Write of Passage
Author Catherine Ryan Hyde revises her career
(Extended Q&A)

WEB EXCLUSIVE: Read an excerpt from The Day I Killed James

September 2008




When Cambria author Catherine Ryan Hyde sold her best-selling title Pay It Forward to publishing giant Simon and Schuster’s legendary editor Michael Korda, she had already been writing full-time for nine years. Her career up to that point had consisted of numerous short stories placed in literary journals and two titles sold to a small press in San Francisco, which printed just a few thousand copies of each. While she received encouraging acclaim, these early years were hardly financially rewarding. Once the film version of Pay it Forward (PIF) was released, Hyde’s work was brought to the attentionof millions, and Simon and Schuster (S&S) went on to publish two more of her books, Electric God and Walter’s Purple Heart. Even though these titles were extremely well reviewed, sales were disappointing. But this author is nothing if not tenacious and unwaveringly committed. After several years of writing and a reexamination of her own creative process, as well as a change in literary agents, Hyde reemerged in a new category: the young adult market. With three titles (plus an additional two for adults), and another scheduled for publication next year—Hyde’s career is fully back on track.


When did you first realize that you wanted to be a writer?
My sophomore year of high school. I had a great English and creative writing teacher, Lenny Horowitz, who really reawakened my love of reading. He also told me I could write. In fact, he told me in front of the entire class. That was when I became a person who wanted to be a writer. The chasm between wanting and doing is a big one, however.

What was the fulcrum moment when you glimpsed the rightness of your choice?
The moment that comes to mind is the two-week period during which I got my first three short story acceptances (Spring ’94). I’d been trying to place a short story for two and a half years. I’d gotten 122 rejections. I was a member of the Cambria Writers Workshop, and I remember people like [novelist] Jean Brody and [children’s writer] Elizabeth Spurr telling me, “You’re good enough. All writers go through this. It’s right around the corner for you.” I wanted to believe them, but I had to see it with my own eyes. Then, all of a sudden, I got an acceptance. Five days later, I got another. Nine days after that, a third. Now, these stories I was placing were the same ones that had been rejected. I had not revised them. I think I realized then that rejection is not what we think it is. I’ve never let it get me down quite the same way again.

What do you mean that it’s best not to have a “fallback position?”
It’s a quote from someone, though we haven’t quite figured out whom. My mother quoted it to me when I was a teenager. “The problem with a fallback position is that you tend to fall back.” I live by it. It makes it more difficult to give up, which is the point. If your objective is comfort, it makes it difficult. If your objective is your dream, it’s the way to get there. I think we all have to define our priorities carefully. I was going to be a writer. There was no Plan B.

What happened along the way to encourage you? Were you given signs and support from the outside, or did your confidence have to manifest from within?
I think it’s a combination. The mentorship I received was key. I don’t think it can all come from within. There is simply not enough perspective inside our own heads. We need people to mirror us back to ourselves. But I also think we need a core of willingness to believe in ourselves. This business is not for the faint of heart. We need some courage and some tenacity, and if we don’t have it, all the great mentors in the world can’t instill it in us.

How do you feel about your earlier writing? Do you go back and read some of the things you wrote in the beginning?
I think of it as separate but equal. Of course, I hope I’ve grown as a writer. But my early stuff was a bit darker, and some people like that better. I rarely go back and reread it. Something has to inspire me to do so, like when my old short story “Dante” was reprinted in Bark Magazine, or when Electric God came out in unabridged audio recently. I just think of it as a snapshot of the state of my art at the time. I don’t wish to go back and change it because I’ve made my peace with the past in all respects.

How many times have you gone back to an early book and resurrected it?
When I finish a book, probably more often than not, it’s a resurrection of some earlier project that didn’t quite work at the time. I dredge it up and, with the luxury of distance, find the place I stopped loving it. Then I rewrite from there. People tend to think I bat it out of the park every time I sit down to write a novel. But often I have to try out three or four endings before I get it right.

Do you tend to write a book from start to finish, then go back and rework? Or do you only move forward after you’ve completed the perfect sentence, paragraph, or chapter?
I move forward any time I can. When the next chapter or scene is not quite ready, I’ll go back and polish until I’m ready to move forward again. It helps me utilize my writing time well. By the time I finish the novel, the first three-quarters tend to be really clean.

Do you continually revise, or are you able to let a work be “finished,” and move on to something else?
I continually revise until I’m ready to send it to my agent for her opinion. Then I leave it alone until the editorial process begins.

