Client GalleryAmpersand: Issue Two
"Writers, like teeth, are divided into incisors and grinders."
Walter Bagehot, 1858
In our second edition, Editing International is proud to present an interview with Gerald Grimmett, winner of the Idaho Press Association Award, and author of The Ferry Woman, a novel of the tragic Mountain Meadows Massacre of 1857 (Limberlost, 2001). The Salt Lake Tribune selected it as the 2001 Book of the Year about the West. It was also a finalist for the 2001 Utah Book Award. Mr. Grimmett has written twelve novels in the past ten years and been widely published in poetry and freelance articles. His second novel, Wives of Short Creek, soon to be released by Limberlost Press, explores the foibles of men and the nature of polygamy.
Rick Ardinger, Executive Director of the Idaho Humanities Council and owner of Limberlost Press will also be joining us along with Elizabeth Lyon, Mr. Grimmett's editor. They offer a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to publish a book with all the odds stacked against it.
REALITY CHECK
EI: Despite the fact that at least one reviewer of Ferry Woman lauded it as "the great American novel," not all your fundamentalist readers received the book with enthusiasm. Were you surprised and concerned, or did you expect this attack? How did you react?
Gerald Grimmett: As an ex-Mormon 35 years removed, I knew perfectly well that I would be attacked on all fronts. There has been more than one death threat, some vandalism, and the local newspaper flatly refused to review the novel. The sensitivity to the tragedy at the Mountain Meadows is still as acute as it was in 1857. The families of the victims still oppose the LDS Church, and the faithful are in full denial despite overwhelming forensic evidence that proves the guilt of Brigham Young and the Church.
Still, I wanted to tell the story. For years I refused to write what I knew. That was a mistake. I write exactly what I want to write without regard to market or the latest vogue. That is why the majority of the body of my work will remain unpublished. So be it. At least I'll always have a job, and that is writing.
The Ferry Woman explores the tragedy from the point of view of a fictional character, Emeline Lee, the ferry woman who witnessed the massacre. My new novel, The Wives of Short Creek, is going to land me in an even hotter pot of bile. I keep a low profile.
EI: Did you have concerns about publishing a book that might bring criticism from a powerful religious group? How did you feel about having produced such a controversial book?
Rick Ardinger: : We published The Ferry Woman not because it was controversial, but because we've known Gerald Grimmett's writing for years, and this just seemed like the right book of his to go with. It was well written, and we knew we could hit both the literary market, and the historical book market.
We knew this would be a novel of great interest not only to people concerned about the story of Mountain Meadows, but also to folks interested in Western American history. Mormons would be interested, of course, but a wider group of readers want to know about the history of the Mormon Church and the history of the West.
This wasn't our first release. We've been publishing books and chapbooks of poetry, fiction, and memoir for a number of years now. The Ferry Woman, however, was our first novel. We have published collections of short stories, a memoir about Jack Kerouac, and this fall, a memoir by Montana author Greg Keeler about poet Richard Brautigan.
EI: When you edited Gerald's book, The Ferry Woman, did you have qualms about how it might be received by fundamentalist readers? What advice would you give authors whose stories concern exposing close-kept secrets of strong political or religious groups?
Elizabeth Lyon: How The Ferry Woman would be received was at most a whisper of a thought in the back of my mind. As an editor of novels, my focus for all clients is primarily on helping them make their works the best they can be. I admired Gerald's courage in using his art to bring attention to a historical tragedy and travesty. In my mind, the highest calling and gift to society from any artist is to express truth (as the writer defines that) in a way that awakens the reader to view reality in a different, and one hopes clearer, way.
It is, however, too easy for an editor to say to the writer: Go ahead and write something that might make real people very mad. To any writers who are contemplating the exposure of secrets, my advice is to talk with others who have already taken these risks, double-check your motives, and listen to your heart.
ON MENTAL OUTLOOK
EI: Despite many rejections of your book, you found a publisher on your own and went on to become a successful Utah Book Award finalist. What image or thought drove you to persevere?
Gerald Grimmett: Although I've written a lot of freelance material, did some award-winning journalism, and published a great many poems, it wasn't until my eighteen-year-old son was killed that I decided to sober up and write until my fingers bled. I quit my job, sold the farm, figuring if I was going to do anything significant, I had to do it then or never. I've written a dozen novels in the past ten years. After all this time I'm still so sensitive to criticism that I write as much from fear as from my need to write.
When I was seventeen, and on my first voyage with the U. S. Navy, I found a copy of Lawrence Durrell's Justine in a garbage can. The power of the story stunned me into silence. Then I happened to run across Henry Miller's essays in The Angel is my Watermark. That is perhaps where the notion of never giving up was planted. After reading those two wonderful books in 1962, I sat in a sweltering radio shack and pounded out my first novel on a communications typewriter that had no lower case keys.
