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George Harmon was born in the louisiana swamp country in the Speaarsville-Lillie Corney Bayou vicinity. He earned small money trapping,hunting, and fishing. He also cut pulp wood, cleared road right-of-ways, farmed, and worked at saw mills. As a freshman at Louisiana Tech University, he entered a national literary competition for the short story,essay, and poem, and won a money moderate money prize.He wrote a few paperback novels while he was still in the university. On graduating, he coached,acquired higher degrees, and continued to write novels, which sold quite well. To dat, George has had published twelve hardback novels and over 200 softcover novels. His hardback novels have brought him world-wide fame, and hs softcover novels have done well in series selections. From 1984-1989 he compiled many of the manuals used in the reformation of the Arkansas Public Schools, headed up by Hillary Clinton. As a student at the University of Mississippi, I met and was impressed by William Faulkner. I tried the literary novel, and finally sold one to a small New York City publisher. The novel got great reviews, but it did not sell. I realized then that Faulkner's time had come and gone. I was in Oxford when Faulkner died, and watched the celebrities (actors, actresseses, publishers, eeditors) gather around the wooden coffin as it was lowered into the red clay earth. I spoke briefly with Bennett Cerf who predicted that Faulkner was the last of the great Southern literary novelists. And he was right. As for the writer who influenced me the most - I'm not sure. I do know that Thomas Wolfe (the decased Thomas Wolfe) was the most facinating writer I have ever read. Again, like FaulMeet George Harmon Smith, The Man of a 1000 Talents!
by Alex Jackinson, Publisher, Editor, Literary Agent.
Author, father, teacher, coach of five major sports, principal, supervisor, federal programs director, educational consultant, and all around handsome warm hearted man with a sense of humor that never stops. Please meet my good friend, George.
Before I start into this interview, I have something to confess. I have had my hopes dashed by this unpredictable genius. Why would a man with so much literary talent continue to write pulp fiction? I don’t know! I never shall know! Still, I have met many writers in my lifetime and I have admired them all for their talent, but then, you met folk like George. This is a man I greatly admire. and have tons of respect for. I’ve been reading his stuff for several years, and am always surprised at his ability to write for money, if he has to have it, then write to please himself if he doesn’t need the money at the time. If you’ve never had the luck of reading this man’s many, many works, do it now! You won’t regret it!
ALEX. George, you’re a man of many talents. Could you tell the readers about a few of the things you’ve accomplished?
GEORGE. Well, do you mean besides successfully raising five children, or waiting until retirement age before returning to graduate school and stalking a doctorate in psychology for three years, until I finally caught up with it. Or maybe I’m the world’s best dreamer, because I decided to write a book that would be made into a movie, and I did. Even as a freshman in college, I felt the power after I had won a national literary contest. I really believed in myself. I knew I could do anything I wanted to do. However, in retrospect, you were right to chastise me for writing soft cover novels. Somewhere along the way, I quit revising. Much of my published stuff was first draft - the reason why I have written so many soft cover books.
ALEX. But you have published Where the Wild Things Hide, a manuscript I failed to place. Could you tell me why you went back to that story, why you cut it even more - too much, I first thought, but after reading it, I think it is
improved.
GEORGE. Look! You know I don’t like to talk about my books, the ones that sold well, or the ones that hardly sold enough copies to pay the advance, but I will comment on Where the Wild Things Hide. Despite the rejections, I believed in it. I kept revising it over a period of years, cutting over eighty pages, eliminating the sub-plot and several interesting characters. However, what was left of the original novel interested editors. But I still think my original manuscript was a far better novel.
ALEX. Well, whether you like it or not, you have to talk about your books. As you learned, you get very little promotion from the publisher. That’s why the big publishers go after the big-name authors, a la Stephen King, Ken Follett, John Grisham. The name sells the books. If you don’t promote yourself, you won’t be known widely - not at first. And if you don’t promote your books, at first, they won’t sell either, even if they are better than the competition’s.
GEORGE. Yes. I have done quite well with my YA novels. Though I didn’t realize it at the time, I spent a great deal of time promoting some of those novels. . . I mean television and radio interviews, and especially the big autograph parties. One big autograph party in which I sat for hours writing short messages to grandmother’s grand children resulted in name recognition in several states. What I’m saying - I’ve done well with my YA novels, so I’ll talk about some of my recent adult mainstream and genre novels. They have not sold well, and they should have.
ALEX, You mean, you didn’t promote them, and they didn’t sell. Authors are a gullible lot. They think - If I write them, the readers will come. But, sadly, they don’t come. How in the world do authors expect readers to buy novels they’ve never heard of, or never will hear of!
