Eleanora E. Tate,
Author
How long have you been writing?
Professionally, since 1966, when I began working as news editor of The Iowa Bystander Newspaper, a weekly located in Des Moines, Iowa.
Who Is/are Your favorite author/s?
I have several, including Gwendolyn Brooks, Lorraine Hansberry, James Baldwin,
Joyce Hansen, J. California Cooper, Nikki Grimes, Flannery O'Conner, and James
Joyce, among others.
What is your latest project?
I'm in the middle of a new book. I don't discuss works in progress. Bad luck.
Describe your books (type of colors, character type)
...Publishers who have published my work include Dial, Random House, Just us Books, Wiley, and Pleasant Publications(American Girl books), among others.
What are your future goals?
To write more, make more money, and go fishing more.
What advice would you give aspiring self published authors?
Frankly, it's the same advice I give to everybody: To work extremely hard on revision before even THINKING about publishing. Too many writers think too much about publishing and not enough about the quality of what they want to get published. They need to do their homework and read quality writers, hone their skills, create multi-dimensional characters, plots that resonate, strong voice, and then REVISE, REVISE, REVISE!! They need to doublecheck their information so that what they write is accurate. What may seem correct to the writer very often is not. That's why a competent editor, or reader, is needed. and just because the story or the episode "IS REAL!! IT HAPPENED THAT WAY!!" doesn't mean that it will work "that way" in print. Drama and conflict need to be present in the fictional story. And even in non-fiction, there must be
"story" there, to garner readers' attentions. Sometimes I think we underestimate our readers. They are not dumb. they know good writing when they read it -- and they will not read bad writing past the first few pages.
I also advise that each aspiring writer have his/her work professionally EDITED. I have seen typos in my own books, whose publishers have whole
staffs to catch errors but don't always. I have seen far too many typos in far too many self published books. Every writer is too close to his or her
manuscript to catch every mispelled word, each poor constructed sentence, each wrongly placed comma, each exclamation point, and each period. Hire somebody to go
over the mechanicals in your manuscript. Have another editor go over your manuscript
for content.
Make your manuscript the best you can make it before taking or sending it
anywhere.
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Eleanora E. Tate has completed the following literary works:
Historical Novel:
The Minstrel's Daughter
Films:
Just an Overnight Guest, starring Richard Roundtree, Rosalind Cash, Fran Robinson, Tiffany Hill, and Elinor Donahue. Phoenix Learning Group (more info on the books page).
Audio Books:
The Secret of Gumbo Grove , narrated by actress Kim Staunton
Thank You, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., narrated by actress Kim Staunton
Contact Recorded Books, Inc., 270 Skipjack Rd., Prince Frederick, MD 20678; 1-800-638-1304
...and more!
Hello LaVora. I'm glad that you have accepted my invitation to be AACBWI's featured author. Please tell the literary community a little about yourself and how you ended up writing.
Thanks for inviting me to be interviewed, Sabra! You were one of the first children's writers I got to know when I started out with my first book and you continue to inspire me with your innovation. I especially appreciate the Yahoo! Group you formed for African American Children's Books Writers & Illustrators. Now that you've established a Web site for us, too, I am even more grateful.
To answer your question, I was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. I developed a love for writing and performing as a child in elementary school, due mostly to the influence of great teachers. After graduating from high school and attending college for a couple of years, I moved to New York City where I pursued an acting and writing career. Seven years later, I decided to change career paths and become an elementary school teacher; I returned to Cleveland when I married a hometown guy. Almost immediately after graduating from Cleveland State University in 1995, I landed a job as the first African-American staff card writer for American Greetings, which is located in Cleveland and is the largest publicly-owned greeting card company in the world. Eventually, while at AG, I expanded from writing to also editing social expression products. My words have been on gift items sold on three continents.
My husband and I are Buddhists--as our daily prayer ritual we chant Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. You may recall Tina Turner, as portrayed by Angela Bassett, chanting this in the film, "What's Love Got to Do with It." By 2002, my husband and I had three children and I had a strong desire to publish the children's story I'd written a few years earlier. It was a story that I initially wrote for Buddhist children, but that I later realized all children could relate to. The story is loosely based on my experience of being bullied in third grade.
I know you have probably answered this question many times but can you tell the literary community about your book, Taneesha's Treasures of the Heart and any upcoming works?
As far as I could tell, there were no books available that depicted contemporary Buddhist children dealing with issues that many children typically face. I wanted my own children, and others like them, to have a book like that. Later I came to see the value of all children expanding their cultural understanding by becoming aware of the Buddhist kid in the their classroom who may be hesitant of admitting her or his faith for fear of being ostracized for being different. I also came to see that the story that I'd written had several universal themes that could possibly be summed up as--"cultivate respect for all." Taneesha's Treasures of the Heart came about as a result of me wanting to write a book that served both Buddhist children and children of all beliefs.
Taneesha's Treasures of the Heart features a nine-year old African-American urban girl named Taneesha and her best friend, Carli, who is Caucasian with a physical disability. When Carli is called a cripple by an older girl, Taneesha' defends her friend and thus becomes the bullying girl's target. The story depicts how Taneesha and Carli rely on faith, family, friendship and their own inner resources to handle a tough situation (bullying) that affects lots of children. Fortunately, I found a terrific illustrator, Chris R. Seaman. He also illustrated Harry Potter collectible cards.
