Westside authors

I have been asked by a couple of my fellow former Westside Books alum for information into my foray in self-publishing, and I have decided to answer here rather than individual emails.

My debut novel, Pull, was published by Westside in 2010. They have since ceased operations and I got the rights to the book back earlier this year. I set up my own publishing press, AllTheColorsOfLove, and re-issued a second edition. I have also published a set of short-stories, and am working on Being God, a Pull sequel. Not that this makes me any kind of expert, but at least now you have my curriculum vitae.

Here are the steps I went through. The order is not really significant. Each step may be done by the indie author or contracted out. I will note the steps I took myself.

1. Get the rights back. In writing, not just an email saying it's OK. I made sure I had a signed document.
2. Get a copy of your copyright document. That took some time, because at first it seemed ther original publisher had lost it. But with persistence, I got that from them as well.
3. Editing. Because this had been edited before publishing, I did not have to hire an editor. Evelyn Fazio did an excellent job with the original. She is now a freelance editor, and I highly recommend her to anyone in need of an editor.  But there were a few places where I had wanted to make changes. I used this as an opportunity. Not much, I think I changed maybe four pages (ten sentences) in total. But I did feel that was enough to call the new version the Second Edition.
4. Decide who you will use to print your book. I call them printers, even for the eBook, because I consider myself the Publisher. If I am self-publishing, they are the groups I use to assemble the product and distribute it. Different vendors have different format and cover requirements, so this should be done before you do those steps. I chose to have a paperback done by CreateSpace and an Amazon eBook. I also have a Smashwords edition.
5. Cover. Purchase the cover art from Westside OR contract with an artist to design a new cover OR do it yourself. Use the specifications from your printing vendor. Since I was using CreateSpace, I dealt with their requirements. After hearing no reply from Westside when I attempted to purchase rights to the cover, I tried to hire someone. One person was in-demand and backlogged for months. I had creative differences with the other. In the end, I decided to learn Photoshop, buy a new picture of my cover model, and do the new cover myself. It became another outlet for my creativity. My new cover is similar enough to the old that people won't be fooled into buying the same book twice, but it has my own twist (I never got the point of the high-tension wires) and I was able to include quotes from reviewers.  And I had a ball creating it. CreateSpace then made a version of the cover to fit Amazon Kindle requirements.
6. Purchase ISBN.  This also depends on your printing vendor. If you are going completely eBook, say Amazon or Smashords, I see no reason not to use their free ISBN. Createspace also had a free ISBN, but I decided I wanted to own my own for the physical book. I consider my own company, AllTheColorsOfLove as the publisher, and I want that noted everywhere, and that meant buying my own ISBN from Bowker. To me it was worth the money.
7. Format book. This too depends on who you use for printing, different companies will want differentt formats. Formatting for Kindle is different from formatting for Nook or iTunes or for paperback. I did chose to do the paperback formatting for CreateSpace myself. It is tedious, and the instructions were not completely right, but it was doable. I hired someone to do the formatting for other platforms, and I don't regret the money. But if you are detail oriented, each platform has instructions on their sites.
8. Final details.  You have to set a price, which was more difficult that I first thought, deciding on a price that will sell and at the same time give me a reasonable profit. Especially if you want to go to a bookstore or other distributor, they require discounts that you have to factor into your pricing. You will probably want an author page for your distributors, if you do not already have one. You will have to notify the parent company that you are the author, it was not automatic for me. Once they attach the book to your author page you can addional information to help market it. 
9. Oh yeah, marketing. Best of luck, I'm still working on that, setting up conference appearances and preparing to hire a publicist to see how/it that helps with future books.

YA Fiction and the Next Big Thing

I'm pumped to attend the 2012 YALSA Literature Symposium, titled: The Future of Young Adult Literature: Hit Me with the Next Big Thing.  The conference is being held in St. Louis, Mo., the proverbial "hop, step and jump" away from my home. (Am I dating myself with that reference?) YALSA stands for Young Adult Library Services Association.

While I am not presenting (that will be at the ALA convention next summer) I will be haunting the halls, attending presentation on YA Literature and Fan-Created Work, the Future of Review Guidance, the Future of Whiteness in Young Adult Literature, Contemporary Young Adult Fiction, What Will Guys Read Next, and, of course, a special presentation on  Trends, Fads, and the Next Big Thing in Publishing.

