Dirt Road Dreams: an interview with Susie Clevenger

Susie's first book of poems was published in December 2012.

Greetings Garden Dwellers!

This week I continue to explore the world of publishing.  Some of those in our midst have struck out to put their work into a printed product: a bound and decorated object called “books”, and I am here to share those experiences with you all. 

Today we will visit with Susie Clevenger , poet and blogger.   We know Susie from her poetry blog  Confessions of a Laundry Goddess (she performs spoken word and does photography too, check out her website – linked above for more information).   Last year, Susie worked tirelessly to produce a book of her own.  Join me now Toads as Susie tells us all about her journey and how she made one of her long time dreams a reality. 

Izy: Your book Dirt Road Dreams was published in December 2012.  First of all congratulations on the endeavor!  How did you select the theme?

Susie:  Thank you! I went through several ideas for titles, but finally settled on Dirt Road Dreams. It came from a poem of the same name. I was an oddity in the farming community I grew up in and the poem expresses my feelings at the time. With a fast forward to the present that title made perfect sense. I was fulfilling a dream to see my work in print.

Izy:  I can imagine how rewarding it must feel to have a finished product which can rest on a bookshelf!  How did you know you were "ready" to publish your poems?

Susie:  I had several people tell me I should publish a book of poetry. I am my worst critic and fought the idea for quite a while. I have spent most of my life encouraging others to pursue their dreams without really having one of my own. In January 2012 I decided it was going to be the year of “me” for a change. I then began the journey to create the book.

Izy:   If I were to come to you and say, "Susie, I put all my poems on my blog, so why should I publish a book of my poems..." how would you respond?

Susie:  If you were to seek a book publisher, they would want totally new material. In the case of self-publishing poetry that has been on a blog I have a totally different view of it. Although you have a regular readership on your blog, the world is a big place with plenty of people who have never read one of your poems. If you own a poetry book, do you only read it once? Just think of the times you return to a poetry book to reread it, because it speaks to you. In the grand scheme of life you don’t know who will buy or read your book, but it just might be the person who really needed to hear what you had to say.

Susie decided to make 2012 the year she
published, and she made it happen.

Izy:  I see!  In terms of speaking a new and larger audience, was it difficult to pick which pieces would go in?  And were any poems left out that you wish could have been included but weren't?

Susie:  At first it was going to be a compilation of poetry I had on my Confessions of a Laundry Goddess blog. I have a large amount of work there so trying to decide what to put in the book was a little overwhelming. The more I looked through my work the more I felt the urge to write new material along with including some work I had previously posted. In the process I began to feel the connection and flow between the old and new pieces. There are a couple I wish I would have included, Yesterday’s Immortality and Feathers of Poe.

Izy:  How did you select the order of the poems?

Susie:  I had divided the poems into sections, Barefoot on Gravel, Kicking up Sand, and Dancing in Dust. That seemed simple enough, but I still had questions as to flow and which section should go first. I asked a friend, Mouton Bazile , to help me with it. He was such a blessing. His wisdom directed the final order of the poems.

Izy: How did you turn a stack of poems into an actual book?  In particular what was the publishing process like for you?

Susie:  I didn’t know a thing about publishing a book. I wasn’t even sure who to ask, but luckily Mouton was able to answer a lot of my questions and point me in the right direction. We worked hard on formatting the book, but ran into some difficulties which led me to hire, Marvin Cloud Marvin Cloud, to do the final formatting of the book and cover. I had a Houston area printer do the printing.

I must say it was a scary process for me since I was going in blind so to speak, but I am not one to let a challenge stop me from achieving whatever goal I set for myself. Holding a published book of my work was my dream and I kept working my way through the obstacles until it was completed.

Izy:  The business of books involves a lot of self-promotion in order to get people to buy, can you speak a little to this.  What types of self-promotion have you done to get the word out, have they been successful, etc.

Susie:  I have never been good at being my own cheerleader, but I am learning. I have actively promoted my book on Facebook and Twitter. I have been blessed to be part of Real Toads and the members have been so supportive in sharing information about my book and purchasing it. Kerry O’Conner has included it on the blog’s bookshelf also. I am part of the New World Creative Union whose goal is to support and promote fellow artists’ work. The members have shared it through Facebook and Twitter. NWCU has a blogtalk radio show, The Nexus Cafe, hosted by Roger Allen Baut and Natasha Head. They have given promotion for my book on their program. I also have an upcoming guest spot, April 11, 2013, to talk about my book. Joanne Young Elliot, who is a member of NWCU, helped me tremendously on creating an effective internet presence to share who I am and information about my book. Through her guidance I have tweaked my author’s page as well as any site where I share my profile.  I highly recommend her. You can find her at Social Sprite Media Services.

Laurie Kolp asked me to speak at her writing group, Texas Gulf Coast Writers , which allowed me to share about my writing process as well as gave me an opportunity to speak about my book and to provide books for sale.

Other avenues of promotion have been a podcast interview on Ben Ditmars and Amber Jerome~Norrgard’s Lyrical Versification . On March 17, 2013 I will have an iTunes interview onTweepNation, hosted by Dionne Lister and Amber Norrgard. Also I hosted a Goodreads giveaway for my book in which over four hundred people signed up for a chance to win a free copy. My husband, Charlie, is one of my biggest supporters. He has sold numerous copies to his co-workers. My youngest daughter, Carrie, works for the Tulsa Ballet and she is selling and promoting my book for me there. My friend, Mike Zito, who is a blues musician, has shared my Amazon link on his Facebook page. On October 11, 2013, I am attending IndieVengence Day in Dallas TX, which is an event coordinated by Author, Amber Jerome~Norrgard, for independent authors to meet, read, and sell their books. 

Izy:  What has the response been to the book?

Susie:  The response to my book has been really positive. I have gotten good reviews on Amazon and personal feedback from friends and family. There have been several people who have told me they are looking forward to my next book!

Izy:  What were some of the challenges that come from publishing your poetry that you were not expecting?

Susie:  I didn’t expect so many details would trip me up. Frankly I was rather naïve about the whole thing. It didn’t take long for me to realize I needed to learn how to swim or I was going to drown. Since I didn’t publish my book through Amazon’s Create Space I had to open an account as publisher/author. I provided everything from the IBSN number to that wonderful feature “look inside” which wasn’t easy to figure out. My husband sat through many tearful fits during the whole thing.

Izy:  What were some of the rewards that you were not expecting?

Susie:  I knew I would be overjoyed to hold a finished book in my hand, but I didn’t realize how it would totally change my life. I didn’t even dream a year ago that I would speak in front of other authors nor have a guest spot on someone’s radio program. I cherish each person who has purchased, read, and promoted my book and my other work on my blog.