I did not submit Self-Published Kindling: Memoirs of a Homeless Bookstore Owner to any agents. I mean, it’s a book about self-publishing and how agents are essentially the leeches of a corrupt and incestuous modern publishing industry. What agent was going to look at that and say, “Yes, I’ll take it immediately”?
Mik Everett – 17 October 2013
The Back Flap
A young family opens a unique bookstore to help independently-published authors tell their story. But as the traditional publishing industry begins to fall, e-books dominate the book market, and the economy slows, the family winds up homeless– a big secret to keep, as business owners. While some authors struggle with addiction and others struggle to tell their story, a young family struggles simply to survive
About the book
What is the book about?
Self-Published Kindling: Memoirs of a Homeless Bookstore Owner is the true story of a young homeless family that runs a unique bookstore; They own the only brick-and-mortar bookstore in the world that sells exclusively independently-published literature. The story is primarily about the disjunct between idealism and reality: Though every patron to enter the store gushes and raves about what a fantastic resource the bookstore is for both readers and authors, nobody buys any books, and self-published books wind up being little more than fireplace kindling even to the authors who write them.
When did you start writing the book?
Let’s see. I decided to write it after a young writer told me about his plans to hitch-hike across America, becoming a transient like Kerouac. There’s this romanticized notion of what happens when the idealist decides to give up comfort and security in exchange for perceived literary benefits. I went home that night– our home was an RV broken down in a Wal-Mart parking lot– and I fed my kids stale bread for dinner and then I started writing this book. It’s a true story.
How long did it take you to write it?
I wrote Memoirs of a Homeless Bookstore Owner in two weeks. I charged my laptop at my bookstore during the day, and then at night I would write until my laptop died. I averaged about 7,000 words a night, though much of it was cut from the final manuscript.
Where did you get the idea from?
I had wanted to write an answer for On The Road for a long time. My family had traveled around quite a bit before opening the bookstore– Though we had plenty of money, we lived out of a truck, moving from campsite to campsite up and down the Rocky Mountains before settling in Longmont, where we opened the bookstore. I knew I wanted to write some kind of reply to On The Road, some kind of companion or rebuttal. It wasn’t until I watched this young kid– a really talented writer– talking about literature and freedom with pure unadulterated idealism and romanticism, and I looked down at my own kids, who were playing on the floor of the bookstore but hadn’t had a bath in a week and had mostly been eating stale bread, that I realized what story I needed to tell.
Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?
Every night was a struggle. About halfway through writing the book, my family was approved for food stamps, but before that, we weren’t eating much. We got sandwiches from the food pantry but I divided them all between my kids, so most nights, I hadn’t had anything to eat in several days besides stale bread. I wrote through hunger pains. I wrote to keep them quiet. Once we got food stamps, it got a little easier.
What came easily?
I didn’t have to make anything up. Every night, I would write down what had happened that lead us to this situation, and I wrote it down exactly as it happened. Then I just cut out everything that wasn’t important. It was soothing to see myself only as a character in a story, not as a person who had really lost her home, whose children were really living without electricity or running water. It replaced reality for me, in a lot of ways. Some who are homeless become addicted to drugs or alcohol as a means of separating themselves from their situation. I was addicted to writing.
Are your characters entirely fictitious or have you borrowed from real world people you know?
I have done my absolute best to represent each character in the story exactly as they exist in real life. Many of the characters are individuals who were also homeless, and they are all real people, human beings. You won’t find any caricatures of the homeless in my book, characters drawn from stereotypes you’ve seen sitting on street corners in ten different cities. They are all people, presented with their own actions and words, not constructed out of shortcomings and skills.
We all know how important it is for writers to read. Are there any particular authors that have influenced how you write and, if so, how have they influenced you?
Hemingway is one of my biggest influences: As a former journalist for the Kansas City Star, he tells everything as it is, clearly and concisely, without either editorializing or adding flowery language. Hunter S Thompson is another journalist who influenced me; his writing tells the truth in a different way, through the lens of absurdism and copious amounts of drugs. Maxine Hong Kingston and Margaret Atwood are two others who have influenced my method of storytelling.
Do you have a target reader?
My target reader is the conscientious reader, the thinking reader, the reader who considers herself or himself an agent of change.
