This week The Editing Life has the pleasure of speaking to Christian
Nwachukwu, Jr., a publishing pro who made the switch from the world of book
editing to governmental speechwriting, having worked for former New York City
mayor Michael Bloomberg and currently serving as a federal agency appointee. Read on to learn more about Christian’s
perspective on his career thus far and some of what it takes to make it as a
speechwriter.
Tell us a bit about your experience in book publishing. What
led you to enter the industry? What types of titles did you work on?
My career in book publishing came between my roles as a radio journalist
and speechwriter. While working at National Public Radio as an editorial
assistant for Morning Edition,
I met journalist and author Juan Williams. At the time, he was writing
his book Enough. I asked him if
he needed a research/ editorial assistant; he said “yes,” and that became my
first publishing experience. After we wrapped up work on that book, I
looked for opportunities at publishing houses and found what turned out to be a
great opportunity to become the editorial assistant at Harlem Moon Books,
within what was then Doubleday/ Broadway.
I had a great publishing experience, working with Harlem Moon founder and
executive editor Janet Hill Talbert and editor Clarence Haynes. I was
able to work on a wide variety of African-American fiction and non-fiction, including
several novels by J. California Cooper and E. Lynn Harris; a photo-biography of
Maya Angelou; a biography of Harriet Tubman; hip-hop icon Grandmaster Flash's
memoir; a father-son memoir by Eddie Levert, Sr. and Gerald Levert; and Gwen
Ifill’s look at political structures post Obama’s election.
How did you make the transition to speechwriting? How did
book publishing inform your perspective on a different career?
My transition to speechwriting
wasn't planned. After leaving Random House, I landed a staff writer
position in the communications department of the New York City Housing
Authority. Shortly after starting work there, perhaps two weeks, the
speechwriter at the time resigned abruptly. There was a looming City Council
hearing to discuss a crisis in NYCHA's leased housing (Section 8)
program. I was asked if I could write the first draft of the agency's
testimony. I did, and thereafter I was the speechwriter—both for the chair of
NYCHA's board as well as for the agency itself and many senior leaders at
NYCHA.
The experience I gained working
at Harlem Moon Books—regularly evaluating proposals and manuscripts; helping to
develop marketing plans for very different books with appeal to very different
audiences; delving into a text to help an author tell his/ her story in clear,
compelling prose; developing book proposals—was very helpful as I began work as
a speechwriter. The flexibility book publishing requires gave me an added
confidence in my work as a speechwriter.
What are some of the most enjoyable aspects of
speechwriting? What have been challenges and surprises that you've faced?
I love communicating with
people, and connecting with people. Speechwriting provides a unique
opportunity to see that connection play out in real time as my principal
delivers a speech I've created. Speechwriting also is about working with
a principal and helping that person become a more effective public speaker,
which I also enjoy.
My entire speechwriting career
has been in the public sector, and I think the scrutiny—both internally and
from the public—is greater than were I working for the head of a corporation or
non-profit. It's a challenge, but one that I embrace.
The most surprising aspect is
how often you have to write (and your principal has to say) something before it
breaks through/gains traction. And as a writer, you have to remind
yourself that most people aren't nearly as engaged with the work of government
as you are. So I try to keep the listener/audience in mind with each
speech that I write.
You have a love for language and literature. Who are
writers that have influenced your speechwriting? Are you able to incorporate
lines from a beloved literary figure into a speech?
I love quotes. But that
doesn't mean that a quote I love will work for a particular principal.
When I worked for Mayor Michael Bloomberg, one of my colleagues, who had
written for the mayor the longest, told me to think of myself as a playwright
for one actor who's playing a well-known character. You can't script
words for that actor that the audience won't believe he'd say. So while I
don't often use direct quotes from personally beloved literary figures in my
speeches, the writers whose work have been most important to me do influence
the speeches I craft. Toni Morrison. August Wilson. Cormac
McCarthy. Langston Hughes. Their work influences all of my writing.
I think the greatest political
speechwriter of all time is Abraham Lincoln, and I read his speeches
often. The speeches of Barack Obama, John F. Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr., Winston Churchill, Barbara Jordan, Harry Truman, Frederick Douglass
and George H.W. Bush also influence my writing and how I approach speechwriting
in particular.
I've also been fortunate to
write for someone who himself was a communicator, and Mayor Bloomberg's memoir
was, obviously, exceptionally helpful in writing for him.
What are essential items readers should know about the
work if considering a career in speechwriting?
Speechwriting is a demanding
profession. Depending on your principal, it can be all-consuming.
It helps to personally like the person you're writing for since you have to
spend a lot of time looking through their eyes. You also have to
anticipate reporters' questions and write with that anticipation in mind.
You have to study, study, study the issues. You must have a sense of
humor. You must work well with people who will tear up your work without
apology. And then work with them again. And again.
You have to have (or develop) a
thick skin. You must have a great deal of patience. You must write
with your audience foremost in mind, because it is the audience who decides
whether a speech succeeds or fails. And you must, above all, put your principal
first. Preparing him or her well, helping them connect with an audience
and communicate clearly and compellingly trumps everything else. It
trumps hurt feelings; it trumps frustration; it trumps bad days; it trumps
exhaustion; it trumps your theater tickets and your dinner plans. It
trumps everything. If the speech is on the calendar, your principal will
be standing before an audience whether you've done a good job or not. So do a
good job.
Bio
Christian Nwachukwu, Jr. is an appointee of the Obama White House and
serves as the Senior Speechwriter to CEO Wendy Spencer at the Corporation for
National and Community Service. Prior to joining CNCS, Christian served as a
speechwriter to former New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg from 2011-13.
Christian is a graduate of Morehouse College, where he studied biology.
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