EI: In the high-stakes world of publishing, what tempts a small publisher like Limberlost Press to take a chance on a book like The Ferry Woman that every big house has passed up?
Rick Ardinger: Limberlost found just the right niche, which opened up a larger market for us. That helped sell out a first edition. Gerald's agent at the time loved the book. Several publishers liked it, but declined for one reason or another.
Historical fiction isn't the easiest genre in which to land a publisher. For a small press like Limberlost, however, this book allowed us to reach out to people who wanted a good read as well as people who wanted to learn about history. Other readers may not have much interest in contemporary fiction but want to see how the author handled this vivid historical incident.
EI: How can an editor help a writer like Gerald deal with on-going rejection? What keeps an author from abandoning a project like this?
Elizabeth Lyon: I think of dissidents in other countries who are imprisoned or killed for writing about unpopular or unacceptable ideas, whether they are expressed in fiction or nonfiction. Some writers, perhaps Gerald Grimmett among them, possess the courage and the passion to use art to confront society's wrongs and inequities, no matter the consequences. To face rejection, ridicule, ostracism, or condemnation, the only source of strength is the belief in what they are doing and in the rightness or the need for others to read their works.
At any given time in history, the subject matter, execution, or style of certain forms of writing, with or without a challenge to a political or religious group, may simply be "out of step" with the prevailing standards that would bring acceptance and publication. If a writer needs and wants to be practical--and employed as a writer--he or she may have to diversify. What I mean is that in addition to writing works that may never get published, we writers can adapt to produce writing what will get published. Write what you love and must write, and also write what will sell. If these two overlap as one, you're lucky. If not, be flexible.
ON THE PROCESS OF PUBLISHING
EI: Has becoming a published author fulfilled your original dream of what it would be like? What has changed for you for better or worse?
Gerald Grimmett: I've been writing so long without any expectations, I was quite unmoved when I first had the book in hand. In fact, it felt like just another rejection slip with a purple ribbon on it, and "April Fools" embossed on the cover. I've gotten used to it, and now I am quite proud of the work.
Limberlost Press did a wonderful job with the production. And incidentally, Rick Ardinger, the publisher, doesn't care a fig about Mormons or Mormonism one way or the other. I'm sure he hates the thought of being described as a publisher with an agenda. He has over fifty titles of some of the most exquisite letterpress books ever published by the likes of Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, Sherman Alexie, Margaret Aho and many other great poets. I don't think any of his titles other than mine touch the subject of Mormons.
EI: What was your experience of working with Gerald as a writer? What was the greatest challenge and the greatest reward for you as a publisher?
Rick Ardinger: This was his first novel to be published, so, like many first-time writers, he was very anxious about the process, and I had to ask him to be patient for the arrival of the book. But when it was available, Gerald poured his heart and soul into helping market and sell the book on the Internet, on the phone, and through readings and mailings. As a small publisher, I didn't have much of a marketing budget, and Gerald helped make up for that by pushing the book. I wish all the writers I published were as actively engaged in selling their books as Gerald is.
As publishers, we learned a great deal about marketing in general, but especially about marketing a novel. It wasn't reviewed widely, but the notices it did get were rave reviews. We learned how to market to bookstores, how to woo reviewers, and how to land a distributor uniquely interested in this book. It was a great education for all of us.
EI: What are the signs that a book like The Ferry Woman will achieve publishing success? What are the common mistakes?
Elizabeth Lyon: What one editor or agent takes as a "sign" to acquire, another might take as a "sign" to reject. With literature, reading taste is hugely subjective. For me, when a book transcends its story and speaks to a larger truth or issue, while still enthralling me with its characters and plot, I predict publishing success. The Ferry Woman thrilled me and took that leap to become what many agents refer to as a "big book." It addressed larger issues in our society within the artistry of the story.
On the other hand, an agent I know well questioned me about Gerald's book, knowing that I had been an early editor of it. To her, it wasn't ready for publication; she cited what she believed to be shortcomings in craft -- and she had read the published version! By then, it had already become a Utah State Book Finalist, and some reviewers had described it as one of America's great novels.
In my judgment, one big "sign" of success happens when one or more elements of writing are so strong or original that the writer does not have to follow all of the rules of craft and may, in fact, break them. An author's passion, as it comes through the story, is the most compelling, often seductive, sign of success. When a novel moves a reader to share the author's feeling, it has done its job. Gerald's passionate writing in The Ferry Woman and in other works touches me in this way.
Writers can make a big mistake it they follow a set of rules and believe that is all that is required to write publishable fiction.
ON MARKETING
EI: You queried many agents and publishers without much success. To what do you attribute so many rejections? What do you think made the difference for you when you went directly to a publisher?
