Interview with Wendy Wax

This week, as an assignment for my Masters in Professional Writing Program, I interviewed local author Wendy Wax.
    I met Wendy several years ago when I designed a corporate logo for her husband’s consulting company. He told me she wrote romance novels at the time and it sounded interesting but I didn't talk to her about being a writer. We lived in the same suburban Atlanta community and our children went to the same high school. I only knew she was a writer; I didn’t know much else about her. A few months ago I read her book Magnolia Wednesdays for my book club, and then realized that she was my former client’s wife. She came to speak to our book club and she was a delightful guest speaker. While her writing career began with category romance novels, over the past several years she has evolved as a writer and developed her own voice, which fits into the romantic comedy genre. She has been tagged as a women's fiction writer, romance novelist, "chick lit" extraordinaire, and everything in between.
     I must confess, I have never read a romance novel. Having been a literary snob in school, I never really had much interest in the genre.
    As it turns out, Wendy Wax, today, writes fictional romantic comedies with some pretty interesting subject matter and plot lines. Her characters in Magnolia Wednesdays, based on the suburban women of East Cobb (my neck of the woods), are fairly true to life. I thought her story reflected their (or I should say "our") behavior and circumstances pretty accurately.  The book is quite humorous with an interesting plot line. But I believe characterization is her strength.
    Wendy has written for Random House, Bantam, and Penguin Group Publishers. She has published 9 books, one of which was recently re-released in paperback, The Accidental Bestseller. It is the inside story of the publishing business and touches on the difficulties of being a writer in today’s market. I spoke with Wendy in the comfort of her suburban Atlanta home on a Monday afternoon where she was open to chat with me about the publishing industry and her journey as a writer.
Here are some of the questions I asked...
What is the primary reason you got into writing as a career?
What is your daily schedule for writing, and why?
Your East Cobb characters in Magnolia Wednesdays are pretty true to life. Did you do extensive research on these women, or did you learn from observation by living there?
You began your career with romance novels, and now you are tagged with “chick lit” author. What is the difference to you - as a writer?
Tell me about the importance of your editor... your agent... and your publisher.
What is the most difficult aspect of being a professional writer?
If you could go back in time and change anything about your career, what would it be?
What advice do you have for new professional writers?
Next week, I'll post Wendy's answers to the Qs, along with my review.