Kohler, R. (15 August 2007). Local writer becomes novelist. Washburn County Register, Front page-p. 8.

Local writer becomes novelist

By Regan Kohler

SHELL LAKE - Many newspaper journalists dream of eventually writing the proverbial Great American Novel, but getting published is a long, hard road, according to Diane Dryden, Shell Lake.

Dryden, a features reporter for the Washburn County Register, just wrote her first novel, "The Accidental King of Clark Street." The fiction novel is based in 1960s Chicago, Ill., where Dryden grew up. It centers on a jaded widower named Leon McKee who walks to fill his time, and one day stumbles upon a job as night security in a decrepit Laundromat. The owner, Vivian, is a widow, and also a bit jaded on love and life. But with the help of fellow employees, new friends and even some teenagers, the two find a reason to live and love.

The story involves romance, death, a murder mystery and even Mafiosi, with the background imagery of the Windy City.

Two years ago, Dryden was bored one day - a feeling she is unaccustomed to - and thought, "I'll just write a story for my own amusement."

In three days, she had 5,000 words written. She happened to mention the story to Gerry Chartraw, owner of Gerry's 5th Avenue Salon a couple doors down from Dryden's office. Chartraw asked to read it, and then, said Dryden, "She came back and she said one word: 'More.'"

Dryden had an outline only, but she reworked the plot, and about three or four months, she said, she realized it was more than just a story, but a book as well. Dryden said the characters just kept walking in as she wrote, and she was having fun in the process.

Writing it, however, was the easy part.

Dryden bought the "Writer's Digest" for information on publishing a book.

"This is where it got really, really difficult," she said. "It's like leaving a lovely beach, turning around and walking directly into a jungle."

One thing that was explicit in the writer's guide was that books need a 75,000-word minimum. This, to her, wasn't much of a problem.

"It was fun to go back and fill in spots," she said.

Dryden then began the task of sending the manuscript to publishing companies, with negative results. She became discouraged and put the idea aside.

Six months later, the book was niggling at her. She felt the book was good and worth a shot at being out there. So Dryden said she went back to looking for publishers, but soon learned many companies don't take manuscripts or even query letters anymore because of the high amounts of copy they receive. Most literary agents, she also learned, are even too busy to take on new clients. She learned that pre-agencies, called writers' services, are now the way to go. Dryden found one called Writer's Edge, and had to pay $95 to get her novel read. Even though she said she was unsure of sending money to an unknown entity, she had so much faith in the book that it overcame her wariness.

Writer's Edge gives potential authors two options: they can either change the book to make it "saleable" or it can be put on a waiting list as is to be sent to publishers. Dryden chose the latter.

Last fall, Dryden said she attended a writers' workshop in the Twin Cities and spoke with a publishing company based there. The publisher told her his publishing company never read the lists.

"So I thought, 'Well, there's $95 gone,'" Dryden said.

Then, it happened: Dryden got an e-mail from a publishing company called Capstone Fiction. This company had read the list and asked to see her entire manuscript. Dryden sent it, but didn't hear from them for awhile. She waited for a rejection letter, but there was no word whatsoever.

"Two months later, I got an e-mail that changed my life," she said.

Dryden said she received a six-page e-mail from Capstone that started with, "I absolutely love your book," and ended with a contract.

Dryden said her first thought was, "What am I going to wear on 'Oprah'?"

More hard work followed. Dryden had to do a rewrite and work directly with an editor. She had friends proofread copy so it was clean. She had to shorten sentences and explain certain words like "broasted." Dryden almost got sick of the book after reading it 70 times.

The final part, she said, was approving covers and finding a photographer for her author's photo. She was able to draw on co-workers for these last two, which she said helped her greatly.

"How many other authors have a backup crew like I do?" she asked.

Dryden signed in December 2006, and her book came out in June, "so it took six months," she said of the actual publishing. It is for sale at Northwind Book & Fiber in Spooner, Barnes & Noble's Web site and Amazon.com, and she recently found out it was available in England. She said it will soon be in local libraries, too. Northwind, Dryden said, sold all their preordered books.

Ramona Tucker of Capstone Fiction said in an e-mail, "I absolutely love 'The Accidental King of Clark Street.' It is one of the favorite books I've read in recent years, and that is saying a lot because I read a lot."

Dryden's editor at the Register, Gary King, said, "Diane is simply a natural writer and the interaction of characters in this book holds your interest all the way to its final chapter. We're proud that one of our writers created something that caught the eye of a national publisher, which if you look at the success ratio of aspiring novelists, is no small feat."

Dryden is making arrangements to go on a book-signing tour. She already has some lined up in Spooner, Shell Lake, the Twin Cities and Hayward.

"It's a whole new life," she said. "An added bonus, like the cherry on the sundae, was when the Writer's Edge sent me $25 back on my initial investment of $95 with a lovely note of congratulations."

She said she would like to get into the Chicago market eventually. She sent copies to the city's mayor, Richard M. Daley; to the Chicago Tribune, both of which are featured prominently in her book; and also one copy to Oprah Winfrey, knowing her love of Chicago and her concern for the plight of the homeless, another theme in Dryden's book. Since she grew up in Chicago in the era the book is written, she said, "Everything in there is authentic," including Clark Street.

Dryden also drew from local inspiration. The character of Debbie, a Clark Street beauty shop owner, is loosely based on Chartraw, who also wrote a poem for the book and came up with the name.

"She was instrumental," Dryden said.

Readers can expect a sequel next summer, as Capstone gave Dryden a contract for a second book, due in January 2008. It will have the same characters, with more intricate storylines. Dryden said she outlined it already and has three chapters down.

Dryden, who has worked for the "Register" off and on since the 1970s, and was a freelance writer for many magazines, said her role model was a "Chicago Tribune" columnist who never missed a day of work while writing his book. The columnist, Mike Royko, won a Pulitzer, she added.

Dryden will have her signing in Spooner Tuesday, Aug. 21, at 7 p.m. in Northwind Book & Fiber. There will be donuts and coffee served by "Nell from the One Stop Coffee Shop," which is a character and place in the book.

dian140.jpg (6335 bytes)

Diane Dryden.
Photo by
Regan Kohler.