Joni Cole, author of Another Bad-Dog Book: Tales of Life, Love, and Neurotic Human Behavior, offers valuable information for writers in her recent interview for Writing It Real members. If you haven’t yet, you will want to read an excerpt from her book.

Sheila
How did you go about writing and collecting these essays?

Joni
When I started each of these pieces, I had little clue whether any of them were going to lead to something worthy of an essay. All I had to go on was a feeling of disquiet or other strong emotion, or a life experience that wouldn’t stop asserting itself in my thoughts. And so I had to trust the process that if I just wrote down the anecdote or situation, I would eventually discover what I was really trying to write about; my theme or point, if you will. I want to make clear I had no interest in just sharing funny stories. (In fact, it never occurred to me that these essays were funny, until I read the response to them in the reviews.) What I wanted to do was unearth the meaning in these stories. And in the end, if that discovery process proved fruitful, those were the essays that made it into the book.

Sheila
Did you know they were to be in the same book?

Joni
Yes, early on I knew I was building a collection of eclectic essays; eclectic not in terms of voice, but in terms of topics. These stories cover a wide range of my life experiences related to work, friendship, marriage, parenting, identity… So there is no unity  around a single issue, not like, say, Nora Ephron’s book I Feel Bad about My Neck, which focuses solely on aging. It might have been more logical to write around a topic or theme, but that wasn’t my goal or desire. I simply wanted to write substantive personal stories and gather enough of them to merit a book.

Sheila
Did you publish them separately?

Joni
About ten of these pieces were published either in a small handful of literary journals, or a newspaper column I had that ran briefly in about three papers. At one point my agent (who refused to represent this book because she thought it would never sell) advised me that I needed to sell all or most of the pieces to national publications before even considering seeking a publishing contract. She said I needed a bigger “name” and platform, since essay collections are downright impossible if you’re a “nobody.” I understood her point, but I figured if I went that route—trying to break into national magazines and selling individual essays before even trying for a book—I could die of old age before achieving my real goal of seeing these stories gathered in a collection.

Sheila
We are usually told that it is difficult to publish an essay collection. Did you find this a hard process–finding a willing publisher?

Joni
I submitted a proposal and incomplete manuscript of twenty essays (the actual book includes twenty-eight essays) to two small publishing houses. One lost my submission. The other one (PublishingWorks) showed interest right away, but delayed the decision for about nine months. Then the editor said no. She loved the writing, but the collection didn’t feel like a “book” yet, and of course she reiterated that essay collections are among the riskiest of acquisitions. But the good thing was, the editor and I kept talking, and when I got the idea for the title essay, somehow I just knew this was the piece that would help frame the collection. So I sent her the beginning of that essay, and overwhelmed her with my enthusiasm and commitment to promote the book when it was released.

Sheila
What is your advice to others on publishing essay collections? Do you have to have standing in the writing community for the collection to be of interest to the publishers?

Joni
In a perfect world it would be great to have a “standing,” and a platform and and a couple million bucks, too, for that matter. But most of us don’t. And so if you’re a no-name” with a worthy collection of essays, my advice is to just ignore all the naysayers out there. Forge ahead. Send your essays out individually, publication by publication. And send your book out, publisher by publisher. Distance yourself, not from good advice, but from anyone who brings you down or slows you down or says you can’t. People get published everyday. Why not me? Why not you? Do not give up.

Sheila
Any notes on writing essays and creating a collection versus writing a book length memoir?

Joni
Both have different but equally daunting challenges. In a memoir, you face the challenge of creating a sustained narrative that captures your life thematically. In an essay, you don’t have to write a long narrative. But with each essay you have to start all over again, figuring out what it is you’re trying to convey; what’s the meaning in this personal experience? And on top of that, you have to figure out what’s the best way to illuminate your theme without being preachy, boring, clichéd, obscure….

Sheila
Many of your essays are courageously revealing. Could you talk a little about what risks you think you’ve taken in the essays and how it feels to have taken them?

Joni
Thank you for saying that. I have to say though that, while I reveal some pretty embarrassing behaviors and thoughts on my part, I don’t feel particularly exposed in this book, even though in real life and in conversation I am actually a private person. I can only guess that my comfort with these essays is that I feel each one reveals some truth or insight that is significant to me (and, I hope, to readers). To sense there is meaning in a life experience, and then to tease it out through the writing process, and then to ultimately “package” it in a way that communicates effectively (and entertainingly) to a reader—that sense of satisfaction trumps any discomfort about revealing my admittedly neurotic, warped, or sometimes harsh perspective.

Sheila
Can you let us know what reviewers and readers are saying about those areas of risk taking?

Joni
“…riotously funny and outrageously honest…” “ gutsy…” “Nothing is off-limits to Cole, liver or lust.” Those are some of the comments ascribed to Another Bad-Dog Book. One of my favorite write-ups was posted in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer: “I would describe this book as being all the roll-on-the-floor-funny, embarrassing and just plain crazy stories that your female friends have told you compiled into one handy book. Except that these stories are well articulated by an imaginative and excellent writer and they have all the guilt, shame and modesty removed from them.” (More reviews are on my author website and my Amazon.com author page.)

Sheila
What are your family, especially your children and husband, saying about their appearances in the essays and about things they may not have known you thought and did?

Joni
Before publication, I showed them the pieces I felt they needed to see. They generously gave me permission to include these essays in the collection, but they aren’t crazy about being the subject of my work. So I try to respect that and balance it with my own right to share my stories.

Sheila
How do you feel with this book out in the world? Has it changed your approach to writing and developing your next projects?

Joni
I have learned a lot since this book was released, particularly in terms of how folks react to a collection of personal essays. In many ways, readers respond as much to me as to the stories. While the reviews have been really positive (and if they weren’t, I wouldn’t be bringing this up), what has been remarkably diverse is how some readers see me as loving and “best friend” potential, while others think I’m snarky and the “Queen of Mean.” I feel I am a better writing teacher because of the experience of sharing this book with readers, but will it change my approach to writing or my next project? No.

Sheila
How has it made you a better writing teacher?

Joni
Well, of course, you’re always a better writing teacher when you’re actively engaged in the writing process—so just working on this book was a valuable education. I certainly feel I honed my craft and stretched myself as an essayist with each piece. Equally important, by necessity, I had to remain positive and professional throughout the writing process, given there was no time for procrastination or boo-hooing, even when I felt like I was slogging. A book contract, or any deadline, is always a good reminder: writing—and I’m talking about good writing—isn’t always about inspiration, it’s about discipline. Or, as Picasso said, “Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.”

After the book came out, I also gained new insights to share with writers about how your work really doesn’t belong to you once it’s released. People will take away all sorts of things from it that you never expected, and frankly I find that pretty cool.

Sheila
What is next on your list of writing projects?

Joni
I’m a regular blogger/essayist for an online magazine called Thirdage.com (it was started by the former long-time editor of Ladies Home Journal and founder of More Magazine). So that’s keeping me in the game, writing-wise, to some degree. But mostly I’ve been promoting Another Bad-Dog Book and simply remaining open to what my next project will be. I’m getting antsy to figure it out, but I guess the creative process sometimes takes its own sweet time.

Sheila
I say yes to those words. Joni, thank you so much for the interview and information. I know many will enjoy these words and your new collection.