If you're hanging around and find YALSA Author B. A. Binns, hit me with the secret words (hint: All The Colors Of Love) to get a free copy of one of my books, either PULL or Die Trying.

A new job description

As of today I am more than an author.

I am a publisher.

Not exactly what I wanted to be.  But then, life is nothing if it is totally predictable.

My debut novel, PULL, a young adult novel geared toward attracting reluctant readers, was published in 2010 by Westside books.  Unfortunatly, Westside ceased publishing new books or reprinting existing books in 2011.  Because my book was not officially out of print, they retained rights. Because there was no promotion, sales plummeted. Even when people tried to order the book they were told none were available. I  know, because two booksellers and a school told me they had been unable to get books, and a second school told me the repeated trials they had to go through before finally getting  a supply for their students. 

Once the last copies were sold, and another school had to go without books, my agent was able to get my rights returned.  Great, I thought. I'll go the Indie route. I joined RWA's Self Publishing Forum so I could learn more about this and decide on my next steps. Only to discover I needed to move faster than I first intended.

Last week I was approached, first by a school, then by a distributor. They wanted to order and Westside sent them to me. I realized I needed to move fast or get replaced by a different selection.  That meant signing forms and making decisions much  more rapidly than normal for me.  And so, All The Colors Of Love was born, my own publishing company.  I looked at Amazon's Creatspace, and decided to use them as my printer/distributor. Even though I knew there would be more hassle involved, I chose to be my own publisher. I have a set of ISBN's and a Bowker account. I learned how to format documents for publication. I've signed legal papers and am in the process of establishing an account with a wholesaler.  I even bought my own copy of my cover-model (this was much more expensive that other stock photo shops, but in the end I paid because I just can't imagine anyone else as David) and learned how to use Photoshop to create a new cover.   I even kept the old motif of the hero being chained in by life, although I nixed the high-tension wires.

 

The new edition still needs some time to percolate through it's printers, but paperback, Kindle and Smashwords editions will be up shortly. And thoseclassrooms will have their books.

And somehow, I also found time to finish teaching an on-line writing class, get a new job, and keep on writing.  As I told my students in the Man-Talk class, women are excellent multi-taskers.

Teen Reviewer Amanda is back to review PULL

Teen Reviewer Amanda joins us again with her second summer read


In PULL, David Albacore is just 17 years old when his father shoots his mother, killing her. With his mother dead and his father in jail he suddenly has to take on the responsibility of his two younger sisters. After convincing his aunt to take them in, he tries to balance a new job, school, a new girlfriend, and basketball. This story is an insight on resilience and real women abuse. This book was extremely well written and realistic. I would recommend this to anyone who likes realistic fiction and fast paced books. With everything going on in this book, I expected the characters to get a bit unrealistic simply because of how complex the plot was getting, but Binns kept the characters real and believable throughout the entire book. She did an excellent job making me care about what happens to the characters. By the end of the book I was on the edge of my seat just hoping David and his family would turn out okay and not end up on the streets. The description in this book was stunning because it wasn't overloaded. Binns didn't give me more then I needed. This really worked in the book because it let the reader focus on the emotions going on in the book rather than on the setting.

I connected deeply with the characters in this story. Because I'm a teenage girl, I connected with David's sister, Barney, the most. All she wanted to do was fit in at her new school, and be popular. She didn't want to have to think about money or anything too serious.

Linda, David's youngest sister, was kind of mysterious all throughout the book. She was described as very quiet and kept to herself. The reader never really got much information on how she was handling her mother's death. All you really know is that David loves her deeply.

Amanda

Eliot Rosewater Indiana High School Book Award

A number of my friends in various writing groups received word yesterday that they are finalists in RWA contests - either the Golden Heart for unpublished authors, or the Rita for books published in 2011. Being ineligible for either (I am published, but my book is from 2010) I was surprised and pleased to get another unexpected, but totally delightful, message.

