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Craft Chat Chronicles
Craft Chat Chronicles
Episode 2 Bestseller Blueprint: Sadiqa Johnson's Secrets to Literary Success
Join us as New York Times bestselling author Sadiqa Johnson shares lessons on crafting bestsellers. Embark on a literary voyage with us as I, JD Myall, sit down with Sadiqa Johnson, a celebrated author known for her gripping novels like 'The Yellow Wife.' Sadiqa's journey is a testament to the power of storytelling and persistence, marked by her significant accolades, including her most recent novel, 'The House of Eve,' which became an instant New York Times Best Seller, a Target book club pick, Reese’s Book Club selection, and a NAACP Image Award nominee.
In today’s episode of 'Craft Chat Chronicles,' we delve into the nuances of historical fiction, exploring how Sadiqa crafts memorable characters and vivid settings that keep readers enthralled from the first page to the last. Join us as we discuss the intricacies of her writing process, from the initial concept to the final draft, and uncover the strategies behind her successful writing career.
We'll also get a glimpse into the writing rituals that fuel her creativity, from constructing vision boards to creating the perfect ambient setup for writing sessions. Sadiqa generously shares her wisdom on penning novels that resonate deeply with readers and offers invaluable advice for both aspiring and established authors. Don’t miss this inspiring session filled with practical tips and heartfelt stories about overcoming challenges and celebrating the milestones of a literary career.
Join JD Myall from Writer's Digest and Drexel University on 'Craft Chat Chronicles' for an engaging conversation with one of today's leading voices in historical fiction. Tune in for an episode packed with insights on crafting bestsellers and effective strategies for book marketing and publishing success.
#BestsellingAuthorTips, #HistoricalFiction, #CraftingBestsellers, #PublishingIndustryInsights, #WritingStrategies, #AuthorSuccessStories, #WritingCareerTransition, #WritingCraft #NarrativeDevelopment, #BookMarketingStrategies, #CreativeWritingTechniques, #NYTimesBestsellingProcess, #AuthorInterviews, #BookPromotion, #LiteraryAgents, #RealLifeExperiences #Publishing #WritingTips
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Welcome to Craft Chat Chronicles, the go-to podcast for tips on crafting best-selling fiction. Here at Craft Chat Chronicles, we bring you expert interviews, insights and tips on writing, publishing and marketing. For workshops, show notes and more information, visit jdmyhacom.
Nomi:Welcome everybody to an alumni Drexel MFA Alumni Association evening craft chat. J Myhall is our fabulous alumni member who is hosting this evening's get together with the incredible Sadiqa Johnson. I'm going to stop blathering on and let JD take it away.
Sadeqa Johnson:Thank you, Naomi.
J.D. Myall :Hi everybody. Sadiqa is our star of tonight's show. You see my curtain.
Sadeqa Johnson:I love the curtain, by the way.
J.D. Myall :Thank you, she is an author of five books. She's a New York Times bestselling novelist. She is one of the greatest packet exchange teachers you'll ever have. She wrote two of my favorites the Yellow Wife and House of Eve. House of Eve is a Reese Witherspoon book club pick and recently Goodreads chose it as the best historical fiction novel. So she's been doing big things, as always, and it's still just as sweet and gracious as the day I first met her. So let's start asking her a few questions. I first met her, so let's start asking her a few questions. When you were younger, did you have a mirror book or a book that made you feel as if you saw yourself?
Sadeqa Johnson:reflected on the page, wow. Well, before I answer that question one, I want to say thank you for the invitation, nomi, and thank you guys for taking time out on a busy Wednesday night, 530. I know it's that tricky time, particularly if you have kids and that sort of thing, so I'm really grateful that you guys chose to spend this time with me. When I was a kid, I was the girl who went to the library every Monday, particularly in the summertime. I would dress up, my library card had a special little pouch that I kept it in and I would check seven books out each week. I would read a book a day and then I would go back the following week. So my librarians knew me by name and they always made sure that there were books for me at the ready.
Sadeqa Johnson:It took a while for me to actually find books where I saw myself on the page. I would say the earliest book that I remember was more in my teenage years, not my younger years. The first book that I remember was Maya Angelou's. I Know why the Caged Bird Sings, and I was in high school and I remember reading the book, so enraptured in her story that I was hiding out in one of the classrooms because my friends wanted me to come outside. I grew up in Philadelphia so we jumped double dutch during lunch and my friends wanted me to come out and jump double dutch with them and I just could not stop reading this book. And so I read all of her biographies. And then the next time I remember really having that same feeling was Terry McMillan's book. Mama and I identified with Frida. I still remember her name. It was one of the few books that I read more than once, because as soon as I finished I was like, oh my gosh, I picked it back up and read it again. So that was the beginning of me seeing myself and then probably the seeds being planted that, wow, there's a power in writing your story as authentically and truly as possible. In order to get to the current novel, I probably have to take you back just a little bit to just deciding that I was going to be a writer, which I know is a hard thing for most of us, right? Because most parents want us to grow up and be doctors and lawyers and engineers and something tangible, so that they know that you're going to pay your own bills and you won't be coming to them for money.
