On My Terms by Gloria Mallette

By • Jun 8th, 2008 • Category: Articles • Email This Post Email This Post • Print This Post Print This Post
 On My Terms By Gloria Mallette
            The minute I typed the words, On My Terms, I started singing ‘On My Own, Once Again’ by Patti LaBelle and Michael Bolton.  How true this is for me.  After years of rejection, in 2000, I self-published Shades of Jade because major publishers said there was no market for my books.  Within five months, I sold 13,000 copies of Shades of Jade and garnered a two book deal with Random House’s Strivers Row.  Great, right? For a quick minute it was.  I was paid an advance; I was given a publicist, a thirteen-city tour, numerous national radio interviews; and finally, reviews from major newspapers and magazines.  Then surprise, surprise.  All of those wonderful things came to an abrupt halt with my second book, Promises to Keep.  I was told that my first book would sell my second book.  H’m, then Tom Cruise’s first movie should still be selling his last movie. Dah!
I felt like I was pushed out of the nest to fly on my own.  And silly me, I thought changing publishers would make the boo boo I got falling from the nest feel better.  It did not.  I signed on with Kensington Books only to find myself in a house that truly was no home.  I had jumped from the pot into the fire along with other authors who were published but not promoted.  I learned quickly there are no promises of great marketing or promotional campaigns set in stone for any author, but I also learned that most authors do not have the finances or the connections that major publishers have, that will make an author a national best seller or superstar.  Do not get me wrong, I have never written the great American novel, but at the same time, I have written tales that could be of interest to a wider audience, if only I could reach them.

            So there I was, with six books published by major houses with a so-called writing career, going nowhere. I had promoted myself to the best of my ability, but with fewer reviews by industry reviewers and major publications, as well as with little to no radio interviews; and with my books hard to find in book stores, I found myself sitting on the sixth rung, only a quarter the way up that very long ladder of success.  With my third contract offer from Kensington, which came with promises of better promotion, I was told by the editor that I had to spice up my storiesadd more sex, add more drama. 

            ‘Don’t we already have enough of those books?’ I asked.  I feel there is plenty of room out here for every kind of writer, for every kind of story.

            My editor thought not. She said I could keep writing my same old stuff and get only 4,000 book print runs, or I could up my game and write what is popular.  There it was, write what we want or else.  In fact, I was told to do nothing with my option book, Living, Breathing Lies–do not take it anywhere else, and definitely, do not self-publish it.  I was asked if I could write something spicier, so I proposed my next book, Sassy.  That book my editor wanted, but the thought of consigning Living, Breathing Lies to a box in my basement, or worse to my shredder, nauseated me. 

I had to ask myself, ‘Why do you write, and is this what you want to do?’ 

My answer, ‘I write because I love it, and I want to keep writing the stories I love.’

I decided not to sign that third contract. I decided to go back out on my own.  Be it one reader or ten, if they like what I write, what more can I ask?  Sure, I would love to be rich–being broke sucks.  No doubt, I would love to see New York Times bestseller behind my name.  I would also love to see a million books sold, but, in good conscious, I cannot write what I do not feel good about writing.  And do not think for a minute that I am holier than thou; it’s just that what I write has to come from within my soul.  You see, I had a little talk with God.  I asked him to set my feet upon a literary path that I could follow and be comfortable with.  Yes, I write sex when the story calls for it, but I do not write sex that dominates my stories.

            I am back on my own, on my own terms, and ironically, this past year, Living, Breathing Lies placed as a winner in the national USA Book News Best Book 2007 Awards for African American Fiction.  It is not a Pulitzer, nor is it a nod from the New York Times, but it is enough to keep me writing and hoping that a major publisher will understand where I am coming from.  Look out for Sassy, hopefully, in June.  It is not the book my previous editor wanted, but it is the book that I want.

Visit Gloria on the Web at:  www.gloriamallette.com

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