GEORGE. What happened to word-of-mouth? My novel, The Last Lamp Burning, should be a huge seller. Why? Because it deals with a deadly problem all young women face daily - being kidnapped, raped, murdered. Thousands of women disappear each month, but unless they’re celebs, the media doesn’t mention them, and in a year or two, they’re forgotten completely. My question - the few women who’ve read my novel - why haven’t they told other women about it? Then, right now, I have a topical novel, The Age of the New Barbarians, which should be selling big time, so I think, but it isn't. It is an action-packed novel about terrorists, and not until the last one third of the book does it break down to pulp fiction. Even so, the writing is suitable to the subject. Apparently, books are not browsed much on the Internet. Whereas, The Last Lamp Burning should have had a large female readership, The Age of the New Barbarians, should have had a huge male readership. And the same could be said for Darkness On the Delta.
ALEX. Look! American life styles have changed so much! In this hurry-up society, there is no word-of-mouth advertising. You, and only you, can promote such books. Just remember, adults wouldn’t buy fiction at all if they didn’t have to wait hours at airports. Look at the book stores which have sprung up near air terminals.
GEORGE. I am not going to hang out at airports and try to hawk my books to an unwilling crowd! An author shouldn’t have to do that. By god, I won’t! Now, I have written and had published three expose novels, Slick, High Popolorium-Low Popolirum, The Bitch Heather Test. Maybe they will catch fire when the anointed ones books are published. I hope so. But if they fail to attract readers, so be it. Perhaps, we all made a big mistake in thinking that the Internet was the new and better way to sell books. So far, it hasn’t turned a profit. The big on line bookstores seem to be doing well, but habits are hard to break. Traditional publishers and traditional bookstores do most of the business.
ALEX. Well, E-books are becoming more popular. Could be, future writers will do E-books only.
GEORGE. I thought so once, but now, I have serious doubts. E-books are not selling. In fact unless it is a Tech book, quite often, the publishers can’t give them away. I understand why people didn’t like to read them on a PC, because sitting at a computer for hours can get uncomfortable. But, today, with dedicated readers like Gemstar, RocketBook, Palm Pilots, hand-held PDAs. laptops, and hand-held computers, all being able to read E-books,they are just not selling.
ALEX. But they will sell - maybe not in our lifetimes, but they’re just too cheap to ignore.
GEORGE. It could happen much sooner than that. Take this anti-terrorist war. The Feds are pumping a great deal of money into electronic publications. Electronic textbooks, training manuals, are cheap, easy to carry, easy to update, to store. I think E-books will catch on fast, if the government infuses enough money. I expect to see the government offer grants to the public school system in order to promote the use of E-books.
ALEX. What about Federal grants? You were a highly successful grant writer, so could there possibly be set-aside money for the development of E-books and other electronic publishing?
GEORGE. Yes, you can count on it. Readers should look at my book on writing grants, and the sources. The amount of set-aside grant money for E-books will depend on how much value the Feds put on developing electronic publishing. But no matter that, there are tons of money given away each year for almost everything. Even so, it is not easy to get. Of course, a Native American, a member of the minority races, a female, has a much better chance. Ignore the scam artist letters you receive in the mail which try to con you into thinking that YOUR money is ready and waiting for you to claim it. Indeed, I have secured millions of dollars for school districts, municipalities, and individuals, but I had to know to prepare a winning application to do it.
ALEX. You say that correct sources are very important in order to get funded, right?
GEORGE. Oh, sure. Many outright grants have been abolished. For example, a few years ago a physically challenged person had a good chance of securing a free grant for business purposes, but such grants are no longer funded. Sources, both Federal and Endowment, are extremely important.
ALEX. Your Writing for Pay book some non-fiction writers tell me, is top drawer. Since you’ve written and had published many novels and several non-fiction books, would you comment on writing in general.
GEORGE. Yes. Writing for Pay is a practical book on writing in general. However, I really believe the most important achievement of my book is that I teach novices how to write. The most important quality of a would be writer of any kind is DRIVE. How badly do you want it? What will you give up to get it? After you have it, how will you use it? Take E-publishing. I believe if E-books have a future, it lies in the hands of the authors who are not afraid to try something new. Look at your best sellers, week by week, month by month, year by year. They are not originals. Oh, they may be a bit different here and there, but essentially, they are alike. Page-turners, with the tried, old formulas that push them onto the best-seller list.
E-publishing is such a cheap way of publishing, the author can afford to take big risks. No formula writing. No set patterns or tastes. The novel could be a gruesome horror story, but written in a literary style that would do William Faulkner proud, or it might not have any style at all. The point is, neither the writer or the reader is limited to the run of the mill stuff that the New York publishers think will sell. Instead, you are writing and the reader is reading what he/she is starved for - something different. than the same old stuff that is always on the bookstore shelves.
