Publishing in Three | Step 1: Interview with Jennifer de Leon

In this series, “Publishing in Three,” I aim to shine a light on the experiences of an author, literary agent, and editor to learn about each of their perspectives on how books are made.

When we talk about books, the first thought that comes to mind is always the author. They are the forces that ignite the publishing process and the sole reason for the stories that we see on the shelves. Often, when I am reading a book, I think of it as a sort of conversation amongst myself, the characters, and more often than not the author as well. For this installment of “Publishing in Three,” I am thrilled to have the opportunity to extend the conversations that I have had in reading some of Jennifer De Leon’s work into a conversation with the author herself.

The following article is a conversation with the amazing Jennifer De Leon who is the author of Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From (Atheneum/Simon & Schuster, 2020) and the editor of Wise Latinas (University of Nebraska Press). An Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at Framingham State University, and a GrubStreet instructor and board member. Jennifer has published prose in over a dozen literary journals, including Ploughshares, Iowa Review, and Michigan Quarterly Review. Her essay collection, White Space: Essays on Culture, Race, & Writing, is the recipient of the Juniper Prize and will be published by UMass Press in Spring 2021. I am so honored to have interviewed her on her experiences as a writer, editor, and instructor.

You have a very interesting past of graduating from Connecticut College with a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations and then going on to earn a Master of Arts in Teaching from the University of San Francisco’s Center for Teaching Excellence and Social Justice. At what point did you decide to become a writer and what was your inspiration for doing so?

I always knew that I wanted to be a writer, but I didn't know of any writers. Nor did I see myself reflected in the books that I read growing up. Instead, I just kind of wrote on the side and figured that someday I might get to publishing, but I didn't have a direct path.

I majored in International Relations so that I could travel. As an undergrad, I traveled to twelve different countries, and it was the greatest experience. When I graduated, my first job was working as a congressional aide, but I quickly realized that I didn't like working in politics at all. It was, it was a really hard year, but it was still valuable. I actually think it's really important to have those experiences because they steer you in the direction that you really want to be going in, but you feel pressure to do what your parents and society says is good.

After that, I did Teach for America, and that's what got me out to California. I taught for two years and at the time, California had a program that would fund a portion of your master's degree if you were studying to be a bilingual educator. I seemed to have had great timing in finding that program, and that's how I got my, like foothold in teaching as a career, which I love.

While I was teaching, I kept writing on the side, and it wasn't until my mid 20s, where I took my first serious writing class. Then I just knew that writing was what I wanted to do. 

What is your creative process from having an idea to getting the words onto paper?

I am in a writing group, and before that, I took classes. I always love school, but I mostly did it for the deadlines. If I knew I had to turn in a story by a certain date, then I would be thinking about it, and everything I looked at that and read, I would be filtering through a story idea because I knew I had to turn in something. I would write even if it was horrible. At least then it existed, and I would have a community who would give me feedback for revisions.

As you are constantly sifting through your experiences and observations for writing inspiration, how do you keep track of your ideas?

I used to keep journals. To be honest, once I had kids, that kind of fell by the wayside. Now, if I have an idea for an essay, I'll just start writing it, and then let it kind of sit. Then, as I'm going on walks or I'm just living in the world, I'll see things that make me think of my essay. It's kind of like collecting.

You have written both nonfiction essays, and your debut fiction novel, Don’t Ask me Where I’m From. What is your process in deciding whether to write fiction or nonfiction?

It's different every time. Starting out writing, I wrote a lot of short stories. I'm glad I did, because you're able to learn a lot about structure, and its lower stakes, because you have 15 pages instead of 500, or whatever. I think that is why I wrote short stories a lot in the beginning, and because I wrote in my journal for so many years, it just feels natural for that muscle to be worked. I like essays too because when you're writing, you're trying to figure something out. You don't know the answer to the question that the essay is asking, until you write it, so that part is kind of magical. With novels, it's just a much bigger beast. And I think it requires a lot more patience and commitment. 

