Lisa Saffron Confronts her Feelings in Checkpoint
When the Shapiro family’s comfortable life in an Israeli suburb is shattered by a tragedy, each member sets off on a separate journey of self-discovery. Checkpoint is a positive and hopeful novel. I wrote it in order to work through my own painful and confused feelings about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Visits to Israel and the occupied territories with a study tour and a Compassionate Listening delegation inspired and informed me. I came home to England wanting to share what I had gained with others who are also disturbed and confused by this ongoing conflict.
I’ve been in a creative writing group for years and have written and published non-fiction books, but the idea of writing a novel had never appealed to me. So it was a surprise to me when the idea popped into my head and took root. I was winding down a charity I’d set up that wasn’t going anywhere, and I was open to another big project.
At that time, a woman in my writing group recommended Evan Marshall’s book, Novel Writing—16 Steps to Success. I read all 16 steps in one evening and knew exactly what I’d be doing for the next year. I realised that writing a novel would be an effective and powerful way for me to express the feelings I have about Israel and Palestine. Marshall’s book gave me a strategy, which I followed to the letter. It appealed to the logical, organized side of my brain. I nourished the creative side with Deena Metzger’s Writing for Your Life—a guide and companion to the inner worlds.
These two books supported me through the writing of the first draft—a complete novel of more than 90,000 words. Comments from friends and a literary editor helped me to revise the novel. This time, I didn’t need Marshall’s rigorous steps. I took out a few characters, included some new ones, relegated a viewpoint character to a less important role, removed an over-complicated secondary plot, and rewrote the entire book.
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The end result is a novel that I’m proud of and delighted by. I then devoted myself to getting the book published. Following Marshall’s advice, I sent a query letter, sample chapters, and a synopsis to more than 40 literary agents. Two asked to see the entire manuscript, but the rest were just not interested. At the Winchester Writers Conference, I heard several agents tell us that they were looking for bestsellers such as celebrity stories and mis-lit (“my miserable life” stories). |
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When I asked about the chances of a novel about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, I did not get an encouraging reply. Disheartened, I wandered around the stalls, where I came across AuthorHouse and other self-publishing companies. This was an exciting discovery. After I got my forty-fourth rejection letter from agents, I signed up with AuthorHouse, and it’s been smooth sailing since. Everyone in the company has done what they said they would when they said they would. The process is transparent. I love the cover design and the layout. It’s been a good experience. Now all I need is to identify the key text in promoting and publicizing novels and I’ll be set.
