(Although my questions were primarily directed toward fiction, Chila widened the field for her responses. She graciously gave her time to answer each question thoughtfully and without hesitation. Please note she has her own book coming out later this year.)
Port Yonder Press
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excellent, evocative, eclectic - we love the niche in you
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So who is Chila Woychik?
I'm a very simple gal with a passion for life and a passion to do it right.
The attractive, well done, and quite specific website sets the tone for Port Yonder Press, but if you could communicate what matters most to you in operating PYP, what would that be?
We pass our days doing something. I want to expand my reach beyond my little world, and I feel I can best do that by doing what I love: reading, writing, and assisting others in both of those venues.
And if there is anything you wish to improve in your publishing endeavors, what would it/they be?
I want, every single day, to learn one more way to do what I do BETTER. I really do strive for that, not just in publishing but in life itself. "Can't do" isn't an option for me.
A common “problem” for writers is the professionals’ approach to publishing which stipulates they only desire writing that “sings”, “is polished”, “is great/excellent”, “is fresh”, and I could go on. Not all certainly but most writers attempt to send their best. And many writers believe—whether or not they’ll admit it publicly—that their writing outshines much of what is published or fills a vacancy in publishing. Are there any specific clarifications you can make for your requirements to submit to PYP?
Submitted manuscripts or chapters must be beyond what we commonly call "mass paperback" quality. That's what I'm striving for in my own writing, and that's what I want to see. The only advice I can give about how to get there is to read the top dogs of yesterday and today in the GENERAL MARKET, which in my estimation, almost always stand head and shoulders above most Christian writing. Even if you don't agree with the content, you can learn from the rest: what did they /do/ right among all you think they /said/ wrong? Join a secular critique group. I mean that. Or at least a group friendly to everyone. If that's what it takes to get honest-to-goodness great advice, do it. Fear not, they won't eat you alive, and the experience may actually teach you to write with an empathy and reality second-to-none. Combine that with great writing skills and your underlying faith, and I guarantee you'll have publishers knocking at your door.
Look at it this way: Insular, isolationist thinking, reading, and writing among Christians is watering down the writing-quality gene pool. I see web-toed, 6-fingered books filling the shelves of most Christian bookstores. Now, how appealing is that to unChristians? Heck, that even makes me sick.
Would you agree or disagree that subjectivity plays a considerable role in what makes it into books for individual publishing houses? By “subjectivity” I’m not implying that quality is totally subjective, although I do believe it can be.
I used to think it played a HUGE role, but I've recently revised that down. For me, subjectivity may come into play about 25% of the time, especially when I have 2 books to choose from and only time for 1. The balance of my decision is based on story (largest part), writing style, the author him/herself. But who knows? The pie slices may change size again as I become more accustomed to this business and continue to carve out my own niche with PYP.
Perhaps I should ask you what defines “quality” writing for you?
You've asked the operative question with that one, for my litmus test for quality surely differs from yours or someone else's. For me, "quality writing" is that which is a notch above commercial, and it's a story or a book of poetry or creative nonfiction that I can't put down--one which I'll gladly grab and reread again and again in the lull of a day. Isn't that what a good book should be?
If a writer hasn't yet discovered that good writing is a result of butt-busting hard work and a lifetime of commitment to such, he's not writing "quality." You don't learn to write well by praying about it.
Do you read novels from the generally accepted CBA menu/publishers? Do you have favorite authors from that market?
I really have very little time these days for reading beyond what I have to read. But I read voraciously since a child, so I do have a lot of fiction under my belt--very little of it "CBA" fiction. Frankly, and without belittling anyone, I've been sadly disappointed by the few books I've picked up from those publishers. It may be an over-generalization, but they all appear to have the same "flavor." I'm one who firmly believes there's no better way to turn someone off to true faith than by seeming to imply that when one becomes a Christian, they all of a sudden are pressed into a grave-sized box of Christianity's making. Well, I can guarantee it isn't God who's doing the pressing in that case. He's the God of infinite variety, freedom, and beauty. Let's make our books that way too. I can't think of a better way to reflect him than that.
Describe your faith. How does your faith affect the selection of manuscripts you wish to publish?
Everything I do, I do with a no-holds-barred mentality; my faith is the same way. As an older teen I experimented with almost every faith and substance and experience known to man, and Christianity floated to the top as the most viable and reliable among everything. My parents weren't Christians and I had no one there preaching at me. But once I embraced it, I never looked back. Life has beat me around to some degree, and through bouts of skepticism and doubt, Christ has still been the central figure through all that. He's the man for me.
