Author Interview ~ Jonathan Friesman

Jonathan Friesen lives in central Minnesota on a small farm with his wife, three children, and a growing number of animals. He believes in journeys, and his have carried him around the globe. When he's not traveling, teaching, or hanging out with his family, Jonathan's passion is coaching gifted young writers in the art of fiction. His personal experiences with Tourette Syndrome inspired his current novel, Jerk, California.

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

The YA/crossover novel Jerk, California releases with Penguin in September of this year. It’s contains the most personal writing I’ve done. The book follows a young man with Tourette Syndrome on his painful journey to both self-acceptance and forgiveness.

I wanted to write it real, write the struggle real—I wanted it to read how I felt when I dealt with my case of Tourette’s. I think I captured it. As I wrote about Sam Carrier’s life, my own TS symptoms flared up like never before. Clearly, I hit a raw nerve. But I think it’s the willingness to go to those painful places that produces powerful writing.

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 taught fifth grade for fourteen years. This is only important as all journeys begin somewhere and an elementary school was my point of departure. One day, for reasons that now escape me, I jotted down the opening scene of a book. It seemed innocent enough, one little scene. I added words through the course of the year until June, and behold, I had a 120,000 word monster for tweens. Pre-Potter, this was a bit excessive.

The next year during workshop week, a former student came to say hello. I told her I wrote a book. She told me I should email her grandma. “My grandma knows a big-time author.” I emailed granny, and sure enough, she gave me Lauraine Snelling’s email. She became the first of many mentors, Cec Murphey being the most recent.

I quit my teaching job. After a few food-shelf years and another learning novel, I pitched Jerk, California to my agent. “This one I can sell!” Sure enough, months later (it sold on partial), I received the happy email.

My reaction surprised me. I sat. That’s it. I sat with the email opened and my cursor blinking on her question, “May I accept?” I wanted to hold that moment, that moment I’d worked toward. I knew that when I hit send on my yes, life would change. There would be deadlines and I’d go to sleep in a different world. But my beautiful girl ran in, read my email over my shoulder and screamed, ran out to tell all her friends. Then I cried, told God that I’d do my best to make him smile, and sent my reply.

Do you still experience self-doubts regarding your work?

Yep. You’d think that at forty I’d walk through this world with more poise and confidence. Writing is like visiting the ocean for the first time. You step in where you’ve never been, wade out where currents pull you in strange directions, and feel all sorts of strange sensations. Doubts come with the package. My doubts all start deep inside—I don’t get bothered by readers’ criticism. It’s like, “Hey! I’m from Minnesota. We don’t have oceans in Minnesota. I’m doing the best I can!” My doubts seem to come from a little voice that says, “You can do better.” And that little voice sounds a lot like me.

What mistakes have you made while seeking publication?

Biggest mistake? Pretending I knew more than I did. I grew up a hider. I hid from people’s stares and laughter (Tourette’s kept me on display throughout high school). I carried a lot of that into my life. Keep a low profile. Don’t ask questions. Wait until someone tells you. There is so much I wanted to know—so much my agent could have cleared up—that instead I chose to muddle through.

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

Be passionately involved in the process, and emotionally detached from the result. That’s Cec Murphey again. My translation: do the best you can, then open your hands and let God take it from there. It’s His worry from that point on.

How do you craft a plot?

From a premise and one character who interests me. I test-drive him/her in my mind, put my protagonist in a variety of situations to see how they act. If I’m still interested, I’ll write a two-paragraph idea. I ask myself what would make this character most miserable, most uncomfortable, and force them into that environment. That’s it. The rest comes on the fly.

Do you begin writing with a synopsis in hand, or do you write as the ideas come to you?

A VERY brief synopsis, again, more like a premise. But I must enjoy where the story is going. I often hear people suggesting that writers just get that first draft down—that they can come back and clean it up. I can’t work that way. I need to feel satisfied as I go through, so my first drafts are often very near my finished product. That also means I release any notion of writing a thousand words per day. Sometimes six hours yields a paragraph, sometimes one sentence. But I normally have a bit more success than that!

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

The implications of full-time writing on my family. I always said I would not take from my family’s time to write. But that commitment is tested daily. So many requests and last-minute responsibilities. Had I known the writing industry’s not so subtle tug, how marketing and speaking and writing demands can easily dominate a person’s life, my wife and I would have had a different set of discussions beforehand. As it was, those tough decisions were made while life felt overwhelming.

