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 < back to authors list Gregory Lewbart:
A veterinarian and professor, Gregory A. Lewbart was inspired by his college biology professor to write his first textbook. Nearly 20 years later — and after two rejections to his idea — Lewbart completed Invertebrate Medicine in 2006. The textbook is said to be the single most comprehensive resource available today on invertebrate animal medicine and also focuses on preventive care. The textbook received the 2007 Text and Academic Authors Association's "Texty" Textbook Excellence Award in the College Life Sciences category. Lewbart was a biology student at Gettysburg College when he met Dr. Robert D. Barnes, who became his teacher and advisor. "He was the author of a very well-known and respected text, Invertebrate Zoology," Lewbart says. "When I took his class on the subject my senior year, he, the book and what went into it made a big impression on me. Still, I didn't edit my first textbook until 18 years later." Lewbart still owns that fourth edition of Invertebrate Zoology that Barnes taught from to him and signed that copy for him. It sits on his book shelf in his office yet today, along with all other six editions he collected of the textbook. Lewbart even acquired a Spanish version during one of his trips to Mexico. After earning his bachelor's degree in biology, Lewbart received his master's degree in biology with a concentration in marine biology from Northeastern University in 1985 and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine in 1988. Lewbart says he always knew from early on he wanted to work as an animal doctor; he was 14 years old when he started volunteering at the local vet's office. Following in the footsteps of his childhood dreams, he worked for a large importer and wholesaler of tropical fish for more than four years before he joined the faculty at North Carolina State University, College of Veterinary Medicine, in Raleigh, N.C. He's currently a professor of aquatic animal medicine. Lewbart is a diplomate of the American College of Zoological Medicine. As a professor, Lewbart got his start authoring textbooks by writing review articles and book chapters on veterinary medicine. He has written more than 90 popular and scientific articles about invertebrates, fish, amphibians and reptiles and speaks nationally and internationally on these subjects. He also has authored or co-authored 15 book chapters related to veterinary medicine of those taxonomic groups. For many years, he had his idea to write a textbook on invertebrate medicine. As a student, professor and vet, he didn't see any similar textbooks to his idea in the marketplace. When he was a new assistant professor, he submitted a proposal for this text on invertebrate medicine to a publisher in 1993. The timing and the market were not right for his idea, he was told, so the publisher declined it. In the meantime, he was asked to edit a self-assessment guide on ornamental fish medicine, based on the recommendation of a colleague, Dr. Fred Frye. The project, Ornamental Fish (Manson Publishing and ISU Press, 1998, now part of Wiley-Blackwell Publishing) was successful. This eventually led to his signing a contract with Blackwell Publishing for the Invertebrate Medicine textbook in 2001. After five years of work on the book, it was published in 2006. Sticking with his idea over the course of many years was a good lesson in persistence as a writer. "A strong interest in the subject matter is also essential," says Lewbart, who holds an intense fascination for invertebrates — a large group of animals, who are held together by one trait, yet they are vastly different. "This helps ensure the focus and drive necessary to keep the project moving despite inevitable setbacks and delays." Lewbart tries to carve out reasonable chunks of time for his writing, but he's frequently utilizing time in airports, on planes and "after hours" nights and weekends. "A lot of what I do for the textbooks is editing, so I can find this can be accomplished in small pieces," Lewbart says. Along with being persistent, Lewbart's other advice to writers is to work closely with your editors and publisher, communicating clearly and often, even if you may not have good news to share with them. He also works a lot with other writers, who contribute to his textbook. "Select these individuals carefully, and communicate well with them," he says. He's not too selective about where he writes. "I have a great upstairs room in our home where I do some of my writing, including fiction," he says. "I'll also spread out papers, books and other materials on the dining room table, where I seem to be productive. My wife and I also own a small home at the North Carolina coast where I can write quite a bit if I plan well. Otherwise, I'll write in my office — which is usually not ideal due to distractions — or while traveling." In addition to textbooks, Lewbart has written two novels, Ivory Hunters (1996) and Pavilion Key (2000), published by Krieger Publishing, Malabar, Fla. Both stories are scientific mysteries that raise important issues about wildlife conservation and man's exploitation of the environment. He based his novel settings in southwestern Florida, which he had the chance to explore while living and working in Naples for several years. Lewbart and his wife Diane Deresienski, who is also a veterinarian, live in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina with their assorted pets. — Kim Seidel, a writer based in Onalaska, Wis., contributed to this article. |
