Author Interview ~ Jerome Teel

Jerome Teel is a graduate of Union University and graduated cum laude from the University of Mississippi School of Law. He is a full-time attorney and is actively involved with his church, community and coaching youth sports. He is also the author of The Election. He and his wife, Jennifer, reside in Tennessee with their three children where he is working on his next book.






What book or project is coming out or has come out that you’d like to tell us about?

My second novel, The Divine Appointment, will release on June 5, 2007, from Howard Books, a division of Simon & Schuster. The Election released in September 2006.

Tell us about your journey to publication. How long had you been writing before you got the call you had a contract, how you heard and what went through your head.


I attended law school at the University of Mississippi. While I was a student there, John Grisham became famous. He is also a graduate of the Ole Miss law school and spoke one day in one of my classes. Listening to his story planted a seed in me and I decided that one day I, too, would write a novel. That was either in 1991 or 1992. It wasn’t until July 2000 that I finally realized that if I didn’t get started, then I would never reach that goal. So that is when the first words of what later became The Election were written.


It took me from then until the fall of 2001 to complete that first manuscript. It wasn’t until December 2004 that I signed a contract to publish this manuscript. And were it not for the faith of Terry Whalin, I would still likely be searching. Terry’s phone call in late 2004 offering a publishing contract with Howard was certainly a mountaintop experience. After the contract was signed there was still an agonizing period of in excess of 18 months before the final product emerged in September 2006. All-in-all it took over 6 years from the time the first words were written until The Election was published.

Do you still experience self-doubts regarding your work?


Certainly. I fear that no one will purchase any of my books or that reviewers will rip them to shreds. I also have doubts of whether publishing can be a long term venture or whether these two works will be the only books I publish.

What mistakes have you made while seeking publication?


Out of naivety I assumed that if I wrote a manuscript that large international publishers would be beating my door down to publish it. Early on I didn’t fully grasp the business side of the publishing industry. I still don’t fully understand everything but I have a better comprehension. And now that I see the business angle I can better position future proposals.

What’s the best advice you’ve heard on writing/publication?


The best advice I’ve heard is to never assume the publisher will market your book. Publishers just simply can’t do it – particularly for first time writers – because of the expense involved. If publishers do spend a few dollars on marketing your work, consider it a blessing – an added bonus. But to be successful, writers must be full-time self-promoters.

What’s the worst piece of writing advice you’ve heard?


I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had someone say, “You should try to get on Oprah!” The chances of getting on Oprah are infinitely slim and relying on that as a marketing plan is simply unrealistic.

What’s something you wish you’d known earlier that might have saved you some time/frustration in the publishing business?


I wish my writing skills had been better. I think if I had been better at the craft of writing earlier then I would have had a better presentation in the early stages. The storyline was always the same and entertaining, but consistent point of views and dialogue were some things that I had to learn. My writing is still far from perfect, but better.

Is there a particularly difficult set back that you’ve gone through in your writing career you are willing to share?


I still have all of the rejection letters and e-mails that I received from that first project. I still go back and read them just to remind myself how fortunate I am to be where I am.

What are a few of your favorite books? (Not written by you.)


I enjoy anything by John Grisham (particularly The Brethren), Joel Rosenberg, Tom Clancy and Robert Ludlum. The Jason Bourne series by Ludlum are some of my favorites.

What piece of writing have you done that you’re particularly proud of and why?

I’m proud of both The Election and The Divine Appointment, not because I think they are exceptionally written. Rather my pride comes from the sense of accomplishment of completing the projects and seeing them in print. I’m currently considering a project where I will write a fictionalized account of the story of one woman’s ordeal with sexual abuse as a child.




If we pursue the project, then it will be done as a fundraiser for a local charity with which I work – the Exchange Club Carl Perkins Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse. And if this project turns out to be successful, then I will be extremely proud because the funds which it might raise will be used to prevent future incidents of child abuse.

Do you have a pet peeve having to do with this biz?

The lack of communication is mind-boggling. A writer submits a manuscript to an agent or publisher and it might be 3 or 4 months before he or she even receives a rejection letter – much less any other type of communication. I understand why but there must be a better (and faster) way of communicating given modern technology.

Take us through your process of writing a novel briefly—from conception to revision.


I might see an event in the news or in a case that I’m working on that leads to an idea. From there I mull it over in my head for several days until I can see the beginning of a storyline and the end of the storyline. At that point, I jot down a few notes about my idea and continue thinking about it. At some point (and when that point occurs depends on a lot of factors, primarily time constraints) I’ll start writing.


I cannot utilize an outline because on the front end I don’t know exactly where the storyline will go. As I write, the story evolves until I reach about 30,000 words. At 30,000 words the entire story begins to unfold and it is like a race to capture everything before the picture disappears. Initially, the story is written in very broad strokes with limited dialogue. Once I’ve got the storyline in place, then I go back and flesh out more of the details until a solid (but still rough) draft is created.

Do you have a dream for the future of your writing, something you would love to accomplish?


My dream is to get to where I am publishing at least one novel per year. And after a few years, I hope that the royalties get to a level of where I can cut back some in my law practice and focus on some other worthwhile projects in which I would like to be involved if I had the time.

Was there ever a time in your writing career you thought of quitting?


There were many times prior to signing a publishing contract that I was convinced I’d never realize my dream of being published and thought of giving up. But I have a hard time with quitting so I kept knocking on the door until one day it opened. Now the struggle is continuing to prove that I belong inside the publishing industry.

What is your favorite and least favorite part of being a writer?


I enjoy immensely the creative aspect of writing. I like taking an idea and 120,000 words later having an entertaining yet meaningful story. My least favorite part is the waiting time between finishing a project and the release date. I simply hate to wait.

How much marketing/publicity do you do? Any advice in this area?


Daily I am looking for marketing opportunities. I speak at as many events as I can; I do mass e-mails; I blog (www.christianpoliticalfiction.blogspot.com) about faith and politics; I do print, radio and television interviews every chance I get; I do book signings regardless of the size of the store; and a host of other things.


I’m always looking for new and inventive ways of marketing. My advice to writers is to never assume that the publisher will handle all of the marketing. It’s your book and you know your target audience. You must daily be looking for ways to get the fire burning among your target audience.

Have you received a particularly memorable reader response?


Readers’ responses to The Election was incredible. I heard from so many people; some I have never met and others I haven’t heard from in years. Their comments were always so kind and I appreciated each one. But the one that sticks out in my mind was a lady who wrote me to say that she purchased a copy for her neighbors who were avid readers but not Christians. As writers of Christian fiction, we typically find ourselves preaching to the choir, it is wonderful to hear of occasions where a believer may be able to use our work to share Christ with non-believers.