Blog: Behind the Book, Issue 2

As the release of the non-fiction book The Boys in Brown approaches, author Jon J. Kerr takes readers inside the process. On Tuesdays, the series Brown Beginnings gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at the conception and reporting of the story. Thursdays, he blogs about the writing and publishing steps before launch.

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The copyright page of the Michael Lewis book, “The Blind Side.”

When you open a book, one of the first few pages is the copyright page. On the page is written the book’s publisher. Without the publisher, there would be no book.

At the conception stage, it is the publisher that makes the initial investment in a book. It must believe strongly in the viability of the story and in the author’s ability to tell it and sell it.  All elements of a finished product–cover and interior design, back matter, editing, etc.–are also handled by a publisher. It is the author’s job to report, write and deliver the best book he or she possibly can. There are many advantages to working with a traditional publisher, for reasons just stated above.

But in the early stages of writing The Boys in Brown, I decided to act as my own publisher.

First off, there was no guarantee I could land a publisher. I did try. I knew books in this genre–sports/culture/non-fiction–are tough sells. I was told by agents at various conferences I attended that the idea was too “regional.” The big pub houses out of New York (Random House, Simon & Schuster, Penguin), while always on the hunt for non-fiction, want broad stories that can fit a national audience. I was told a book about a Chicago-area high school football team just wasn’t a fit, . Hard to market. Local presses had mild interest but eventually gave the same response. Not a big enough profile  (“is that Mount Carmel?” I got that a lot. Still do). And I was a first-time author without a catalog.

The reality is, I didn’t blame them for passing. Selling books is a tough business. Publishers are at first, risk managers. Betting on a book is high risk. Margins are low. A big bet that fails can bankrupt a publishing house. And it can take years to recoup an investment.

So I didn’t spend much time landing a publisher. I knew the odds were slim. I preferred to outlay my energy in two areas–reporting and writing the best book I could and building my own publishing team.

Photo Credit: Steve Lester

In the spring of 2011 I hired a designer, Kelley Jensen. She is the wife of a good friend of mine. She put together the initial cover design. In the summer of 2012, I completed my first draft. I needed an editor. I reached out to Joe Drape, a sportswriter for the New York Times and author of Our Boys and Soldiers First, excellent books in the same genre as The Boys in Brown. He referred me to Peter Meyer. Peter is an education writer who had worked with Joe on a few of his previous books. Peter did a “first read”, giving feedback on narrative and voice. He also said I needed a developmental editor. This is someone who can give big picture advice, notes on story structure, plot mechanics, pacing, and ultimately, suggestions for revision. This is often a book’s most significant edit.

At this stage of writing, the focus of the story was on the 2010 Carmel football season and the coaches. Coaching is such a nomadic profession. Guys change jobs like the Kardashians change husbands. But at Carmel, the staff endured. Some were alums of the school, left, then came back. But once they made the decision to return, they stayed. Two members of the coaching staff, Michael Fitzgibbons and Jim Rejc, were previous head coaches, yet were now assistants. Why? What was it about Carmel that provoked such loyalty? The first draft of The Boys in Brown was their story.

But it was Peter who, after reading the draft, asked me a simple question in a phone call in the summer of 2012:

“Is there more story you can tell?”

I thought about it for a week. And my answer–yes–changed the direction of the project for good.