Students in my neighboring state of Indiana have nominated my book PULL for the 2012/13 Eliot Rosewater Indiana Hoosier Book Award (a. k. a. the Rosie Award).  Of course, I'm up against an awesome list of books, including Five Flavors of Dumb, Ship Breaker, Will Grayson, Will Grayson, and Yummy - all of which I read and loved. But it's great to be in such awesome company.  The Rosie Award is chosen annually by students across Indiana in grades nine through twelve. The winner will be announced in May. Obviously I have my fingers and toes crossed. I just consider it an honor that the students nominated PULL. PULL has acheived a number of honors:

• 2010 Golden Rose winner - Oregon
• 2011 National Readers Choice Award winner - Oklahoma
• 2011 Children's and Young Adult Bloggers Literary (CYBIL) Awards nominee
• 2011 Best Books for Youth in Detention list - School Library Journal
• 2012 YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers list - American Library Association

The sequel, BEING GOD, will be out later this year. Who knows what next year will bring.


BTW - Eliot Rosewater is a recurring fictional character in Kurt Vonnegut's novels, including God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater. Vonnegut is a famous Hoosier author who grew up in Indianapolis. This award was named to honor him and all Indiana writers. I feel like I'm an honorary Indiana writer.

Pull was named a 2012 YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers at the 2012 ALA Mid-winter meeting.
It was also named by School Library Journal as one of 2011's Top Ten Picks For Youth In Detention.

Men like YA books too

Last Tuesday my local library, the Arlington Heights Memorial Library, sponsored me as their guest at the Illinois Library Association conference in Rosemont Illinois. While there, one of my readers came up to me and told me he was almost finished with my book and he loved it. Part of my goal in writing PULL was to attract boys back to reading, so the gender of my fan wasn't a surprise.

His age was.  He was an adult male.

This is the third time this has happened to me. I have been told, by adult MEN, that they enjoyed the book, did not find it childish or "young adult" (the protagonist is a 17 year old African American male living in Chicago's inner city) and felt that I accurately captured what it meant to be a boy.  BTW - all three men were middle-aged and white.

I have heard some negative comments--mostly from mothers--about the language, the sexual situations and, especially, the ending. None of the men had a problem with either of these. Nor have teens, although one girl wrote that she couldn't do what David, PULL's hero, did herself, but she fully understood why he did it.

I find it interesting,  unexpected, and strangely exhilarating to think that my book has crossed-over from the YA shelves into the hands, and hearts, of adult males.

What made this most interesting is that a week earlier I gave a presentation at the Ohio Educational Media Library Association, on Attracting Teen Boy Readers.  One of the attendees mentioned how difficult it was to find male role-models who would admit to reading, and that even the Principal at her school seemed proud to announce that he "did not read."

Maybe she could think about a father-son book club, armed with male-oriented YA books. 

Obviously, PULL should be first in line.

YA books and censorship

Early in June I went to Chicago's Printer's Row book festival, an annual weekend celebration of the printed word. I shared a booth with Barbara's Bookstore - totally coincidental - and the Chicago Writer's Association. I spoke to a family about PULL, and as I talked to the parents their son picked up a copy and started reading. My opening hook did it's job and he quickly interrupted us to tell his parents, "I want this book."

When they turned to me to purchase it a small feeling of responsibility jumped in, he looked very young. I asked, then told me their son was eleven. I mentioned that PULL was intended for 8th grade and up, and that there was language and sexual innuendo. They smiled. Their son reads voraciously, if he wanted it, that was enough for them.  They intended to read the book as well--after he finished with it.

No censorship in their house.

I contrast that with a recent experience I had in a library. I was in the paperback section, where multiple genre's are jumbled together. A girl was with her father, looking for a book. She looked to be twelve to fourteen, although you can't always tell just by looking at a kid. (At least I can't)  She picked up a book, and her father immediately told her to put it back. The cover, while not racy, made it clear this was a paranormal romance. Dad's comment, "Your mother wouldn't want you reading that." They eventually left without getting any books.

I won't fault any parent for what they do and do not let their child read. They know their individual child best, and have every right to decide about the age appropriateness of material. Where I would find an issue is someone deciding that no child should read something. And that undercurrent keeps turning up in discussions and blogs.

I myself moved from the children's section to the adult section around 7th grade. Somehow I made it through books laden with sex and violence and mass murder without ever become a killer or drug user myself. Go figure.


My return to reading YA came when my daughter was a teen and brought some into the house.  I learned that today's YA has depth and theme and a passion that is sometimes missing in adult books. There is sex, violence, drug usage and mayhem. Should every child read about books including these themes? Absolutely not.  But should they not even be written, as one source tired to claim recently - again, absolutely not.


