Local Author, Jim Schmidt brings his love of history to MCBF 2014
Jim Schmidt is a bio-analytical chemist by training and
profession. He attended Benedictine College (Atchison, KS), received his B.S.
in Chemistry from the University of Central Oklahoma, and pursued graduate work
in environmental science at the University of Oklahoma. Jim has worked in a
number of private, government, and industrial laboratories for the past twenty
five years, and is currently employed as a research scientist with a
biotechnology firm in The Woodlands, Texas.
Jim has had a life-long interest in history, with special interests in the
Civil War and 19th-century medicine and science; his historical writing credits
include more than sixty articles for numerous publications including North
& South, Civil War News, Chemical Heritage, Learning Through
History, and Antique Bottle & Glass magazines, and many
others. He has also given lectures on history to groups throughout the
country.
Jim is the author, editor, or contributor to five books, including Lincoln's
Labels: America's Best Known Brands and the Civil War (sole author, 2008);
Years of Change and Suffering: Modern Perspectives on Civil War Medicine (editor
and contributor, 2009); Notre Dame in the Civil War: Marching Onward to
Victory (sole author, 2010); Galveston and the Civil War: An Island City
in the Maelstrom (sole author, 2012); and Civil War America: A Social
and Cultural History (contributor, 2012).
Jim also enjoys seeing other people achieve their goals of seeing their writing
get published and offers writing workshops and other coaching.
Jim’s wife is an elementary teacher in the Conroe Independent School District
and his sons are graduates of Oak Ridge High School.
An interview with Jim Schmidt:
Q: When did you decide to
become a writer?
A: Well, I think it must always have been itching to come out! I remember
as a kid, 7 or 8, growing up in Joplin, Missouri, that I wrote a poem about
Independence Day. My mom drove us down to the Joplin Globe newspaper
offices and I think she tried to get them to print it. I'm not sure they
did. In 8th grade I remember writing a short story about a class that
went on a ski trip. It started with the teacher asking for everyone to
turn in their money...they go on the trip...terrible things happen...they survive...most
of them anyway...the story ends back at school a year later with the teacher
asking everyone to turn in their ski trip money...(see what I did there?
oooooooooooh!). And that was probably the last story I wrote...for twenty
years. In the mid-1990s, I got bit by the "Civil War buff" bug
during a business trip to Virginia. I read everything I could, including
some of the (many) magazines on the stand at the bookstores. Something
inside me said "I can do that." I didn't know where or how to
start; fortunately I had a good mentor who knew the process, encouraged me, and
whom I trusted to review my work. My first magazine article was published
in 1999, I think. They even paid me! It's been fun ever since and I've
always had something in the works. After getting several articles
published, I started working on my first book as the next step. It was
published in 2008.
Q: Who has been the biggest influence in your life, so far?
A: That's easy: Terry and De Schmidt. Because, parents. And good ones,
too.
Q: Tell us a little about your books.
A: I am the sole author, editor, or contributor to five books on the Civil
War. Each one is special in their own way to me. My first,
"Lincoln's Labels: America's Best Known Brands and the Civil War" (Edinborough
Press, 2008), is about companies that we all know today that also played an
important part in the Civil War (Brooks Brothers, Tiffany & Co., duPont,
American Express, and many more) and how the war affected or even
"made" them. It's special because it was my first and I learned
a lot about the process and myself. My second, "Years of Change and
Suffering: Modern Perspectives on Civil War Medicine" (Edinborough Press,
2009) is a collection of invited expert essays that I co-edited with a good friend
and collaborator; we both also contributed chapters. I'm really proud of
it because there is some exceptional scholarship - and good writing - in the
book. It was a special challenge soliciting contribution, managing
deadlines, editing, etc...kind of like a movie director! We're also proud that
all the royalties from the book have been donated to historic preservation
efforts. My next book, "Notre Dame and the Civil War: Marching
Onward to Victory" (The History Press, 2010), is about the epic story of
the university in the war: the dozens of students and alumni who served as
soldiers in the Union army; priests who served as chaplains; sisters who served
as nurses; and the important effect the war had on campus. It's been my
most successful by far, and is now in its third printing. My latest book
is "Galveston and the Civil War: An Island City in the Maelstrom"
(The History Press, 2012), which describes the story of the island in the war,
including slavery, secession, the blockade, the New Year's Day 1863 Battle of
Galveston, the effect of the war on civilians, and finally the surrender of
Galveston and emancipation of its slaves. This book has been so much fun
because of the great stories I have heard from people that have read the book
about their ancestors. Late in 2012, Routledge published "Civil War
America: A Social and Cultural History"; co-editor and professor Zoe Trodd
extended me an invitation to contribute a chapter on "Civilian
Medicine."
Q: You obviously love history, where do you get the inspiration for you
stories?
