Today we’d like to introduce you to Sioux Roslawski.
Sioux, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I had been to a national teachers’ conference, and one of the sessions focused on the Tulsa Race Massacre. Nobody in the banquet hall full of teachers had ever heard of it, which was unforgivable in my opinion. Three hundred or so people had been massacred? Ten thousand people were made homeless in less than two days? A whole community was looted and deliberately set on fire? This chapter of our nation’s history was horrific, and the fact that it wasn’t taught in textbooks was unconscionable.
I spent a few years teaching my students about it, then began the journey of writing a novel about the massacre. It took me five years to write several drafts, When I first began writing the story, I did it during NaNoWriMo, which stands for National Novel Writing Month. During the month of November people all over the world take the challenge to write a book–from start to finish–in just thirty days. That first Novemnber, I wrote alongside my middle-school students. They struggled sometimes when they wrote, writing themselves into a corner, searching for the right words, wondering where to go next with the plot of their story… just like I did. They’d see me staring up at the ceiling, hoping for inspiration. When I had to leave my spot in the computer lab, I’d leave my laptop open so the students who sat on either side of me could get a look at my work, because I wanted my progress and my writing to be transparent.
I didn’t finish the manuscript during the school year when I first began writing. However, I had one student who nudged me occasionally. Danny hated reading, and he hated writng even more, but he knew I was emotionally invested in this story about Tulsa. Every month or so, Danny would ask, “Hey Mrs. R–how’s your book comin’ along?” or “Have you finished your book yet?” Sadly, the school year finished in May but my manuscript was not, and I consider Danny one of the main reasons why I did eventually finish. He had confidence I’d do it, and I didn’t want to disappoint him.
I paid for professional editorial services (it was edited twice), and then it took a couple of years to find a publisher. The talented woman who edited it (Margo Dill) launched her own traditional publishing house (Editor-911 Books) while I was busy querying and submitting, and I was thrilled when she agreed to publish my story about Tulsa.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My first draft was crap. Margo never said that, but I knew. I knew it wasn’t nearly as good as it could or should have been. I knew what families are like, so I spent most of the first draft on the background of the family, then hurried through the massacre and the horrible aftermath. Some of the details from the 1921 massacre were unknown. Other details? Well, many of the survivors who were interviewed said things like, “Why talk about it? Nothing was going to be done about it.” Since I didn’t feel as confident when writing about the massacre, or what happened to all the displaced families after the massacre, I kind of “glossed over” (at least detail-wise) the massacre and the internment of the survivors. I now poke fun at myself and will laughingly say, “I’m a great writer, because I managed to write a manuscript about a massacre, and I managed to write it without any tension. You have to be a gifted writer to write like that!”
When I got it edited, my incredible editor–Margo Dill–convinced me to spend a third of the book on before the massacre, a third during the massacre and a third after the massacre. She said she wanted to feel the tension, the danger. My story focused on one family–a mother, a father, a son (Henry) and two daughters, both younger than Henry. Margo said, “Get rid of one of the sisters. They both serve the same purpose,” and she was right with every suggestion she made. I was determined enough and committed enough, I completely tossed out the first draft and started from scratch. I was ecstatic when she said it was great after she edited it the second time.
Also, there were agents and publishers who felt I should not have written the book from a young Black kid’s perspective, since I am an old white lady. However, I don’t feel like I wrote this book. Once I began the second draft, it was as if I were the scribe, like I was channeling a voice that had been silenced for almost 100 years. Mass graves have been found in Tulsa, full of people who were killed during the atrocity, and I wondered: had a voice bubbled up from one of those graves? Had someone–long silent–finally spoken? Parts of the plot were not in my plan, and revealed themselves as they happened. For example, I hate sports. I have no interest in them. When writing friends would read the story as I was working on it, they’d say, “Sioux, you hate sports. Why do you have so much baseball stuff in here?” and I’d respond that Henry loved baseball. It wasn’t something I planned, but there was indeed a baseball thread that wove its way through the work. Also, at some point during the story the family goes on a life or death journey on foot, and the mother (Mrs. Simmons) takes a cloth bag with her. During the multi-day journey, Mama has that bag’s handles looped over her shoulder. She never asks for Henry to carry it so she can get some relief. Henry wonders what’s in the bag at numerous points because he can see some sharp corners poking the cloth out, but he doesn’t ask. He figures Mama will tell him at some point. My writing friends asked, “What’s in the bag?” They were curious too. I had to admit I had no clue, and it was true. The family left with a kids’ wagon, the clothes on their back, and this cloth bag that Mama had packed. When I plotted out the story I didn’t have the bag as part of the story but it became an integral part of the ending. The incredible thing (and I swear it’s true): I didn’t know what was in the bag until Mama opened it up one night and shared the contents with Henry. The keepsakes–one in particular–helped propel Henry into the future.
So yes, when agents and publishers said I should not have written the story, that it wasn’t my story to tell, I agree with them. Because of the way the publishing business is, I would much rather an Afican American author have the spotlight. People of color don’t get the book contracts like they should (it’s getting better), but this story didn’t come to anyone else. It came to me. I truly feel like I was just the person who typed it up. Something divine happened, and I was not in control of it.
And the publishing business is tough for anyone, unless you’re in the same stratosphere as Jodi Picoult or Stephen King. I queried over 140 agents and publishers. Most of the time, there was no response. Occasionally I’d get what I considered a great rejection (“You are a talented writer. Unfortunately, your story doesn’t suit our needs at this time.”) When I learned that Margo was now the head of a publishing firm, I sent an email to her. “Would you consider publishing my book, and if so, how much would it cost me?” because I assumed I’d have to shoulder some of the costs. She responded with the best seven words I’ve ever heard: “I would love to publish your book.” She also let me know it would cost me nothing. I was elated!
Danny is responsible for pushing me to finish the first draft. A writing accountability group is responsible for me pushing through the querying process and not giving up. A small group of writers all over the country agreed to digitally keep each other accountable. We each made big goals (such as “Sign a publishing contract”) for the year, and then weekly or monthly, would set smaller goals. We used Dropbox to share our goals, and we’d nudge each other. Of course, there were times, sometimes lots of times, when we didn’t meet our goals, but making them public, within the group, was important. If I hadn’t taken part in this group, I would have given up. Sending queries to so many publishers–without any response–would have made me just wallow in the oh-woe-is-me. The women in this group encouraged and pushed me until I crossed the finish line. Making things public, sharing goals with friends and colleagues who will nudge you–those are things that everyone who has a dream should do.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a middle school teacher. I work with students in grades 6-8 as we write together and read together. Teaching is the best job in the world. My students come up with magical stuff, to the point that sometimes I’m jealous I didn’t write the lines they put down on paper. I work at St. Raphael the Archangel School; I retired from public school teaching but have found I’m not tired of the educational field yet–I still love it. It’s been over thirty years, and I still get jazzed when I’m in the classroom…
I’m also a teacher-consultant with the Gateway Writing Project (part of the National Writing Project), and have the privilege of working with teachers. To me, that’s the best of both worlds. I get to work with kids and I get to work with adults too.
What’s next?
Someday, I’d love to move to Nay, France (at least during the summers) and am working on a new manuscript that takes place during contemporary times. A teen girl is bullied, and ends up channeling Emmitt Till’s ghost, which strengthens her. The story also includes some of my artwork–zentangled drawings. For those who have never heard of the term zentangle, it’s a methodical method of doodling. Will “Me and Emmett” ever evolve from a manuscript to a book? I’ll just have to wait and see…
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