I’m writing a book and need your help!
by Carmen Van Kerckhove
I have a confession.
For the past few months I’ve been trying to wrap my brain around starting a book proposal. But I’m having a really hard time figuring out what kind of book I want to write.
It’ll be about race, of course. That much I know. But beyond that, I’m struggling with pinning down my idea. One day I’ll be absolutely sure I want to write a sort of “the state of race in America today” book. The next day, I’ll be more into the idea of writing a primer on race. The week after that, I’ll be convinced that a memoir is the way to go.
I have no shortage of ideas, no shortage of things I want to say. It’s just the exercise of wrestling it into some kind of framework… that’s the part I’m finding most challenging.
In short, I need some help. 
I would really, really appreciate it if you would take 15 minutes out of your day to fill out this survey.
The more detail you can provide, the more helpful you’ll be. Also, when thinking of other books on race that you’ve read in the past, please don’t limit them to non-fiction books. If you’ve read novels or memoirs that deal with race in a significant way, please include those as well.
Thank you so much! YOU are the audience for this book, so I want to make sure I deliver what you need and want.
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of
ACW wrote:
As far as organizing your book or novel, I highly recommend the freeware YWriter. It helps to organize sections and chapters, and has a notes section for each so you can get your thoughts down before tackling the first draft. You can even write whole segments and, later, click & drag to another section. Excellent tool.
Posted 08 Sep 2009 at 7:50 am ¶
Rachel Hills wrote:
Hi Carmen, this is a really clever market research idea. I wish I’d thought of it first.
Seriously though, I think the best book for you to write is the story you’re most driven to tell (and I think the “story” applies as much as non-fiction writing as it does to fiction). When I first started thinking about working on my book, I knew I wanted to do something broadly related to gender, but it took me six months of (not particularly concentrated) thinking to figure out what exactly the Big Exciting Thing that I could contribute was. (Still don’t know if I’ll actually succeed in contributing it.)
I like big ideas and strong arguments, so for what it’s worth, I’d be into a “the state of race in America today” book. A memoir could also be really good, especially if you use it to talk about bigger polital issues. But listen to your own inner writing voice, because that’s what’s going to help you create a book you’re proud of.
Posted 08 Sep 2009 at 10:02 am ¶
Amina wrote:
When I need help figuring out what to write I just pull out a note book and write out all the ideas I have in my head. Then I pick from the ones I like the best and write as much as I can about each idea to see which is more developed. The idea I’ve developed the most is usually the one I choose.
Posted 08 Sep 2009 at 12:12 pm ¶
Elton wrote:
I think Carmen’s biggest advantage is that she is not an academic. I think it is because of, not despite, this that the various New Demographic blogs are so popular and successful. They do have themes, but are not limited to a certain ethnic interest or geared towards people with social science degrees.
I would hope that her book would have all these qualities but also be personal and relatable for anti-racist PoC activists. How did she get interested in these things? How did she come to found this company and these websites? What are her thoughts on what young people should be doing to further the cause of anti-racism?
I think she could easily combine all the different kinds of books she mentioned into a single, organic story–a memoir about how she got to where she is and learned about race and racism, along the way giving a primer on racism and commenting on the state of race in America today.
Posted 08 Sep 2009 at 12:52 pm ¶
Shiyuan wrote:
Carmen – I think you should do a memoir. The tricky thing with “state of race in America today” books is that there are a lot of them out there, with more coming out every year. Unless you write the very best, most well researched, most accessible & compelling one, your book will just get buried.
A memoir gives you the creative freedom to tell whatever story you want to tell. No real guidelines, no real literary or academic requirements. You can say what you want to say, unapologetically. That’s my vote! Good luck! & look forward to reading it.
Posted 08 Sep 2009 at 2:34 pm ¶
Yuko (emma_zero) wrote:
I’m no expert but I agree with Shiyuan. People relate very well to heart felt personal stories. Trying to make universal sense out of one’s life can be a hard task because everyone experiences a same incident differently. But if you expressed how you lived your life through adversities, or how any incident in your life shaped you, you are offering something rich in substance people can take and apply to their own life. I’d go for a memoir. I for one am very curious about your personal experiences.
Posted 08 Sep 2009 at 3:54 pm ¶
atlasien wrote:
I would like to see a book subtitled “Anti-racism for the non-activist”. So many people would like to speak up more about racial issues but feel held back because they think things like “I’m not an activist”, “my job would be in danger” “I’m not articulate enough” or “I’m not educated enough”.
I think a book addressing those concerns would be great… something giving practical advice and tips for anti-racism in daily living environments. The water cooler, the PTA meeting, etc.
Posted 08 Sep 2009 at 8:57 pm ¶
Kristen wrote:
I second altlasien. Sometimes it’s just hard to know what to do, so anecdotes that illustrate what to say (or what not to say) and how effective each strategy is would be really helpful.
Posted 09 Sep 2009 at 10:59 am ¶
Fiqah wrote:
Please have a glossary that includes such gems as “hipster racism” and “Afro-Leprechaun cruises.”
Posted 09 Sep 2009 at 10:27 pm ¶
Jess wrote:
Speaking as someone who writes for a living…
There’s a few approaches to talking about race.
One is the memoir and using that to illustrate what you want. The upside is that people can connect more easily, and everyone has something that makes their lives interesting.
The down side is that memoirs have been done a lot, and sometimes the connection between that and the issue you are trying to write about can feel shoehorned in. And then there is the tricky question of how typical or atypical your own life is.
The other approach is more ‘academic’ but done right it can work better. Now I have a bit of a bias to this because I am a reporter and while I like to write about myself (doesn’t everyone?) I find other people’s stories more interesting a lot of the time. Using a single person’s story (or several people) as jumping-off points can be a really rewarding way to structure a story. For example, Cadillac Desert is about water usage, but it tells the story of John Wesley Powell, among others.