Gerald Grimmett: My abiding suspicion is there is really no market for books of serious literary intent if they are postmarked from anyplace west of Denver. Like Ed Abbey, I have run into the New York publisher's attitude that the world ends at the Mississippi River. The serious writer should try to break into the business with small publishing houses that are respected, such as Limberlost Press.
One of my many mistakes is not approaching writing as a business. If I had met Elizabeth Lyon twenty years ago, I suspect I'd be driving a Rolls Royce. Her series of books on writing is priceless for other writers, but I'm afraid this old dog only knows one way to hunt. To write well and be published, any writer must have a business-like attitude without losing passion for the work and the love of writing.
As for agents, you're damned if you do and damned if you don't. I haven't the stomach to write popular fiction of any genre, and therefore I have to be willing to be unpublished and unrecognized. It is a tough road for the ego, and there is never a sense of security. My attitude gives me a great sense of freedom, but the bulldog never gets fed.
Plumbing is where it's at if you want to make money. A unionized plumber works for about $50 an hour. A writer works first for himself, and then hands that part of his heart to a reader, praying that the spark becomes a lightning bolt.
EI: What qualities of Gerald's writing prompted you to choose The Ferry Woman out of all the manuscripts that cross your desk?
Rick Ardinger: : First, The Ferry Woman is a good story. We all imagined the movie possibilities. It is also fascinating history. Line by line, Gerald is one of the finest writers you'll come across. You can feel the anguish of the characters, and the grit and heat of the desert they lived in. Though the story of polygamy is ho-hum to some people, it is new territory to others. In a sense, Gerald had the skeleton of a plot, but he made the difference when he fleshed it out with memorable characters.
EI: In his marketing campaign, Gerald tried many avenues before he succeeded. What do you feel he finally did right? Are there any shortcuts to quick success in marketing?
Elizabeth Lyon: Gerald wrote a strong query letter. Scores of literary agents requested and rejected his query or manuscript. He marketed relentlessly and still met with rejection. One New York agent did represent him briefly and, I believe, tested the novel by sending it out to one publishing house. I was in communication with this agent, and she told me directly that the editor had commended the writing but rejected the novel because of the challenges its story made to the Mormon religion. Soon after this rejection, the agent dropped representation. He queried still more agents and received more rejections.
Writers tend to try one or two avenues and give up. Even with two avenues, writers tend to stop too soon. What Gerald did right was to knock on a different door. He shifted to the small presses and an inside connection with the publisher of Limberlost Press.
I do believe there are some "shortcuts" to enhance marketing success, although no one can guarantee success. Face to face meetings with agents and editors help give that human connection and a chance for author charisma. Gerald might have had earlier success, for instance, had he attended large marketing conferences instead of relying upon the postal service. Having a personal connection with the editor of Limberlost Press did, in fact, lead to his success.
Other shortcuts include seeking professional editing and then doing deep revisions. Novels are seldom ready for marketing when the author believes they are. I would urge all writers to also hire an editor to work over their queries and synopses. All writers can help themselves by learning about marketing. In particular I recommend Jon Kremer's 1001 Ways to Market Your Book and Marilyn and Tom Ross' Jump Start Your Book Sales. These books discuss how to sell a book that is already published, but they also put writers in the mindset of the marketplace. To help get a foot in the door with an agent or editor, I recommend my own book, The Sell Your Novel Tool Kit.
Books by Gerald Grimmett
THE FERRY WOMAN
Paperback - ISBN: 093165968X
Limberlost Press; 2000
$16.95 plus postage and handling
at www.LimberLostPress.com
Four decades after the Mountain Meadows Massacre that occurred on a dreadful day in September 1857, Emeline Buxton Lee helps her new husband run the ferry across the Colorado River, and learns of a dark stain on his past. She uncovers the legacy of his guilt in one hundred and twenty murders, ordered by Mormon Church officials, of men, women and children as they traveled across southwestern Utah. Despite the fictional protagonist, the story stays close to the eyewitness accounts of the victims.
"The Ferry Woman is a novel that can provide an entire culture with an Aristotelian catharsis; like all great literature, it forces us to confront truths that make us uncomfortable. And it cures us in the process. It is a great novel."
"This account unfolds in language that can sound both absolutely original and absolutely vernacular. This author re-haunts the landscape, and reanimates the people who lived and died there."
"I felt I was inside that history.."
THE WIVES OF SHORT CREEK
Paperback - ISBN: 0931659841 Limberlost Press Matrix Editions; July 2003
The Wives of Short Creek is a light, but biting comedy about Heber Dean Smith, a boozing, bumbler whose life as a monogamist in a polygamist community begins to fall apart when the good Bishop decides that it is far past time for Heber to take more wives.
