kit," the hardest part about getting started writing, is getting started. Edelstein's best advice for budding writers: "Go ahead and fall all over yourself and go back and look at what you've done and start putting the pieces together, the right way to write."
Edelstein currently lives and works in Minneapolis, splitting his time between multiple writing projects. Although he did spend a year at UWM for grad school, Edelstein says he hasn't been back to Milwaukee in over three years.
"I know that is has changed quite a bit since then; I think very much for the better, actually. Back then, it felt a little more like a little town, but last time I was there I was really impressed with the changes."
Scott Edelstein will read and discuss his book "The Complete Writer's Kit" at Borders in Fox Point on Thursday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m.