Sadeqa Johnson:So when I was a kid, I wanted to be an actress. That was my goal. And I went to college in New York City specifically because I thought, well, I'll go to school. And I didn't go to school to graduate, I went to school to be discovered. And so my thought was I would be. I went to Marymount Manhattan College. I thought I'll be there for two or three weeks, I'll get some auditions, I'll be on. I went to Marymount Manhattan College. I thought I'll be there for two or three weeks, I'll get some auditions, I'll be on Broadway and the rest will be. You know, that will be it. Well, once I graduated from school and actually switched my major and I went into communications because I thought, well, goodness gracious, this acting thing is not easy, right, like knocking on doors, begging, asking people to like pick me, was not an easy thing. And so I thought, well, let me graduate with a communications degree so I have something to fall back on.
Sadeqa Johnson:And my first job was in publishing. So I worked at Scholastic Books and I was a publicist and I worked on the first Harry Potter books, which was really an exciting time for me. So while I was there is when I started working on my first novel. But that, that first novel you know, being surrounded by books and haven't had a reading background, and I also, because I was in New York, was like heavy into the poetry scene. So we would go to like New Yorican cafe and talk real slick and, you know, get into that vibe. And that was a mixture of writing and theater. So I absolutely loved it.
Sadeqa Johnson:But working in publishing gave me sort of an outlet because I was surrounded by authors and I thought, well, what's the difference between them and me? It can't be too great. So I started working on my first novel while at Scholastic. It never saw the light of day, but from there I start taking writing classes. So I'm a big, you know.
Sadeqa Johnson:I teach in the MFA program, of course, but I also feel like you have to continue to study your craft, like you never get to the point where you got it right.
Sadeqa Johnson:I'm working on a new novel right now And'm constantly Googling, like how to write a synopsis oh, that's a great way to write a synopsis or part one what needs to happen in part one? So I'm always constantly still studying as well. Even though I've written five books and so I was taking writing classes. I started on my first novel and I worked on that novel constantly. I started it probably in 2000 and I was working on it while I was at work. I was working on it back and forth on the train between New York and New Jersey and finally I got to the point where I said you know what? I'm married, my son was about to be born and I had written a few drafts of this novel and I thought this is the time I'm going to quit my job, I'm going to get my novel out and I'm going to take care of my son. And I remember having this conversation with my husband and he was like you're going to quit your job.
Sadeqa Johnson:And I'm like yeah, like I have it under control. I have relationships with people in publishing. So that first book went out to market. I got an agent very quickly because I did have some relationships. But it went out to market. It went to 10 different editors and, one by one, every single one of those editors told me no and I was left right back where I started. And this journey had taken so long that when I told my husband I was going to quit my job, I was pregnant with our first child by now. I had three little babies looking up at me wondering like mommy, what's for dinner. And I'm on the phone nearly in tears because, once again, all of the publishers told me no. So that was sort of the publishers told me no. So that was sort of the beginning of publishing for me.
J.D. Myall :Can you tell them about your journey from self-published to now?
Sadeqa Johnson:Yeah. So after that devastating moment when I realized that my book was not going to be published, my husband was sort of like, ok, so what do we need to do to get this book out in the world? And I said, well, we need an editor. And he said, why don't we just hire an editor? And I thought, like it was like I knew that self-publishing was a vehicle but I was so rigidly attached to doing it the traditionally publishing way because that's what I knew. But it was almost like the moment I said yes to it, everything opened up. It's not for the faint at heart. So I don't want to make it like it's this easy thing, because self-publishing self is the key word, right. So I was the sales manager. I literally would call up bookstores and use an alias. My friends call me D and my maiden name is Murray. So I would call up the local bookstore and be like hey, little bookshop, hey, mahogany Books, this is D Murray, calling from 12th Street Press. I got this great book lovingving to Carry on Bag. Can I send you a couple of copies? We literally was going up and down the East Coast with retractables and going to every book festival where we could buy a table and then I'm standing on the street hoaxing people over to my table. I had candy, I had cute kids with Loving to Carry on t-shirts, like anything you could think of. We were out there doing it, and so it was definitely a street hustle to begin. It wasn't just, it was grassroots is probably the better way to say it. There was a lot of grassroots in the beginning of my publishing journey, but we just kept at it. We did this for over a year or two and I finally was nominated for the Phyllis Wheatley Award, which was an award connected to the Harlem Book Festival, which was one of those ones that I came. You know, I was on stage, I had musicians, I mean I thought with a theater background, it was very easy to to up the ante a little bit and make myself stand out from the other authors.
Sadeqa Johnson:And so from there I won the Phyllis Wheatley Award and after I won that award, my editor and I think you guys have met Cherise Fisher, who's my agent, but she was my editor at the time and I remember she was trying to help me find an agent and I said to her I said no one loves me the way you do I said you really need to be my agent. And at the same moment she was starting to feel like she wanted to transition into agenting. And so that's how we went from the editorial relationship to the agent relationship. Well, she took my next novel to market and she came back to me and she said well, we're going to let everybody think about it over the weekend and I'll call you on. And she said well, we're gonna let everybody think about it over the weekend and I'll call you on Monday.
