I suppose we all strive for success, at one level or another, on whatever stage in life we choose to perform. As I sat nestled snugly between the work boots section and the front counter of The Workwear Store during a recent book signing, I had plenty of time to ponder my writing career. Nothing screams success like selling one book during a two-hour-long book signing, eh? Thank God I didn’t get into this gig to get rich (The book I did sell, by the way, went to a store employee who purchased it at a deep employee discount . . . I think she took pity on me). Truth be told, book signings are not all that great of a place to sell books, unless you’re a famous author. The Workwear Store is just what it sounds like - a store located on Saginaw’s west side that specializes in work clothes and other work-related and sports team-related clothing. However, since The Workwear Store carries a broad range of police-related items and does a lot of business with the Saginaw Police Department, and since they have religiously stocked Beyond Hope? and have sold out of five orders, I agreed to come in for a Thursday afternoon book signing because my book has sold so well at this store. It seems, however, that people only want to buy my book - they do not wish to converse with the book’s author. Fair enough. No hard feelings. I escaped the premesis shortly after 1 p.m. with the aid of a close friend and sauntered off to the local Hooters for wings and beer (My friend and I were able to eat in peace - nobody recognized me at Hooters either).
Anyway, a couple months ago I decided I would use this blog space to go back and dissect Beyond Hope? for anyone who might be interested in further insight into the writing of this book, as well as its contents. Since I plan on launching a Facebook Fan Page for Beyond Hope? shortly, I thought now would be a great time to begin the dissection process.
After publishing my first book, Burden of the Badge: A Year in the Life of a Street Cop, in 2003, I learned quickly that being an author was a lot tougher gig than it seemed. I wrote Burden as a means to convey to younger police officers and prospective police officers what life on the streets of urban America is really like. The realization had hit me that when I became a cop, I had no idea what becomming a cop really meant. What better way to prepare others for this line of work than to write a diary style book, detailing a year on the streets. I wrote my book, sat back and waited for the cash to roll in.
My first hint that there was trouble in paradise came when I tried to market Burden to police academies, colleges and universities around the state of Michigan. Most institutions wouldn’t even return my correspondances. However, those who did had one clear message - “This book is too dark, too depressing (too real?) and we don’t want to scare off any prospective cops.” In other words, if you let these police recruits and college students know what they’re getting into ahead of time, you might deter them from becomming actual money spending police recruits and college students, seeking employment in the field of law enforcement.
It was a learning experience for me that telling the truth about police work actually worked against me when trying to sell books. I did manage to do a few academy appearances and Burden did get picked up by at least two east coast universities several years after its publication, so I guess I’m happy for that. I read about a year ago that the average sales numbers for self-published books is somewhere around 120 sales per book over the lifetime of the book. Considering Burden has sold about 1,300 copies to date, I guess I can consider it above average for a self-published book. But, I think the greatest measure of success for Burden came after a speaking engagement at the Northeastern Police Academy at Delta College, located about 10-15 miles from the City of Saginaw in Bay County. One day, after an academy presentation, the academy coordinator called to let me know an older recruit (and by older, I mean mid- to late-30s) had listened intently to my presentation and promptly quit the academy at day’s end, saying I helped him realize this was not the type of work he should be doing. That response - helping an wavering police recruit decide a better life’s course, and saving a community from the time, expense and problems of hiring a cop who really doesn’t want to be a cop - is the reason why Burden was written.
While Burden had some small successes like the one I listed, the biggest knock on the book - and I agree with this - is that reading Burden can be much like the job iteself - is can become overwhelmingly boring and tedious, but is punctuated with pages (moments?) of intense action and drama. Good for honesty. Good for truthfulness. Bad for book sales.
A gift from my father-in-law proved to be the springboard I needed to get back into book writing. When I opened the wrapping paper and saw the book A Cop’s Life (Written by Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department then-Sergeant Randy Sutton) staring me in the face, my immediate thought was: God, I hate reading cop books! But eventually I turned to page one - and didn’t quit until I was finished. Sutton was able to weave together real life personal and on-the-job cop experiences into one helluva good read. I knew right then this would be the format for my next book. One thing that Burden lacked was the deep emotional insight that is such a huge part of police work, and of life in general.
I was so moved with A Cop’s Life that I shot off an e-mail to Randy Sutton to let him know how his writing affected me. Unexpectedly, Randy wrote back a couple days later and thanked me for the comments. We have talked often since as he has guided me through the writing process and even read and edited some of Beyond Hope? As the final product was ready to go to press, Randy even agreed to provide an endorsement for the book, which is proudly displayed just inside the front cover (along with the endorsement of writer/professor/former cop Peter Moskos, who penned another good book, titled Cop in the Hood).
Once I decided on the format for Beyond Hope? the stories just flowed. There was a huge release of emotion as I hacked through chapter after chapter of my personal and on-the-job experiences. Some days I couldn’t wait to get home from work and start another chapter. For a writer (at least for me) the feeling of “I can’t wait to writem more” is huge. When you feel that way, you know you’re writing about something that is passionate to you. A good friend of mine, actor Jack Moore (Independance Day, Godzilla, The Patriot, and numerous other movies) once told me: “Mike, write what you know.” Well, after nearly 16 years patrolling the streets of Saginaw, Michigan, I know death, I know violence, I know despair, I know hatred, disillusion, apathy, fear, frustration, mistrust and an array of other emotions. But, thank God, I also know hope. These are the things that fill the pages of Beyond Hope? One Cop’s Fight for Survival in a Dying City.
Beyond Hope? is a book that exposes just about everything I have experienced as a cop in urban America. It’s raw, it’s dark, it’s depressing and it’s an emotional roller coaster. It is also the truth about the world where urban cops toil. My hope is that I have provided some physical, emotional and spiritual insight to those people seeking knowledge about the world of police work.
As we move along, I will go through Beyond Hope? chapter by chapter and give some background into each story. I’ll try to update this blog space with a new chapter each week or so. I hope it provides some insight and entertainment beyond what is contined within the pages of Beyond Hope?
Thanks for stopping by.