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The Phase Transition, by Ryan E. Okerlund
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Author Bio:
Born in Bemidji, Minnesota, I grew up a little further down the Mississippi in Little Falls. I graduated high school in 1995, and spent a year at Central Lakes College in Brainerd, Minnesota, before moving on to North Dakota State University in Fargo, North Dakota. There I received my B.S. in Pharmaceutical Sciences, a minor in Chemistry, and a Doctorate in Pharmacy. At the moment I am a pharmacist at Iverson Corner Drug in Bemidji, Minnesota. But enough about me, onto the book!
The original concept for this book came to me while doing some summer work in Athlone, Ireland. It was there I read A Brief History of Time by physicist Stephen Hawking, and started kicking some ideas around. After work one particularly nasty, rainy day, I bought a cheap notebook and pen and sat in The Shack, a pub near the place I was living. An hour or two and a few pints of Guinness later, I had the basic concept and storyline for my novel.
I spent the rest of my time in Ireland fleshing out the story and characters, and as soon as I got back to America, sat down at my computer and started writing. A few weeks later I was sitting at 20,000 words, and realized I had started a major project. I must admit, I have a tendency to start things and never finish them, but writing this story was fun, and though I went in spurts, I never left off. Eventually I came to the end, and began wondering just what the hell I was supposed to do with 140,000 word manuscript. I hit the internet and started researching.
I soon discovered that writing is definitely the easy part of an author’s life. If I wanted to get my book in print, I needed a publisher. I sent query letters to all the biggies; Bantam and the like, and was shot down completely. They wouldn’t even look at an author unless he had an agent. So I started searching for agents. There are several hundred in the US, so I decided to cast a wide net. I sent out over 50 letters, and countless e-mails. Of the 50 or so queries I sent out, almost everyone was returned with a rejection. Some were very nice, formal letters encouraging me to keep trying, others simply sent my same letter back with the words ‘No Thanks’ scribbled on it. Still, I wasn’t in any hurry. I had pharmacy school to worry about; this was just a hobby. Every internet site I found claimed a serious author should expect at least 100 rejections. And that was just from agents. I kept collecting rejection letters, and plugging away. Then, it came.
I opened a letter from Publish America, and immediately got excited. I had gotten acceptance letters for my book before, but they were from essentially con artist agents. They basically wanted me to pay for them to promote my book, offering to place me on their web site, talk to publishing houses, blah, blah, blah. A good agent never takes a dime from his author; he takes a percentage from the book sale. That way the agent is motivated to push the book. No publisher in the world is going to bother with an agent that has to milk his clients for money. There’s usually a reason the author has to ‘buy’ an agent.
Publish America was different, however. They weren’t an agency, they were a publishing house. And more importantly, they didn’t want any money. After checking out their website, I happily e-mailed them my entire manuscript, and crossed my fingers. A few months passed, and I got an e-mail back, an acceptance letter, and a copy of a contract. They wanted my book. I agreed, and a few days later, snail-mailed them a paper contract, signed by a witness and me. I had sold my first book for a whopping $1. I was in the big time now!
In less than a year Publish America had my book out on the shelves, and I started promoting. Although I sold my manuscript for almost nothing, I do get royalties (Did you really think I’d sell it for just a measly buck?), and thus I created this wonderful little web page to promote my work.
If you are interested in purchasing my novel, there’s a link at the bottom of the main page that goes directly to my book’s sight on PublishAmerica.com. You can purchase it there for around $20, five dollars cheaper than Amazon or Barnes and Noble. And remember, you’re helping out a small publishing house, and a struggling author!
Thanks for visiting my web site, I hope you enjoy my work.
-- Ryan E. Okerlund
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Other not-so-interesting information on the author;
I am 27 years old, enjoy curling, beer, motorcycles, hunting, watching football, beer, playing sand volleyball, reading/writing, traveling, and beer. Oh yeah, I also make and bottle my own beer.
I have had several jobs through my college years, mainly teaching swimming lessons and life guarding during my freshman through junior years, and waiting tables and bartending during my many, many 'senior' years. I've also worked at a few pharmacies here and there, and was an Resident Assistant (dorm cop) for a year and a half at the freshman dorm at NDSU.
Finally, I am also a HUGE Vikings fan, and honestly do believe they have a shot at taking the Super Bowl this year. OK, maybe next year, but it's GONNA HAPPEN. I hope.
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