Sadeqa Johnson:But you remember I had gone through this already, right, standing, waiting, hoping, and I remember the first time I was like God, just anybody. Like I'll take anybody Anybody, please say yes. But now I've been around the block a little bit, right. And so my prayer changed to let me be able to choose who I want to have a relationship with. Right, because now I've learned some things and I realized that I'm bringing something to the table too, and I think that's what we as writers sometimes forget, is that we want to be chosen, but we also need to recognize what our worth is and what we're bringing to the table.
Sadeqa Johnson:And so my thought changed and my prayer changed, and so when Sharif called me on that Monday she said I have three from three different publishing houses that would love to publish your book. Why don't we sit down and look at these offers and see which one is giving you something that you have not already given yourself? Right, because I had already put out a book myself, I could easily do it again. So who of these three are offering you something? And so St Martin's Press had offered me a hardcover, and they had offered me a two-book deal, and so that was the beginning for me, going from self-published into traditionally published. Awesome.
J.D. Myall :Let's see. Can you share insight on your writing process?
Sadeqa Johnson:So my writing process I am a full-time writer, I was. I was I, you know, when my kids were home I felt like I was a full-time mom and a part-time you know writer. But now my kids are teenagers and they're all off to school and and for the last few years, I would say since Yellow Wife I felt pretty much like this was my full-time job. I try to get up. It's been a little tricky, I have to be 100% honest. When I had kids here anchoring my time, then it was like get up at six o'clock, drive this one to the train, do this, do that. And now I'm like gosh, I don't have anybody to hold me accountable, but my goal is to be at my desk by 7.30.
Sadeqa Johnson:So I wake up, I pray and I meditate, and I always meditate before I start my writing, and I think that that is a central part of writing. It's one that I hope that you all will take and adopt it for yourself. And so I try to meditate for 10 to 15 minutes every morning before I write, and what that does is, first of all, it sort of clears my head out, it makes space for the creativity to flow and it just gives a chance for ideas to drop, in that maybe if I didn't take that time to quiet my brain, my brain's all jumbly so when I sit down to write, all that jumble is sort of in the way of getting to my first layer of writing. So I meditate first. I try to do my morning pages.
Sadeqa Johnson:This week I haven't been good at them, but you know, three is a lot for me. So one or two morning pages is usually good, A little bit of a gratitude list, a little bit of spiritual music to kind of get me and write, to write. And then I spend anywhere between four to five hours. Writing is normal. But when I'm really jammed up and having to get something out, I'm shooting for that seven to eight hours a day writing. And I write Monday through Friday for the most part. Sometimes Fridays I get a little bit like oh, it's Friday, I'll just do like two hours so that I could say I did something. But it's the weekend and I do give myself off for the weekend. So I'm still thinking about the story, but I'm not physically at my desk writing the story, because your brain also needs a little bit of space too from writing.
J.D. Myall :Can you give us some advice on writing a compelling opening Like what do you think are the essential elements of the first page?
Sadeqa Johnson:the opening right Because the opening scene is such a big deal. What I do when I'm having a moment and I can't get that opening scene right is I go read the opening scenes of some of my favorite books for inspiration. I think the more you know your character. So I always start with character bios, like I have an idea when I'm writing a novel, or I have a moment in history, you know, like for Yellow Wife, I have a or I have a moment in history, you know, like for Yellow Wife, I knew I was writing about this moment in history this jail.
Sadeqa Johnson:You know this woman being married um to, to the jailer, so I knew this moment in history, um. So then I have to find out all the pieces around it. But I'll do a a quick bio bio sketch on my off, on my edit, on my characters prior to, but that's not their final bio, do you know what I mean? It's like sort of to get me going so that I could kind of get their backstory down and know a little bit about them. But as I go, draft to draft, that bio is going to change and it's going to deepen. So I think, a little bit of knowing who your character is, reading those opening pages of your favorite books to kind of motivate you. And also, you know, a lot of times I'll sit at my desk and I'll write to my characters. You know, for instance, now I'm working with a character named Sophia and I'll say to her like hey, sophia, what are you doing, what's going on, how are you feeling? And I'll write that in my journal and I'll try to hear her response and write it as well too, so that we're making that connection. So those are some of the tricks that I use to kind of get into that story and start it off.
Sadeqa Johnson:What makes a good villain? I mean, I think, to begin with, you have to plunge your characters into danger, right, we can't protect them. We love them, we love them, we love them, but we have to plunge them into danger. Her wants how bad do they want it? How far are they willing to get it and what's in the way of them getting it? And what's in the way of them getting it is often, usually something that's pretty. The stakes need to be pretty high, right, and so I don't necessarily have villains as much as well. I mean, I guess, if I think about, well, villain always makes me think of, like you know, a superhero book like Batman is up against, you know, but in my stories it's more, like you know, like in Yellow Wife, it was like Phoebe, and I guess you would look at the jailer as her villain, right?