About Writing
Do you have a writing process? If so can you please describe it?
I’m always confused by this question. I write; what else is there to it?
Do you outline? If so, do you do so extensively or just chapter headings and a couple of sentences?
Only if the story requires it. Memoirs of a Homeless Bookstore Owner is a true story told chronologically, so it didn’t require much outline. My first book, Turtle: The American Contrition of Franz Ferdinand, is also non-fiction narrative, but it is told cyclicly, bouncing back and forth in time, so it required more planning. After I’d written every scene in the book, I made a Post-It note for each scene, color coded by the season in which they occur. I played with the Post-It notes all over my bedroom wall till I had an order I liked. My upcoming novel, A Two-Member Universe, has required by far the most planning. Each chapter acts out a different logical syllogism, with the end result being an entire logical proof, culminating in an invalidity table. It’s similar to Lewis Carrol’s Through the Looking Glass, in which the narrative effectively emulates a game of chess. It requires a lot of planning. I use a note card for each step in the proof.
Do you edit as you go or wait until you’ve finished?
I edit as I read. I often read what I’ve written up until the point I’ve left off, to make it easier to continue seamlessly, and I edit as I’m reading that. Then when I’m finished, I re-read and re-read, editing each time.
Did you hire a professional editor?
I used to edit philosophy papers at my university, and I have quite a few former colleagues who still work in editing, most at the academic level. I can always find one or two who specialize in editing narrative who are willing to give me a line edit for some sort of trade. I tend to pay my editors in alcohol and books, to be honest.
Do you listen to music while you write? If yes, what gets the fingers tapping?
To be honest, I totally zone out when I’m writing. I can write through anything. But as far as my favorite music: White Stripes (anything Jack White has done ever, really), Kid Cudi, Emily Wells, Coco Rosie, and Aaron Lee Martin.
About Publishing
Did you submit your work to Agents?
I did not submit Self-Published Kindling: Memoirs of a Homeless Bookstore Owner to any agents. I mean, it’s a book about self-publishing and how agents are essentially the leeches of a corrupt and incestuous modern publishing industry. What agent was going to look at that and say, “Yes, I’ll take it immediately”?
What made you decide to go Indie, whether self-publishing or with an indie publisher? Was it a particular event or a gradual process?
I was writing a book about how independent publishing is the only thing that can save the modern publishing industry. I was writing a story about a family that believed in independent publishing so much that they were willing to lose their home over it. I was writing from a broken-down RV with no electricity or running water. It seemed the obvious decision.
Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?
I did the original cover myself. I have a friend in marketing who recently re-did the cover for Turtle, and she’s working on a new cover for Memoirs of a Homeless Bookstore Owner as well. I’m excited to see it.
Do you have a marketing plan for the book or are you just winging it?
I have fragments and pieces of a marketing plan, thanks to my good friends at The Sunshine Machine.
Any advice that you would like to give to other newbies considering becoming Indie authors?
Make friends. Make a lot of friends. In the good ol’ days, Hemingway and Fitzgerald and Gertrude Stein were friends, and their editors and their publishers were their friends, too. Make friends at the indie presses, submit stuff to the micro presses, make friends with some editors. Go down to your local university and find some kids in marketing, graphic design, and editing. Make friends with them. They know what they’re doing, or they’re at least learning to, and most of them would love to have a real live book in their portfolio. Network yourself. Don’t do anything alone.
About You
Where did you grow up?
I was born in Wichita, Kansas, and lived a little all over.
Where do you live now?
After my bookstore experiment in Colorado, I’m back in Kansas, working in literature promotion and Open Mic event planning.
What would you like readers to know about you?
I’m a human being too. Everyone you meet is.
What are you working on now?
I have an anthology of short stories and essays coming out this fall: If a Writer Falls In Love With You, You Can Never Die. It’s titled after the popular quote from my most well-read essay, “What Happens If You Fall In Love With a Writer?” I’m also working on a new adult novel I mentioned previously, A Two-Member Universe.
End of Interview:
For more, visit Mik’s website or her Tumblr blog, follow her on twitter, like her page on facebook, and visit her Goodreads page.
Get your copy of Self-Published Kindling: Memoirs of a Homeless Bookstore Owner from Amazon US (paper or ebook) or Amazon UK (paper or ebook).