ALEX. Well, the big traditional publishers are getting into the E-book business, even though no one claims to be making any money.
GEORGE. Well, yes, the big publishers could give E-books prestige, but what I’m afraid might happen, is the big houses go in to try to kill off the E-book threat. You know the ruse. First, they under price the small E-book publishers, and drive them out of the market. Then, they up the price of E-books, and kill them off, too.
But on the other hand, what is so encouraging presently is the fact that the Federal Government may well use E-publishing for all of their manuals and bulletins. After all, it was Uncle Sam who gave the nation the Internet and the personal PC. E-publications can be produced cheaply, stored safely, and updated economically. This may be the big break all writers and small publishers have been waiting for.
kner, he is forgotten like the forgotten hoof and wheel.Meet George Harmon Smith, The Man of a 1000 Talents!
by Alex Jackinson, Publisher, Editor, Literary Agent.
Author, father, teacher, coach of five major sports, principal, supervisor, federal programs director, educational consultant, and all around handsome warm hearted man with a sense of humor that never stops. Please meet my good friend, George.
Before I start into this interview, I have something to confess. I have had my hopes dashed by this unpredictable genius. Why would a man with so much literary talent continue to write pulp fiction? I don’t know! I never shall know! Still, I have met many writers in my lifetime and I have admired them all for their talent, but then, you met folk like George. This is a man I greatly admire. and have tons of respect for. I’ve been reading his stuff for several years, and am always surprised at his ability to write for money, if he has to have it, then write to please himself if he doesn’t need the money at the time. If you’ve never had the luck of reading this man’s many, many works, do it now! You won’t regret it!
ALEX. George, you’re a man of many talents. Could you tell the readers about a few of the things you’ve accomplished?
GEORGE. Well, do you mean besides successfully raising five children, or waiting until retirement age before returning to graduate school and stalking a doctorate in psychology for three years, until I finally caught up with it. Or maybe I’m the world’s best dreamer, because I decided to write a book that would be made into a movie, and I did. Even as a freshman in college, I felt the power after I had won a national literary contest. I really believed in myself. I knew I could do anything I wanted to do. However, in retrospect, you were right to chastise me for writing soft cover novels. Somewhere along the way, I quit revising. Much of my published stuff was first draft - the reason why I have written so many soft cover books.
ALEX. But you have published Where the Wild Things Hide, a manuscript I failed to place. Could you tell me why you went back to that story, why you cut it even more - too much, I first thought, but after reading it, I think it is
improved.
GEORGE. Look! You know I don’t like to talk about my books, the ones that sold well, or the ones that hardly sold enough copies to pay the advance, but I will comment on Where the Wild Things Hide. Despite the rejections, I believed in it. I kept revising it over a period of years, cutting over eighty pages, eliminating the sub-plot and several interesting characters. However, what was left of the original novel interested editors. But I still think my original manuscript was a far better novel.
ALEX. Well, whether you like it or not, you have to talk about your books. As you learned, you get very little promotion from the publisher. That’s why the big publishers go after the big-name authors, a la Stephen King, Ken Follett, John Grisham. The name sells the books. If you don’t promote yourself, you won’t be known widely - not at first. And if you don’t promote your books, at first, they won’t sell either, even if they are better than the competition’s.
GEORGE. Yes. I have done quite well with my YA novels. Though I didn’t realize it at the time, I spent a great deal of time promoting some of those novels. . . I mean television and radio interviews, and especially the big autograph parties. One big autograph party in which I sat for hours writing short messages to grandmother’s grand children resulted in name recognition in several states. What I’m saying - I’ve done well with my YA novels, so I’ll talk about some of my recent adult mainstream and genre novels. They have not sold well, and they should have.
ALEX, You mean, you didn’t promote them, and they didn’t sell. Authors are a gullible lot. They think - If I write them, the readers will come. But, sadly, they don’t come. How in the world do authors expect readers to buy novels they’ve never heard of, or never will hear of!
GEORGE. What happened to word-of-mouth? My novel, The Last Lamp Burning, should be a huge seller. Why? Because it deals with a deadly problem all young women face daily - being kidnapped, raped, murdered. Thousands of women disappear each month, but unless they’re celebs, the media doesn’t mention them, and in a year or two, they’re forgotten completely. My question - the few women who’ve read my novel - why haven’t they told other women about it? Then, right now, I have a topical novel, The Age of the New Barbarians, which should be selling big time, so I think, but it isn't. It is an action-packed novel about terrorists, and not until the last one third of the book does it break down to pulp fiction. Even so, the writing is suitable to the subject. Apparently, books are not browsed much on the Internet. Whereas, The Last Lamp Burning should have had a large female readership, The Age of the New Barbarians, should have had a huge male readership. And the same could be said for Darkness On the Delta.