Sadeqa Johnson:Yes, okay, so if I'm thinking of it in those terms, when I was writing Yellow Wife and I was thinking about writing the character of the jailer, I knew that he was a man with both ways and never know which way he was going to go was definitely the challenge for me and, early on, the comment that I kept getting back from my agent Sharice, was like I can't see him, he's not scary enough. I don't believe it. You got to go a little bit deeper. Which you want to have? An agent, an editor, a critique group around you that's going to call you on that, because those type of comments are the ones that make you better. So I definitely struggled with. I struggled a bit with making him full circle, but I think he came together nicely in the end.
J.D. Myall :How do you avoid the dreaded saggy middle?
Sadeqa Johnson:middle that is. I mean, who hates the sagging middle? Please raise your hand, because that is totally me and actually the novel that I'm working on now. I've been working on the first hundred pages for probably far too long, but it's probably because I am avoiding getting to that squishy middle of the story. What I do is I break it down into small bites, though.
Sadeqa Johnson:So I always outline my story part one, part two, part three. For the most part that's how I do it right. So part one I'm usually kind of jam and I know exactly what's going on. I know how part one's gonna end, I know how part two is gonna end. But it's all of those details in the middle of the story that sometimes throw me off. So I try and break it into chunks and again, I'm always looking to up the ante for my protagonist. So you know, she wants this, she doesn't get it, she wants this. Oh, she really doesn't get it, she doesn't, she wants this. And, oh my gosh, crash, crash, crash, crash. Everything falls apart, and so I have to kind of break it down into small chunks, what I'm working towards. That helps a little bit, but the squishy middle is the squishy middle y'all, and we just got to stick with it like trudging through the snow with no boots. I love that.
J.D. Myall :How do you craft a compelling end Like how do you tie it all up with a bow at the end?
Sadeqa Johnson:So my stories do not have a bow at the end. I don't know how that happened, but it has. I do like a nice tied up story with a bow at the end, but none of my novels are like that. So what I'm trying to do when I get to the end of the story, when I'm writing a novel, I'm thinking that this is just a moment in these characters' lives, right? And so if it's six months in this character's life, this is what happens from beginning to end.
Sadeqa Johnson:When I get to the end, I don't always know an idea what's gonna happen at the end of the story, but I don't have all the details and sometimes, when I'm in that squishy middle, that's when I start getting those extra little details that I need to tie the story up.
Sadeqa Johnson:I just trust myself through the process too. So as I'm going through it, I have to trust myself and I have to trust my characters, because oftentimes I will have a plan for them, but then they drop a plan into me and their plan is always better than the one that I had. So sometimes I'll you know, most times I will deviate and go in their direction and it hurts, right it for me. It hurts to like not stick to that quick plan that I had and to see the character veering left and it's like dang it, I don't really want to go left because I had all this planned out. But when I do go left it's like, oh, oh, yeah, that works. So I'm always kind of trusting myself through the process, trusting my characters and giving myself room to deviate from that plan that I have, because it always gets better that I have because it always gets better.
J.D. Myall :Love that. How do you balance researching historical fiction with creating a compelling story Like? How do you balance the historical accuracy with the fantasy and the fiction?
Sadeqa Johnson:Yeah. So Yellow Wife was my fourth novel and it was my first time writing historical fiction and it wasn't anything that I had planned. I was very happy writing contemporary fiction because those first three books were all about me. Right, I could work out all my therapy issues and all my family issues and all my problems in those first three books. And then I'm on the Richmond Slave Trail in Richmond and just feel the hairs on my arms stand up as I'm walking on the Richmond Slave Trail and everything in my body is saying you need to be paying attention.
Sadeqa Johnson:And when I discovered the story of Mary Lumpkins and the Lumpkins jail, it was like the ancestors got in the car with me and followed me home because they just kept like after me to research and look and figure things out. And I just, I'm sorry, I feel like my computer's about to die and I did not plug it up one second. Not plug it up one second. I felt like I wanted to read the story but I didn't feel qualified to write the story. I thought that to be a historical fiction writer, there was a special skill set you had. Maybe you needed to take particular classes or get a degree, or you needed to be a history major in college and I didn't think that I was. I didn't have any of that history major in college and I didn't think that I was. I didn't have any of that. So I had to figure this thing out.
Sadeqa Johnson:Once I said yes to writing the story. So what I did to start with was I went to my agent had told me Sharice told me very early on she was like you can't write this story from Google. Google will not write this 1850s historical novel, like you need to go into somebody's library and check out some books. So I went to the Library of Virginia which happens to be in Richmond, which is great for me because that's only about 25 minutes from my house and I went and I got periodicals that took place during that time. I got books about Richmond slavery specifically because, as we know, you know, that's a really big subject. But I needed to pare it down.
Sadeqa Johnson:I read a lot of books. I read books by people specifically because my thought was you could read a textbook but there's going to be a little bit space, a little bit of space between the person writing the textbook and what you receive, but if you get it from the person who actually went through it and had that experience, that's going to read a little bit differently. So I submersed myself in my time period. I was on the beach reading the Incident in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs, when everybody else was reading Jodi Picoult or something like that, right, having a good time, and I'm all like, oh my gosh, the world is so crazy. So I immerse myself, I am watching movies, I'm watching documentaries, all of that.