How has your voice changed over the years?
I think I’ve become more openly—unashamedly—hopeful. What a woman I once met in a bookstore called “the freedom to be sincere.” I’ve finally made peace with those who think such work is “corny.” There are lots of other, more cynical books they can read.

Have you become the writer you originally thought you would be?
Not at all. I thought I’d have the tiny career of a literary writer. People used to tell me my work was not commercial, and I believed them. My goal was to just once in my life, at a party or on a plane, find someone who had heard of me. The rest of this is above and beyond my most unrealistic dreams.

What was the biggest surprise or disappointment?
My experience with [S&S] was pretty disappointing all around. I think I was surprised by the fact that they could not take a successful title like PIF and translate it into interest in my newer books. I guess I hoped they were committed to me as an author, and would want to publish my books for years to come. But I think they are a classic example of modern trade publishing. It’s not really so much about the work anymore. Not the way it used to be.

Once you were being published by a big NY publisher, was it what you had expected or hoped for?
All I’ve ever really wanted was a readership, combined with the ability to make a good enough living that I could continue to write.

How did your life change?
I was able to pay somebody else to clean my house. I got rid of my old pickup truck and got a nice car. I lost a few friends because they assumed I must be too busy for them, too important (whereas before, they just figured I was writing). I was introduced briefly to the spotlight. Or, as the PIF screenwriter, Leslie Dixon, put it, “Welcome to my world of horrifying media scrutiny.”

Otherwise, not so much. I live in the same house. Kept most of the same friends.

Is there anything you’d do differently if you had it to do over?
I would not read the small handful of cynical, mean reviews. Everybody told me not to read them, but at the time it felt impossible. I wouldn’t read the ones on Amazon[.com], either. Now I just look at the number of stars my books get. Usually four and a half out of five. I have to remind myself that it doesn’t get a whole lot better. There’s a very human tendency to focus on the missing half a star.

What is your view of the industry? Can beautiful small titles still make it? Or are big best-selling books eating up all the attention?
I think beautiful small books will always find a place. There is a segment of publishing (the big commercial houses) that really want celebrity books and trashy bestsellers. But there will always be readers who don’t—so small press is very key these days. It’s important that we support them. It’s important that we “vote” with our book-buying dollars. If big publishing is turning out celebrity trash, it’s because we’re buying it.

What makes a book successful? Is it more about the marketing than the book itself?
I have absolutely no idea. And, frankly, I think neither does anybody else. After all, big publishers put out lots of highly touted flops. And they pass on future bestsellers all the time. I think there’s an element of “capturing lightning in a bottle” each time a book enjoys a breakout success. Nobody really knows when and where it’s going to strike.

How does it happen that a book as well reviewed as Electric God did not sell in huge numbers?
The word “mispositioning” comes to mind. PIF revolves around an idealistic kindness plan, so my editors decided it might play to the Christian market. Apparently Christian books sell well. To continue the theme, when Electric God came out, they stuck it with that log line, “A modern retelling of the book of Job.” But, to quote Ron Charles in his Christian Science Monitor review, “I hardly think that’s a selling point.” The combination of the title and that log line got it shelved with religious fiction, where it languished and died. No offense intended to the Christian market. But this is the wrong book for that market. And I think people developed a fundamentally incorrect view of what I write. It took a while to come back from that.

Can you say that any particular book was personally most rewarding? In other words, do you have a personal favorite? If so, what is it, and why?
Definitely Becoming Chloe. Definitely. And it's hard to say why. Not to sound self-serving, but I think if people read it, they'll get why. I think it's because it tackles a huge question that I don't often hear raised. That is, what are we to make of this world? Is it more terrible than beautiful or more beautiful than terrible? And can we love it in spite of its often fearsome nature?

Do you feel your other titles have been unfairly overshadowed by PIF? Do you tire of people always wanting to talk about that one title when some of your others deserve as much credit?
There is no doubt that they have been overshadowed. Whether this is fair or unfair is probably not for me to decide. But yes, truth be told, I often tire of it (in defense of my other works)—though I never mind if a reader of the book [PIF] finds that book to be the most important of my eleven (to date). That's his or her prerogative. It's the people who have only seen the movie who make me feel the most tired. It's the movie that casts the biggest and most troublesome shadow.

The good news is that's only true in the US. In the UK, I'm better known for Love in the Present Tense. Which is refreshing.

