The Power of Perseverance

By Kristin Bair O’Keeffe

My debut novel Thirsty chronicles the story of one woman’s unusual journey through an abusive marriage, set against the backdrop of a Pittsburgh steel community at the turn of the twentieth century. Thirsty is a pretty serious literary novel with a thread of magical realism woven through it.

Now that it’s in bookstores, has gotten the thumbs-up from readers in its first weeks of life, and is going into a second printing, I’m ecstatic. But it wasn’t a quick, easy sell. In fact it took 16 years from the time I wrote the first scene to the day I got the email from David Sanders at Swallow Press saying they wanted to publish Thirsty.

I’m the poster child for believing in your writing, working your arse off, and achieving your writerly dreams. Here’s how I did it.

The Writing

I wrote the first scene of Thirsty in 1992 when I was a grad student at Columbia College in Chicago. Once I dug in, I was hooked. I became obsessed with steel mills, steel making, the life of women in Pittsburgh at the turn of the twentieth century, the psychology behind a woman’s reason for staying in an abusive marriage, and the journey of the main character, Klara Bozic. When I graduated with an MFA four years later, I had a complete draft. Two or three years later, I had a final draft. Total writing time = six/seven years.

The Selling (Attempt #1)

Once I had that polished draft in hand, I sent a query letter to a number of carefully researched literary agents, hoping (like all writers) to make a quick sale. Although I got many requests for full reads and lots of kudos on my writing style and the story, every interested agent said, “This is beautiful, but I can’t sell it.”

Huh?

I did a little more research about agents, reworked the query, and sent out the letter again.

Same response.

As I collected rejection letters, I became pretty resilient. Instead of taking the rejections personally, I looked at them as a learning opportunity—a second MFA if you will—this one in publishing. Each time I received a rejection from an agent, I’d read the letter and allow myself a brief emotional reaction.

Crap #*#&$&(#*!! Darn. Phooey. @&#^@%@!!! (Small plastic cup or some other non-breakable item hurled across room.)

“I knew eventually my first novel would find its home and its readers. I didn’t know how, where, or when, but I believed.”

Then a few days later, I’d pick up the letter again, pay close attention to what the agent said, and weigh any suggestions offered about either my query letter or manuscript. In many cases, I took the advice to heart and to the page.

Still, no takers.

After a number of rounds of rejection, I put Thirsty away. I knew eventually my first novel would find its home and its readers. I didn’t know how, where, or when, but I believed. (Remember? Poster child for believing in your writing, working your arse off, and achieving your writerly dreams? That’s me.)

Still More Selling (Attempt #2)

Jump to 2008. My good friend and comrade-in-writing Christina Katz was at a writers conference. As one of Thirsty’s early readers and greatest cheerleaders, she’d made it a habit to talk up Thirsty whenever fiction folks were near. On this particular day at this particular conference in 2008, the right fiction folk happened to be within earshot. After hearing Christina’s pitch, it became a case of “I know someone who knows someone at a university press that would be a perfect fit for this novel.”

And it was. Later that year, I had a deal with Swallow Press.

The Marketing

Thirsty hit bookstores on October 1 (2009), but I began to work on marketing it nearly six months ago. With a lot of help from some very talented people, I’ve built a pretty cool website, created a book trailer, made a “get-to-know-the-author” movie, traveled all the way from my home in China to the United States for a book tour (with my amazing 20-month-old daughter in tow), guest posted on a number of blogs (with many more to come), had Thirsty serialized in the online version of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and more. It seems I’m now in the middle of MFA #3: marketing your book. I love it.

Learn more about Kristin Bair O’Keefe and her debut novel Thirsty here.

Tagged as: inspiration, motivation, publishing news & views