Sadeqa Johnson:And when I was working on the House of Eve it was similar. It wasn't because it's not as far back. The story takes place 100 years later. So Yellow Wife was the 1850s, the House of Eve was the 1950s and so for that and I was able to pick my mom's brain she was born in the 50s but I was able to ask her about her childhood and things that happen in her own family to get a feel for it. And the book starts in Philadelphia in some places, and so you know a lot of the scenes that happen in Ruby's life in the House of Eve in North Philadelphia were from my mom. She grew up in North Philadelphia. Those apartments that she lived in, those were the apartments that my mom described to me, so don't discount. You know oral history and writing from what you learn from your family and other people. You can get stuff out of books, but talking to people always takes it up another notch.
J.D. Myall :Awesome. What advice do you have for aspiring authors who want to write historical novels?
Sadeqa Johnson:Just in general. I would say my advice to writers in general is show up for your writing, Schedule it the way you would a dental appointment, right? Like I said, I try and show up every day at 730. Right, that's my, that's my time. I want to be at my desk by 730. So what time? And most people have day jobs and then they write when they get a chance. So is it? You know six o'clock for you. You get off work, you come home, you change your clothes and you write from six to eight. You come home, you change your clothes and you write from six to eight.
Sadeqa Johnson:When my kids were really little, like preschool, I would things I had to do with them, and then every day from four to six pm, that was my writing time. I had a local 15 year old who came to the house and she would sit in the living room and play with them for two hours and I would go into the basement where my computer was and that was my writing time, and then at six o'clock I would come up and fix dinner for them and then we would go in with our night. But I was very specific about getting my time in. So whatever it looks like. If you decide that it's two hours a day for you, schedule it the way you would schedule anything else, you have to put your writing a lot of times. You have to put it first, meaning above going to dinner with your friends, you know, above you know having. I mean, I don't want to. I don't want you to put it ahead of working out, because working out and writing is just as important. But the same way you're like I'm going to that spin class, I want you to be like I'm going to go write for two hours at Starbucks, so scheduling the time and sticking to it to me, if you do that, that's like right there, you are already ahead of the game. If you say five days a week, this is my writing schedule, you are already ahead of the game.
Sadeqa Johnson:And that's the way that I've always approached writing For historical fiction. I think you just have to find something that sets your soul on fire. Like I said, it wasn't my goal ever to write historical fiction, and now I don't even know how I could not write historical fiction, because it's just set my soul on fire to be able to go into these dark spaces of history and shine a light and bring these stories of women who we don't know. We don't learn these things in school, and so this sets my soul on fire. I would say in any writing, you want to feel lit up on the inside. This story only can be written by you. It wants to come through you.
Sadeqa Johnson:But I also want to say, don't wait and sit on it too long, because I think Elizabeth Gilbert talks about this in Big Magic a little bit is that stories choose you, right, they choose us, and so you only have a certain amount of time to say yes to a story before it gets cold and it dries up, and then that story goes and choose another writer, and then you end up at your local Harriet bookstore and you see my name on your book, because the story then came and found me and then I wrote the book. So protect your stories. They're like little embryos. They need to be nourished, they need you to show up, they want you to keep feeding them so they can grow and grow and grow and grow and tell those stories that you feel compelled to tell.
J.D. Myall :How has your life changed since publication?
Sadeqa Johnson:How has my life changed? Well, the first, I mean I feel like going from being a self-published author with loving to carry on that, to being a published author for Second House, from the Corner. And Then there Was Me. Those are my contemporary books.
Sadeqa Johnson:It didn't change that much because that same grassroots hustler that I was when I was self-published, I had to bring that same attitude to my first two books, because when you're a new author, be prepared that the publishing house is going to give you a little bit of help, but they're also going to leave a lot of it up to you, like building your platform, making sure you have a newsletter, knowing who your audience is, how to reach your audience, like all of those things that I learned from being a self-published author. I had to still use those skills for my first two books, and so it didn't feel like it changed much. The biggest thing was that I didn't have to print the book. I didn't have to be the sales manager, I could just promote it, right. But then when Yellow Wife came out, I think with each book, the more notoriety I got for the books, the better. The publisher looked at me differently, right, and so you sell more books than the publisher is like oh, we got a winner.
Sadeqa Johnson:Okay, let's push Sadiqa back out on book tour. Are you willing to go? And I'm like, yes, because you know I was hustling on the street the first book. So, yeah, they asked me to go somewhere. I'm definitely going, right.
Sadeqa Johnson:And so the more you collaborate with your publishing house and show them that you have something to bring to new light on the map as far as publishing. But then with the House of Eves getting the Reese Witherspoon pick and then making the New York Times bestselling New York Times bestsellers list, it's almost like that elevated me in the eyes of the publisher. So some of those doors that have been locked previously are now wide open, right. So now I'm going places that I wasn't going to before. I'm being asked to show up at events that before had been closed to me. But it's because that same person who I was as a self-published author hustling, hustling, hustling I'm still that same person today and they see value in that, and so that's the biggest change is that the more I've been moving in my career, more doors have been opening for me.
