Bacon, Mark S. 1948-

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BACON, Mark S. 1948-

PERSONAL: Born June 1, 1948, in Germany; son of Cole (an electrical engineer) and Jeanne (a homemaker) Bacon; married first wife, 1971; wife's name Elizabeth (marriage ended, 1980); married Anne Clark (a bank executive), May 29, 1982. Ethnicity: "English and Norwegian heritage." Education: Fresno State College (now California State University—Fresno), B.A., 1970; attended University of California—Irvine; University of Nevada—Las Vegas, M.A., 1993. Hobbies and other interests: Hiking, cycling, reading, travel.

ADDRESSES: Offıce—Department of Communication, California Polytechnic University, Pomona, CA 91768. Agent—David Fugate, Waterside Productions, Cardiff, CA.

CAREER: Ledger Newspapers, Montrose, CA, staff writer and reporter, 1971-73; Knott's Berry Farm, Buena Park, CA, copywriter, 1973-74; Jack Lawlor Advertising, Los Angeles, CA, copywriter, 1974-75; California Credit Union League, Pomona, public relations manager, 1975-81; Orange County Federal, Santa Ana, CA, director of marketing, 1981-83; Bacon and Co. Corporate Communications, Yucaipa, CA, writer, seminar leader, and communications consultant, 1983—. Fullerton College, instructor, 1987-91; University of Nevada—Las Vegas, instructor, 1993-95; Community College of Southern Nevada, instructor, 1995; California Polytechnic University, instructor and adviser, 1995—. Tuson Trails Homeowners Association, member of board of directors, 1993-95; American Cancer Society of Southern Nevada, volunteer trainer, 1993-95.

MEMBER: International Association of Business Communicators (past vice president of Las Vegas chapter; past president of Orange County chapter), Direct Marketing Club of Southern California.

AWARDS, HONORS: Do-It-Yourself Direct Marketing: Secrets for Small Business was named a "best business book of the year" by Library Journal.

WRITINGS:

Write Like the Pros: Using the Secrets of Ad Writers and Journalists in Business (Book-of-the-Month Club selection), Wiley (New York, NY), 1987.

Do-It-Yourself Direct Marketing: Secrets for SmallBusiness (Book-of-the-Month Club selection), Wiley (New York, NY), 1992, 2nd edition, 1994.

The California Escape Manual: Your Guide to Finding A New Hometown, Archer & Clark Publishing (Redlands, CA) 1998.

Contributor of several hundred articles to magazines and newspapers, including Newspaper Research Journal, USAir, Working Woman, Orange Coast, and Seventeen.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Revising Do-It-Yourself Direct Marketing; a book on escaping city life for the country; a mystery novel.

SIDELIGHTS: Mark S. Bacon once told CA: "I was a journalism major in the 1960s. As I had always been interested in all forms of writing, I took a class in fiction writing. The instructor was novelist Nathan Heard, author of Howard Street. In one of the first classes, he went around the room and asked students why they wrote. When he heard my answer, which differed from the others, he said, 'You will be a writer.' My reason for writing then is the same as it is now: I write because I have to.

"In general, my book ideas come from questions for which I cannot find the answers. My book on business writing grew out of the notion that business people should be taught the shortcuts of journalists and copywriters. No one had done a book on that subject. When I looked for a book on direct marketing for small business, I found none and wrote one. My present projects come from similar sources. I have little interest in writing books similar to those written by others.

"I am hoping to publish a mystery novel. My detectives are different from any others—I am not sure yet if this will be a strength or weakness—and the setting and plot create a story I would like to read.

"When I am doing a book, I concentrate on it almost to the exclusion of everything else. I drive myself, finding satisfaction in a good paragraph, page, and chapter. I revise constantly as I write, then print it out and edit in pencil. I repeat the last two steps as many times as necessary."