An interview with the author of Selfie Portrait, Tales From Eerie County series
Along with rock star, professional athlete and movie impresario, being an author is one of those glamorous, larger-than-life professions that everyone aspires to, but few actually achieve. And while most dreamers give up as soon as they encounter a little resistance, Terry James is in it for the long haul. With over 200 rejection letters to his name and little love from the mainstream publishing industry, the 44-year-old NW Ohio author has managed to carve out a niche for himself in the realm of self-publishing.
Once upon a time, self-publishing had the stigma of “bad writer” attached to it, but as the publishing world dies a slow death, and is largely unwilling to grow authors as it used to, increasing numbers of good writers have taken their literary careers into their own hands.
James, who works for the U.S. Postal Service and raises his five kids when he isn’t writing, admits he hasn’t had the most enthralling of lives, but when it comes to his newest offering, a memoir/short story collection called Selfie Portrait, it becomes clear that James has had a real life— a working man’s life. And that is its own kind of enthrallment.
With Selfie Portrait, James has taken another step forward in publishing, adding non-fiction to his portfolio. Coupling that with the legacy of his fiction series, Tales From Eerie County, James knows he’ll get where he needs to be eventually. And when he does, it’s going to be on his terms.
What prompted you to become a writer?
I had dabbled a bit in short stories and poetry way back in junior high, about mid-1980’s. One of the stories I share in the new book is about presenting my first real short story in front of a literature class. After reading this particular story, I sat down and the guy next to me asked me where I had copied it from. That one question did two things for me: first, it confirmed that I really had a talent for writing, and second, not to bother because no one really cared.
I was bullied quite a bit back in the day, nothing I ever did seemed good enough for anyone else, except the teachers of course. But at that time in my life, it was the acceptance of my peers, not the adults, that I was more interested in. That search for acceptance more or less landed me with the wrong sort of crowd, where partying was a bit more higher on the to-do list than spending endless hours nourishing my flowery imagination.
Fast forward about twenty-five years or so, and I’m sitting in the apartment of my father who unbeknownst to me would die a few months later. He was talking to me about missed opportunities in his life. He never regretted getting married and having three kids, but he had also dreamed of being a musician, following up with the usual stories of playing in the original “Battle of The Bands” and eating a steak dinner with Jim Morrison… was it true? I never really knew. But a few months later after he had passed away, my thoughts went back to that discussion and got me wondering if I was missing my opportunity to carry on a legacy, no matter how great or small? From that moment, I started dabbling in writing again.
What lead you to write an autobiography? Did you come up with the title first?
Only about the first thirty pages or so is the actual autobiography. Though I do toot my own horn quite a bit about being an amazing author, I really have led in some ways a very uninteresting life, pretty typical at best. But I thought for the masses of people who would read this book, it would be interesting to get a little glimpse of where I came from, and where some of my inspiration and madness came from. It works on two parts, a glimpse into my past and a sort of acknowledgement to those that truly made a positive impact on my life.
The remainder of the book is a collection of short stories that I had compiled both in private and for various anthologies. Before each story, I tell a little history about where the inspiration for the story came from and what it meant to me to write it. I made it a point to include everything, good and bad, so the reader can appreciate how far I think I have come as a writer compared to a few short years ago.
A funny story about the title, I had no idea until about June of this year that I was going to release this project. At the time that I started compiling what I had, the name of the project was to be “Read My Shorts!” And on my Facebook page, I began creating some hype behind that very title. Literally, about three days before I sent this project in, I had a change of heart. Though the title was catchy, I felt that it implied that the book was comedic. Though there are some elements in some of the stories that could be funny, I felt that most of it was either action/adventure or fantasy/horror. I felt at that point, reading through the material that I needed the title to be more of a reflection of me, like painting a literary self portrait of myself. Thus “Selfie Portrait”, was born and quickly tossed onto the cover days before it was released.
How hard is it to become published? Did you face a lot of rejection?
