Interview: Rob Rummel-Hudson and Schuyler’s Monster

Rob’s writing can be funny, fascinating and heartbreaking, sometimes all in one post. I’ve been a fan of Rob Rummel-Hudson’s blog for years, so was delighted when he recently published a book with St. Martin’s Press.

I first discovered Rob’s writing through his early blog, Darn Tootin’. His current blog, Fighting Monsters With Rubber Swords, focuses mainly on his experiences with his daughter Schuyler, who was diagnosed with an extremely rare neurological disorder caused by a malformation of the brain.

Rob’s also an impressive photographer; I especially love his photos of his daughter.

I ordered a copy of Schuyler’s Monster as soon as it was available, and found it inspiring as well as deeply moving. His book is not only about Schuyler, but also about being a parent; Rob’s unfailing love for his daughter resonates throughout.

What made you decide to write your book?

Well, there were a lot of reasons. I felt like Schuyler’s story deserved to be told, and that there were a lot of parents out there in similar situations to ours, whether with a special needs child or a kid who was different, or who felt overwhelmed by the job of being a parent. But mostly, I wrote the book for Schuyler, so that years from now, she’d be able to see how much she was loved, and how hard I tried to help her, even when I stumbled. Ultimately, the book is a love letter to Schuyler.

How long have you been writing? What was your first sale?

Wow, I’ve been writing for a long time, since college. I began writing online almost at the beginning, keeping an online journal since 1995. But this book is my first print sale. St. Martin’s Press picked it up in the summer of 2006. I’ve done some paid blogging over the years, however, but nothing that paid the bills.

How do you balance time promoting your writing project(s) with writing time? What’s your typical work day?

Right now, it’s been three and a half months since the book was released, and I’m just starting to transition back to writing more than promoting. It’s a tricky balance, because when I’m in that sort of marketing mode, it’s easy to become fixated on the book I’m promoting, and the things I’m writing are short and focused. There’s a certain amount of slowing down and refocusing that’s necessary to get back into my writing head.

Book promotion, blogging, that sort of thing I work on during the day, as the need comes up. I tend to do most of my book writing late at night, after everyone’s gone to bed. When Schuyler’s up, I’m very easily distracted, because I never want to be that guy who was too busy to spend time with my kid, you know? I have a day job that keeps me busy about three days a week, but even that’s not to bad, because I have a 45-minute commute to and from the office. I do a lot of “in my head” work during that drive.

How did you get your agent?

I think I got really lucky in that my proposal made its way in front of an agent who really understood what I was trying to do, maybe even better than I did. Once I had put together a proposal, I started making lists of agents, using the Jeff Herman’s Guide to Book Editors, Publishers, and Literary Agents. I can’t say enough about Herman’s book, by the way. It gives such good information about the agents you’re looking for. Not just the genres they represent, but more personal stuff like what they like to read on their own time, their idea of an ideal client and a nightmare client, stuff like that. And he lists their preference for electronic or snail mail query letters and whether or not they accept unsolicited manuscripts. He also includes essays on putting together a proposal and other helpful topics. It really was a fantastic guide.

I listed my “A List” agents and started submitting to them immediately, mostly I think just to get those rejections out of the way! About two weeks into the process, as I was just starting to put together my B List, I was contacted by Sarah Jane Freymann, who was on my initial sort of “dream list”, and after we discussed what we both saw as the direction the book should take and saw that we were on the same page, she became my agent. She’s been amazing, too, at every step of the process.

What does Schuyler think of your book?

Well, she’s still a little young to get what it’s about, exactly, but she loves that it’s out there and that people are reading it. She’s funny at book signings, she’ll sit down next to me and sign books, and when people walk up she’ll hand them a book and do the hard sell! It cracks me up, because as far as I know, no one taught her to do that, she just picked it up on her own. I always thought she was a socialist because she gave her toys away to her friends, but it turns out she’s quite the little capitalist.

One day, when she’s old enough, I hope she’ll be able to read it and see how hard I tried to help her, and how much I loved her, even when I screwed up. Mostly I intended the book as a sort of love letter to Schuyler, and I’m looking forward to the day when she’ll be able to appreciate that.

What are your current/upcoming projects?

Well, right now I’m working on a keynote address that I’m giving this summer at a special educator’s conference in Dallas. I have an hour and a half to kill, and so it’s taking most of my energy right now. Aside from that, I’m working on a new book about fatherhood, both from the perspective of being Schuyler’s dad but also examining my relationship with my own father. It’ll also look at other fathers’ stories that I want to tell. It started off as a general book on fatherhood (sort of an unsentimental Tim Russert kind of thing), but it is really turning into more of a memoir. I’m forty and I’m working on a second memoir. How narcissistic is that?

You can find out more about Rob and his book at:

Fighting Monsters With Rubber Swords
Rummelhudson.com
Schuyler’s Monster (Amazon listing)

All photos courtesy Rob Rummel-Hudson.