Photos by Rowe Portrait Studios (which I highly recommend for author photos)

“It takes guts to be gentle and kind.” (The Smiths)

THE QUICK PROFESSIONAL TAKE

Jane Friedman is a visiting assistant professor at the University of Cincinnati, and teaches full-time in the e-media department of CCM. A frequent speaker at writing and publishing events, Jane helps writers understand the transformation underway in the media and publishing industries, and how writers can be successful and in control of their careers.

Before joining CCM, Jane worked at F+W Media in Cincinnati for 12 years, and served as the publisher of Writer’s Digest, the No. 1 resource for working writers. In her varied roles at F+W, she was responsible for the management and growth of multiple book lines, annual directories, newsstand and subscriber-driven magazines, online education and services, e-commerce, print and online advertising, as well as national writing events and competitions.

As a contributing editor to Writer’s Digest, Jane offers insight on the future of writing and publishing at her award-winning blog, There Are No Rules (40,000 visits per month), and serves on the advisory board of Digital Book World.

THE MORE PERSONAL TAKE

I am a late-sleeping, bourbon-drinking editor, at least mostly sane. I live life forward, even though you can only understand it backward.

I don’t have hobbies, unless drinking is a hobby. I write, I read, I edit, I teach, I speak.

I travel when I have the time.

When I meet someone new, I immediately ask questions to uncover what they’re passionate about, and how their life reflects it.

I’m open to just about any adventure, and even a whole lot of situations (or conversations) that most people would consider boring.

I’m fascinated by the concepts of happiness, memory, loss, death, regret, settling, staying put, personal choice, homes, family, corporations, rituals, beginnings and endings.

The 3 things most important to me: love, passion, and freedom.

I am an unashamed Zen-inspired intellectual who tests INxP on the Myers-Briggs and Type 4 on the Enneagram. I care about joy and beauty, in a broad sense. I’m occasionally even fun to be around.

I’ve worked in a professional capacity across all forms of media—newspapers, magazines, books, literary journals, zines, websites, and blogs. Most recently, I spent 12 years at F+W Media in Cincinnati, Ohio. I started out as an associate editor, working on step-by-step craft books (see my first project here), and finished off as the strategic leader of Writer’s Digest, which generates millions in revenue each year through its services to writers. I still serve as a contributing editor.

At the University of Cincinnati, I am lucky enough to teach others based on the depth of my professional media experience—especially my online media expertise—plus knowledge of writing and editing fundamentals across media. I offer a progressive take on how tomorrow’s media will be driven by a mix of amateurs, experts, and professionals.

Outside of the university, I continue to educate writers on how the publishing industry is changing and evolving through transformational technologies. Since 2002, I’ve spoken at more than 200 events in the United States, Canada, plus once in Jamaica. I’ve never turned down a speaking invitation, no matter how small the group or event, if it’s within driving distance (or as long as expenses are covered). See more here.

I have been called Miss Jane, Wonder Jane, Sweet Jane, Plain Jane, The Other Jane, Not-That Jane, and Smiling Jane.

I’ve also been called a pusher, a dream crusher, a hopeless idealist (or just plain naive, depending), a risk taker, an adventurer, a fierce independent, and the one who knows how to turn this thing around.

FROM THE BEGINNING

I grew up in Oakland City, Ind., a small farm town where every year they still crown Little Miss Sweet Corn. My Indiana-born mother was trained as an artist; my Russian Jewish father was a typesetter at Empire Typography in New York City and a professional calligrapher.

I left home at age 15 to attend the Indiana Academy, a residential high school on Ball State University campus. I went to college at the University of Evansville (Ind.), earning a BFA in Creative Writing. While there, I served as editor in chief of the college newspaper as well as the Evansville Review, an award-winning literary journal. I also spent a year studying in England at Harlaxton College and Cambridge University—where I also worked on the newspaper.

After graduation, I joined F+W Media as an associate editor at North Light Books. While at North Light, I also completed my MA in English at Xavier University, which involved a two-year stint as graduate director of the university writing center. My master’s studies focused on composition/rhetoric and postmodern literature.

