Redneck Novel

by John P.Schulz
(north Georgia)

Novel Approach to Rednecks

After being prodded by my redneck friends for a long time, I spent a year writing a book about rednecks. We had decided that someone needed to write a redneck book that was something different from just a collection of jokes. We wanted something written with humor and insight, which would also contain a sensitive and compelling story.

The story starts and ends with the death of Harce, a saw miller in the north Georgia mountains. It introduces a number of characters who are involved in Harce's community affairs. The book deals with the capabilities, honor and integrity, and the shortcomings of these people. Requiem for a Redneck is written as a series of short (2500 words or less) vignettes which relate to each other and to the overall feel of the story. The reader will meet Harce, Louann (his "old lady"), Ponytail, and Kickstand among many others.

I spent a year writing the book before hiring an editor, Dekie Hicks, to work on any problems. The first time she handed me a chapter covered with red markings, I argued with her. She grinned and replied, "You ain't Faulkner." I listened after that.

Together, we worked on the editing and revising of the book for over a year. I will never be sorry that I hired a professional editor. Hiring an editor is a very important factor in being happy with the end result.

I learned from Ron Pramschufer at www.selfpublishing.com that in order to be truly self published, one must have a publishing company. That was easy enough to do. Dekie bought a small block of ISBNs and set up Wheredepony Press. My son, John Robert (J.R,) Schulz did all of the artwork and the interior formatting. I feel very fortunate to have had the high level editorial and art work that was available to me. I have found that when self publishing a book, it must be of the same or better quality than a similar one from the big publishers.

Since the appearance of Requiem for a Redneck, I have encountered two frequently asked questions: The first question is: "How does a landscaper learn to write a book?"

There's a simple answer to that with another question: "How does a writer learn to be a landscaper?" The answer to that question is long and complicated...

The second question comes in two parts: "Are you a redneck and if not, how did you come to write a redneck book?"

I was a city boy - an English teacher, believe it or not.

I discovered the world of horticulture which became a passion.

I moved to Rome, Georgia, which is to my mind the best city in the country.

Horticulture segued into landscaping which meant that I had to deal with people from all levels of society.

I discovered that in order to run a landscaping business thirty years ago, it was imperative that one be able to deal with rednecks. Rednecks were the people who got things done.

I listened to gossip on the job. On rainy days, we sat around the wood fire and traded stories. I have always liked stories and these were new to me. One day, one of my friends told me that I needed to write a book and we began exploring stories that could be included. Everyone in the conversations let me know that they were proud of being a redneck and that they would like to see something about rednecks besides redneck jokes.

I actually started researching material for this book twenty years ago. I kept a series of legal pads with notes for years. About three years ago, I started working on the book seriously. I fictionalized and mixed the stories so that there is little or no truth in them. I created characters and used information from my collected stories to write stories that could have happened, would have happened, and which were structured to make you laugh, make you cry, and make the ladies go "awwww." It was a time consuming endeavor. I wanted short chapters with a page turning "hook" at the end. I wanted my redneck friends to enjoy the stories. This has happened. I wanted to give a glimpse of the redneck world to other people who had no idea of what was going on around them. This has happened.

I am encouraged by my redneck friends who tell me "I ain't never read a book, but this here is different. I liked it." And I am further encouraged by my city friends who ask, "Is this true?" My answer: "No, it's not true, but, thank you." I always admired Jonathan Swift for "Gulliver's Travel's," which was presented and accepted as truth in 1726.

I have also admired the manner in which Fitzgerald used the point of view from his character Nick Carraway to present a story from the outside but by a narrator who was close to the inside information. I therefore created John the Plant Man to tell the reader about the happenings in "Requiem for a Redneck."

I jokingly refer to it as "The Redneck Gatsby."

I am currently working on a follow up titled Redemption for a Redneck: The Girl Who Stole My Coon Dog.

My website was developed in a hurry when the books showed up and we didn't have one. It will suffice, but after paying attention to Steve Barancik, I decided to invest in sitebuildit. I am currently working on another site using their program which will take some time but should prove worthwhile.

When it comes to self publishing and promotion, I can't thank Steve Barancik and Ron Pramschufer enough. They each gave me a gift. It's called a "concept."

John Schulz
Author

Visit Requiem for a Redneck: THE Redneck Book.

Also, visit a website discussion John initiated.