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

There were many. I remember standing in line at the food shelf and thinking, I used to donate to this place! Now look what this crazy idea has done to our family. That was a two-year walk through poor times. But the most painful set back was when a family member took me out to eat. I let my guard down, and spoke about how difficult life was for my wife, my kids. This person looked hard at me and said, “I just don’t think you can do this. Good things don’t happen to good people. Look at your family. Go out and get a job.” Now, I was getting up at 4 AM, going to bed at midnight. I was working as hard as I knew how. The comment was so deflating. In retrospect, I see the genuine concern in the words. (And perhaps very good advice!) I certainly do not suggest writers quit their day jobs before they’ve made a penny in the writing game.

How do you think reading the work of others helps you as a writer?

Reading informs and inspires. You can’t write if you don’t read—I hear that all the time. I don’t believe it. You can’t improve if you don’t read. That I believe. There’s nothing more challenging for me than to read an excerpt from a brilliant author. It makes me determined to get even! The sad truth is that I’m not an avid reader, but since it isn’t an option, I use excerpts. I’ll go through Barnes and Noble’s teen section and read a chapter from fifty books. I jot down ideas, interesting words, anything that catches my eye. It’s all about pushing myself to improve.

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

The last scene of a manuscript that I’ll never send out. This was practice novel number two. I don’t know what happened. The story ended with the two protagonists walking, then dancing down a country lane. The passage turned out so…right. From that point on, I had a template, a tangible page that was written exactly how I wanted it. It will stay mine alone, but that passage shaped how I wrote Jerk, California.

What is your best advice on maintaining a good editor-author relationship?

Let your agent do the heavy lifting. They can be the filter through which many uncomfortable author/editor issues can pass. The main function of an agent is the contract, but it doesn’t stop there. Odds are good that your agent has worked with your editor before and knows what is negotiable and what is not. Consult with them. The fulfillment of agreed on commitments, timetables, marketing issues—there are a host of areas in which my agent needs to be included. This frees me to remain on excellent terms with my editor.

How many drafts to you edit before submitting to your editor?

By the time my editor has the book, some chapters have been overhauled twenty times, others fine-tuned once. I have no set number of passes that the manuscript must go through. I work the piece until I’m satisfied, then show it to my wife. She rakes it over the coals, and soon I’m no longer satisfied!

We often hear how important it is to write a good query letter to whet the appetite of an editor. What tips can you offer to help other writers pen a good query?

I’ve never queried an editor. So if queries are important, I’m in trouble—and the wrong one to give advice. What I have done is sent sample chapters through my agent, and spoken to editors face-to-face at conferences with samples of my writing in hand. I believe that good writing sells. Period. Perfect queries raise interest, but it’s the chapters that must keep it.

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

Yes. Many times. Many, many times. And my writing career isn’t that long yet! Writing is notorious in this respect. There are long wait times—periods where nothing seems to happen, periods filled with struggles and opportunities to second-guess. In addition, long hours in my writing cave can be isolating. That’s where other writers are so critical to my journey.

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

This is related to the question above! I dipped my finger into the marketing ocean and quickly drowned. Phone calls, internet marketing, writing contests, school visits, video trailers, interviews, book events—each is potentially a huge benefit, and each is potentially nothing. This uncertainty—not knowing the actual sales impact generated by a given endeavor—keeps me perpetually frustrated with marketing. I easily fall into the “I have to do it all” trap. My family suffered, so much of the marketing has had to go. I now set time for writing, use one hour a day for marketing, and that’s it. Power off. Daddy’s home.

Have you received a particularly memorable reader response?

I received a note that said, “Stop it. Just stop hurting Sam so much!” Sam is the main character in Jerk, California. It made me smile.

Parting words?

I heard this quote, and I hang onto it. “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs, ask instead what makes your heart come alive, because what the world needs are people whose hearts have come alive.” I think that applies to writing so well. You can read up on an editor’s needs and force out a piece that fits the bill, or you can write that story God’s planted deep inside. I believe in doing the latter. And if you wonder where to look, it’s probably buried, at least in part, near the painful moments of your life.

That’s where I found Jerk, California. That’s where I continue to look.

It was nice to stop in. Thanks for the opportunity. Feel free to stop on over to my place: http://www.jonathanfriesen.com/. I promise to return the hospitality!