David Krell
First-time author David Krell offers advice for any aspiring scribe by using an old sports saying: if you avoid risk, you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. We all know that life is filled with risks. Some can pay off big, either financially or emotionally; others can turn disastrous. But, you never know if you don’t try. Krell is taking plenty of chances with his first book, Blue Magic: The Brooklyn Dodgers, Ebbets Field, and the Battle for Baseball’s Soul. It will be a historical narrative enhanced by interviews with fans, historians, journalists and the children of the Brooklyn Dodgers from the team’s 1950’s glory years. Outside of being a fan, Krell is not part of the baseball industry; he doesn’t even have any business contacts in professional baseball. To make things more interesting, he has no blog or web site. But, he did manage to land an agent; a thoroughly bold undertaking for a new author. Most first-time authors are lucky to get their manuscript beyond the slush pile. Using his experiences thus far, Krell presents these 5 points of guidance:
1: Never Assume That Someone Will Say No
“I have reached out to people with the simple explanation that I’m writing a book about the Brooklyn Dodgers and requesting an interview. The subject line of the email reads “Media Interview Request – Brooklyn Dodgers,” so they know immediately why I’m writing.
The result has been extraordinary. Interviews are granted with pleasure to participate. The ‘Forewords’ to Blue Magic will be written by two exceptional people dedicated to preserving the legacy of the Brooklyn Dodgers: 1) Sharon Robinson, the daughter of Jackie Robinson, and 2) Branch Rickey III, the grandson of Branch Rickey, the Dodgers executive that signed Robinson to break the color barrier in baseball.
Even if you’ve never written a book before, send a request to people whom you want to interview.”
2: Don’t Wait For the Perfect Shot
“You cannot wait until you complete your research, sign with an agent, and get a publishing deal. That could be months away. Maybe years. Start compiling your target interview list now. And remember that each interview might yield an expansion of your network. Several times, interviewees offered to put me in touch with friends and colleagues. The stronger your network, the stronger your research.”
3: Speak Loud and Proud
“There are conferences, associations, and other opportunities related to your topic. A few Google searches yielded me a wealth of baseball conferences with speaking opportunities. So far, I have been accepted to: The New York Mets 50th Anniversary Conference, Society for American Baseball Research’s Frederick Ivor-Campbell 19th Century Baseball Conference, National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Annual Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and the American Culture, and the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention.
Your book’s topic is like a wheel – a hub with many spokes. Consequently, tailor your topic to the conference audience with the appropriate spoke. For the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention, I pitched the nostalgia angle of the Brooklyn Dodgers immediately in the title: The Brooklyn Dodgers – Nostalgia’s Team.”
4: Expand Your Horizon
“At the Writer’s Digest Conference in January, a friend suggested that I apply to speak at the Urban History Association’s conferences. When I asked why, she responded with the beauty of simplicity, “Didn’t you just tell me that the Dodgers were synonymous with Brooklyn back in the day? And didn’t you also say that the team got a sweetheart deal for the Dodger Stadium site in Los Angeles? That’s urban history, my friend!”
So, I applied to be a speaker at the UHA annual conference in the Fall. According to the UHA’s web site, I should get an acceptance or rejection by April 15th. I’m hoping for the former, of course. But, if my proposal is rejected, I will take the motto of the Brooklyn Dodgers fans to heart: Wait Till Next Year!”
5: A Whiteboard Is An Author’s Best Friend
“Taking a page from Dr. Gregory House, I bought a white board and easel from Staples. Any brainstorm goes immediately on the white board. It’s all there. Target interviews. Deadlines. Writers conferences.
No Excel spreadsheet with thousands of rectangles mocking me with their blankness. No legal pads with scribbles created frantically out of enthusiasm that appear disorganized, unreadable, and useless to the sober eye a week later. No relegating to my memory bank with the faulty belief that I can retrieve any idea at a moment’s notice.”
Read the complete article here.
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