From the writer perspective, what was the process of having your debut fiction novel published, and how did it differ from having your essays published?

With stories or essays that are published in literary magazines, it's a shorter process. It’s not much different; it's just shorter. For example, when a piece of mine is accepted, I’ll sign the contract, they’ll give me the estimated date of when it'll come out and which issue it’ll appear in, and then they'll send me the first pass pages -- what it will look like in the literary magazine. That's always exciting; seeing your words and your name as how it will be in a journal will never get old. So, then I get to look at it for any typos or last minute changes before I give them the green light. Then I wait, they publish it, and they'll send you a couple of free issues. If you're lucky, you get paid.

With my novel, it was a different experience in that I had an agent, and my agent sent the manuscript out to a bunch of editors. Instead of one literary magazine editor being interested in it, 10 editors at different publishing houses were each interested. So, then I talked to each of them on the phone, and my agent and I went back and forth on who we wanted to go with? Once I decided on which editor, then all the while, the money was being worked out in negotiations, and I signed the contract. Then I started working on the editorial process, which was a lot easier than any story or essay. My editor sent me an editorial letter that was 20 pages, so I mean, that's where the real work starts. I worked on edits, and for like a year, we went back and forth. Then it goes through like copy edits and design. I started doing marketing and publicity things – doing interviews, having dinner with booksellers. All these kinds of things were being scheduled, and then the pandemic hit. Little by little, all these conferences that I had been lined up for got cancelled. And it was super devastating. The pub date was moved from May to August; they just wanted to buy a little more time and get used to the new normal. On the bright side, I've been doing a lot of Zoom events, virtual events, and, in some ways, maybe reaching audiences that I just couldn't reach otherwise.

What was your favorite part about the publishing process?

One of my favorite parts was going to New York City and entering the Simon and Schuster office, where I met with the whole team. That will forever be just like one of the biggest moments of my life. Just going up that elevator, I felt like “Oh, my God, I can't believe this is finally happening after so many years of dreaming about this.” So that was really exciting.

What was the hardest part about the publishing process?

The hardest part is you're always going to be comparing yourself to other authors. You work on something with your head in your heart, and ironically, you, you have little control over how it's going to be received in the world. It's hard not to get caught up in thoughts like, “I didn't get picked for this award” or “that wasn’t a great Goodreads review.” All of these different measures are just 100 ways to be reminded that you are very small in the world. Yet, as I've been talking to other authors, they've told me that is totally normal, and I guess it’s just part of the business.

What is one piece of advice that has influenced the way that you write?

I would say to understand and think about your audience, and it's okay if your audience is not white. For so long, I just wrote for the white reader, and I would always have to explain things. Then I worked with Junot Diaz, phenomenal author, for several summers, and he asked me one day, “Who are you writing for?” That changed how I wrote. That's not to say that I don't want white people to read my stories, but it is something where I have begun to picture a younger version of myself reading my books, and I realize that’s who I’m writing for.

What book has impacted you most as just a reader? Or as a writer? 

I love Chimamanda Adichie. She's this Nigerian writer who wrote Americana, and she's done an amazing TED Talk called “The danger of a single story.”

What can readers look forward to seeing from you in the future?

I have an essay collection coming out in March 2021. It's called White Space: Essays on Culture, Race, & Writing, and it features personal essays about my journey towards becoming a writer that also occupies white spaces in my life and fills the white space of the page.

I am so very grateful for Jennifer for taking the time to speak with me on this subject. To learn more about her and keep up with her amazing work, you can visit her website here and buy/pre-order her books here!

Cecilia Gray is a member of the 2020 Windmill staff. She is currently pursuing a BA in Publishing Studies and Writing Studies at Hofstra University. To read more publishing and writing related articles by her, follow her series, The Writer’s Toolbox, at Firstdraft.com.