HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Jim Jackson is such a numbers guy! He's the only author I've ever heard who describes rejections by weight. And--because Jim can talk about math in a fascinating way--it actually makes sense.
And what do Sara Paretsky and peanut butter have in common? Jim can explain that, too.
Keeping Faith
After I finished my “practice novel”
and had it rejected by tons of agents (I figure it at 7.5 tons: 100 agents at
an assumed average 150 lbs.) I despaired. Mostly the feedback was a simple
rejection, but on several occasions the feedback included a statement that they
couldn’t sell it people my protagonist didn’t fit what people were reading.
Fortunately, I had the opportunity
to take a master class from one of my favorite authors. Sara Paretsky taught
the class in conjunction with a Love is Murder conference. She gave us an
exercise to write using as fodder several seemingly random words. (I remember
peanut butter being one.)
We shared our pieces aloud, and mine felt pathetic
compared to most of the other offerings.
But after the class was over, Sara
came over to me and told me that I had an interesting voice and I shouldn’t let
people try to change it. At the time I had no clue exactly what that meant, but
I knew enough to realize she was talking about my writing, not my dulcet
baritone.
When I eventually understood what
she meant by voice, Sara’s little pat on the back became only one of two gifts
from her. Her second was her own example. When she wrote her first VI
Warshawski novel (published 1982) people weren’t reading books about female
PIs. A few such novels existed, and when it came to women, people seemingly
cared more about “Charlie’s Angels” than about a realistic woman.
Which did not stop Sara or Sue
Grafton. They wrote what they wanted and changed the rules for female crime
protagonists.
I wanted to write about Seamus
McCree—a good guy; a guy who cares deeply for his son, a guy who struggles with
relationships; a guy with a strong sense of right and wrong, but who is faced
with choices that are shaded in grays; a guy who abhors violence because he
senses he is carrying anger inside himself; a guy who has succeeded financially
in the world, but knows that isn’t really what matters.
I chose to write about
financial crimes because those are what interest me, and I can explain complex
finances in ordinary English that people can understand.
Sara by word and example gave me
permission to write the kind of book I wanted to read, regardless of whether an
agent ever wanted to represent it. After writing about Seamus for several years
I now think of him as a mash-up of Robert B. Parker’s Spenser, John Sandford’s
Lucas Davenport and Winnie the Pooh.
Midwest Review concluded its recommended
pick review of Cabin Fever, “With its
combination of social consciousness, political action, intrigue, and family
relationships, Cabin Fever will satisfy any mystery or thriller reader."
To that wonderful black and white
statement, I’ll add some gray. If a mystery reader wants a nice cozy they’ll
find I use some bad language and show some violence. And I don’t write a
superhero who singlehandedly saves the world. I do have faith though that there
are enough readers who will like my protagonist and want
to read my kind of writing.
If that’s the kind of book you’d
like to read wrapped in a fast-paced story, then give me a try. I hope you’ll
enjoy Seamus and his friends, because if enough of you do, I get to keep
writing about them.
Regardless, I am enjoying my
writing. So Reds, anything you were told is a waste of your time that you knew
deep down was bad advice?
HANK: Bad advice. Huh. Still thinking about that. But good advice? How about this: Leave a comment for us, and we will give a copy of the Jim-book of your choice to one lucky winner!
James Montgomery Jackson
"Writing about when Honesty Isn't Everything"
CABIN FEVER (Seamus McCree mystery #2) Released April 8, 2014
BAD POLICY (Seamus McCree mystery #1) [2013]
ONE TRICK AT A TIME: How to start winning at bridge [2012]
Website: http://jamesmjackson.com
