Job Q&A
by Kendra Lott
[more Q&A's]

Given John Fanning's notable education - a BA in English and classics from St. Patrick's University Maynooth in County Kildare, Ireland, and an MA in English from University College in Dublin - it's no wonder that he sought to make his living as a writer upon moving to the States two years ago. Fanning's Irish school masters might not have predicted, however, that the Internet would prove to be the most ready market for his work. In the unlikely event that existing web sites run out of work for freelance writers, Fanning has a plan. Later this spring, he and his partners will launch a web site about weddings, ShackingUp.com.

Monster.com: What prompted you to look for work writing and editing for the Internet?

John Fanning: I had already finished my first novel and published some short stories in small magazines, but I needed something steady to support my creative endeavors. Right now the Web is truly the best place for freelance writers to go if they want to earn money commercially, because there is such a vast amount of material - someone has to do the copywriting and the editing. I started out editing horoscopes for an Internet astrologer, as well as doing the odd writing or editing job for a variety of sites devoted to topics from health to coin collecting.

JF: Well, the publishing world had turned into a pretty controlled environment in previous years, but with the advent of the internet, it became an anything goes place. It gave sites like Salon.Com the free range to reach a huge audience. Basically, it means a writer for the Internet can write about anything they want. It's that diverse. I find that somewhat liberating.

JF: Our initial premise - to set up a hip wedding site instead of the typical lacy frou-frou - stemmed from my wife writing a book about wedding planning, as well as from our own endeavors planning our wedding in New Hampshire. We wanted to take advantage of her wedding expertise and our combined writing skills.

JF: We wanted the kind of creative control a traditional publisher doesn't often afford. Additionally, we recently moved from New York City to Anchorage, Alaska, and this project has been an ideal way to bridge the transition.

JF: It's spawned out into this whole wide world concept of domesticity, not just marriage. The whole idea behind the site is to have continuous return of users, so it will be very interactive in that each zone will provide both editorial and links to e-commerce. During online discussions, experts will answer questions on everything from finance to swapping apartments in different countries to choosing the right napkins for a wedding reception.

JF: We have two partners, an engaged couple living in Dublin. She's a high-profile publicist and he's doing a master's in international law and gearing his studies toward the Web. The four of us have really pooled all of our skills together, but we have had to hire an HTML designer.

JF: It's long. It takes up so much time and thought. You have to be really prepared to focus all your energies on the project. We never thought it would take this much time and energy, but it's going to be worth it. We are really happy and excited with what is happening to our initial ideas. It's great to see all those brainstorming sessions and meetings finally start to bear fruit. The whole idea of reaching a real audience, that is, an age group or readership who want the facts -- and who don't want to be caught up in the extraneous dross -- was our goal from the beginning. It was and still is a meaningful goal to us.

JF: Obviously, from the outset, you should have a good idea. This should be thrashed out until you're blue in the face. If it's not altogether great then don't go with it. When that's done you have to think of the legal angles. Make sure you have contracts and non-compete agreements drawn up. Protection is very important when considering things like trademarking. The third thing would be the design and the HTML. Not all people who know HTML are necessarily good designers. If your budget is very low, consider getting students involved. There's a lot of kids out there who are only too willing to build up a resume, and these kids today are a heck of a lot more mature and knowledgeable than we were. (This applies to designing a logo, as well as the getting actual text up on the net.) Finally, create a sound marketing plan and business plan. Consider drawing up a financial model and concentrate on who your target audience will be. The rest follows from there.