J.D. Myall :How did you respond when you found out you made the bestsellers list? How did you celebrate?
Sadeqa Johnson:Well, so first I'll back up to reads, because that happened first and I knew that I was being submitted to some of the celebrity book clubs. But you know, I wasn't really thinking about it and I remember it was I don't know probably September, late September, early October. And my editor said, hey, can you jump on a Zoom call with us? And I'm telling you, it was one of those days where, when it's warm, I write on my stump porch and so normally I have much bigger hair right, so you can just imagine all the humidity sitting outside. I got on like this ratty t-shirt and usually I'll get dressed up for a meeting with the publisher, but I'm like, just jump on. So I jump on the call and it's like my editor, both of my agents, other people, my publicist, people from people I don't even know, and my my editor says I just want to let you know that the house of Eve has been selected as a Reese with a spoon book club pick. The only caveat, cause the book at the time was a March publication date. The only caveat is that we need to move it to February. So if you're okay with that, then you're the February pick and I'm like she can publish the book tomorrow. If she wants to, of course, I'm okay with it. So it was this wonderfully surprisingly moment, and I had to sit on it from end of September to when it was announced in February. You literally can't tell anyone. So I was able to tell my husband, but that was it. And then I went on book tour in February and I was in Jackson, Mississippi I think it might've been Valentine's day. I was in Jackson Mississippi and waiting for an Uber. So Jackson I don't know if anybody's from Jackson, but it's not like a, it's a city, but it's not like a Philadelphia city, Right? So I'm thinking I'm going to call an Uber and it's going to be there in like three minutes, while the Uber is like 20 minutes away. So I'm in the lobby waiting for my Uber and, same thing, my agent calls me, my editor calls me. She's like hang on, let me patch your agent in. And then they told me that I made the list, and so I just remember walking around the lobby like oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh. This is the moment.
Sadeqa Johnson:Making the New York Times bestsellers list is the moment that I had been dreaming of since I decided that I was going to self-publish Love and a Carry-On Bag myself. My goal was always to make the New York Times bestsellers list, and it didn't happen overnight. It took five books to get there. It took publishing my own book. It took hustling everywhere I could imaginably get my book into people's hands. So it took a while to get there. But that was always the goal for me, and so it's crazy that I was by myself when I got the news. I had nobody to celebrate with. I ended up having to go. I was on my way to a book event and I couldn't say anything because I think it's not, it's not published into a certain time. So I couldn't even tell the people at the bookstore. So it was like this moment that I, it was just me. It was, it was just me.
Sadeqa Johnson:Do you have any other advice you want to give aspiring authors I would love to share with you guys. I want you guys to share back with me too. So let me know what you're thinking by getting your questions ready. As far as additional advice, I would say don't get caught up in what's popular right now, because I've never done that and my books always come out and they're timely. So, for instance, the Health of Eve deals with women's reproductive rights. I couldn't have planned the fact that we will be going through what we're going through right now in this country regarding abortion and all of those, you know, fundamental rights that we're used to having. But I was already writing the story. I think I was on the fifth draft when Roe v Wade was overturned in June. So write the story that you feel, and the world and the trends will fit itself around your story.
J.D. Myall :Love that. Does anybody have any questions for Sadiqa tonight? Does anybody have any questions for Sadiqa tonight?
Speaker 5:I do Actually a comment and a question, so without saying too much, because I don't know who read it and who didn't, but a little bit is. I read both the Yellow Wife and I read the House of Eve and I was really flabbergasted at the end when that portion of yellow-white tied into that, like I didn't see it coming. And it was so perfectly done even though I didn't see it coming. Was that intentional, did you?
Sadeqa Johnson:Yes, it was intentional and it was something that I decided very early on, because Second House from the Corner so my first book, loving to Carry on Bag characters carry over into Second House from the Corner. So, even though I'm writing a whole, completely new story, if you love Loving to Carry on Bag, you get a peek at those characters that you love so much, even though it's a brand new story. And so that was what I was saying. I was like, how can I connect these two books from 1850 to 1950, right. And so when I figured it out, I thought, oh, for the people who love Yellow White, they're gonna be really excited to see this little small nugget, this little Easter egg that brings these two books together. And, ironically, the novel that I'm working on now I already know that there is a carryover characters into the new book. That's going to also, I hope, make your heart flutter.
Speaker 5:That was nice. And my second is congratulations on your publication of the House of Eve in Italy. Tell us about that. That had to be wild.
Sadeqa Johnson:Yes, oh, thank you for asking about that. I never think to think but talk about foreign rights. So again, I think I've mentioned that I'm a big visioner, like I have a vision board, and so always on my vision board are certain things, and so one of the things that I've been trying to bring in is foreign rights, because I have friends who are like, oh, my book is published in 30 languages. I'm like what, how did you do that? And so I've been on my 30 languages. I'm like what, how did you do that, you know? And so I've been on my my agents. I'm like, talk to the foreign rights agent, like get my books out there. And so Yellow Wife was the first time that I got a foreign right and it was Brazilian.