To compound Heber's problems, Joseph Smith's last secret dictum on polygamy comes to light. A desert battle for the document ensues between the LDS Church, the polygamists, and the octogenarian Sons of Dan. It falls to Heber Dean to bring peace to his own home and community.
Gerald Grimmett (www.geraldGrimmettt.com) is a native of Idaho who has worked as Information Officer for the State, equine endurance racer, and blue collar working stiff. He is currently a full-time writer with three published volumes of poetry under his belt as well as two books. His Last Entries: Poems from the Ice (Limberlost Press, 1985) was highly regarded. Gerald lives with his wife, Cynthia, an enormous poodle named Ali, and two cats, Squitters and Newt. He considers Cynthia to be the source of his strength and support.
Rick and Rosemary Ardinger (www.limberlostpress.com) Limberlost Press is dedicated to publishing finely printed books of poetry, fiction and non-fiction by both established and emerging writers. Our poetry chapbooks are letterpress printed on archival-quality papers and sewn by hand into limited editions for collectors and other discerning readers. Occasionally, however, we publish books of longer length (stories, memoirs, and novels) via offset methods, and in 1999, we issued our first CD. You can e-mail us at editors@limberlostpress.com.
Elizabeth Lyon (www.elizabethlyon.com) is the founder and president of Editing International (www.4-edit.com), a highly regarded editing company dedicated to helping writers from all over the world toward publication in the U.S. market through a deeper knowledge of craft. She crisscrosses the United States each year offering workshops and seminars on all aspects of writing, editing, and publishing. She is the author of several books for writers and is under contract with Perigee, a division of Penguin-Putnam, to write a four-book series called The Writer's Compass.
Bedside Reading
Editors juggle their own reading lists for fun too. Here are the honorable mentions currently crowding the chocolate on their nightstands
- Christopher, A Tale of Seduction, by Allison Burnett The smart, playful, tongue-in-cheek tale of a gay man's attempts to draw a straight man into the gay world. Great voice. A fun read.
- East of the Mountains, by David Guterson A wonderful literary exploration by the author of Snow Falling on Cedars. A good man's struggle with impending death and his adventures in trying to end his life with dignity.
- Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya-Sisterhood, by Rebecca Wells. Through sensuously rich, original, and funny writing, Rebecca Wells succeeds in capturing the generational trap of our mothers and grandmothers and the struggle of a daughter and a mother to free themselves from it. A great example of the elements of the "heroine's journey."
- An Unquiet Mind, by Kay Redfield Jamison. Eloquent in prose, Jamieson is at the same time a very present narrator who capably re-creates her descent into the madness of manic-depression, her struggle to find the right medication but most of all, to reach self-acceptance and understanding while continuing to build her career as a psychiatrist who specializes in mood disorders.
- Callings: Finding and Following an Authentic Life, by Gregg Levoy. This is one of those "wisdom" books that changes your interior landscape, primarily by clearing out the overgrown brush and revealing the best of what you have known about yourself all along. I believe that all writers will benefit from reading Callings, if for no other reason than using it as a lighthouse beacon to keep us from crashing into the barrier reef.
- The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd. The story of a young white girl who searches for answers in her mother's death and finds them in the warm embrace of three loving black women.
- Open House, by Elizabeth Berg. Divorce forces a woman to re-create her identity and to learn to reopen her house and her heart to love.
- Lost Bird of Wounded Knee, by Renee Sansom Flood. The true account of an infant Lakota girl, found beneath her mother's frozen body at the Wounded Knee Massacre in South Dakota. Raised by Brigadier General, Leonard W. Colby, she was used as a "living curio" to attract business for the white general.
Announcements
Meet Candy Davis and Carol Craig and take advantage of free editing at Willamette Writers Conference, August 8-10, at the Airport Sheraton in Portland, Oregon. Take a workshop from Elizabeth Lyon and partake of this fabulous conference. More info: www.willamettewriters.com
Don't miss the one-day workshop, in Portland, Oregon, in early September, offered by Elizabeth Lyon through Oregon Writers Colony to take advantage of those agent and editor invitations to submit your work. In this workshop, you'll learn how to buff up those proposals, sample chapters, and synopses that are the essential first steps to getting your foot in the door. For more information, contact www.oregonwriterscolony.org
Mid-September finds Elizabeth Lyon on the road again -- without Willy Nelson -- this time at the Cuesta Writer's Conference in San Luis Obispo. This fine conference is like a secret treasure, offering fact-filled workshops and a great faculty of teachers. A craft, not marketing, conference, it features but one agent each year. Friday night and all day Saturday, September 12-13. For more info, contact www.communityprograms.net/writersconference
Newly published, we are proud to announce the release of A Writer's Guide to Nonfiction, by Elizabeth Lyon, which has already received strong positive reviews from Publishers Weekly and the Portland Oregonian.
