Non-Fiction Books with John Temple ("American Pain") and Hollee Schwartz Temple ("Good Enough is the New Perfect") - 007

John Temple teaches reporting and writing courses at West
Virginia University. His specialty area is narrative nonfiction
writing.


His new book 2016 Edgar Award nominee “American Pain”
chronicles how two young felons built the largest painkiller
distribution ring in the United States. The book, published by
Rowman & Littlefield, also explores the massive rise in the
use and abuse of narcotic painkillers over the past two decades.


Temple is the author of two previous nonfiction books: “The Last
Lawyer: The Fight to Save Death Row Inmates” (2009) and
“Deadhouse: Life in a Coroner’s Office” (2005). In 2010, “The
Last Lawyer” won the Scribes Book Award from the American Society
of Legal Writers. More information about Temple’s books can be
found at www.johntemplebooks.com.


Prior to teaching at WVU, Temple taught and studied creative
nonfiction writing at the University of Pittsburgh, where he
earned an M.F.A. Temple worked in the newspaper business for six
years. He was the health/education reporter for the Pittsburgh
Tribune-Review, a general assignment reporter for the News &
Record in Greensboro, N.C., and a government and politics
reporter for the Tampa Tribune in Tampa, Fla.


Hollee Schwartz Temple is a
journalist-turned-lawyer-turned-professor at West Virginia
University College of Law. She is the co-author of
Harlequin's "Good Enough is the New Perfect" and the textbook
"West Virginia Legal Research."


After graduating at the top of her class with a combined
bachelor’s and master’s degree from Northwestern, Hollee headed
to Duke University School of Law. She graduated in 1999 and began
a four-year stint as a litigation associate at a large Pittsburgh
law firm. After her first son was born in 2002,
Hollee returned to her firm part-time before joining the WVU
faculty the next year.


An active scholar and speaker, Hollee has been published in
newspapers (including the Miami Herald, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
and Michigan City News-Dispatch), national law reviews and legal
writing publications. She has conducted seminars on generational
issues and projecting professionalism in writing for large law
firms.


John and Hollee have also been small business owners since 2013,
when they opened the Morgantown, West Virginia's party
destination beauty salon known as "The Beauty Bar."


Notes from the show:


John takes 6 months to a year to put together a book proposal.
Hollee's proposal on her first book took 3-4 months. A book
proposal contains sample chapters, outline, and Hollee's included
a national survey she and her co-author Beck conducted.


Mentioned: The New Times article "Pain and Gain", David Simon's
book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets and the eponymous
television show.


Warner Brothers bought the rights to "American Pain," to be
adapted for the screen by Melisa Wallack.


"Figuring out who you want to talk to and who is at the center of
your story and how to find them is a large portion of the
process." 


"There's a human compulsion to tell your story."


"You can ask anybody almost anything as long as the think you
really want to know [the answer]."


Mentioned: "Dreamland" - Sam Quinones


"It's a daily struggle [to balance work and home life]. And only
one of us could be working on a book at one time."


The Beauty Bar draws on a theme from Hollee's book that women
deserve to feel beautiful.


The California model of a "blowout bar" didn't translate to
Morgantown, WV, so they pivoted the Beauty Bar to providing many
more salon services.


Managing staff and personalities is the toughest part of being a
small business owner.


Hollee is a big fan of BNI.


Mentioned: "The Price of Nice Nails"


Hollee gained a competitive advantage through social media and
working with Mom blogs.


They are able to juggle home life and work a little more now that
their kids are older. Priorities change as children grow. The
kids are integrated into their work life. 


Academic jobs allow for their lifestyle.


Hollee can oversee a large staff by living close and having 10
security cameras connected to her cell phone.


Best business advice:


Hollee's: "I'm the heart of the business. I can't just give that
away."


John's: "Stick with it until the 18 month point."


Best book writing advice:


John's: "You have to schedule your writing into your day and give
it a prime spot in your day."


Hollee's: "I got up at 5 to write for a couple of hours before
everyone else got up."


Recommended book: "The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield


This podcast hosted by New York attorney Michael Prywes was
sponsored by Prywes Schwartz, PLLC, a law firm devoted to artists
and entrepreneurs.


This podcast may contain attorney advertising. Prior results do
not guarantee future outcomes.