Zetta Elliott's Blog, page 83

Dear Author

We still don't have a cover for Ship of Souls, which is frustrating, but I just went through the line edits and really appreciated how thorough yet practical "Emily" was. Here are some of the remarks from her editorial letter, which was only a page and a half:

Overview

This manuscript contains a lot of value within a relatively small number of pages. There are adventure, budding romance, history, and messages about religious and racial tolerance and healing, as well as true friendship. The only edits necessary were consistency of format or punctuation, which I have detailed below.

Structure/Plot Flow

The scope of this book is incredible. It not only informs readers about the history of the Revolutionary War but also about the African Burial Ground, and it ties in the tragedy at Ground Zero.

Characterization

The characters in this book are quite unique—real people, each with his or her complexities. The characters convey important messages in a way that readers understand: how teamwork and sticking together can change the outcome of a difficult situation, and that everyone wants respect, compassion, and friendship. The fact that D, Keem, and Nyla are young but capable of accomplishing so much is sure to be inspiring to readers.

You also introduce elements of everyone's home life that are not resolved when the book ends: Keem's strict father, Nyla's stepmother's gambling issues, and D's difficulty being himself with Mrs. Martin and the challenge of a new baby. This is true of real life, where problems and conflicts do not go away overnight, and it also suggests the possibility of a sequel.

I hope these edits and comments are valuable in helping the manuscript achieve your publishing goals. Good luck in your revision, and I wish you all the best for this manuscript and future books.

—Emily, Editor

Emily, you're my kind of editor…

the ethical professor

(l-r: J.E. Franklin, Rosamond King, Louise Meriwether, Angela Davis, Pamela Booker, Rashidah Ismaili, me)

On Monday I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Angela Davis; she was being filmed by OWWA (Organization of Women Writers of Africa) and that interview will be added to their collection at the Schomburg. We gathered at NYU at the Institute for African Affairs and Rashidah Ismaili started the interview by asking Dr. Davis to reflect on her childhood and the early influences in her life. We learned that both of her parents were school teachers and so Davis grew up in a home where she was encouraged to read and grow—she and all of her siblings left home as teens, with Dr. Davis going to New York for her last two years of high school. She moved in radical circles and learned from her family members not to talk to the FBI—a lesson that came in handy when she was later arrested as a fugitive. The remark that most stood out to me was Dr. Davis' assessment of her parents' vision for her; more than once she stressed the importance of the imagination and the need for young people to "not be too ensconced in the present." Dr. Davis' mother fought to secure an education for herself and then made sure her children understood that they had to prepare for a reality that didn't yet exist. The interview ended with a Q&A and Pam asked an intriguing question about the Buddhist principle of mindfulness: how do you stay present in each moment if you're constantly looking ahead? That's a big challenge for any creative writer because we spend so much of our time dreaming; as a writer of historical and speculative fiction, I'm often lost in the past or the future, and it can be difficult to stay on top of your responsibilities (like grading!) when you're trying to produce work that will hopefully create change. My question was related to an ongoing conversation I've been having with some friends on what it means to be an "ethical professor." One friend's college is considering merit pay, but if all faculty at the school are being underpaid, what does a two thousand dollar bonus for a handful of profs do to advance equity? Some friends teach two courses per semester and some teach three; right now I teach four, and others in the community college system teach five or six. That kind of teaching schedule doesn't leave a whole lot of time for activism! The academy is a conservative institution, so how can one be a radical and/or create change without being changed by the institution? Dr. Davis said she often heard academics who insisted they would do the work they really wanted to do just as soon as they got tenure—or just as soon as they got promoted—or just as soon as….and on it went. "What matters," she said, "is to do the work wherever you are." In other words, don't make excuses and don't let institutional constraints hold you back. Build community—that was her advice—build a network so that when things go awry, you've got people who will lift you up and support your work. Later at lunch I talked to the elder members of OWWA and told them about the challenge of teaching effectively with 38 students in the class. Yes, one professor can make an impact, but how much greater would that impact be if the students who most need quality instruction had a lower student to professor ratio? I'm often torn between wanting to do more for my students and wanting to get my own work done—that's been especially true this semester since my next book's in production and certain things need my attention. I wrote three sentences last weekend and wished I could disappear and immerse myself in that new project but I can't. Not until winter break. And maybe that will be my new writing schedule; maybe I'll only write short pieces that can be completed while I'm not teaching. Audre Lorde says poetry is the most "economical" art form because women can write it on the train, while doing laundry, while the kids are napping…maybe poetry and novellas are in my future. Today would be my day off but I've got a training at work so off I go. If I grade my last midterms on the train, I'll have a weekend FREE of grading!

splash!

Thanks to my good friend Shadra Strickland, I found a designer who was able to give me the splash page I've been wanting for months—you can check it out at www.zettaelliott.com. I decided on a splash page rather than a traditional website because I want to be able to control the content; I've got three blogs and a new book coming in March, and just wanted the splash page to direct people to the most accurate and up to date information on the web.

In other news, the BMCC Public Relations department did a great write-up of our recent trip to the African Burial Ground National Monument. The slideshow of photographs is fantastic, too. You can find the article and photos here. And if you haven't yet visited the monument, go NOW!

I had lunch with Angela Davis on Monday and need to write about that but a headache's been stalking me for days and I'm going to try to give it the slip by going to bed early. More later on Dr. Davis and my thoughts on being an "ethical professor"…

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lasting legacy

Do you ever wonder how you'll be remembered? I'm one step closer to forty (woo hoo! can't wait to be officially middle-aged) and yet fell out laughing when my aunt sent me this birthday email:

It does not seem like such a long time ago that you were born…I remember you as a little butter ball while I was waiting for Bethany to come along…and you have always held a special place in my heart.