A: Even though I have only been writing the past 10-15 years, I've loved
history since I was a kid, either from my own reading or from family
stories. When I became interested in Civil War history, my initial
attention was drawn naturally to the great battles and such, but I quickly
became interested in either special subjects - medicine, for example, which
fits well with my day job as a biotech scientist - or to the home front, which
inspired my interest in the companies covered in Lincoln's Labels. I'm a
firm believer in "bottom-up" history, and so I delight in reading
accounts written by the common soldier or - especially - by civilians,
especially letters which have an intimacy and immediacy that cane be very
inspiring. I also love to "mine" footnotes and endnotes in
books that I read; often authors of scholarly works will only give a brief
mention or reference to a letter or diary, just enough to support their
thesis. For me, though, those are "voices" that need to be
heard for their own sake. I have my own collection of 19th-century
correspondence and love visiting archives to see material myself. Period
newspapers are also excellent inspiration.
Q: How long do you spend researching your book topics before actually
beginning to write?
A: It's been different for each project. The Lincoln's Labels and Notre
Dame books grew out of research and article writing I had been doing for 5 or 6
years, so I had quite a bit of material accumulated. For the Galveston
project, I basically started from scratch (although I was of course familiar
with the basic aspects of the island'sbut I also had a word count
limit, which kept my research from getting to far afield, an lasted about a
year. I think the actual writing for each book was 12-18 months.
I'm a terrible procrastinator, so it helps me to be a dedicated outliner, to do
some writing while I research, to break the research and writing into defined
sections, and to remember that this is supposed to be enjoyable. I have
many "vertical files" started on a number of projects I can write in
some time - 19th century quack medicines, Spiritualism, phrenology, crime, and
more. Even when a book is done and published, my interest in the subject continues.
Q: What do you like to read? Do you have a favorite?
A: For someone who has been firmly entrenched as a nonfiction writer, my
reading tastes have changed dramatically in just the past couple of
years. My reading until then was 90-100% nonfiction, usually background
reading for whatever book project I might be in, as well as new works that
appealed to me. In the past few years though more than half of my reading
has been fiction. I specially enjoy literary fiction, thrillers, and
mysteries set in mid- to late-19th Century America or England. My
absolute favorite is Louis Bayard, whose "Mr. Timothy" and "The
Pale Blue Eye" are easily two of my favorites of all time. Also:
Matthew Pearl, David Liss, Lyndsay Faye, Will Thomas, Stephen Gallagher, and
others. At the same time, I'm making my way through Dickens. I love
interviewing authors as well, and have featured several on my blog
(http://civilwarmed.blogspot.com). Writers that I admire for their genius in
narrative nonfiction include David McCullough, Stephen Sears, and Tony Horwitz,
and many others.
Q: How important do you think being a reader is to the writing
process?
A: SO IMPORTANT! In my earlier answer about the twenty year drought in
writing between an 8th grade short story and my first article is an important
clue: I wasn't reading, either, apart from assigned reading in high school and
college. My immediate increase in reading after becoming interested in
Civil War history not only gave me the courage to try and write myself, it gave
me models to emulate (especially McCullough and Sears) as I tried to find my
own voice, such as it is. The same is happening as my fiction reading has
increased substantially: it's inspired me to at least want to try and write
historical fiction, although I still worry that I don;t have the imagination to
craft a story or the courage to send it out, but that is my goal for
2013. Writers like Louis Bayard make my mind and heart soar; I just
admire storytellers so much.
Q: If you had to grab three things (and ONLY three things) from your
house to evacuate due to a zombie invasion, what would they be?
A: 1) My Kindle Fire - it has
my music, Bible, and Spider Solitaire...oh, and books, including all of
Dickens; 2) The charger for my Fire; 3) A 12-pack of toilet paper; 2 for me and
the rest to trade. That should keep me, I think. Sorry, someone is
knocking at the door (opens door). Yes? "Grrrrr...Me need
brain...errrrr...me need toilet paper...Grrrrrrr" Okay, what do you have
to trad...aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
Q: What advice do you offer to someone who wants to write non-fiction?
A: The good news is that there are so many avenues in which to have your work
published; it's never been easier, I think, as long as you know the process and
follow some simple rules. As for advice...First, decide what your goals
are. Second, write about things that you are passionate about. Third, first
write shorter articles rather than books; it helps you build a platform of
readers and contacts and - more important - it develops a discipline in keeping
your stories focused. Fourth, do it: don't read about writing...write! Fifth:
find a person or persons you can trust to give you honest feedback. Sixth - to
borrow from the carpenter trade: "Measure twice, cut once." That is,
don't be in a hurry to send your work out without checking it for quality in
grammar, punctuation, etc.
Q: Anything else you would like the readers to know?
A: The only thing I like as much as writing myself is seeing other people
achieve their goals. I'm giving a writing/publishing workshop at the
South Branch library on Saturday, January 26, 2013. I hope it will be the
first of many opportunities to give back great advice that I received
myself. You can also keep up with my other writing and research projects
by visiting the blog address above.
Thank you Tabatha!!!!!!
Thank you so much for your time, Jim! We look forward to seeing you at the
festival!
Stacy Moran joins the author lineup for MCBF 2014
