Sage Rountree
Author of The Athlete's Guide to Yoga
Read the review here.
When did you start reading, and what did you like to read as a kid?
My mother says I began at three, though I find that a little hard to believe. I gobbled up every book I could; I would spend whole weekends tucked up on the couch in the living room, and my parents would have to pry me away for meals. My love of reading carried me to graduate school, where my enthusiasm was tempered by the huge amounts of reading I had to do--whole Thomas Wolfe novels in one week, for example. I grew more drawn to plays (easy to read in one sitting), and focused for my dissertation on representations of the professor since Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. After I finished my PhD in English literature, as I set up a home office for my freelance work, I had a big book purge. I let go of all my fiction books but the most dear to me (The Riverside Shakespeare, Lolita), reasoning that I could get my books from the library. It was a big jump for me, but I haven't once regretted it.
How do you write? Do you have a daily routine? What’s good about it?
My years and years of school made me disciplined, as have my yoga and athletic training. Sometimes the days when you feel like you have nothing to say or can hardly bear to head out for a run or sit on the mat turn out to hold the most productive and fruitful experiences. My favorite part is gaining perspective, usually through time, on something I've written and seeing whether it still makes sense.
Any particular story to tell concerning the writing of this book?
I wrote the book I wanted to read. I'd been hoping that someone would explicate or codify the approach I was beginning to form, and that someone turned out to be me. In large part, it coalesced through the writing process. I became the authority I'd been looking for.
What some good advice that you’ve received concerning writing? What’s some advice that you could offer young writers?
Consistency is key, but don't get hung up if nothing happens in a daily session, or if even a week or two goes by with little to show. Alternate between looking at the big picture and the little picture. If you can't find the right words for a phrase, take a series of steps back and work on organization. You'll still be thinking about your phrasing at some level, but not so intently, and that can be very freeing.
How did you find the publisher for this book?
I looked at my shelf--now devoid of fiction--and realized everything I'd bought in the past year came from VeloPress and dealt with endurance sports training and racing. I contacted the publisher with a short pitch, and things moved on from there. I was fortunate enough to know my niche and have good timing.
