On balance

 

Sometimes I wonder if I am the only person who reads Vasily Grossman before cooking for 12, who tries to write a few lines of dialogue after the mouth guard for the 8 year old’s lacross game is found. My ipad has Martha Stewart’s recipe for almond tart buttressed against the page for the LA Times Book festival.

I am a juggler walking on a tight rope over hot coals, balancing books and children and a tender hearted man’s tender heart in my hands. Throwing them up and catching them again and again. Beneath me are the audience members. They look comfortable, expectant. Failure’s shadow no where near their furrowed brows.

I could go on about how my weary body races to catch up to my mind, but the steamed asparagus and tuna poke await.

 

 

Are we witnessing a Turkish Spring?

 

 

Embracing my inner hustler

I come from a long line of hustlers. My family history is full of savvy merchants who sold their wares to put food on the table. My grandfather, an orphan of the genocide, first made his living selling undergarments from a cart in the back streets of Beirut Lebanon.  My father bested him when he migrated to America and opened his first Jewelry store/ booth inside a grocery store in Reseda. (I think it was a Vons.) Can you imagine a corner of your local grocery store selling actual diamonds and ruby necklaces? Well, it happened and it pretty much explains my crazy childhood.  Anyway, the point is, all my aunts and uncles own their own businesses. Even when my younger cousins started getting college degrees, it was understood that any law or business degree would be used to establish a new business or grow an existing one. Entrepreneurship is a rite of passage in my family, a singular interpretation of the American dream.

You can imagine the response I got when I told the entire clan (because that’s the only accurate description of us) that I wanted to be a writer. I got a lot of blank stares, fingering of worry beads, silent desperate prayers, questions like, “Yes, but what will you really do for a living?” I did it anyway, of course. I spent five years writing a novel, I wasn’t sure would ever get published. My family treated me like a Hari Krishna, someone who’s placed her unyielding faith in the absurd.

Then, miraculously, I found an agent who believed in me and who, even more miraculously, sold the novel in less than a week. Cray Cray, as my nieces would say. Once the novel was sold to a reputable award-winning publisher, my agent and new editor at Algonquin Books both advised me to start writing a new one. What!? The hustler in me was stunned. Who was going to sell this thing? I wanted to know.

“No one cares about your product like you do,” I remember telling my agent, repeating one of my family’s familiar mottos. There was a long pause, followed by, “Did you just call your novel a product?” Yes, I had. And secretly, I still do. This puppy needs to be sold, and I can’t help but be deeply invested in that. I’ve upgraded from my grandfather’s horse-drawn cart to a twitter  account, but the impulse is exactly the same. Someone has to buy this book. Lots of someones, in fact.

In today’s publishing environment, authors are expected to have websites, blogs, facebook pages, twitter feeds, and still have time to write their next novels. It’s challenging, believe me I know. The twitter feed is full of writers complaining about how much time they have to spend marketing their books. Literary writers are the biggest complainers of all. In the hierarchy of books, literary folks think of themselves as true artists, immune to the kind of promotional tactics that mystery and romance writers use regularly to get attention. But whether or not my novel is literary (I think it is), doesn’t it behoove me to place it in front of as many readers as possible? If the horse-drawn cart full of undergarments was good enough for grandpa, and the jewelry booth in Vons was good enough for Dad, then why can’t I spend a few hours of my week thinking about marketing?

So this month, on the heels of selling my first novel, instead of diving into a second book, I’m pouring my energy into learning about social media, building a readership and understanding the business of publishing. If that makes me less of an artist or writer, then so be it. Hustling is in my blood, and I’m ok with that. In fact, I’m proud of it.

Why I’ve never told anyone how I started this book.