When I'm sixty, there will still be people in my life who remember me as "butterball." It's a name that's stayed with me ever since I looked like this:

chillin' with cousin Bethany in the pool

too dazed to smile—and those cheeks were heavy!

It's hard to celebrate when your birthday falls in the middle of the work week, so I'm going to try to have some quiet fun over the weekend. There will be marionettes…

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blues woman

It's been that kind of month. Today there's rain, I can feel a migraine lingering around the edges of my eyes, and I turned two sets of papers back only to collect two more sets of midterm exams. In the midst of all this grading, I've also been working on revisions for my next novel. This time around, I was assigned an external editor and I *thought* the process was rather painless. But I just had some unpleasantness with my acquisitions editor, and that's got me thinking—again—about the role of an editor. Did you see that piece in The New York Times on how Amazon is transforming the publishing process? This is the quote I extracted to post on Facebook—it comes from an Amazon executive:

"The only really necessary people in the publishing process now are the writer and reader," he said. "Everyone who stands between those two has both risk and opportunity."

Hm. There's obviously something very appealing about that kind of direct connection between reader and writer. But I'm extremely grateful to have an agent, and it does still take a team of people to successfully launch a new book. I've worked with half a dozen editors at this point, and my last experience (writing a short story for an anthology on bullying) set the bar VERY high. It was my first time working with an editor who was a woman of color and I can't say whether or not that made the difference (though I suspect it did!)—what I know for sure is that she was clear about her ideas and expectations AND she respected my intelligence. She pushed me, but she also let me push back.

With Wish, I wasn't pushed. They took it "as is," and I felt proud to offer readers "organic writing." Not perfect, but genuinely my work. I guess some people find it odd that I'd be willing to offer imperfect writing to the world—arrogant, even. Personally, I find it odd (arrogant, even) that anyone would expect me to change my work "just because" an alternative was suggested. Or because someone was paid to look for flaws and point them out to me. What's a flaw to you isn't necessarily a flaw to me. And if reviewers tear the book to shreds, then I will still own my work. It's mine, and I'm responsible for it. No one else. AmazonEncore's motto is "author first," so we've moved past the unpleasantness. And when the reviews start coming in, you can remind me that I said I could take the heat…

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words of wisdom

Last night I had the honor of attending an awards ceremony at NYU's Institute of African Affairs—the indomitable Maya Angelou was there to accept an award from OWWA (the Organization of Women Writers of Africa). I'm new to the board of OWWA and definitely felt out of my element (yes, I wore cute shoes that hurt my feet) but this past week has been pretty difficult and it was wonderful to be in a room full of folks who love literature and cherish black women's creativity. I was responsible for interviewing folks with my Flip camera and before my batteries died, I managed to capture Maya's acceptance speech. Jayne Cortez, co-founder of OWWA, introduces her husband, sculptor Melvin Edwards, who presents Maya with one of his works of art; Maya then sings, recites poetry, and shares words of wisdom about making the most of your talent and time on this earth:

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a tantalizing deal

 

Amazon's got a great promotion on right now—the Kindle 100: 100 titles for $3.99 or less. If you've been waiting for a reason to read Tantalize by New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Leitich Smith or A Wish After Midnight by yours truly, now's your chance!

follow the leader

I watched I Will Follow this weekend—it's a gentle, quiet film by Ava DuVernay. It was a bit slow and could've used tighter editing, but it was also a refreshing view of black women and their rich yet complicated relationships—something we rarely see on the big screen. No T&A, no cursing, no black men mocking or abusing black women…there's laughter, tenderness, emotional honesty. It's on DVD so check it out:

We spend a lot of time critiquing negative portrayals of black women in Hollywood but we don't do as much as we can to support those filmmakers who are trying to set the record straight. In a few weeks I'll be showing my students A Place of Rage, a hugely important film by Pratibha Parmar. She's currently making a film about Alice Walker, Beauty in Truth, and YOU can help bring this film to the big screen. Go to IndieGoGo to support this progressive feminist filmmaker.

Nathalie also has information about another woman filmmaker who needs your help; if you saw Pumzi, you know just how good Wanuri Kahiu is—help bring her latest project to life.

Lastly, I got confirmation late last week that Ship of Souls, my next novel, will be published in March 2012. If you're a book blogger or reviewer, or if you work for a literacy org and would like an advance copy, please let me know.

rave reviews

Google Alerts drew my attention to a fantastic YA blog run by two feminists: Slatebreakers. They take their name from that memorable scene where Anne (of Green Gables) cracks her slate over Gilbert's head for teasing her about being a redhead. They just posted a brilliant review of Wish. I love feminist readers!

Elliot does a tremendous job of creating multifaceted characters and really showing the reader their range of responses to the horrors and inequities of slavery and war. Her representations of the societal systems of oppression in 1863 demonstrate a direct link to those same systems in 2000 (without having to spell it out in capital letters for the reader).

I couldn't stop thinking about this book after I finished it. We see the obvious danger Genna faces as a young black woman in 1863, but we're also plenty aware of the danger her race and gender put her in in the present day at well. As the best writers do, Elliot makes a compelling and thought-provoking statement about race, gender and class, getting her reader to think on a large scale about these systems of oppression, through an utterly believable, compelling and dynamic character.

You should also check out Niranjana's review of Dear Baobab, a new picture book by African Canadian author Cheryl Foggo. So far I've only found TWO children's books by black authors published in Canada this year, so do show some love to this author and the feminist press that published her.