Wynton Hall, Hoover Institution

2. What will your next book be about?

I would answer that in two ways. First, as a speechwriter, I have been heavily influenced by a wide range of rhetoricians spanning centuries. Folks like Cicero, Isocrates, and Lincoln all the way to Ted Sorensen, Peggy Noonan, Dr. Martin Luther King, Winston Churchill. Quite a range!

Now, in terms of polemical prose or straight nonfiction or history, I’d have to go with David Herbert Donald, Richard Weaver, Allan Bloom, Shelby Steele, John Keegan, Myron Magnet, William F. Buckley, Abigail and Stephan Thernstrom, John McWhorter, Robert Caro, and Taylor Branch.

I see them as two different toolboxes.

The academic toolbox is filled with specialized terminology, theoretical jargon, and a panoply of polysyllabic words that have limited resonance outside disciplinary circles. There is also the issue of curtailing one’s own judgment or biases.

The “popular” writing toolbox is both more constricting and liberating. By that I mean you can—and often should—use contractions, incomplete

It strikes me as a bit elitist in tone. Some writers think if an author becomes a mainstream, commercial success that they are a “sell out.” This view holds that a book’s intellectual value is somehow inversely related to the number of books an author sells.

I find that somewhat offensive. The way I see it, if readers spend $25 of their hard earned money on your book, you should be grateful. Heck, that’s a dinner at Chili’s or a night out at the movies. That reader has, in effect, said he or she would rather spend time reading your work than engage in the hundred other things that fill our busy, modern lives. To me, there could be no greater compliment.

Absolutely! I’m a political “nerd” of the worst kind.

I have always been interested in politics, even as a child. I was probably the only 10 year old boy in America whose favorite channel was C-SPAN. You think I’m kidding, but I’m not.

One time Marlin Fitzwater and I were chatting about the origins of our political interests. I told him that as a child I used to play a game where I would put C-SPAN coverage of House floor debates on in one room and then go in the room next to it. As Representatives shuffled to and from the microphone, I would try and guess their name, party affiliation, and home state solely by the sound of their voice. What was REALLY scary was that I got pretty good at it.

To me, it’s the difference between writing for the ear versus the eye.

Speechwriters don’t have the same luxuries as prose writers. When a person delivers a speech, his or her words become butterflies—they flutter around an audience’s ears and then float away. If listeners didn't catch it the first time, they don't get a second chance. As a result, when writing a speech, I always strive for concision, or, as the ancients called it, brevitas.

I am an inveterate researcher, so that’s usually my starting place. My academic training in archival and primary source research methodologies turned me into an informational scavenger. Plus, I love to talk to people. Voice, rhythm, cadence--these interest me greatly. As a result, I often begin by combing archives or private collections before conducting a series of interviews.

Then it’s on to the outlining and writing phase. Here, I like to pull back and get an “aerial view” of what I have to work with and the major themes I wish to integrate. My outlines are more like matrixes; I weave thematic undercurrents with the actual content I intend to cover. The result: my outlines often look more like diagrams than anything else.

In the immortal words of Winston Churchill, “Never, never, never, quit.” Landing a big time NY literary agent and publisher isn’t easy.

You've got to remember: this is a business. Major NY publishing houses receive a tidal wave of book proposals, query letters, and manuscripts every day. Everyone wants to be a writer, and there are literally tens of thousands of gifted writers out there. Talent gets you to the starting line, not the finish line.

My advice is to read everything in your genre, study the "Writer’s Market," and constantly hone your craft. Experiment, for example, with different writing styles, syntactical constructions, and words. Find your own voice.

Finally, stay humble and hungry. Ask questions. When a person goes out of his or her way to offer assistance, write them a thank you note. It's a simple gesture, but you'd be surprised in our internet age how few people are willing to take the time. Not only is it the polite thing to do, it's one more chance to get your name on someone's desk and mind.

I've been blessed with a great literary agent. He knows the New York publishing world, because he's been at it for over 15 years. He knows my genre [nonfiction]; it's all he represents. More than that, he's there for me when I need him and believes in my writing. So I'd say make sure you put your career in the hands of someone you trust.

Lastly, be sure to meet your editor's deadlines! She'll love you for making her job that much easier. In fact, on "The Greatest Communicator," that was one thing our stellar editor, Hana Lane, said she appreciated most--rendering quality copy at or before deadlines.

At the end of the day, though, a lot of it boils down to the same things it always does: hard work, good old fashioned self discipline, and giving up sleep so you can meet your goals.

Well, if you mean my own books and not those I'm ghostwriting, I'm actually working on a couple simultaneously.

The first is about a project that will take more than a couple years to complete, but about a topic of which I am most passionate, and that is the history of Black education in America. There are some glorious and gruesome stories to be told there, and I feel humbled to have been given access to some one-of-a-kind historical materials that are allowing me to tell a story that hasn't been told but that must be. I wish I could talk more openly about this project, but I'm prevented from doing so.

The other book is equally exciting but for different reasons. Like the former project, this one involves history but history of a different sort: the kind for which I am most known--presidential history. As with the other project, I've managed to gain exclusive access to some rare gems of presidential history that no one knew existed. So that book will be a showcasing of said gems. That book will make a significant contribution to our understanding of the one of America's most influential presidents.

So, as usual, I'm sunk knee deep in historical archival materials that include African American history and presidential history, and I couldn't be happier or more excited.

The writing life...you've gotta love it!