Author Interview

World of Writing - Author Interview

Today we have  author and business owner Trent A. Romer in for a World of Writing - Author Interview! His book Finding Sustainability details his journey to find sustainability in multiple places.  (Visit www.trentromer.com for pictures and details about the book.)  Trent has worked hard to shift his plastic bag manufacturing company Clear View Bag Co., Inc (www.clearviewbag.com) toward a more sustainable direction through a new vision of Healthy Planet, Healthy People, Healthy Company. We've featured a few of his sustainability articles and links on our blog, and of course we've discussed green living many times on this blog so do scroll through those archived posts :)

Trent, let's start by having you introduce yourself to our audience, and tell us something about Finding Sustainability.

A: My name is Trent Romer and I am the 3rd generation co-owner of a family owned and operated plastic bag manufacturing business. I am from a very large family ---- 30 first cousins and 13 aunts & uncles. In 2018, I found myself at a crossroads of preservation and survival spurred by the anti-plastic narrative surrounding our industry. 

My love of the outdoors and long term health of the planet pushed me in a preservation direction while the need to provide for the families our business employs pulled me to the survival path. I wanted to both preserve and survive. 

The crossroads forced me to begin my journey to 8 states, 3 national parks and 3 countries to find sustainability for our company and for me personally.  

 

Q: When did you get the inspiration to start writing this book? 

A: Throughout the journey, I wrote about the adventures and education I was experiencing at each destination. I had never thought of putting them together to create a book until the lead faculty at my Harvard University experience encouraged me to write.

 

She said: 

“Regardless of what may or may not be out there,

 it is important to tell your story.” 

She provided the spark and confidence to write. I’ll be forever grateful.   

 

Q: What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book? 

A: The places I had visited provided a foundation for the research. I also read countless books, articles, and reports, listened to podcasts and spoke with anyone who would talk to me. It always seems more research can be done as there are always new things to learn. In full, the research took about 2 years to complete and continued right up until I turned in the final manuscript for editing.  

Q: In creating your book, did you find yourself unprepared or surprised by anything?

A: Yes, in fact there were 3 pieces of information that continued to come up in the literature which kept me motivated to write and they served as the foundations of the book.  

First, 8,000,000 tons of plastic waste finds its way to our oceans every year.

Second, packaging is expected to double in the next 20 years.

Third, if the age of the earth was equated to one year in time, humans would show up with only 36 minutes left in the year.   

These three facts repeatedly inspired me about plastics end of life problems, our society reliance on plastics and our human impact on the earth in such a short period of time.  

  

Q: Do you, as an author, intend to write more books in this genre? Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?

A: Great question. In writing Finding Sustainability, I had no intentions of writing another book. I’m not sure I see myself as an author. Maybe that will change. I am passionate about sustainability. I like to find valuable information about sustainability, try to apply it and then relay the information in a story-like format to the reader. I enjoy writing and would like to write another sustainability book. I have an idea which I think would fit a new angle to understanding sustainability. I hope to find the words that pull the story out of my head in the year to come.    

        

Q:  What was an early experience where you learned that language had power?

A:I have been working at my company for 30 years --- the last 20 dominated by emails as a primary means of communication. I write over 50 emails a day. Emails that are written in a clear, concise, descriptive and respectful way have proven to help communicate with, retain more of and attract new clients. I think at least in part, my everyday practice in writing emails has helped me find a writing style --- I did not see that coming.    

Q: Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?

A: My first book was just released. I have had some feedback. One question I get a lot is “Who is in the Boat?” referring to the front cover.  People generally think it is me.  My hope is after reading the book they see themselves as the ones in the boat with their own sustainability journey to explore.   My website www.trentromer.com, twitter feed, IG, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts are all means to interact. I look forward to any feedback to learn and to get better and hopefully be able to help others.   

Q:  How would you express your journey as an author?

A: An uphill climb fraught with mis-steps, dead-ends, re-writes and rejection. Writing is hard for me. However, the challenge of it all and the desire to share information and express myself trumps the struggles.

    

Q:  What do you love, other than writing?

A: I played basketball through my 4 years in college; it has always been a big part of my life. I love 1980’s music - I can’t seem to get my listening tastes away from my teenage years. 

My family means to world to me. My wife of 20 years and I have three sons (and a beloved dog) who are the center of our lives. We love to travel to the ocean and national parks for vacations.

Q: And last, What advice do you have for writers?

A: Wow. I am not sure I feel qualified to offer advice, but maybe I could offer something that might help someone. 

I am a big fan of thinking of writing as an exercise of selection. A tremendous amount of information is gathered combined with countless stories and ideas in your head. The best writers are able to throw out the information that distracts the reader, edit out ideas that cloud the larger narrative and reduce word “clutter”. The writer is the one who selects - it is up to you. 

I think of writing as being like a sculptor: start with a chunk of rock and keep chipping away what is not needed. What is left, is what you wanted all along. 

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