Scripting a novel is not easy.
\nIt\u2019s not as easy as coming up with an idea and sitting down at the computer to punch it out.
\nThe idea has to be refined. Months and sometimes years of research must be completed. The writing itself can also take years.
\nThen, an editor must proofread the copy before it is sent to a publisher (if you can find one that\u2019s interested in the work). Finally \u2013 and if its accepted \u2013 it needs to be promoted.
\nSound easy? It\u2019s not.
\nAsk Jerry Zolten. The Warriors Mark resident and recently published author, traveled to the Tyrone Area High School on Friday to tell students just what it took to complete his latest offering to the literary world \u2013 Great God A\u2019Mighty: The Dixie Hummingbird and the Rise of Soul Gospel Music.
\n\u201cThe thing I tell people the most is that if you have ambitions, try to break it down into little digestible steps that you can do,\u201d said Zolten, who became interested in writing after drafting his first published story for a collegiate newspaper during his student years. \u201cAttack it one step at a time. That way, you won\u2019t get overwhelmed.\u201d
\nThat was his approach to The Dixie Hummingbirds, which was published this year by Oxford University Press. The 364-page novel details the rise of the famous gospel group from its roots in the 1940s to its 1974 Grammy-winning collaboration on \u201cLoves Me Like a Rock.\u201d
\nZolten explained the information gathering was the toughest facet of his novel writing experience. Toughest, yes. But easily the most enjoyable step of the process.
\nHe said during his researching period for his novel, he dug far and wide for information. He read books, looked at microfilm, purchased items from online auctions and, of course, talked to people.
\n\u201cI needed to go to the source,\u201d said Zolten. \u201cI had to talk to the band members, people who knew the band and everybody in between. Luckily, the founding members of the group were still alive in their 80\u2019s in Philadelphia, so I was able to talk with them.\u201d
\nThe brunt of these one-on-one speeches, according to Zolten, came from the band\u2019s founder, James Davis. Zolten said he spent between 10 and 20 hours interviewing with Davis.
\n\u201cEven after that long, there was still work that had to be done,\u201d said Zolten. \u201cI had to take the tape home and transcribe all the information. That took even more time.\u201d
\nZolten said after he spoke to the band members, friends of the band and others who were influenced by its music, it was time to sit down and put everything together.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t think my family saw me much while I was writing,\u201d said Zolten.
\nSo he wrote…and wrote….and wrote.
\nOnce completed, he sent the 600-page manuscript to his publisher. After reviewing it, the publisher returned the document to the author and said it was too long \u2013 they wanted just 400 pages.
\nFinally, after all the revisions were made, the book was published and can now be found on bookstore shelves all across the country. The item retails for $30.
\nIn addition to his extensive writing career, which includes books about public speaking as well as about gospel music, Zolten also teaches a Penn State American Studies course at Penn State, Altoona. At times, the college speech professor has played the role of producer \u2013 especially when he coordinated the production of a CD for the black quartet The Fairfield Four.
\nAt those rare moments when he has the opportunity, Zolten even will pick up his guitar and perform with some local musicians.
\nIn addition to his speech, Zolten also showed a short video and offered a question\/answer session with the 25 students who were in attendance \u2013 all classmates in Rich Merryman\u2019s Ninth Grade Academy English class.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Scripting a novel is not easy. It\u2019s not as easy as coming up with an idea and sitting down at the computer to punch it out. The idea has to be refined. Months and sometimes years of research must be completed. The writing itself can also take years. Then, an editor must proofread the copy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news-in-the-tyrone-pennsylvania-area"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47218","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47218"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47218\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=47218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=47218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}