While most of us were suffering through classes, extra-curriculars and attempting a social life, UW-Stout sophomore, Stacey Springob, was doing all of that and more. The Spencer, Wis., native was also writing, editing, publishing and marketing a book – her book.
Name: Stacey Springob
Hometown: Spencer, Wisconsin
Major/minor: Professional Communication & Emerging Media, minor in Psychology
Year: Second Year
HC: So you’ve spent the last two semesters with the National Student Exchange Program, what has that been like?
SS: National Student Exchange has been absolutely incredible. I’ve gotten to see and experience a lot in a short amount of time, but the best part has been the people I’ve met. I’ve made a lot of professional contacts and great friends from all over the country.
HC: What schools did you attend and what were some unique courses you took?
SS: I attended California State University-San Bernardino and William Paterson University of New Jersey. I took courses I couldn’t get at my home school while on exchange, specifically with television production. I got to report news in the field, anchor in a studio, and work with control room equipment. National Student Exchange has helped me form a direction I want to go with my career.
HC: Do those courses count towards your major or are they extra classes?
SS: These classes count towards my ‘applied field’ courses, which are courses where I can take whatever I want to help my personal career goals. Many students I met on exchange were majoring in communications, business, marketing, or psychology—programs that are easy to transfer exchange credits with.
HC: You were also busy doing some other writing…can you tell us about your recent project?
SS: I just published my first book, titled What I’ve Learned from Never Having a Boyfriend.
HC: What made you choose the topic of what you learned from never having a boyfriend?
SS: I was hanging out with a friend one day in the middle of my freshman year of college. My friend was venting about her love life, and I thought to myself, I could write a book about all the things I’ve learned from not having a boyfriend. It sounded like an idea I hadn’t heard anyone talk about before, and so I just went with it and began writing.
HC: What made you decide just to sit down and start writing something?
SS: When you find a strong idea that you can speak strongly about, you suddenly have the motivation to try working with it. I just happened to get an idea about a topic I think a lot of people my age relate to, and I knew that this project could be a service to other people as much as something positive for me, so I just went for it. I had nothing to lose.
HC: Do you proofread/edit all your own books or do you get someone to do that for you?
SS: Oh yes, I proofread! I edited my book at least fifty times, and I had a number of people from all walks of life and relationships edit the book to get different perspectives. Revising took a lot longer than actually writing.
HC: What has writing a book at 19/20 taught you?
SS: This book taught me so much about editing, the details of creating a book, and marketing. I have truly learned what it takes not to just write a book, but to build a brand and a start-up business. Most of all though, those thoughts I had in my head while walking to class or falling asleep are formulated now. It’s an awesome feeling to compile all your ideas together into a finished product.
HC: Will you be writing another book soon?
SS: My plans are to put my focus into the message of this book. I want to start motivational speaking, so I’m going to work on that in the meantime. I also will continue marketing this book to continue building an audience.
HC: What are your other ambitions for your writing career?
SS: I want to venture more into script writing. I learned a lot about script format and writing for television this past year, and I have so many ideas from growing up in small town Wisconsin that I think would make good primetime comedy.
HC: If you could have been the original author of any book, what would it have been and why?
SS: Harry Potter, obviously. I would have been involved in the movie business….and I would have met Tom Felton.
HC: What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
SS: Write every day. If you have a mind blowing thought, write it down and add details to it. It’s so important to have a journal or blog that you can reference back to your thoughts when you’re writing.
HC: Where do you see publishing going in the future?
SS: I think the game of getting published is going to be just like the game of making it big in fashion or television—there’s no wrong or right way of doing it. I researched so much about publishing, and authors have to already have a solid audience before someone is going to consider publishing their work. Therefore, building your platform with social media or blogging is huge. It’s the fastest and cheapest way to get people noticing you.
HC: Is there anything else you would like to add that I haven’t included?
SS: Sometimes people ask me, which I totally understand, “How could you know anything about relationships when you’ve never been in one?” My answer is that we all know that one couple who shouldn’t be together, or that person who constantly rushes into a relationship and never takes time to be single. I have been on the outside looking in; I can see what other people don’t when they’re in that bad relationship. I’ve learned a lot from getting to know myself and learning from other people’s successes and mistakes in relationships, so I think it’s something valuable for people to read about.
HC: How can readers discover more about you and you work?
SS: I am all over social media! You can follow me with the following links, and you can buy my book, What I’ve Learned from Never Having a Boyfriend, on Amazon.com. Also if you need a guest speaker for an event or organization, I would love to be a keynote speaker for you.
Blog: www.staceyspringob.wordpress.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/sprinsta
Twitter: @StaceySpringob
Instagram: @staceyspringob
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/sprinsta