3 Questions with… Michael Maupin

Michael Maupin is a writer, former book and magazine editor, and visual artist. He is the Chief Creative Officer of StoryShed Media LLC.

Passion & Purpose: To help people tell their stories and continue to tell my own stories. To connect thoughts, emotions, memory, and lifelong learning with others—oh, and a good dollop of music on top of all that. I love music.

When you get an idea for a new essay or project, what does your first instinct look, sound or feel like?

It hits all my senses: sight, sound, auditory, almost taste. My first spec screenplay The Wandering Moon, about the Victorian stage actress Ellen Terry, brought the sound of horses’ hooves clomping down cobblestone streets, the smell of theater gas jets, the roar of the crowd in the cheap seats. It was marvelous and propelled me through many iterations of that script. Newer work is persistent. It stays with me, often over many years. Finally, I give up and write it down. That’s for fiction/screenplay work.

For essays, there are many ways to approach something and mostly it’s a case of “first choice, best choice,” but I’ve also had second thoughts. I have to sit with drafts and iterations before I’m happy with publishing. When I was younger I edited as I went. That was a disaster. “Write to length” on a draft and then come back and revise to length. And then do it again until you can’t anymore.

[Note from Beth: The process of sitting with drafts, avoiding the impulse to presto publish (a la Substack) has been one of my greatest learnings. There's definitely a delicate balance between over-engineering/analysis paralysis and Voltaire's famous quote, of "best [being] the enemy of good." In other words, don't strive for unhealthy levels of perfection. ]

What is your ideal workplace culture? Have you experienced anything close to it? Also, What does work look like when it is fun?

Definitely a cohesive team. That’s only really happened once; it was my dream job: managing editor of a national magazine. We all worked as a unit: publisher, editor-in-chief, executive editor, managing editor, and about nine staff editors, designers, and data people. Best years of my life. Collaborations are fun and allow you to mentor, share tips, and ideas, brainstorm, and feel a part of something bigger than yourself.

After Covid, that went away, and I miss it. Would love to join a team again. I’d love to mentor younger writers and editors—over a decade ago I taught “Elements of Screenwriting” to adult learners and the decision to be an instructor was a powerful motivator in furthering my own education. When I mentor others, not only am I helping them, but also myself. It’s a win-win.

There is a lot of talk about ‘good failure’ these days. What is an example of a recent work/life ‘failure’ and what did you learn from it?

I left that former “dream job” when we were sold to a multinational company I’d previously worked for. It was a failure in that I left without an income source and basically went on an unintended sabbatical for five years. You can spend your retirement in less time than that, which is what I nearly did. But I was in a lot of pain (emotionally, physically, professionally) after that change and it was all I could think to do to survive.

What did I learn from it?

Network more than you think you need to, and keep all options open. You will discover you have more resources and skills than you ever thought possible. In the end, I’m better for having moved on. It was painful, but I’m in a better place now. My advice to anyone contemplating leaving their job without a solid safety net is to set a target date. Have an initial plan and a Plan B (my Plan B was to create a local magazine for area merchants, but that was something of a deviation from my original plan to write freelance 24/7). Things might not work out, but flexibility is the key.

I’m currently returning as a contributing writer to Virginia Business Magazine’s annual Top 500 issue (my second year) and they’re entrusting me with bigger-name profiles, which has been gratifying. I’d love to do more freelance work for a broader range of publications.

Professional Links

LinkedIn: Michael Maupin

Mike's Website/Portfolio

His Substack

Be sure to check out the previous edition of this newsletter with Usman Kotwal , Senior Agile Coach at Merck Group

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