I started writing my novel one morning 5 or so years ago quite by accident. I’d been having a love affair with books since Mrs. Sharrett read The Lion, The Witch & the Wardrobe in it’s entirety to our second grade class, but I never had the gall to call myself a writer. Sure, I spent my middle school years scribbling poems about longing and loss (two things I didn’t know much about, but would soon be dancing intimately with) in my purple Garfield folder, knowing all the while that my immigrant status in this country pretty much necessitated law school or medical school. I grew up, got married, pursued a PhD in history, and had two kids. (The PhD was so I could read and write stories for a living.) Then one day, while my 5 year old son was entertaining his15 month old brother in the next room, I heard an entire paragraph in my head. Yes, that’s right. An entire paragraph. About words, and their futility. About the grace that comes with silence. It was a very old voice and female. The paragraph was heady and poetic and certainly nothing I would come up with myself. I had no idea where the four sentences came from or what I would do with them. I certainly couldn’t tell anyone I was hearing voices. I can imagine my hard working mother’s response, “There’s no time for that nonsense, I’ve got to get to work.” I guess a normal person would chalk the experience up to an overactive imagination and ignore it. But I didn’t do that. I wrote the sentences down on a piece of paper and tucked them into my diaper bag.

In the ensuing months, I’d pull the four sentences out at my “Mommy and me” class and wonder whose words they were and why they’d come to me. Eventually, little by little, I pursued the voice. Whatever I couldn’t find, I made up. I knew the elderly female voice, who I named Seda, had a profound story to tell and that she didn’t think telling it would do the world much good. I decided she was wrong. I started imagining, creating her entire world, past and present. My obsession with her grew and very shortly I began weaving my own great-grandmother’s voice and story with hers. Five years later, and numerous shitty first drafts later, I had a manuscript. Last week, a few editors at major publishing houses validated my decision to follow that voice, all those years ago, by bidding for the publishing rights of the book. When Kathy at Algonquin, who was the winner of that auction, asked me why or how I started writing the book, I told her the bit about my great-grandmother, which is entirely true, but I left out the part about Seda gifting me those first four sentences early on. Those sentences are still in the book. They were tiny seeds that appeared in the ether. And had I been more rational, been more concerned about my sanity, I may have ignored them. I’m glad I didn’t.

Platform is not a four letter word.

Every time an unpublished writer turns around, she/he is hit in the head (or groin) with the word “platform.”   It’s not such a scary word, really, unless it’s uttered in the context of one more thing we need to do to ensure publication. Platform, as defined in the publishing industry, refers to how you plan on reaching an audience of book-buying people. It points to your ability to sell to your market.  Already famous? Have a wildly successful blog? Great. Good for you. You can stop reading now.

For the rest of us, specially those who write literary fiction, this can be an intimidating task. Plus there’s plenty of bad advice out there. Upon hearing my novel was set in Turkey during World War One, one marketing guru at a conference suggested I start a blog about Turkey or even about World War I. “Really?” I asked. “Do both,” she said. The problem was I didn’t want to be known as a Turkish historian or as a World War I expert. I wanted to be known as a writer.  Plus all that blogging about other things would leave little room for working on my novel. What’s an unknown writer to do?

Here’s a what I did:

1. Your novel comes first.  In my mind there are two kinds of writing: the writing that may end up as part of your novel, and everything else, which could include articles, blog posts, facebook updates etc. Save your prime writing hours for your novel. If your more creative in the morning, like I am, then stay away from the social media and focus on your novel.  I do all the other stuff in front of the television, at my kids soccer practice or while I’m waiting in the school carpool lane at pick up.  I like to have an 80/ 20 rule. 80% of my time dedicated to the book I’m writing, and 20% for other, more promotional, writing.

2. “Other writing” should consist of substantive pieces

as well as shorter posts like statuses or links to articles.  Since my first novel is about Turkey, and the Armenians the Genocide, I try to provide links to any articles in major periodicals that covers the topic. For example, when the Turkish government started arresting dissenting journalists last year, I made sure to inform my readers about these human rights violations by providing links to articles. Once every three months or so, write an article yourself. Whether you put it on your blog or someone else’s, it forces you to think deeply about the subject and themes of your novel. You could also write about writing. I’m currently working on a travelogue based upon my research trip to Turkey. It’s mostly about what to see & do in the interior of Turkey, but will I mention why I traveled there in the first place? Of course. And will I find a way to insert the title of my novel? You betcha.

3. Promoting and supporting other writers. Whether you know it or not, you’re part of a community of writers and it’s always good to contribute to your community. Have a killer query letter that landed you an agent? Put it up on your blog. Better yet,volunteer to write a review of a book for a friend’s blog. They have different readers than you do, and most people welcome the break from having to post something themselves.

