Jane Woodside didn’t have a clear career goal when she was an undergraduate, but she knew writing and editing would be part of it.
“I think I just gravitated toward it,” said Woodside, assistant director for publications in ETSU’s Center for Appalachian Studies and Services and editor of Now & Then.
Woodside said writers and editors of publications like Now & Then benefit by getting to glimpse at and explore other worlds and lives.
She took over as editor of the magazine in the mid-1990s after having worked at various jobs at CASS since 1987.
Her undergraduate years at Bucknell University included work as features editor of the campus paper.
“It was a lot of fun,” she said.
She said that experience helped her get a job from 1976-79 as an editorial assistant and business reporter for Business Week magazine.
Woodside said there is not one path to careers in writing and publishing.
Experience can be gained in different ways.
Her writing skills were sharpened not only by her experience working for Business Week but also because of the research and writing experience she gained while she pursued a master’s degree in English at Temple University and a master’s degree in folklore from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Woodside’s advice to students who are interested in careers in writing includes getting as much writing experience as possible, getting coaching from other writers and learning to do interviews. She said doing an interview is not as simple as it seems.
She also said it is important that inexperienced writers don’t let their fears intimidate them.
“You should get rid of that thought that ‘I should know that,’ ” she said.
For Woodside, the pleasures of her job include learning interesting facts and being able to write about or encourage writing on subjects that interest her.
Her frustrations include not having a large enough budget to see all her plans for Now & Then become a reality.
One of her goals is to have professional writers submit work to the publication, but the cost of doing so is prohibitive.
“We are always doing it by the seat of our pants,” Woodside said.
She said she is constantly working to increase circulation for the magazine and membership in CASS.
Currently, there are members in all 13 states of the Appalachian region. Members also reside in California, Canada and Britain. The center’s web site has been a great recruiting tool.
Woodside’s advice to students who are confused and need help in planning their writing careers is for those students to get as much early writing experience as possible. Experience will help those students narrow their career choices.
“Just go out there and get that first job,” she said.

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