Today we’d like to introduce you to Ileso DMC.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Ileso. So, let’s start at the beginning, and we can move on from there.
I migrated to the US when I was five years old. It was a struggle to read and write in English. Reading comprehension and literary arts were subjects that I scored poorly in.
But I knew I had to push through because my mother informed me about the purpose of school. She would say, “It is not about getting good grades. It is about how you can handle yourself in that environment. Grades are a measure of your performance. In the workforce, you are measured by your performance. You are promoted and rewarded by your performance.
“Learn it in school, so it is a natural behavior when you are on your own.” Mind you that she did not speak any English at all at the time, a migrant like me, and a recent widow in a foreign country unemployed. She eventually bought her own house, cars, and became a business owner. But that’s another story. I eventually graduated high school with some sense of the English language and the determination to perform well at whatever it was I wanted to do in life.
I have always had storylines in my head but never thought anything of it. Then one day, I just decided to write one of them down and make a story from it. Then I came up with another story. Finally, I decided to write down all my ideas and start them when I finished a manuscript. I have read that your first book is the one that is the toughest for an author. So I picked a manuscript that I believe can hold its own. And so here we are.
Has it been a smooth road?
Smooth ride… pfff, if you call editing this manuscript seven times before having it edited another three times as fun then yea, it was fun. Hahaha! Editing is Cupid’s arrow driving into your heart telling you that your work of art is still flawed. It is painful because you think you found all the errors. The dread of editing again is there because it tells me my editing skills are lacking. It drives me nuts. Then there is marketing.
My goodness, this part of the gig is unflattering and merciless. Think about it. There are thousands of authors yelling out to millions of readers they are the best, most intriguing storyteller around. And I am no different. Trying to find a unique way of doing that is difficult because: 1. Everyone else has already found every unique way of getting someone’s attention. 2. I am not good at getting people’s attention unless I embarrass myself and that isn’t very fun.
Marketing is like a ball of tangled wires. In order to unknot them, you have to trace one wire until you find a knot and unravel it. Then you repeat the process a thousand times until you have one long wire you can use.
We’d love to hear more about what you do.
I am an author, and I currently write young adult science fiction or YA Sci-Fi for short. I couldn’t tell you how I came about writing in YA except that my protagonist happens to be 16 years old. I am most proud of completing this novel titled The Request For Lambency.
The struggle was painful, but the experience is once in a lifetime. All these ‘first-time’ obstacles and rewards will never come again when I write my second novel. It is like graduating from college. The experience is unique, and that sensation will never be there if you walk the stage again.
What sets me apart from the thousands of authors is nothing. I am just like them jumping and hollering for attention. Kicking and screaming that my story is a fantastic story to read. My plan is to gain loyal fans and treat them like family. But I have something in store for my fans. And they will receive my gratitude. So all you future fans out there, let’s walk this road together.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
San Diego is a fabulous resource for up and coming authors. This place is made for you and me. I don’t know if I can say it but a local bookstore, Mysterious Galaxy, has ‘Meet the Author’ events, meetings with successful authors to help the rest of us along, and a great selection of books to see what my genre is doing these days.
If you are starting out then definitely come out here and visit. Check out our local bookstores and their events page to maximize your time. The only improvement I would like to see are more book events like San Diego Festival of Books. This is another great event for authors to network. There are a few more big events like this, but I would always want more.
Contact Info:
- Website: ilesodmc.com
- Email: ilesodmc@yahoo.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ileso_dmc
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/IlesoDMC
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