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Publishing with the Patience of an Oak Tree
Patience and perseverance pays off for author Terry Persun.
It didn't come easy for Terry Persun. Getting his book published took a long time, and critical recognition and sales success took even longer. Through it all, he showed the patience of the 100 year-old oak tree that is the narrator in his book The Witness Tree. The 47 year-old Pennsylvania native who now lives in Port Townsend, Washington with his wife and daughter had already published three poetry chapbooks and an electronic novel when tiny Implosion Press agreed to publish his new book. "I had presented The Witness Tree to numerous agents and major publishers, but none wanted to pick up the book because the narrator of the story is an oak tree," Persun explained.The novel follows the lives of twin brothers Lewis and Jeffrey Marshal as they grow up with polar opposite personalities. An old oak tree near their home taps into their minds through what Persun calls "common thought," and the artistic Lewis becomes a gifted painter, deeply affected by the connection to all living things around him. Logical Jeffrey tries to cash in on his brother's talent, and Lewis battles insanity. It is a unique look at life, a fresh look at the struggle between art and madness, and a daring writing experiment.
Implosion held the book for about a year and a half while Persun did some rewriting, and it finally came out in the Spring of 1998. A limited quantity of signed and numbered hardcovers were printed, along with 2000 trade paperbacks. Implosion Press sells through direct mail only, so Persun began his own marketing push to get review copies out and to get readings and signings in local stores. Part of that effort included getting a book into the hands of Bradd Hopkins of Russell Dean & Company, a young California publisher who was building a list of novels for their new Beach Bag Library series. Soon they had a distribution and second printing rights agreement." RDC puts out an enormous amount of energy and money to promote their titles," said Persun. "They had distribution and sales reps and soon my book was available through Ingram to any bookstore that wanted copies." Real momentum began when RDC put on a 40 day, 24 state book tour across the U.S. and back.
"It's our intent to publish good, fun-to-read fiction for a long, long time," said Hopkins, himself the author of RDC titles The Fourth Corner of the 9th Room and Navassa and master-mind of the author tour. M.E. Morris, who has been published by Random House and others, did his latest book, The Sand Crabs with RDC and was included in the tour. Things were complicted a bit when Hopkins slammed a car door on his finger the day before the tour started.
"This is the challenge of my life, and it's a real wonder to see the business from both sides of the wall. We're just dumb enough to make new mistakes and discoveries--we're looking at it with new eyes," said Hopkins. The tour brought new attention to Persun and The Witness Tree, and his story got picked up by newspapers, magazines, and radio, including The Oregonian, Small Press Review, Today's Librarian, and Sandi Sandburg at KEYL in Minneapolis did a complete hour program on the book. Publishers Weekly ran a pre-holiday article about bookstore hand-selling in November, and Persun's story was featured.
"I just got a letter from a librarian saying she recommends my book to everyone that walks into the library," said Persun. "I've also gotten new interest from a large independent publisher, and activity in spiritual bookstores."
It is a lesson many authors and publishers learn: oak tree-like patience is a virtue, and good things come to those who persevere.