In 2001, I joined Writer’s Digest magazine as managing editor; in 2003, I transitioned to Writer’s Digest Books as its lead editor and later managed several other imprints, such as HOW Books (design/humor), TOW Books (humor), and Betterway Books (sports).

In 2008, the corporate parent of Writer’s Digest (F+W Media) decided to restructure the company into special-interest communities, a progressive and forward-thinking move that was covered by trade industry magazine Publishers Weekly. I was made publisher and strategic leader of all content and community for the brand.

In 2010, in order to focus more on my passion for teaching and speaking, I left F+W to start teaching at the university level, at the University of Cincinnati (E-Media Division, College-Conservatory of Music).

As a contributing editor to Writer’s Digest, I run an award-winning blog, There Are No Rules, which ranks in Technorati’s Top 100 in the books category. I’m active on Twitter, and you can also keep up with me on Facebook. Just let me know how you found me when you request to be my friend.

If you’d like to meet me, or take one of my classes, click here for opportunities.

ALL THE OTHER STUFF THAT I COULDN’T FIT INTO THE ABOVE NARRATIVE

Past gigs

Notable speaking engagements

  • BookExpo America
  • Association of Writers & Writing Programs
  • Aspen Summer Words
  • Willamette Writers
  • Surrey Writers Conference
  • North Carolina Writers Network
  • South Carolina Writers Workshop
  • Harriette Austin Writers Conference
  • Pennwriters Conference
  • Midwest Literary Festival
  • Midwest Writers Workshop
  • 2001 Indiana Academy graduation ceremony


Some authors I’ve worked with (alpha order)

  • James Scott Bell
  • Sage Cohen
  • Sammie Crawford
  • Hallie Ephron
  • Claudine Hellmuth
  • Michael Jacobs
  • Jerry B. Jenkins
  • Christina Katz
  • NM Kelby
  • Sherrilyn Kenyon
  • Michael Larsen
  • Tim Lemire
  • Donald Maass
  • Eric Maisel
  • Evan Marshall
  • Michael Martone
  • Sandy McCall
  • MaryJo McGraw
  • Ridley Pearson
  • Dan Poynter
  • M.J. Rose
  • Mike Sacks
  • Peter Selgin
  • Heather Sellers
  • John Warner

Awards

  • 2008 Dorothy Hamilton Award, Midwest Writers Workshop
  • 2004 Instructor of the Quarter, Beckfield College
  • 1999, 2000 Xavier University Poetry Award
  • 1997 University of Evansville Vision Award

Selected print publication credits

  • “International Dimension: A Fulfilled Prophecy.” UE Magazine 99.3 (2004): 4-5.
  • Interview with Lisel Mueller, Poet’s Market (2004)
  • Interview with Jeffrey Eugenides, Writer’s Digest (2001)
  • Interview with Alice Sebold, Writer’s Digest (2000)
  • Interview with Richard Russo, Writer’s Digest (2001)
  • “Moralities and Indelibilities.” The Evansville Review 13.1 (2003): 122-125.
  • “Passionate Persistence: English Majors at Work.” UE Magazine 98.1 (2002): 6-9.
  • Interview with Elizabeth Spires. The Evansville Review 7.1 (1997): 45-53.
  • “Insider’s Report: Ploughshares.” 1997 Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market
  • “Books.” The Formalist 13.1 (2002): 52.
  • “Lying in Bed.” The Formalist 10.1 (1999): 40.
  • “Letter From an Erstwhile Boyfriend.” The Formalist 9.2 (1998): 87.
  • “Front Oval.” The Formalist 9.1 (1998): 55.

Shh! Jane’s Embarrassing College Poetry

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“This is my living faith, an active faith, a faith of verbs: to question, explore, experiment, experience, walk, run, dance, play, eat, love, learn, dare, taste, touch, smell, listen, argue, speak, write, read, draw, provoke, emote, scream, sin, repent, cry, kneel, pray, bow, rise, stand, look, laugh, cajole, create, confront, confound, walk back, walk forward, circle, hide, and seek. To seek: to embrace the questions, be wary of answers.” (Terry Tempest Williams)