I hope many of you feel as I do, that no matter how edgy the theme or voice, books that touch the reality of young lives need to be written. And there is an audience out there that needs to read them to find hope.

PULL Wins the National Reader's Choice Award!!

I just returned to Chicago from the American Library Association meeting in beautiful--and incredibly hot--New Orleans.  When I arrived I was greeted by the news that this morning, at the OK RWA breakfast during the Romance Writers of America contest in New York City, PULL was awarded first place in the National Reader's Choice Awards.

I wish I could have been in New York at the reception, but I had to make a choice and ALA and librarians won. I had a friend aaccept my award (and my wonderful breakfast) for me.  This is a major honor that I hoped for, but didn't dare expect. It's just great to know that there are people who believe that books about teen guys can be just as wonderful and enjoyable as those about teen girls. PULL features a multi-cultural cast and two gay boyfriends, and themes involving both domestic and sexual abuse.  I am so glad the book is finding an audience that appreciates it.


Like PULL on Facebook

Romance Slam Jam Conference

Today I'm in Baltimore Maryland at the dazzling Romance Slam Jam conference. This conference of African American romance writers included workshops on Creating Memorable Characters by Marilyn Tyner, and Sexy Banter from the awesome writer Gwyneth Bolton, and What's the Hype about Romance from Denise Jeffries. I also spent time on a panel talking about my novel PULL, along with authors Altonya Washington, A. C. Arthur, and Iris Bolling.   Its great being close enough to touch so many of my idols, an to be asked questions by Wayne Jordon and Gwyneth Bolton, romance authors I adore.  

The next two days of the conference will include sessions on

• Writing interracial/multicultural romances
• Sex scenes from His Perspective
• Writing with Passion
• Building your brand
• and more.

Tonight I'm off to a 70's theme party. Tomorrow we tour Baltimore and the Emma Awards. 

I'm a contest finalist, again!!

My debut novel, PULL (a young adult romance from the teen boy's POV) is a finalist in the 2010 National Readers Choice Awards contest in the Young Adult category. PULL was my 2008 NaNoWriMo novel, edited in 2009 and sold and published in 2010.  The National Readers Choice Awards is run by the OK-RWA chapter.  Last year PULL won that chapter's Finally A Bride contest in the YA category. (And no, I don't have that chapter rigged.)  I am honestly thrilled to be one of the three finalists, and to know that the readers and librarians they picked as judges loved my teen boy voice.

Yes, I am dancing, even if you can't see me.

Sometimes kids just get it better than adults do

Several fellow authors have told me not to read my book's reviews, but I can't help myself. And frankly, most of them are favorable, so it's usually a boost. But by reading them I have discovered an interesting trend in the difference between the way adults and kids view the book and its realistic deptition of teens and the stresses they face.

PULL is a contemporary YA.  I tries my best to make the characters realistic, rather than impossibly noble and heroic. Really, if the typical guy on the street was a hero all the time what fun would that be? And at seventeen, the age of my protagonist David and his arch rival Malik? Those things are bundles of contradictions and hormones who act before they speak and are still working on the whole heroic thing.

So its interesting how adults vs kids talk about my characters and how they handle different situations.

The latest issue was a woman who reviewed my book and pounded on the section where Malik and two girls head off, ostensibly for sex (whatever, it all happens off the page).  She went on about that and how appalled she was by the idea that kids actually did things like that.  She disliked the idea of reality and therefore disliked my book.

Kids tend to look at other aspects. They're comments focus on things important to them. One tenth grade boy raved on about the friendship between the hero and another boy and how that helped the other boy's self-esteem. Kids accept David's choice while agreeing they could not follow it, and several have voiced concern over his future.  The younger readers also voice concern for Yolanda, the rape victim, and understand how her trauma leads her to make bad choices about guys.

But the parents focus on the young men's sexuality.  These guys are 17 already! They are going to notice girls.  Even if we wish teens  were different, they do care way too much about the opposite sex.  But these are also the years when their brains are making the big push towards maturity, when they learn to think before acting, to control themselves and grow up to be the better for it. That's what I wanted to show. At least the kids get it.

Return from YALSA

I came back from the YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) conference earlier this week. Rest assured, I'll blog about that event soon. But today I want to talk about what happened when I left.

