April 15, 1998
Book author yearns to be judged by a cover
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
"Fingernails. Jagged, ripped, broken, bloody fingernails. It was curious, really, that he should notice the fingernails, and not much else, under the circumstances. It's what he would remember, though ... about this one."
Thus begins "Leaves of Crimson," an unpublished novel set in the fictional town of Nanagosa Bay, just outside of Traverse City, where a serial killer is loose. The novel is the second murder mystery written by Barbara Schimp of Peninsula Township, a friendly, sunny woman whose grim novels seem out of character for the former owner of an Honor hair salon.
"To me, reading is the best thing on earth," said Schimp, who now works part time with her husband, a real estate appraiser. "Murder mysteries are my favorite genre; so that is what I write."
But getting published is another matter. She received more than two dozen rejections from publishers on her first two manuscripts, most of which were returned unopened. Experience has since revealed the huge gap between writing a novel and getting it read - by people other than family and friends.
"Publishers say I need an agent before they will read my manuscript, but agents won't take you unless you are published already," Schimp said. "I will send it out again, but I need to maybe talk to someone first, maybe at the college."
So how does an aspiring author overcome this chicken-and-egg publishing dilemma?
"It takes a lot of persistence, luck, being in the right place at the right time, and a really great proposal to get a manuscript even read," said Theresa Nelson, book production manager at the Jenkins Group, a publishing firm in Traverse City. "Larger or even midsize publishers aren't risking money on unknowns; the industry is too competitive."
Despite Schimp's lack of published success, she still relishes her opportunity to write. Typing away on a computer in her spare bedroom, she finds plot ideas and character development come easily to her, she said.
The stories pour out of her as the characters almost write themselves, each taking on a life of his or her own, she said. She sometimes becomes so absorbed in writing that the whole day vanishes without her noticing.
In writing murder mysteries, Schimp has found her five-year experience as a former Grand Traverse County emergency medical technician to prove invaluable. She gained her knowledge of police procedures, crime scenes and criminal activities from those experiences, as well as years of coffee breaks at the State Police post while pulling the night shift. She consulted with some of her former colleagues while writing the books and also with her neighbor, a retired entomologist, to ensure technical accuracy.
"If something is not accurate, it is not believable," she said.
A lifelong voracious reader, Schimp began writing her first book three years ago. She had shown a flair for creative writing in high school but never pursued it after marrying young and having four children to raise. As her children grew, she regaled them with stories. Later, they encouraged her to write.
Now with the children grown, she focuses on writing in the winter, finishing the first draft of a book in fewer than four months.
And while she toils away, she remains optimistic for her lucky break.
"It would be just fabulous for me if people read my books and said it was worth their while and that they learned something," Schimp said. "But if nothing ever comes of it, I've had a good time."