Author Interview & Synopsis

Hello again, loveys. For our author interview, we chose to talk to Dr. Paul Witt, who is a Comm Studies professor, and per his last name, does actually have wit (very clear pun intended). We thought it would be interesting to see what inspires those who have to write pieces that are not traditionally exciting, i.e. academic articles. Sure, it's interesting to them, but it doesn't play to a widespread audience, per say. I personally thought it interesting that he didn't think the technological revolution necessarily affected him in any negative way, because it makes it easier for graduate students and other researchers/teachers to find his work, whereas before the digital age people would have to go to the library and search through the shelves to find the journal.
I also loved how he would write for specific publications so there wouldn't be much of an editing process. He learned how each publication likes their articles formatted and in a certain style, so he just writes the one article for that publication that he picked out beforehand and then it basically done. If I ever had to write scholarly articles, that's definitely the way I would go-mostly because I'm lazy but luckily that's not the field I want to go into! Anyways here's the transcript of the interview! Enjoy!

Author Interview: Dr. Paul Witt –– TCU Communication Studies Department

By Hanna Arstein, Catie Callaway, and Mary Clare Walsh

I: Hi, Okay, I think it is working. So who or what inspires you as an author?

Dr. Witt: Who or what inspires me? Um… What I go to…What I write, by the way, is scholarly research articles, okay?

I: Mmmhmm

Dr. Witt: That’s the kind of writing that I do. And so who inspires me are my colleagues when I go to a conference and I hear them present their research. It is very inspiring to me to go back and do research on my own.

I: That's cool. Who or what motivates you as an author?

Dr. Witt: What motivates me? Well, the university requires us to do that kind of work, okay? So to keep my job, I am supposed to write, and so that's what I do. *laughter* It is very motivating!

I: *laughter* What authors and/or books have influenced you as an author the most?

Dr. Witt: Well my mentor in graduate school was a nationally known researcher and he taught me how to write in this style. After I got my degree, Dr. Schrodt is one of the best writers of this kind of work, and he helped me and taught me what he knows as well.

I: Um… Most often were and when and how do you write?

Dr. Witt: Right here. This is it. My little reary end is attached to this chair right here*laughter*  and it stays here for hours on end *laughter*

I: How has tech… er… how has technology changing print culture, specifically regarding authors and readers?

Dr. Witt: Well, we are having more and more scholarly journals go online now, whereas they have always been print journals before. We are still doing print and print journals carry more prestige, but there are more and more of them going online.

I: When you write, who is your intended audience?

Dr. Witt: Other eggheads like me. Other professors and researchers that read. We will read each others' work.

I: How has the current technological revolution changed your audience?

Dr. Witt: Uh… I don't think it is changing my audience. It does make our work more accessible because graduate students or undergraduate students can go online and click click click and have an article. In the old days, you had to go to the library and search the shelves and find and pull out the journal and read it.

I: Yeah! What do you think reading and authorship will look like fifty years from now?

Dr. Witt: Yeah, I saw that question. Fifty years from now, I don’t k now! I'm not…I'm not going to be here. It is going to be your problem, not mine! *laughter* Fifty years from now, I don't know,  I suppose there is a possibility that there will be very few print publications. I hope that's not the case, but it is possible

I: Yeah, how did you find a publisher and how long did the process take?

Dr. Witt: When I write an article I have the publishing…the publication outlet in mind. I already know where I want to send it so I write in a style that they approve of. So usually, I select the publication before I do the article and then I write to suit their standards and there is not very much editing that takes place after that. There are some things, but not much.

I: So how much did your manuscript change after your publishers editorial process? Not much?

Dr. Witt: Just polishing details usually, mmhmm.

I: Do you have a definite or specific organization structure in mind as you begin writing? Oh, I guess you already answered that, so I guess you do.

Dr. Witt: Yeah, there is kind of a format. If you send it to one journal they want it this way. If you send it to another journal, they want it that way. You just kind of learn how to meet their requirements.

I: How would you describe your writing process?

Dr. Witt: Well, it has changed a little over the years. I am a perfectionist, I want every word in every sentence to be perfect. So in the beginning, it took me a long long time to write. I would spend a half of day on a page or two. Well, you can't really do that, so someone told me along the way, "Just put your thoughts down. Just type as fast as you can and don't worry if it is correct or not." So you put all your thoughts down on paper and THEN you can go back and edit. When I started doing that, it went faster and it was much more enjoyable.

I: Do you have any writing habits or rituals that help your writing process?

Dr. Witt: It is my habit to work on Saturdays or Sundays when there is no one around.

I: Yeah, then there is no rush.

Dr. Witt: mmhmm, yeah. There are no interruptions, no noise. You know, I just…I just get in the zone and just do it.

I: Do you write in multiple genres?

Dr. Witt: Well, yeah, surprisingly I do.

I: Oh, really?

Dr. Witt: I have written a textbook for one of my courses, well for the Character course.

I: Oh cool!

Dr. Witt: And it is very different. It is not scholarly writing and it is not in that formulaic style at all. And it was refreshing to do that. It was kind of in a conversational, self help kind of style.

I: What was your first publication? And what do you think of  this publication now?

Dr. Witt: *laughter* The first one was in 1999, and it was an article for a journal and I co authored it with my mentor who was teaching me how to do this. And at the time, I thought it was mostly hot air; I did not think it was substantial, but as I learned what research really is like, I go back to it and see that, yeah, it was good work. It was a good first step.

I: So, besides teaching and authorship, have you had any other jobs in the writing field?

Dr. Witt: Yes, uh, currently I am editing a six hundred  page reference logium.

I: Oh, wow!

Dr. Witt: So it is huge! It is the biggest work I have ever been involved in. It involves recruiting 30 authors from around the world, each one contributing a chapter to this logium. They send their manuscripts to me, and I correct them and edit them and send them back for revisions.

I: That’s a lot!

Dr. Witt: Ultimately, the logium will be published with my name on it, so, its huge!

I: That's a big deal, that’s exciting! Okay, that's the last question.

Dr. Witt: Okay! Did you get what you needed?

I: Yup! But I don't think I will be the next Katie Couric. Thank you for your time!