"If you can write well," a friend told me, "You'll make a lot more money writing advertising than you ever will doing journalism." I applied for a copywriting position I found listed in the newspaper. Within four years, I became the copy chief of a medium-size Japanese agency, with several awards for my advertisements and a major international client, Hitachi. My words were appearing in Fortune and Forbes, Time, Newsweek and the Wall Street Journal. It was not exactly the way I had hoped to earn a living, but it was great to be paid for having my words in print. I also continued to write book reviews and fiction on the side, including The Last Book.

In 1985, a major international advertising agency head-hunted me to start up a new direct marketing division for their client, American Express. I remember the agency's Senior Vice President telling me, "You'll write a lot less, but you'll make a lot more money." I knew I had hit the glass ceiling at the Japanese agency, and the income he waved in front of me was certainly attractive. What's more, I would be sent to New York and Germany for training. Without even hesitating, I jumped at the opportunity.

As it turned out, that SVP was exactly right. During the next decade, almost all of my publication would be limited to articles for trade journals and speeches for marketing conferences. I bought suits to replace my sports coats. I began reading business books instead of novels. In time, I became one of the leading experts in my field, which was now direct marketing, not writing.

I have no regrets about my career choices. The rewards of working fifteen years in the advertising industry were not only financial. I was able to travel widely, I made friends all over the world, and I gained a certain degree of noteriety, including a biographical note in Who's Who, as well as valuable business skills. But in my heart of hearts, I longed to embrace the Muse once again.

When a major international publisher asked me to join their staff in 1995, I was ready to make another leap. I returned to the realm of words, not as a writer but as a manager, bringing with me my skills in marketing and advertising as well as journalism. This move was accompanied by an almost immediate outpouring of new poetry, followed by three drafts of a new novel about prostitution. Being a former adman, I know more than a little about offering one's self for money!