Today we’d like to introduce you to Ronald Preston Clark.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I started writing ‘Vinnie’ in December 2015 for fellow educator and writer Erica Buddington’s website as a guest fiction writer. From that point until March 22, 2018, I wrote 28,088 words both on and off her site. That seems like a lot. But when you remember that I was writing a novel, it clearly wasn’t. Trust me. I wrote off-and-on, mostly off, for almost 2.5 years before hitting a stretch from March 22nd to May 26th where I wrote exactly 61.4% of the novel. It was an emotional whirlwind. It was emotionally taxing. My friends and family knew that it was pretty pointless to ask me to do anything because I was so busy writing, so focused on finishing this piece.
And due to their love, support and understanding, I now have a 73,000-word novel that will be released both on Kindle and in print on November 9th. A book release party will follow on November 10th in San Diego with time and place to be announced on August 1st. Folks are going to be too busy with the November election to be worried about my little ol’ book, so I moved the release date from November 2nd. It seems like a long time from now, but with everything, my team and I plan to do in preparation for its release, that four months or so will seem like a blur.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Nothing I have ever done, nor do, is smooth. Difficulties are always there, always present. But I seem to be at my best when that is the case. I feed off the support of those around me and I was not getting it from a place I would have wanted to. There was never a sense of push, support, of excitement. It was lacking, and when I did hit days at a time where I was writing consistently and excited, I’d hear things like, “you’re talking about Vinnie too much”. Statements like that were deflating. The story started to be an afterthought of my day-to-day instead of at the forefront where it belonged. So, around early-March, I had two consecutive personal losses.
The first was emotional, painful, shocking, and still difficult to speak about, so I won’t here. The second, though, ended up being the loss I needed to finish writing ‘Vinnie’. The removal of this entity gave me the mental and emotional space I didn’t realize I was lacking. The loss was so hard to deal with – is so hard to deal with – that ‘Vinnie’ became my emotional escape, my therapy, my cathartic company. I reverted all my emotional energy into this story, and I found my support system that was necessary to keep going. Tiara Carr, one of my best friends from my time at Hampton University, became my consistent beta reader and proofreader, constantly in my ear making sure that I was writing all the time and celebrating every minor and major accomplishment along the way.
Mike Okenwa, my best friend from my time at Morse High School, allowed me to stay at his home in Arizona for four days during my spring break. I wrote 9400 words in those four days, providing me with the initial burst I needed to complete the novel. Others like Michele Byrd, Jay Scott, Christina Sturdivant, Kristyl Smith, Amen Ra, Ian Moreland, Dominique Roberson, Justin Martin, Gerald Carroll, Cheryl Carr, Courtney Sanders, Iman Milner, Marquetta Brown, Chante Tabron, the list goes on of people who either read my work as I was writing or provided me with constant, continuous, loving support. And I would not be here without them. Due to their love, I wrote 45,000 words from March 22nd to May 26th.
There was nothing in my life more important than ‘Vinnie’ during that two-month stretch. I get emotional just recalling that time and how much I was able to accomplish. It just showed me what I am capable of when I surround myself with the right support system. I am thankful, grateful and blessed to have such amazing people around me.
And now, I have a full-length novel that will bless bookcases around the country come November. I do not have an agent. I have received multiple ‘passes’ on this story. That rejection stings for about 30 seconds, I smile and pocket it as motivation. Self-publishing this piece only seems right, it seems personal, it feels real. Having more control over its production and the timing of it all, for a piece I am this emotionally connected to, is exactly what this moment needs. This process is, and always will be, a story of resilience and perseverance. And I am proud of every step, even the arduous ones.
A novel, ‘Vinnie: a love letter’ – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
‘Vinnie: a love letter’ is my first completed novel. I have written screenplays. I am a published poet. And my degree is in journalism, a profession I left to pursue screenwriting despite having the respect of the industry and a bright future. But with all that I have written, ‘Vinnie’ is by far my best work. It opened me up to so much through the eyes and mind of this 14-year-old boy. His views on toxic masculinity, femininity, religion, friendship, fatherhood, race, patriarchy, education, and the like, awakened me to aspects of our humanity that I either glossed over and needed to pay more attention to, or I needed to allow space in my realm, even if I might not agree with it myself.
I did not write ‘Vinnie’. Vinnie wrote ‘Vinnie’, and understand it from that perspective allowed me not to question anything that may or may not have ended up on the page. He had to tell his story, and I was his vessel to do so, and I took my role very seriously. I am proud of what was accomplished on those pages and it will be unlike anything anyone has ever read. The tears, the laughter, the frustration, the anger, the love, the pain, the questions elicited from this story are going to stay with readers well beyond their time actually reading it. This book can change lives and perspectives. I am just excited about putting it out there for the world to see.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success is always bringing others with you. It is reaching back and making sure that your peers and young people have an opportunity to join you on your quest to be however great you want to be. To me, going at anything with a solo mindset is selfish. Nobody should want to be successful by themselves. That is hollow.
As an educator, I push literacy wherever I go. I keep books on me – donated by some of the amazing people from my network and beyond – to give to young people. I want them all reading. I want them all succeeding. And what better way to grow that love of reading than to provide my own addition to their literary options. I didn’t write ‘Vinnie’ so I could have a book to sell. It was never a money grab or anything of the sort. It was simply because I needed to write it. My success is knowing that I was able to start a project and 2.5 years later be able to finish it. I persevered.
Through personal loss, financial strain, emotional emptiness, lack of support. I persevered through it all. I have a full-length novel in my hands. That is my success.
Anything after is just icing on a relentless cake. If I make my family and friends proud, sign a few books, get a little critical acclaim and get to take a picture with Trevor Noah as he holds up a copy of ‘Vinnie: a love letter’, I’ll be a happy man.
Pricing:
- ‘Vinnie: a love letter’ will be either $15 or $20 depending on where you get it
Contact Info:
- Website: vinniebyrprestonclark.squarespace.com
- Email: rprestonclark@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rprestonclark/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ronald.p.clark
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/rprestonclark
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