Taneesha's Treasures of the Heart is on the reading list of Ohio's largest school district (Cleveland Municipal) and has been requested for inclusion in selected public schools in the African nation of Zambia. It has received endorsements from around the world, including this one from the Newsletter of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association--"Delightful story of friendship and tolerance..."
My second book, Wu-lung & I-lung, launches this summer (2004). It is a retelling of a Chinese legend that I'd originally written in four parts for "Friends for Peace", which is the children's section of the World Tribune American Buddhist newspaper. The story is about a master calligrapher who, on his deathbed, asks his son to promise never to copy the scripture known as the Lotus Sutra. After the father dies, the son is forced by the ruler to disobey his father's wish. The son is overcome by guilt until a surprise visitor brings him news that lightens his heart.
Wu-lung & I-lung is a story that personally encouraged me when my oldest brother died in an accident. My version of the tale received a very much appreciated endorsement by Janis F. Kearney, who was President Bill Clinton's Personal Diarist and is the author of an upcoming memoir titled Cotton Field of Dreams . Ms. Kearney said, "What a beautiful book...I was mesmerized by the story." Wu-lung & I-lung's illustrator, Norio Saneshige, won a 2003 ADDY® Award for the book's illustrations.
I am also seeking an illustrator for my prequel to the first Taneesha story. The new story is titled Taneesha's New Family Tradition. It depicts Taneesha struggling with a dilemma that results from the difference between her non-traditional upbringing and her love of a particular family tradition that is expressed in her grandparent's home. My aim is to publish this story next summer. In addition, this year I will publish an adult collection of my essays and poems and personal stories from others titled Ten Thousand Years and More: Notes from a Buddhist Sistah's Timeless Journey.
What is your mission as far as Taneesha's Treasures...is concerned?
My mission for the Taneesha stories, Wu-lung & I-lung and all of my work is, first of all, that the work touches the lives of readers and moves them in a positive way. When readers encounter my work I hope they feel encouraged and empowered as a result. I am very glad when parents and teachers report that this is exactly the effect that Taneesha's Treasures of the Heart has on the children in their lives.
Secondly, my mission is that my work sells big. I say this, because unless that happens, I cannot fulfill the first goal. People won't be encouraged or empowered by my work if they don't read it. And, generally speaking, they won't read it, unless they buy it. I started off with the determination that I would sell a million copies of Taneesha's Treasures of the Heart within the first year. Since that marker has come and gone and I have sold over 2,200 copies, I have reset my end date. Now I'm looking at selling a million copies by next summer. I'll keep redetermining until it happens. Meanwhile, I'll also keep writing and setting high goals.
What would you like to be doing five years from now?
Enjoying my children's pre-teen and teen years, enjoying my family and life in general and having my newly-established company, Forest Hill Publishing, LLC, poised to be one of the century's leading worldwide publishing houses.
Can you provide advice for aspiring self-published authors?
Hold on to your dream. Keep it in the front of your mind, no matter what happens or what people say. Practically speaking, get your work professionally edited by at least two different pairs of eyes--the more eyes the better. Join a critique group and keep an open mind when receiving feedback from editors and fellow writers. Many times, after hearing comments that I initially dismissed due to my own ego, upon taking a second look, I saw their value and incorporated them into my stories.
Get high quality illustrations for your cover and interior. Read the books recommended by Sabra' Robinson on this site: The Self-publishing Manual by Dan Poynter, The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing, by Marilyn and Tom Ross and the Literary Law Guide for Authors by Tonya Marie Evans and Susan Borden Evans. READ OFTEN--especially read books of the genre(s) in which you write.
Consider print-on-demand (POD)--it is a money-saver and, I believe, is the new paradigm for publishing. One company you might investigate is Lightning Source, which is the POD company of the world's largest book wholesaler, Ingram. They offer affordability while also making your work readily accessible to bookseller's worldwide, including Amazon.com. Being backed by Ingram may be a plus for author's seeking to be picked up by booksellers. Another option to try these days is a POD company called Lulu. They offer free publishing services while taking a small commission on sales. They are best suited for online direct sales only, as their retail pricing structure makes offering discounts to booksellers costly.
Promote your work--starting before it is in print. Get a Web site, build a email list, learn how to work the Internet in terms of marketing your book. A good source of information about creating a market-saavy Web site is a site and email newsletter titled SiteProNews. A source for email marketing is DEMC magazine. You can sign up for both of these references easily on the Internet.
As a children's author, make preparations and contacts to visit schools, camps, youth organizations, libraries, etc. to conduct readings, workshops and residencies. By taking these measures, I have several venues for my second book even though it's not out yet, because students and teachers I've met frequently asked me, "Do you have another book?" and I said, "Yes" and directed them to the free, unprintable, read-only e-book version of Wu-lung & I-lung that I posted on my Web site. Now that the book is ready to be published in print, I've replaced the free e-book with sample pages on my Web site. As a result of my pre-promotion, I have gained several potential purchasers for the hard copy version of Wu-lung & I-lung.
Lastly, I must repeat, because it is the most essential thing: Hold on to your dream. Keep it in the front of your mind, no matter what happens or what people say.
Thanks for the opportunity to be interviewed, Sabra. And thanks again for all you are doing for the writer's community! LaVora
Great interview, LaVora! Thanks for sharing!
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M. LaVora Perry on the Internet
Publishing: www.foresthillpublishing.net/foresthillpublishing
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