But this approach is a lot of work. And I do mean a lot. And here’s a little secret of journalism: 80% of our days are spent waiting by the goddamn phone or calling people, or trying to make sense of documents that I feel are designed to drive me crazy. (Well, these days there’s email, but you get the idea). And you have to be much more careful in how you structure things.
Then there’s the straight-up academic method, which can be strong as it is a just-the-facts approach. Well-presented research can still tell compelling stories. Stephen Jay Gould and Carl Sagan both did pretty well at this in the sciences, and I must say there’s yet to be that much social science writing I can think of that gets to that level, but there’s no reason you can’t be among the first.
The downside here is that it can get kind of dry. As importantly, I find most academic writing on race falls into either denying problems exist or talking about them in a way that makes me cringe (and I used to write stuff like this, to my everlasting shame). If you find yourself using the word “deconstruction,” I say pull out the garlic and crosses and drive a stake through the page. Few writers seem to avoid that particular pitfall — I mean, it’s so damned easy to do. More seriously, it’s just obfuscation.
I always ask myself, “If I were not a committed activist reading this, would it sound crazy/boring/incomprehensible?”
i dunno, Just my 2 cents, you know? You asked
Posted 10 Sep 2009 at 7:52 am ¶
Carmen Van Kerckhove wrote:
Hey everyone,
Apologies for the late response. Sean got her first cold this week
and of course, I caught it too. So I’m catching up on work today…
I’m gonna do individual responses, Andrea Plaid-style.
ACW – thanks for the tip on YWriter! That sounds fabulous. I’ll go check it out.
Rachel – feel free to “steal” the market research idea for your next book! I’m sure I’m not the first person to do this anyway. And I am totally in that phase of thinking to figure out The Big Exciting Thing, as you put it. I may email you offline to get more of your advice, since you’ve already been through this!
Amina – thanks! I’ve done the first part (writing down all the ideas). But I think I have a mental block about starting the second part (writing as much as I can about each). I think sometimes I’m too much of a linear thinker and feel like I need to have an outline before I can start writing anything. I’m that way with blog posts too.
I need to learn to loosen up and not be such a loser Type A.
Elton – I’ve always thought that our non-academic, accessible approach is key and I’m so glad you agree that it’s valuable! I definitely want to keep that tone with this book.
Shiyuan – You know, I totally agree with you re: the limitations of doing a “state of race” book. I’m not an academic, and I’m not a trained reporter, so I don’t really feel like I have the best skill-set (or interest, for that matter) to do a super-researched book. I def think that story-telling and opinion/analysis is more the way to go for me personally. And if that comes packaged in a memoir, so be it!
I’m still a bit on the fence about it.
Yuko – another vote for a memoir! I’ll keep it in mind. My concern about doing a pure memoir is I feel like my life hasn’t really been dramatic enough. And I don’t want to exaggerate and become the next James Frey.
But I could definitely see doing a book with a lot of memoir-ish anecdotes woven throughout…
atlasien and Kristen – I have totally been leaning towards doing something that addresses race in everyday life situations… Glad you think there’s value in it too! My concern is with the prescriptive part. There isn’t always a clear-cut answer to every situation. And I worry about coming across as being too flippant and/or simplistic.
Fiqah – LOL for sure!
Jess – I totally agree with you on pretty much everything you wrote here. And it’s the reason why I’m a bit hesitant to do either a memoir or an academic-y / report-y book. And LOL @ the word “deconstruction.” I also want to make sure I limit the use of “unpack” and “systems of oppression.”
Sometimes we get way too caught up in our own lingo.
Posted 10 Sep 2009 at 12:01 pm ¶
Carmen Van Kerckhove wrote:
Wow I really need to lay off the smiley-faces. Good Lord.
Posted 10 Sep 2009 at 12:02 pm ¶
atlasien wrote:
My comeback would be… maybe we need a little bit of flippancy when talking about race. I like the idea of reclaiming humor from the “I’m-so-funny-and-edgy-because-I’m-not-PC-but-I’m-really-just -recycling-the-same-stupid-racist-jokes” crowd.
Maybe a structure where there’s a racist situation needing a reaction, followed by a 1) real-life response submitted by a real person 2) a funny response 3) a suggested prescribed response 4) a bad, ineffective response or some combination of all of those. Something like that would avoid an overly prescriptive textbook feel.
Posted 10 Sep 2009 at 12:55 pm ¶
Yuko (emma_zero) wrote:
Carmen,
Thank you for your individualized response. Now I have a question for you. How do YOU feel about your personal experiences and impact they had in your life? Do you feel your experiences affected you profoundly? If the answer is yes, then I don’t think level of “drama” i your life would be an issue.
If you think your life hasn’t been dramatic enough, I believe that would be a good reason why people would benefit from what you reveal, because they will be able to relate to your story better.
I know dramatic stories attract more readers quicker. And people read dramatic life story and say, well, my life isn’t as dramatic as hers and I shouldn’t dwell on my difficulties. That in itself may be effective in lifting someone up, but the danger is that people tend to leave many problems unattended once they are made to believe those problems are not worth addressing.
I don’t know your purpose of writing a book. If you are passionate about helping others, then by offering a real life story and your take on it, then I believe many people will benefit from that. People who had similar experience will identify and may feel supported , and people who are puzzled about how people of different background experience life, will be able to get an insight on what goes on outside their immediate world.
Posted 10 Sep 2009 at 3:32 pm ¶
Yuko (emma_zero) wrote:
The editing job on my previous comment is awful! I hope you can guess what I’m trying to say. Sorry.
Posted 10 Sep 2009 at 3:38 pm ¶