 

These are just a few ideas. There are a million ways to create buzz about your novel without sacrificing the creative process. And in today’s publishing environment, marketing is just as important as the quality of your writing.

 

The Next Big Thing Blog Hop

Welcome to the NEXT BIG THING Blog Hop.

What is a blog hop? Basically, it’s a way for readers to discover authors new to them.  I hope you’ll find new-to-you authors whose works you enjoy.  On this stop on the blog hop, you’ll find a bit of information on me and one of my books and links to other authors you can explore!

My gratitude to fellow writer Ara Grigorian for inviting me to participate in this event.  You can click the following link to learn more about Ara and his work.
http://www.araTHEwriter.com

In this blog hop, I and my fellow authors, in their respective blogs, have answered ten questions about our book or work-in–progress (giving you a sneak peek).  We’ve also included some behind-the-scenes information about how and why we write what we write–the characters, inspirations, plotting and other choices we make. I hope you enjoy it.

Please feel free to comment and share your thoughts and questions. Here is my Next Big Thing!

1. What is the working title of your book?

The Exile

2. Where did the idea come from for the book?

I was in a half-sleep state ine day when this paragraph floated, fully formed into my head, “There is only what is, what happened. The words come much later, corrupting everything with meaning, bastardizing every experience with greed, pride, and fear. ANd when you finally find yourself in a moment of pure joy, words dissapoint you in their descriptive inadequacy.

3. What genre does your book fall under?

Literary fiction, historical fiction.

4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition.

I’ve never thought about this and doubt I would have much control of such an unlikely thing.

5: What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

When young Turkish businessman Orhan Turkoglu learns that his beloved grandfather has left the bulk of his estate to a total stranger named Seda, he flies to Los Angeles, to get some answers; what he finds there will forever change the way he sees himself, his family and his country.

6: Is your book self-published, published by an independent publisher, or represented by an agency?

The book is represented by The Markson Thoma Agency in NY.

7: How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

Seven years. I never had a complete first draft because I edit every word, sentence and paragraph as I go along. SO essentially, the first draft was also the final draft. Plus, with a  book like this which takes place in part in a foreign country, there was so much historical and contemporary research to do.

8: What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

Birds without Wings by Louis De Bernieres

9: Who or what inspired you to write this book?

My great grandmother was a survivor if the Armenian Genocide. She told me her story when I was only 8. I knew even then, that I needed to share it with others.
The two questions I was obsessing over when writing this book were:

1. How is identity formed? Is it by class, race, gender, and occupation? Who would we be if all those things were taken away from us?
2. Does the past really effect the present and the future? Specially on a national level? Are we responsible for the sins of our grandfathers?

10: What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

The love story between Lucine and Kemal is definitely a popular subplot. And people seem to love the character of 89-year old former prostitute, Fatma.

Below you will find authors who will be joining me by blog next Wednesday. Do be sure to bookmark and add them to your calendars for updates on WIPs and New Releases! Happy Writing and Reading!

Barbara DeMarco Barrett   http://www.barbarademarcobarrett.com/

Lisa Sanchez  www.thelisasanchez.com

Crazy? Who me?

Three agents are currently “reading” my manuscript.  Two women and one man. And though I am a happily married heterosexual female, I can’t help but think of these three as potential mates. Landing an agent is really a lot like dating. And no matter how self-confident you are, at some point all your insecurities come into play. You start to wonder: Am I good enough?  Will he or she like me? Does this manuscript make me look fat? Ok, maybe that last one is a bit much, but you get the idea. Then there’s the time it takes for these good folks to get back to you. Some are merciful enough to give you an idea of when you’ll hear back from them. 3 to four weeks, they say. Well, which is it? 3 or 4? The desperation kicks in and you start to have strange ideas. Like, would the agent respond faster if you somehow disconnected his twitter page, preventing him or her from tweeting about random independent bookstores and literary parties, thus forcing him/her to read your manuscript. I once contemplated attaching an alarm-like device to the manuscript that would beep every day or two until the thing was read in it’s entirety.

Neurotic, you say? Maybe. But you try slaving over 80,000 words for 6 years, and see where it lands you. I can’t be the only writer suffering from this neurosis. There are more of you out there. How do you cope with the insanity that is writing/ publishing? More specifically, how do you cope with the waiting period?