The conference ended Sunday at noon with a great keynote address from Ellen Hopkins and Lauren Myracle, two often banned YA authors who spoke on their experiences to the appreciative audience of librarians.  I stayed in Albuquerque until Monday for a little sightseeing and then took a 10:00 shuttle to the airport. My 1:00 flight left me with almost three hours to kill, so I approached the snaking security line without concern. No worries, not even when I realized I was about to have my first full-body scan.

I'd like to tell you I got zapped and felt the radiation surge through my body. No such luck. It was an anti-climactic experience - step on the mark, hold your hands over your head, big whoop. I passed.

My suitcase didn't.

With threat level orange, the man eyeing the x-ray machine saw something he didn't like inside my bag, so I needed to unpack for things with a TSA monitor. And that's where things got to be fun.  Bet you never thought you'd hear anyone say TSA and fun at the same time, but the lady was a joy for this little introvert to talk to.

She chatted about the number of books in my suitcase - librarian's symposium = lots of free books to bring home which was probably most of the problem.  As we spoke she picked up one of my two remaining ARCs of PULL (every other ARC had been distributed to conference-goers). I told her she was holding the book I had written.

Suddenly I was a celebrity. She even called her nephew and fellow TSA employee over to introduce him to her author friend. I gave her some of the promotional chachkas I've learned to carry with me at all times as we continued unloading my suitcase. (Seriously, I even carry a supply when I go to the bathroom because you never know.) She gushed, talking telling her librarian friends that she knew an author, and her church group and her book club and...and a voice inside my head said, "Just give her an ARC."

Sometimes you just have to listen to those voices.

She swore to read it and pass it on, promised to email me and we even discussed the possibility of an invite to town to visit her book club, too. By the way, my bag passed it's second scan, and she helped me repack before picking up the book and promotional literature like it was made of spun gold and heading to her locker to put them safely away.

Ohmigod, I think I have another fan.

See the Pull Book Trailer on YouTube.

I'm enjoying a travel day

Today I'm on my way to the YALSA conference in Albuquerque where I'll be mingling with Librarian talking about Diversity in literature and their library populations. I'm most interested in the discussions on ethnic characters and covers. 

I've heard that the printer has rectified the problem, so PULL will only be delayed a couple of weeks. In the interim, please enjoy this download of Chapter One.  Read and leave a comment telling me what you think.

PULL book trailer

Created by the fantastic Megan Bailey

Interview with PULL's "bad boy" - Malik Kaplan

The battle of the high school titans looms at Farrington High School with the arrival of new student, David Albacore. Senior Malik Kaplan is the long-term leader of just about everything in this school; guys don’t cross him and girls don’t leave him. But now there’s a new student, David Albacore who transferred in and began taking a lot of attention from teachers, students and the basketball coach. Suddenly there’s someone bigger than Malik, an unknown who has Malik’s long-time girlfriend staring, and who won’t back down.

It took a long time to get Malik to agree to an interview. Today was a short schoolday, and he agreed to hang around and talk to me. If I were a teenaged girl I guess I'd feel lucky. He knows how to let out buckets of charm. He is tall, with a build and confident air that makes him look much older than seventeen. His deep voice fills the room. No wonder he was Homecoming King, and is a sure bet to be Prom King as well.  Maybe the other students don't like him much, but they fear him.  Maybe he thinks that's enough.

“I heard there’s friction between you and the other members of the basketball team.”

His eyes narrow. “No trouble. We’d be fine if that pack of scrubs knew how to play.”

“What about David Albacore? He seems to know his way around the court.” Bringing up the new student in school is tricky. David and Malik have been enemies since David’s first day at Farrington. It’s like survival of the fittest, law of the jungle, two predators cannot occupy the same space, one has to go.

Malik's lips turn down at the corners and I wonder if this show of emotion is an indication of anger, or unhappiness or something else. “Albacore—no refugee from a fish tank takes over my school. How’d that make me look?”

"The guy's a good basketball player."

"Got you fooled too? He came from nowhere and needs to get back before someone hurts him."

I don't think Malik likes me. He's just tolerating my questions like some people tolerate a yappy dog. And when I ask, "Someone being you?", he shrugs and starts for the door.

As he reaches for the doorknob I say, “David's bigger than you.”

Just as I expected, the words make him whirl and return. “Like I give a--”

“Girls like him. Yolanda especially.”