ALEX. Look! American life styles have changed so much! In this hurry-up society, there is no word-of-mouth advertising. You, and only you, can promote such books. Just remember, adults wouldn’t buy fiction at all if they didn’t have to wait hours at airports. Look at the book stores which have sprung up near air terminals.
GEORGE. I am not going to hang out at airports and try to hawk my books to an unwilling crowd! An author shouldn’t have to do that. By god, I won’t! Now, I have written and had published three expose novels, Slick, High Popolorium-Low Popolirum, The Bitch Heather Test. Maybe they will catch fire when the anointed ones books are published. I hope so. But if they fail to attract readers, so be it. Perhaps, we all made a big mistake in thinking that the Internet was the new and better way to sell books. So far, it hasn’t turned a profit. The big on line bookstores seem to be doing well, but habits are hard to break. Traditional publishers and traditional bookstores do most of the business.
ALEX. Well, E-books are becoming more popular. Could be, future writers will do E-books only.
GEORGE. I thought so once, but now, I have serious doubts. E-books are not selling. In fact unless it is a Tech book, quite often, the publishers can’t give them away. I understand why people didn’t like to read them on a PC, because sitting at a computer for hours can get uncomfortable. But, today, with dedicated readers like Gemstar, RocketBook, Palm Pilots, hand-held PDAs. laptops, and hand-held computers, all being able to read E-books,they are just not selling.
ALEX. But they will sell - maybe not in our lifetimes, but they’re just too cheap to ignore.
GEORGE. It could happen much sooner than that. Take this anti-terrorist war. The Feds are pumping a great deal of money into electronic publications. Electronic textbooks, training manuals, are cheap, easy to carry, easy to update, to store. I think E-books will catch on fast, if the government infuses enough money. I expect to see the government offer grants to the public school system in order to promote the use of E-books.
ALEX. What about Federal grants? You were a highly successful grant writer, so could there possibly be set-aside money for the development of E-books and other electronic publishing?
GEORGE. Yes, you can count on it. Readers should look at my book on writing grants, and the sources. The amount of set-aside grant money for E-books will depend on how much value the Feds put on developing electronic publishing. But no matter that, there are tons of money given away each year for almost everything. Even so, it is not easy to get. Of course, a Native American, a member of the minority races, a female, has a much better chance. Ignore the scam artist letters you receive in the mail which try to con you into thinking that YOUR money is ready and waiting for you to claim it. Indeed, I have secured millions of dollars for school districts, municipalities, and individuals, but I had to know to prepare a winning application to do it.
ALEX. You say that correct sources are very important in order to get funded, right?
GEORGE. Oh, sure. Many outright grants have been abolished. For example, a few years ago a physically challenged person had a good chance of securing a free grant for business purposes, but such grants are no longer funded. Sources, both Federal and Endowment, are extremely important.
ALEX. Your Writing for Pay book some non-fiction writers tell me, is top drawer. Since you’ve written and had published many novels and several non-fiction books, would you comment on writing in general.
GEORGE. Yes. Writing for Pay is a practical book on writing in general. However, I really believe the most important achievement of my book is that I teach novices how to write. The most important quality of a would be writer of any kind is DRIVE. How badly do you want it? What will you give up to get it? After you have it, how will you use it? Take E-publishing. I believe if E-books have a future, it lies in the hands of the authors who are not afraid to try something new. Look at your best sellers, week by week, month by month, year by year. They are not originals. Oh, they may be a bit different here and there, but essentially, they are alike. Page-turners, with the tried, old formulas that push them onto the best-seller list.
E-publishing is such a cheap way of publishing, the author can afford to take big risks. No formula writing. No set patterns or tastes. The novel could be a gruesome horror story, but written in a literary style that would do William Faulkner proud, or it might not have any style at all. The point is, neither the writer or the reader is limited to the run of the mill stuff that the New York publishers think will sell. Instead, you are writing and the reader is reading what he/she is starved for - something different. than the same old stuff that is always on the bookstore shelves.
ALEX. Well, the big traditional publishers are getting into the E-book business, even though no one claims to be making any money.
GEORGE. Well, yes, the big publishers could give E-books prestige, but what I’m afraid might happen, is the big houses go in to try to kill off the E-book threat. You know the ruse. First, they under price the small E-book publishers, and drive them out of the market. Then, they up the price of E-books, and kill them off, too.
But on the other hand, what is so encouraging presently is the fact that the Federal Government may well use E-publishing for all of their manuals and bulletins. After all, it was Uncle Sam who gave the nation the Internet and the personal PC. E-publications can be produced cheaply, stored safely, and updated economically. This may be the big break all writers and small publishers have been waiting for.
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