 

 

 

Writing a novel is like giving birth, except the gestational period is more like 6 years.

Writing a novel is a lot like giving birth, except the gestational period is more like 6 years, instead of  9 months. Once you birth the sucker, you’ve got to figure out what to do with it. Some people send the manuscript to every agent with an email address. (This to me is like handing your newborn to a sitter without doing a background check.) Not me. I spent MONTHS researching prospective agents. Once I narrowed the search to a select few (read “two”) I started to cyber stalk them. I read every author they’d recently represented, six books in all, followed their twitter accounts, and googled them more times than I’d like to admit. And you know what? It showed in my query letter. By the end of the first sentence of my query,  both agents knew I was familiar with their lists, and they also knew they were one of two people queried. This resulted in two manuscript requests. The jury is still out, and I’m still unrepresented.

As I wait to hear back, a new and unimagined form of torture, by the way, I can’t help but wonder if I did the right thing. Would it have been better to play the odds? Bet on more than a handful, and certainly more than two, agents? Maybe I should have interviewed more than one “nanny.” What do you think?

A single voice of reason or Ahmet Altan has balls of Steel

You’ve probably never heard of him, but Ahmet Altan is a crusader for freedom and justice. He may not have a cape, but this Turkish journalist and founding editor of the left wing Turkish newspaper Taraf, represents dissent in a country where no serious political opposition exists. Altan and his newspaper strive to keep Turkey honest, a gargantuan effort in a country controlled entirely by the state. One of the issues Altan has been brave enough to tackle is the recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Hrank Dink , Taner Akcam and countless others, have been arrested, jailed and even assassinated for doing the same. At the close of 2011, PEN International reported 30 writers/ journalists jailed, with 70 more pending trial.
Altan recently spoke at The Armenian Library and Museum of America. He stressed that the Turkish public is now readier than ever to understand the whole truth of the nation’s past. “Forget the state,” he told the audience, “go to the people.” If the way between Armenians and Turks is “through emotions,” as Altan suggested, then what better vehicle than narrative? I’ve always believed that narrative, people’s stories, were the key to understanding humanity. But is it enough? Will Angelina Jolie’s latest movie, In the Land of Blood and Honey, change the way the world sees the ethnic cleansing that occured in the early-to-mid 90s in Bosnia? Is it enough to pry open the wounds of a people for the whole world to take a good long look? And more importantly, will the exercise have any impact on the perpetrators of such crimes against humanity? Will books and movies like this serve to heal and bring about peace? Let’s hope so, because we all know how things end up when we leave it to the politicians. Maybe, if we’re lucky, the pen is indeed mightier than the sword.

Another Hrant Dink? Freedom of Speech threatened in Turkey.

On October 25^th, the European Court of Human Rights unanimously held that recognition of the Armenian Genocide of 1915 would no longer be criminalized in Turkey. Many hoped that this would put an end to a long time policy of stunting scholarship and dialogue, including the persecution of Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk and renown historian Taner Ackam. The court’s decision provided a measure of hope to those still mourning the loss of newspaper editor and human rights activist Hrant Dink, who was shot in front of the newspaper he founded in plain sight.

The celebration that followed the court’s decision was short lived, however. Four days later, on October 28th, publisher Ragip Zarakolu, recipient of the 2008 IPA Freedom to Publish Prize, and Turkey’s most prominent freedom of expression and minority rights activist, was arrested in Istanbul. Ragip Zarakolu’s Belge Publishing House, established in 1977, has published numerous books on the oppression of minorities in Turkey, including those on Jews, Kurds, as well Armenians.  He has done this despite political persecution, and the threat of violence (Belge was fire bombed in 1995).

Mr. Zarakoglu, who is also a founding member of the Turkish Human Rights Association, will be held indefinitely for “investigation,” until Turkish authorities deem to charge him with an actual crime. That could take years. Is this what democracy looks like? I think not. Until Turkey understands the basic principles of democratization, writers, publishers and thinkers in that part of the world are not safe, unless of course they agree with the government’s version of the past, as well as the present. What could you or I do about it, you ask. Easy, sign this petition:

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/detentionsinturkey/