"Yoyo belongs to  me and what’s mine, I keep. People need to know who I am and the penalty for messing with me.”

“What brought you two together?" I asked her the same question but got no real answer. I look at how he acts and ask myself why girls flocked around him. Yes, he's handsome, and his family has more money than most around here, but still, if he has a mean streak. Or was Yolanda wrong, is there more to this guy than just the ‘bad boy’ attitude and lifestyle?
"Then she should give me what I want, shouldn't she? I made her what she is. That girl was a nothing before I met her. She needs to appreciate what I do for her. Stuff Albacore can't."

"Yolanda said you were sometimes violent when you didn't get what you wanted." As I speak his jaw clenches and I notice the balled-up hands at his sides. I remember that we're alone in this office and that some people only tolerate that yappy dog for a little while.

"Piece of advice," he says. "Don't ask too many questions. You may not like the answers."

Interview with PULL's heroine, Yolanda Dare

Sixteen year old Yolanda Dare agreed to take the time to talk with us about herself. Her fashion sense is obvious, as is her intelligence and poise. She’s a junior at Farrington High School in Chicago, and well acquainted with both David Albacore and his rival Malik Kaplan two seniors with big complexes.


“What do we call you? Yoyo, The Dare, or…”

“My friends call me Yo. You can say Yolanda.”

“Love your outfit.” In many ways Yolanda is a diva. The kind of form-fitting pants that probably have the guys in her neighborhood panting. Short suede skirt paired with high boots. A perfect fall getup to go with immaculate makeup.

“I only go for the best.”

“Is that the reason you and Malik Kaplan got together? He was the school’s homecoming king, captain of the football team and that Mustang of his car of his oozes appeal.”

So help me God, the girl rolls her eyes and laughs. “Yes, he’s all those things and a whole lot worse.”


“Malik got violent sometimes, didn't he?"

“More than sometimes. I mean, he was OK when he got what he wanted, but he never learned to handle compromise well."

“What brought you two together? Even with all that, I look at how he acts and ask myself why girls flocked around him. I mean, I was young once myself and I understand how easy it is for a girl to lose her head over looks, but still, what does he have beside that ‘bad boy’ attitude and lifestyle?”

She shifts in her seat and sighs. “I don’t know how things were for you back in the day—”

“The day?” There she goes, just when I thought she was so adult, she proves herself to be a typical teen. “You mean when back when I was young? When dinosaurs roamed the Earth.”

“You’re funny. I was only talking about the Dark Ages. Still,” and now she grows serious, “there’s no place lonelier or scarier than high school. I knew right away Malik was in charge of the place, and since I didn’t intend being an outsider, I let him catch me. Having to face the world alone is too dangerous.”

“And lonely?”

Her eyes flicker. “Very lonely.”

“Any advice for other girls who find themselves trying to decide what to do when faced with chosing between hanging with someone like Malik and being alone?”

“Lots. They can take a look inside PULL, read my presentation to the Marriage and Family class. I meant every word, and Malik, as well as Mr. David Albacore, had better believe that. Or they better prepare to suffer the consequences.”


“But what do you really think of David?”

“Do I look like a girl who kisses and tells? Read the book, I’m sure he told most of the story. What he didn’t is just for the two of us.”

Interview with PULLs Hero, David Albacore

Better late than never - I hope - I finally  managed to coral David Albacore for a talk. He's the narrator and main character in the new book, PULL, being released on October 27. Now eighteen, this young man has proven himself in the schoolyard, basketball court and in a construction yard. He has agreed to answer some final questions only a month before his story reaches bookstores.  He's here to answer questions about the book, and to make an offer for for people willing to leave a comment or ask him a question.



When I look at him even I find myself wondering what makes people think seventeen means you must still be considered a child?  He proves that years aren’t everything. He paces through my office, looking much more like a man than a boy, and too full of energy to remain still. Easy to understand how uncomfortable someone like David would be sitting in a chair for hours at a time in a classroom. Even easier to see him standing against the wind and carrying hefty weights without bending. This young man has had to deal with horrific trauma, and domestic abuse and somehow managed to bounce back.

Still, he was seventeen when the events in PULL unfolded. With two younger sisters to care for, the burden David feels must sometimes be overwhelming.

“You’re only eighteen, right?” I say to get things started.

