It's hard to believe, but unless the country runs out of ink and paper in 2021, this spring I will be buying cases of books. Copies of my book.
It's been a journey with lots of twists, turns and obstacles. It began with a first draft that stunk to high heaven. Because of my wonderful editor (and now publisher) and her feedback, I scrapped it and began again from scratch. I queried more than 120 agents and publishers, and got lots of rejections and even more "no responses" before I finally found a publisher who said yes.
Now the journey is peppered with a variety of decisions. I've chosen to take all the piles of money dollars my book makes and use it for a good cause. Since my novel is about the Tulsa Race Massacre, it will go toward a project in Tulsa or scholarship for a Black Tulsan. I've considered a college scholarship or grant money to fund school field trips to the Greenwood Cultural Center. Currently, I'm mulling over an internship for a writer/performer to create a multimedia piece to show in the cultural center. Helping to showcase a rapper/poet/artist would be wonderful.
If you'd like to check out a post I recently wrote for The Muffin about some of the decisions I've grappled with, head here.