Considering what a beautiful book PIF is, and what a mediocre movie it became, what is your opinion of the book-to-film relationship?
I still think it’s a good thing for a writer to be adapted. But I’m giving up the idea that someone will do an adaptation that thrills me as an author. A movie is, almost by nature, a “too many cooks in the kitchen” endeavor. It’s not any one person’s creative vision. If the Universe cares to make a liar out of me, I’ll be glad to admit I was wrong. Very glad.

Have you considered doing your own adaptations?
I have mixed feelings about that. I’m open to trying. But I still don’t believe that, even as a screenwriter, I could control the outcome.

Thomas Wolfe said that all fiction is in fact autobiographical. Can you cite some examples where you've used your own experiences in your books?
I think every one of my characters shares some emotion with me. There is a level at which I know how they all feel. So, that is the autobiographical aspect, I think. The universality of emotion. That said, I truly do draw these characters from the ether. They are not me. And they are not anybody I know.

When you create characters as diverse as Trevor McKinney and Hayden Reese, where do you get the nuances of their personalities, behaviors, and hopes?
I guess from being human, and from being a student of human nature. Imagine if I could only write about people very much like me. I suspect that would get old very fast. Truthfully, I don't know why my brain can access such diverse characters. When I was in high school, my teachers told me I was too much of a daydreamer. But now I think I was just daydreamer enough.

Is there a commonality to your work, and if so, what is it?
I think so. I think it is the idea that we are, at our core, more alike than we realize. That humanity shines through the most down-and-out character. And, maybe most importantly, that no one is beyond redemption.

Why did you decide to switch focus and write for young adults?
More reasons than you could shake a stick at. First, I wanted that “freedom to be sincere.” Secondly, after PIF made the Best Books for Young Adults list, I got letters from 14-year-olds who said things like, “I used to think I didn’t like to read till I read your book.” Third, someone pointed out that in my adult novels my “coming of age” characters were always the strongest ones. Fourth, I sincerely hoped and believed that Young Adult (YA) fiction was still more about the work. Finally, YA titles stay in print a lot longer, and my books seem to need time to find their readership.
Those were the more artistic reasons. Then there was a pragmatic one: the sales figures from my [S&S] experience were killing me. Since only PIF was considered YA, that’s the only title whose sales performance a YA editor would consider. That’s how I levered myself up out of that big slump. But I would not have gone that route if I didn’t sincerely believe I belonged in YA fiction, and would be happy there. I write to stay true to my creative process. The money comes later. Or not.
Your books for young adults are edgy and real, and include subjects that some people might be surprised are topics for teens.

It surprised me that Knopf was brave enough to release Becoming Chloe, to a teen market.

[editor’s note: this title is about two homeless teens and includes themes of rape, abuse, prostitution, and homosexuality. But like Hyde’s other books, it is ultimately hopeful and redemptive.]

Is this a trend in this category, or are you introducing a new kind of teen title?
It’s the direction of the genre. It’s not just me. YA fiction is undergoing rapid change. In the information age, I think this is appropriate. These kids grew up on the internet. You have no idea what they know. You’d be horrified by what they know. It’s time to stop pretending we can shield them by censoring their fiction. It’s time to open a dialogue with them about the world as it stands. In my opinion.

Do your YA books tend to crossover and find an adult readership?
Yes. I really, sincerely wish that more adults would try YA in general, and that more of my adult readers would try my YA titles. When they do, they invariably tell me they see little difference. Teens have no trouble reading adult fiction but adults often balk at trying good teen literature. If they tried it, I think they would be pleasantly surprised.

Will you continue to write for the adult market?
Absolutely. Right now I’m publishing a YA every year and an adult every other year. If
I can keep that up, I’ll be in heaven.

What can we look forward to next?
I just finished a new adult novel called The Man Who Found You in the Woods. Next year, Knopf will release the YA title Diary of a Witness. It’s the story of a teenage boy, Ernie, and his best friend Will. They’re facing a lot of bullying and humiliation at school.

Ernie has a decent enough home life, so he’s handling it fairly well, but Will is having a horrible time at home, and he’s beginning to lose it. To the point where somebody could actually get hurt. It’s tentatively scheduled for summer ’09.

What advice do you have for would-be writers?
Don’t be the one who gives up and goes home.

Find books by Catherine Ryan Hyde at www.cryanhyde.com.

Earthquake Weather
Funerals for Horses
Pay it Forward
Electric God
Walter’s Purple Heart
Becoming Chloe (YA)
Love in the Present Tense
The Year of my Miraculous Reappearance (YA)
Chasing Windmills
The Day I Killed James (YA)
Diary of a Witness (YA – forthcoming)

 

 

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