Podcast Interview: Melanie Saxton

Melanie Saxton is a book editor, ghostwriter, scriptwriter, contributing editor for five magazines, former editor in chief for two magazines, and a copyeditor for national and international businesses. She has always worked in the world of words and pursued an English degree in the process.

Now, the interesting thing about Melanie’s academic adventures is that it took her 29 years to earn that degree. She enrolled at University of Houston in 1980 and received her diploma in 2009. Yes, 29 years, holy smokes!

During these years she interviewed Barbara Bush, Roma Downey of Touched by and Angel and Son of God, Victoria Osteen, George Foreman, Senator Rick Santorum, Dave Coulier of Full House, A.J. Foyt, Roger Clemens, Frank Bielec of Trading Spaces, Melissa D’Arabian of the Food Network, Lyle Lovett, NASCAR sisters Kristen and Kendall Bumbera, Robert Griffin III, Jim Crane—owner of the Astros, Peter Ramsey—director of Guardians of the Galaxy, U.S. Representative Kevin Brady—chair of the Ways and Means Committee, and media personalities Deborah Duncan, Dominique Sachse, Gina Gaston, Frank Billingsley, and many more.

Then in her fifties, she was accepted into the master’s program at Sam Houston State University and is pursuing a much later-in-life graduate degree in digital media. She chose this degree to help her self-publishing author clients, but also to study screenwriting under John McLaughlin, the Hollywood scriptwriter of Black Swan, Hitchcock, and other notable movies. Melanie now adapts novels to screenplays in addition to ghostwriting and editing books.

The bottom line? You are never too old to finish a degree (or start a new degree) and can carve out a multi-faceted career in the process.

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