Today we’d like to introduce you to Don Vaughan
Hi Don, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve wanted to be a writer since middle school, driven by a love of words, and my grandfather, Quentin Mott, who was a reporter and editor with the New York Daily News. A year out of high school, while taking journalism classes in college, I landed a job with the Lake Worth Herald, a weekly newspaper in my hometown of Lake Worth, Florida. I started as a staff writer and eventually worked my way up to associate editor. I left the Herald after five years for a staff-writing position with Your Health & Medical Bulletin, a national publication owned by Globe Communications, which also owned a slate of tabloid magazines. After a few years, I left Your Health for a position with the National Examiner, a mid-list tabloid, which I enjoyed tremendously. But a change in editors ultimate caused me to resign in September 1991 to freelance full-time. As a freelance writer, I have published nearly 2,000 articles, columns and stories in scores of print and online publications ranging from MAD Magazine to the Encyclopedia Britannica. I have also written, co-written, ghost-written, or contributed to nearly 35 books on a variety of topics, and I am the founder of Triangle Association of Freelancers, one of the largest organizations in North Carolina dedicated to all aspects of fiction and nonfiction writing.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Freelance writing is never a smooth road. It’s a constant hustle for work, against a backdrop of diminishing markets and more and more people entering the profession. Publications pay less, on average, than they did when I started as a freelancer in 1991, and getting an editor’s attention is also increasingly difficult. I’m one of the lucky ones because I started long before things became so tight, and established a lot of connections that have served me well professionally.
Despite the challenges, I love my job, even after 47 years. I’m writing for a lot of new and interesting markets on topics I enjoy, and the editors with whom I work are dedicated and skilled. I’m sliding into semi-retirement, and look forward to working on some fiction projects I’ve been noodling for a while, but I will stop working as a freelance writer only when I’m physically incapable of continuing.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a general freelance writer, which means I write on a variety of topics for a variety of publications. I enjoy it because of the diversity of topics I get to write about, everything from international efforts to save the endangered white rhino to MAD Magazine superhero parodies.
I don’t intentionally specialize in any particular topic, but work tends take me in specific directions. For example, I have done a lot of writing for veterinary publications, pet publications, popular culture publications, and more. Once I start writing for a publication I enjoy, I strive to become a regular contributor.
I’m especially good at two things: interviews, and developing article ideas. The interview is my favorite aspect of freelance writing, and I have conducted hundreds over the course of my career. Article ideas just come naturally to me. For example, earlier this week I sold my first article to a pop culture mag called Cryptology, which covers horror comics and related media. The editor asked if I had additional ideas, and I immediately sent him five. Within 12 hours, he had give me the okay for all of them.
Any big plans?
As I slide into semi-retirement, I’m looking forward to working on some fiction ideas, including two horror novels, a YA novel, a tween fantasy novella, and several short stories. I’ve sold only two short stories over the course of my career, so this will be a challenge, but one I’m really looking forward to. I will, however, continue to write for some of my favorite nonfiction markets, including Writer’s Digest, where I am a contributing editor, and Encyclopedia Britannica. I just can’t give them up.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://tafnc.com