Sadeqa Johnson:So that was my first um time and so I was really excited about that. But I'm like greedy, give me more, give me more Right. And so when the house of these was coming out, we you know my agent she pushed it, she pushed it, she pushed it. She wasn't getting a lot of yeses until I got the Reese pick. And so once I got the Reese pick, then I started to get.
Sadeqa Johnson:I started to get yeses, so it's Italian. I started to get yeses, so it's Italian, dutch, norwegian, russian, the UK, portuguese, and I think I'm forgetting one more. So I think I have six or seven right now for the House of Eve and they come out at different times. So it's already been published in the UK. The Italian and the Portuguese version has come out, but I have a few that haven't come out yet, and it's just a matter of my agent and the foreign rights agent pushing it to say you know, they have the connections with these other companies and then bringing the rights in, and so that's that's how it happened. But it's really exciting because, again, another thing that I've really wanted for a long time, another thing that I've really wanted for a long time.
Speaker 5:I have one more question, just one more about that, though. Um. So I had Eric Smith's publishing class, which is absolutely like amazing, and he brought in um a foreign, a foreign, um rights agent, and she talked about getting those that sometimes like, like, the cover may be changed, or the title, and somewhat has changed was anything? Did they keep the house of eve as is or did they change anything? The cover, the character's name, something of that nature?
Sadeqa Johnson:yeah. So for yellow wife and the brazilian version they had to they changed it because I think yellow wife was something derogatory were like, no, we can't do that. So they changed it to Phoebe I think it's just called Phoebe, if I remember correctly. So they changed the title for Yellow Wife For the House of E. Everybody kept the title but, like you saw, the Italian version changed the cover and I think the German version another version somebody changed the title too. And I think even when they changed the title my agent was like that doesn't even sound like the House of Eve and they're like no, trust me, you know, sometimes you have to trust them because they're like we know our market and so you know we give a little pushback, but then oftentimes it's like okay, we're going to trust you. So it really depends on what the translation means in that country and if it makes sense or not. So with Yellow Wife it was definitely not a good look and so they changed it to Feedy.
J.D. Myall :Awesome. Any more questions? Yes, Lee.
Speaker 5:Yeah, I just wanted to ask you about you mentioned a vision board.
J.D. Myall :And I just wondered how that worked. It sounds like something that might be kind of right up my alley, so can you describe it a little bit?
Sadeqa Johnson:Absolutely, and I keep it in my closet. I would take my computer in there to see. You guys can see it, but my closet is probably a little messy. But what I do is is I take like a big sheet of paper and first what I do is I put on. So everything is like a ritual for me, right? So I have to burn some sage, add some incense, light some candles, get the good mojo energy going, and then I put on some kind of music that feels like in my heart, right, like something that feels like I'm having a rebirth, I'm having an experience, like something is happening here, right? So I got to set the scene and then I have a big sheet of paper and I usually use a Sharpie and I'll write out like and I try and do it at the beginning of the year this year was so busy.
Sadeqa Johnson:This is the first year that I didn't do my vision board going into the year, but the one that I did last year is still kind of bearing fruit, so it was okay and I would put like what my mission statement is for the year or what my word is for the year, like elevate or flourish or multiply, or whatever my word is. And then I break up the vision board in sections. So one section would be my writing career and what I'm trying to bring into fruition. So, like the New York Times bestseller Oprah's always on my list, because who doesn't want to have an encounter with Auntie O right? So you know what awards I want to win speaking, engagement, money, like all of those things. And then I might have another section that's just about like my family, like happy, healthy children, you know that sort of thing. Then maybe a section for travel, places that I want to go, and I break it up based on what makes sense.
Sadeqa Johnson:And then for the, for the career I had teaching, right, and look at this, I've been teaching in the MFA program for a few years now, but that was on my vision board and it was in the middle of my vision board because that's what I really wanted to bring, you know, into my, into my, into my life, and you know, and as things happen, I go into my closet with a highlighter and I highlight the things that come to fruition, because it's like a thank you. It's like I'm saying to you thank you, bring me more, thank you, bring me more, thank you, bring me more. And I usually try and do it at the beginning of the year. So I missed this year, but the one that I did last year is still bearing fruit, but I will do a new one at the top of the year. I hope that was helpful. Thank you, you're welcome. I think Dionne has her hand up.
Speaker 7:Hi, dionne, how are you? Good to see you? Well, I don't really have a question, I just have a comment. First and foremost, I think that the House of Eves is an incredible body of work and not only is it entertaining, for me it's very educational. I don't want to give a lot of it away, but like thinking about the stuff where, like how pregnancy tests were done in the 1940s, and when I came across that part I was like wow, I know she did a lot of research, like in the days of Claire Blue Easy, like to have to do all that, like that was really thought provoking.