Faith guides everything I do. At the same time, I don't believe God expects us to "rubber stamp" everything with Scripture verses and Jesus-speak to be effective representatives of his. In fact, from experience I believe we often do that, overdo the Jesus-Facebook-status thing, to insulate ourselves from the real world around us. I'm continually challenging believers to befriend unChristians, invite them to their Facebook page, to their barbeques or to a restaurant, and then live out a real life before them. Share failures, sorrows, hurts and pain. Be hardcore real. It's easy to turn others off when we insist on keeping a Jesus-bubble around us all the time, ostensibly to protect us from their "dirt." That's the biggest rip-off and cop-out Christians can engage in. Jesus weeps at that, I think. I want books that go beyond that, books that meet people where they are with truth so real that unChristians can't help but be impressed, if by nothing else, by the quality of stories or poetry or creative nonfiction presented. I don't believe I have the right to preach at unChristians until I'm asked. I don't want my books to do it either. As for Christians writing books for Christians? Fine, just don't pat yourself on the back for penning an "evangelical tool" if you're really only preaching to the robed figures behind you.
Your biggest complaint(s) about publishing in general?
Book mediocrity, for whatever reason. And how damn hard small presses have to work to get a toe-hold in the door of bookstores, even though what we offer may be as good or better than what's there. (And yes, I have the usual complaint here - that some Christians are more concerned that I said "damn" than that their neighbor's drowning next to them ...)
Chila, most professionals are making projections about the publishing industry since e-books are establishing a solid contribution to the world of books and reading. Your thoughts?
Technology will never slow down now, and there's nothing wrong with that. Like everyone else, publishers must flex with the times. I find it quite thrilling, though yes, a challenge to keep up. I'd love to stay ahead of the game, but if I can maintain equilibrium at this point, I'll be happy.
In an interview with Mike Duran you mentioned your father’s influence. He sounds like a wonderful man. Besides him, who has influenced your desire to produce books?
Well, when I come across a small press that's making inroads or doing something new and exciting, even if it isn't working, I find courage to continue innovating. There hasn't been one person who I can point to who has necessarily "influenced my desire to produce books," though a number of people have encouraged me, and I'm very thankful for that. I'm especially fond of my small press cohorts.
You know many pre-published authors will be anxiously reading what you have to say. Since this blog primarily addresses those who write Christian fiction, pinpoint how you view the overall “Christian Fiction” genre and what specifically you’d change or choose to incorporate within it.
Christian Fiction has a following and will always have a following, but as for effectiveness, I think it's dead in the water. Please forgive me for my bluntness, and feel free to disagree. But we'll never break out of self-satisfaction mode if we don't at least bring the question to the table.
What I'd change: I'd pull the blinders off the belief that not being "of the world" somehow equates with not being "in the world." I'd reacquaint believers with reality by asking them to live in a rescue mission or in an emerging country for a good while, among the people, immersed in the culture, eating the foods and enduring the hardships. It would force believers to either sink or swim. It would require them to love, really love, if they had any conscience at all about the importance of their Christianity, and it would force them to reassess what that should look like as Jesus-mirrors. It would prepare them to write reality from a worldview which truly exemplifies Jesus Christ, not just an organization's standards.
Who is the “ideal” client for Port Yonder Press?
A teachable writer who already writes well, isn't afraid to continue learning, is easy to get along with, and is committed to doing about 95% of all their own marketing.
Name a few novels of recent and “classic” times that captured the “excellent” moniker for you.
I've always read more nonfiction and poetry than novels, but let me think. I would say classics like Little Women, the Anne of Green Gables series, The Essential Dracula, Dorian Gray, Great Expectations, etc.
More recently, I've enjoyed the works of Patrick Rothfuss (The Name of the Wind - a MUST READ), Sylvia Plath (The Bell Jar), China Mieville (Kraken, Perdido Street Station), Margaret Atwood, Virginia Woolf, others.
For creative nonfiction, pick up Annie Dillard. For poetry, hit Emily Dickinson ... hard.
Sometimes there are factors in your line of work that go unstated, underestimated, maybe even fall under the “intangibles” label. Is there anything you rarely get asked that you want to answer or anything you truly want prospective clients to know about you specifically or PYP?
Umm, probably just that I'm a "normal" person first and foremost. As such, I value kindness and friendship and love beyond what I might do for a person as a publisher. Also, that although I have strong opinions about life and faith, I go out of my way to be agreeable, and strive to maintain a tender conscience, so much so that a gentle word often brings me to tears. I love a well-worded challenge of just about any kind, but chuff at the unloving attitudes believers are so quick to throw around under one guise or another. PYP? It's an extension of me, so I suppose if you know me, you know PYP. Same rules apply.
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$8.99 includes shipping to continental US
Release date, Early Fall, 2011
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http://portyonderpress.com/default.aspx
Father, you know Chila's heart. You know her passions. You know her from the inside out. You've given her the talent, the calling, the desire and determination to do something very difficult. I ask your blessing upon her life, her work, her heart. Please continue to supply what she needs to do the work you've asked of her. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.