We live in a time when it is easier to get published now than it has ever been in the history of the written word. Literally anybody who can sit down and pound out a decent sentence can find dozens and dozens of services out there that will make their work available to the public, and I do mean everyone! Now that is not to say that it is all good, though I do live on the belief system that not every New York Times Bestseller is good, and not all Amazon bottom million ranking books are bad, it is all in the perception of the reader. I myself enjoy the freedom, convenience, and control of being a self-published author.
Though many authors strive for traditional publishing, and I have as well, the process involves finding a literary agent willing to take you under their wing, for a nominal percentage of the book sales, of course. This step in itself can take months, sometimes years to achieve while your literary masterpiece collects dust. Once you are lucky to obtain an agent and negotiate the terms, then they will do their best to find a publisher to fit your book, taking even longer. Then once a publisher is found, they can take upwards to two years to finally release the book, though they do in their contracts have the right to table any project they please, almost indefinitely. During this time, the author could be subjected to numerous re-writes, edits, and revisions to suit the demands of the publisher, who most of the time is following some strange algorithm projecting what books sell and what books don’t. It could work in selling books, but for first time authors, it could mean giving up some integrity, which I won’t do.
And to make it short, I have faced nearly 200 rejection letters… and growing… I never stop.
Your latest work is a departure from your Tales From Eerie County series. What is the difference between writing fiction and nonfiction?
Writing about myself was probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever written, I must have scrapped it like 15 times before coming up with the final. I didn’t want to bore people, but I wanted to keep it interesting and, in the end, have an actual point in writing it. Can’t make up real life, and one of the scariest things about putting it out was exposing myself to the world as an imperfect person, which can be said about every piece of work I put out. Every book, fiction or nonfiction is a reflection of the writer and in the beginning can be described as standing naked in Times Square.
How did living in NW Ohio influence your fiction stories? Any specific real locations make it into your books?
The characters in my stories are a mixture of lots of people I’ve known in and around the NW Ohio area, though I can’t say any particular place actually appear in my writings, except for one. Michigan is the home of a small town named “Hell” that I remembered traveling to on a few occasions in my youth when I went camping with the Boy and Girls Club in Toledo. In “Hell” there is a carry-out with an ice cream shop inside named “I-Scream” or something to that nature. The name stood out in my mind and became a popular teen hangout in my little town of “Eerie County” from the young adult series.
What’s your craziest true story?
Nothing really crazy in this book, I’m saving my tales of dumbass-ery for the full length autobiography when I become famous.
Other than “Don’t give up,” what advice do you have for writers who are having trouble getting published?
Keep your expectations realistic, notice I said realistic…not low. It is not unheard of for first time writers to “Blow up” right out of the gate, but if you go into writing and publishing expecting to be the next Tom Clancy or James Patterson right away, you will be disappointed, trust me, I was. Face the challenge with confidence that no one will get in your way, you will try again and again, and eventually (maybe sooner, maybe later) you will achieve your goals. I’ve been going at it for four books now, and I ain’t slowing down for no one.
Self-publishing or small press does not mean that you cannot get published anywhere else because you are not a good writer. There are plenty of area writers such as Jim Beard, Tom Lambert, Sandra Hults, and Cassandra Morgan who are all brilliant and gifted who go these routes.
If you choose small press, research the heck out of them! Do the BBB look-up, know what you are getting into before you sign the contract! It could literally save your career as an author.
But most important, respect your fans and your haters, you can learn a lot from both.
What can fans expect from you next?
I have several exciting projects outlined and started at this time. They include the conclusion of my current series as well as a superhero/action/romance entitled “Rival/Armor” which I hope to have completed in the late spring, an action/horror stand-alone novel by late fall 2017, and a dark/comedy stage play entitled, “Dead Intervention.” There is also a rough draft of the beginning plans for a graphic novel as well called “EviL-EmO” still brewing in the background.
I also have a particular licensed property that I’ve been brainstorming of late that I am currently pursuing as well, but that one is on the hush hush for now…
For more information on Terry James and his books,
you can follow him at www.facebook.com/talesfromeeriecounty and on Twitter @authorjamest or on
wordpress at www.authortjames.wordpress.com