Speaker 7:And then also the part of the House of Eve and like what that was and like you know, the experiences of rubies and probably countless other young women that will never you know, know and hear about. It's like it makes you, it makes me sad for those young women that will never you know, know and hear about. It's like it makes you, it makes me sad for those young women. Some of them were there by consensual situations, some of them were there by, you know, assault and stuff like that. So just thinking about like those types of places, that they exist, it makes you think we have come a long way, but then again, unfortunately, we still have a long way to go. So I just want to thank you for your body of work.
Sadeqa Johnson:Thank you so much. I appreciate that. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
J.D. Myall :Any other questions?
Speaker 6:Hi, how are you? My name is. I'm a new student in this program, really excited to hear from you. I feel like you are like my sister, ken. I'm from Harlem, I'm in New York right now. I do my meditation, all that but and also I love history. My question for you is how do you know when to stop the research?
Sadeqa Johnson:And you know as you go and you sift through when is how, do you know? Well, I have to say that Harlem has a very special place in my life. When I was in college, I lived on 130th Street between 5th and Lenox, and I just saw my college roommates and we lived in a. We lived at 12 West.
Speaker 6:And we see each other. We're like 12 West. Well, I'm from the Lincoln Projects 135th and Madison.
Sadeqa Johnson:So when I'm doing the research, how do I know when to stop? Well, I have to say that research is so delicious and it is so easy to research. Research is easier than writing. Right Writing is not always easy and you got to focus and you got to strap in and you got to settle in and so, with Young Wife, I gave myself because it was my first time I gave myself six, four months of research and as I was researching it, I was taking what I thought was really good notes.
Sadeqa Johnson:But when I'm completely honest, I'm a little bit like the messy professor. I know that there are better ways to keep your research notes. I know some people use Scrivener. I can't figure that darn thing out. I'm very old school. I have pictures on the wall, I have timelines on my wall, I use notebooks. I'm sure there's a quicker, faster way, but that's my way right. And so I would research and I had a five-subject notebook and I separated by whatever I needed to separate and I plugged in my research notes.
Sadeqa Johnson:But with the House of Eve I realized that I did a little bit. I did my research a little bit shorter and got into the story, and then, when I hit up against something, then I would maybe stop to do a little research on that. So I do a big research up front and then I write. And then if I bump up against something I don't know, like in Yellow Wife, I've done all this research and I'm in the first chapter and Phoebe goes into the house because she's not usually the one who dresses the mistress, and she goes to dress the mistress and I'm like, oh gosh, I did all this research. Well, what does she have on and how do you tie a corset? And so I'll stop and get those details and then I'll feed it into the story.
Speaker 6:Thank you so much. And, funny thing, my daughter's name is Phoebe. Oh wow.
Sadeqa Johnson:And funny thing my daughter's name is Phoebe.
J.D. Myall :Oh wow, I love the fact that you visited the Black sororities in the House of Eve too, because, you know, I know a lot of that history from hearing my grandmother talk and stuff like that, but I've never seen it in a book before.
Sadeqa Johnson:So that was cool.
J.D. Myall :Thank you. Anybody else have any questions? No, okay, well, I appreciate you for giving us this time and all this great information. I'm sure we'll use it to enrich our stories and grow as writers. Oh, I'm sorry, we have a question from tori and no, we go ahead. Oh, I was just, um, you know, celebrating. Thank you, tori again. Um, if you guys get the chance to work with Sadiqa, she is the awesome, the most awesome, well, one of the most awesome. I had some great packet exchange teachers, but she was one of my faves. She did a fabulous job, really elevated my writing and I greatly appreciate her and I greatly appreciate knowing me and this wonderful program. I hope you guys do. For those of you that are still in school, hey, good to meet you.
J.D. Myall :Um, can't tell you my real name right now because we're airing this but you know, hopefully I'll see you at the alumni events and I can tell you all in person and, like I said, it's been a great night. We appreciate you knowing me, we appreciate you Sadiqa, we appreciate you everybody. That's here, jamie Moe Angel everybody, I know everybody know hey, good to meet you.
Sadeqa Johnson:Thank you guys so much. Yeah, this has been such an honor and a pleasure. Thank you for allowing me to have this time with you. I hope that you guys got something from my story. I just want to leave you with some encouraging words to say that there's no accident while you were here. We are storytellers, that that we, we all, have a purpose, right, and so our purpose is to tell stories. If we don't tell our stories, then who will? And so I charge you with showing up for your writing, making a schedule. It could be 30 minutes, like I think two hours, is good, but it could be 30 minutes, like 30 minutes a day, and before you know it, you have 50 pages. So write that story that you feel in your heart. Don't let anybody discourage you. You know, put your writing first, and I can't wait to read your books on the shelf. Thank you so much. You all have a great evening.
J.D. Myall :Thank you guys. Thank you again, Naomi.
Sadeqa Johnson:Good night, you guys, thank you. Good night, you guys, thank you Good night.
Speaker 8:That wraps up today's Craft Chat Chronicles with JD Mayor. Thanks for joining us. If you liked the episode, please comment, subscribe and share. For show notes, writing workshops and tips, head t. That's j. While you're there, join JD's mailing list for updates, giveaways.