He winks at me. “The magic age, yeah.”

“I know you think you’re a man, David, but legally there are restrictions on you. You can vote and drive, but you still can’t smoke or drink legally.”

His eyes narrow and for a second I’m afraid I’ve set off his near legendary temper. Then he laughed. “You’re one of the people who think calendars rule. Other than years, what does a man have that I don’t? I have a job, responsibilities, a family to take care of and people who respect me.”

“A future?”

“That too. Like I’ve said before, I’m too big to fall between the cracks and end up a statistic.”

By all the rules of logic he’s wrong. But somehow, as I look at his strong body and steely eyes I’m not sure this young man won’t get everything he intends. He is big. Six foot seven, muscular, athletic build and I’d bet the Chicago Bulls would really like to see him in red some day. And he smiles a lot more these days than when he first entered an inner-city school in Chicago.

"Construction is an important part of your life."

"Absolutely." I can hear it in his voice, this is something he loves. "Building homes, offices, making something from a hole in the ground. That's power, that's wonderful. Knowing something you helped raise will be there even after you're gone, there's no way to describe the feeling. It's powerful. That's a feeling I wanted to share in the book about me."

“The book on your life comes out in what, six weeks?”

“Not even. Can you believe, the thing will be on bookshelves in time for Halloween, like someone wants the season to match the school’s colors.”

I’d almost forgotten, his school’s colors are orange and black. Like David said on his first day there, it’s laughable if you’re a Halloween person. Which I happen to be.


“Are you excited?” I ask him.
Like a typical man, he stops in the middle of the room, as motionless as anyone with his high energy could ever be and scowls. “Of course. Can’t you see me jumping for joy?”

I wonder how the women in his life put up with him?

“You still have an enemy at school. Are you worried about Malik’s reaction to the way you describe him in the book?”

“About who?” David tossed his head and waved his hand as if he were brushing away an annoying flea. “The guy’s still a gangsta clown with a capital ‘C.’ Look, do you worry when you say dirt’s full of germs? Truth may hurt, but it is what it is. Any other questions?”

“Where do you see yourself in ten years?”

“Ten?” A slow grin spreads across his face. “I’ll only need five to be king of the construction landscape around here.”

It's all typical male bravado from a brass and boastful youth. Still, when he speaks I almost believe there will be an Albacore Construction company as the number one in Chicago. If ever a young man had drive, that man is David Albacore.

“I want to thank you for sharing your story with the world. I’m sure many parts of it was difficult for you to reveal.”

“I tried to make the story honest. It’s me.” He paused before sighing and said, “I’m just a guy with his own problems and his own way of handling them. My story isn’t typical and there’s not a lot of books, not about guys like me, and not FOR guys like me. Like you say, some of us are just real. Maybe my story will let others know they’re not alone.” He leans forward with his hands on his hips, like he thinks he’s staring into a camera. “Maybe I don’t like school, but I do know reading is important. I want guys to read my book and see a part of themselves. Girls too.” He throws his hands in the air. “Hey, everybody read all about David. You’ll like me.”

“Some people are afraid your choices may send the wrong message.” What if kids read your book and want to follow in your footsteps?”

“They can’t. My future belongs to me. Everyone out there has their own lives. That’s what I had to learn, that a man’s got to do what a man’s got to do no matter what other’s think. My choices belong to me, only to me. Everyone has to follow their own path. If I learned anything it’s that you can’t be yourself by playing follow the leader.”

“PULL was a finalist in Maryland's Reveal Your Inner Vixen Contest in 2009,” I remind him and fight back a laugh when his head jerks. “What do you feel about that honor?”

“Honor?” His face goes blank for a moment. I’d almost call him embarrassed, until he shrugs and says, “Give that one to my girl, Yolanda. She gets the credit for things like that.”

“And when PULL won the Golden Rose Contest in Oregon?”

Now a smirk fills his face. “I’ll take credit for that one. I hear the final judge really loved me.”

He’s young, handsome, ultra smooth and confident so it’s easy to see why.

“Any last question for the readers of this blog?”

For several seconds the corners of his eyelids droop as he remained silent, apparently lost inside his thoughts. Then he nods. “Yeah, I’d like to know what people think about books that step outside the ordinary."

