Today we’d like to introduce you to Margaret Cardillo.
Margaret, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was born and raised in Naples, Florida. I grew up in a big, loud, hungry Italian family with three brothers and two dogs (always two). Everyone fought for the last word and the last bite. It was a lot of fun. I couldn’t wait to get out of there after high school and went to college at Boston College, which I loved. Of course, as soon as people there found out I was from Florida I became very popular right around spring break. I majored in English with a concentration in Creative Writing and minored in Italian.
After graduation, I had no job and no prospects. While I had begun to see the allure of South Florida, my dream had always been to move to New York. I applied for hundreds of jobs online from my fifty-pound laptop in Naples and got zero interviews. My uncle lets me move into his place until I found something. We shared a bathroom. He’s a very nice uncle. I pounded the pavement, tried to get as many informational interviews as possible. An internship finally came through with Disney Publishing at Hyperion Books for Children, their original character division. I loved my time in children’s publishing. I worked my way up from intern to Associate Editor. I was acquiring authors and publishing books. Around that time, though, I was walking down the street on my way to lunch when I saw a poster of Audrey Hepburn in a store window. A vision of her face on the book cover struck me as if “this must be done.”
Instead of offering the idea to an agent or a writer, I felt that maybe I could do it. Audrey Hepburn had been a role model of mine for a long time and I knew quite a bit about her life. So, I went back to my desk and wrote the first line and emailed it to myself. It took six months to open that email. By that time I knew I wanted to arrange my life to write as much as possible. I loved my job so I poured myself into it. I couldn’t do both. Some people can, I just couldn’t. I also knew I couldn’t just quit my job and go write a novel. So, I applied to MFA programs thinking that would ease whatever hesitation my parents would have about leaving my job as it is a terminal degree.
As it turns out, they were very supportive. As was the school. The University of Miami gave me a Michener Fellowship and I was on my way. I wrote my first children’s book there — a children’s biography of — who else, Audrey Hepburn — and it was bought in 2008 by HarperCollins. Its title is JUST BEING AUDREY. From there I got a second MFA in Screenwriting — a form I fell in love with. I wrote a few short films, one of which won a College Emmy Award. I worked on some features, a television series, etc. I was eventually hired as a lecturer by the University of Miami. Which is where I’m writing this interview from. I just had a second biography published about Jackie Kennedy (JUST BEING JACKIE) and sold a third children’s book about dogs. I’m also working on a feature-length film.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Some things were smooth. Some not so much. I could wallpaper my office with rejection letters from journals and publications. I could also fund a really nice vacation with the entry fees I spent. But, I got a book published at 26. I knew the editor that would like my idea and she bought it and two years later (average turnaround time for a traditional picture book) it was out in the world. I had scholarships to my graduate programs which helped immensely. A writer’s greatest asset is time. All I needed (and all I still want) is time to work. So, some things definitely worked in my favor. But, some of my biggest challenges go back in time. I’m a mother of two small children. I have a husband and a house and a dog. I need to work a salaried job in order to help provide for my family. All of those things take away from my creative work. So, when you ask about the smoothness of the road — I guess it depends on which road we are talking about. Creatively I’ve had some major up and some definite challenges. But I am keeping my head down, working as much as I can. But I’m also playing tea party and dinosaurs as much as I can. Doing laundry whenever I can. Most of the time I’m a big old mess. But sometimes, the light comes through.
Margaret Cardillo – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I’m a children’s book author.
I’m a screenwriter.
I’m a lecturer in the Department of Cinema & Interactive Media at the University of Miami.
I’m a mom and a wife.
I would say the thing I am known for is my creative work–my children’s books and film. Although when I walk across campus most people know me as a teacher.
I’m most proud of the books on my shelf, the creative work I’m still putting out, the thank you notes I get from my students at the end of the semester, and any of the very good work that came through my class. I know that’s a lot, but it’s true.
There isn’t enough room here to say what I’m proudest about with regards to my children.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Oh, this is a biggie. I think about this question very often. I ASK people this question very often. My answer changes constantly. The biggest marker for success is satisfaction. Happiness in your life. As a writer and a perfectionist, I consider myself unsuccessful. That’s what my brain tells me. It’s never enough. That’s, unfortunately, part of my process. I don’t suggest it to others. I’m trying to work on it myself. But I take a step back and look at my life and say: hey, you’ve got so much. So, so much. So many good things. My husband helps me with that: perspective, positivity, leaning back with my hands behind my head and taking a deep breath kind of moments.
But I’m a competitive, ambitious person. I want success in the tangible ways too: works that come to fruition, awards, money, recognition (not on the street, just for my work). So I think about that stuff as well. But it’s all a balancing act. I know I keep bringing it up, but being a mom is, obviously, a huge part of my life. Success there is such a different ballgame. I think that I am forced to balance things with my work in a way that redefines success. Moms get things done. They just do. We can put our heads down and do a million things. Dads can too, of course, but our society is set up in a way or at least my house is set up so that while we divide and conquer as much as we can, a million things often fall to me. And most of the time I like it that way. But I can’t go after every grant, write every single idea, enter every contest, be everywhere, support everyone — like I’d like to. So, success to me is satisfaction in my job. Whatever job I’m doing at that moment.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.margaretcardillo.com
- Email: margaretcardillo@gmail.com
Image Credit:
Audrey Snow, Julia Denos
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