I got the CALL - Not the race to the finish

If I ever do a memoir, 2010 has to have it's own section, if not very own volume. This year is a whirlwind that keeps picking up size, strength and velocity.

January

I signed with an agent, Andrea Somberg from the Harvey Klinger agency. She began submitting PULL to editors.
February Rejections arrive. (I swear, someday I'll put up the highlights of the rejection emails I got for that book. Some are simply priceless.) I'm dejected, but she maintains her enthusiasm. I remind myself it's only a month. And at least with an agent you don't have to wait six to eight weeks for your rejection, that's got to count for something.
March I hear the first nibbles from WestSide Books. They want my story. Andrea sends word to two other editors looking at the book, they’ve got competition.
AprilI get THE CALL from WestSide. Forty minutes later I’m taking deep breaths and sitting back down in my chair – I was attending the Chicago North RWA Spring Fling Conference at the time, and sadly missed an entire session. But my book was on the road to publication. And I know everything has to be pulled together in record time. WestSide wants PULL as their October 2010 release.

Meaning, I’m off to the races.
MayAndrea and WestSide enter contract negotiations. I begin working on revisions because no matter how much they love your book there’s always something that needs to be changed. WestSide’s artist design the cover. Meanwhile, WestSide pitched PULL to booksellers, who agreed to place orders. I have to say, I couldn’t have asked for a better cover. It made me look, not once but twice, and I realized if I passed it in a bookstore I would at least pick it up to read the cover blurb. What more could I ask for?

Speaking of cover blurbs, this intense introvert was given the task of soliciting for YA authors to read and provide blurbs on PULL. And they wanted award winning or best selling YA authors. During this process I discovered two dismal truths.

1. Award winning and best selling authors seldom have free time, their responses to the requests begin looking a lot like rejection slips.

2. And, if you make enough cold calls, even the most hardened introvert eventually learns to just shrug when it’s time to make another.

There was also one happy truth – make enough requests and finally someone says they’ll take a look. Thumbs up to Tanita Davis, who promised to tell what she really though. And Thank God PULL actually impressed her. You can see part of her review on my websiteJune I began promotion activity, including getting a website up (mostly), creating a custom PULL T-Shirt so I can walk around advertising my own product. Getting business cards to hand out in answer to questions the shirt provokes.

Andrea and WestSide complete contract negotiations. I get to sign the fifteen-page contract. OMG!!

By the end of the month I begin working on line edits. Like I said, there’s always something that needs to be changed. BTW – people warned me I would get tired of re-reading my own book before the process ended. I’m beginning to feel like I could recite the thing from cover to cover in the dark.

July, August and September will have their own set of trials. Including ARCs, reviews, final edits, Marketing, marketing and more marketing. And then, October and The PULL Book Launch.

I’ll keep you posted next month. Meanwhile, I’m off to get that author photo for the inside back cover. Like Alice's White rabbit, I'm late, I'm late.

Dec. 17

I open my email, to find a letter from the agent at the Harvey Klinger agency. She wants me to call. I realize two things.
A. this could be big
B. I was so unprofessional I never gave her my phone number

First, I have to take a dozen deep breaths. Then I remember an article from the Writer magazine only a few months earlier where a writer was contacted by an agent who was explaining why they would not be representing them. Obviously that was what was about to happen. A new step up on the rejections scale. Nice, but still no cigar. So I calmed down.

I engaged in a quick Internet search to find out all I could about the agent. I know that's backward, but I hadn't done this in advance because I never thought things would get this far, I entered the contest for feedback, not because I expected to win. i was impressed by some of her recent sales, they were the kind of thing I really liked to read, quirky, really outside the average. And a lot like my own story.

Then I took a last deep breath and called.

And yes, she still liked my story and offered to represent me. We spent forty-five minutes on the phone, and I liked everything she said.

There was still the matter of the other agent looking at the story. I felt obliged to give her a chance to finish evaluating and for us to connect. This agent agreed to wait until after Christmas - only a week away, after all, and I sent off an email to the other agent to let them know the situation had changed. They got back to me just before New Year. She liked the novel, but we didn't click, not the way I had with the first agent. So, as of January 4th, I signed an agreement and I'm now represented by Harvey Klinger, Inc. Pull My String is in the hands of several editors for their review. My fingers and toes are crossed. And, I'm heavily engaged in working on the sequel.

Now for the next phase of my evolution.