{"id":4650,"date":"2005-05-12T12:29:25","date_gmt":"2005-05-12T16:29:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bookdragon.si.edu\/?p=4650"},"modified":"2015-08-17T10:55:35","modified_gmt":"2015-08-17T14:55:35","slug":"sixteen-years-in-sixteen-seconds-the-sammy-lee-story-by-paula-yoo-author-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/sixteen-years-in-sixteen-seconds-the-sammy-lee-story-by-paula-yoo-author-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds: The Sammy Lee Story by Paula Yoo + Author Interview [in AsianWeek]"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Sixteen<\/a>The Patiently Tenacious Paula Yoo<\/strong><\/p>\n

When Paula Yoo got her first official rejection from a publisher, she ripped up the letter and threw a bona fide temper tantrum. She was all of 7 years old. \u201cThe publisher told me I was talented for a second grader and that I might be interested in entering a contest they had for child writers,\u201d says Yoo. \u201cI don\u2019t have time for silly children\u2019s contests!\u201d she remembers crying to her mother.<\/p>\n

Ironically, almost 30 years later, a contest award is finally putting Yoo on the bookshelves: Yoo\u2019s first picture book, Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds: The Sammy Lee Story<\/em>, is the result of winning the New Voices Award sponsored by Lee & Low Books, one of the country\u2019s largest multicultural children\u2019s presses. \u201cThis is the first book that I\u2019ve ever had accepted for publication so I\u2019ll always hold it close to my heart,\u201d says Yoo. \u201cI\u2019ve entered the contest before, and been rejected. But I\u2019m very stubborn and never give up,\u201d she laughs.<\/p>\n

Indeed, Yoo is all about tenacity. Remember that first rejection letter? Yoo had sent her 70-page manuscript to Harper & Row publishers because they published all the Laura Ingalls Wilder paperbacks (\u201cI devoured them,\u201d Yoo says). What\u00a0perfect justice that Harper & Row (now HarperCollins) is publishing Yoo\u2019s next title, a young adult novel, Good Enough<\/a><\/em>. \u201cIt better get good reviews,\u201d Yoo jokes. \u201cOr people are really going to be making fun of that title!\u201d<\/p>\n

AsianWeek<\/strong><\/em>: You\u2019re a writer of various mediums \u2013\u00a0journalism, television, and film. Where did your initial interest in writing come from?
\n Paula Yoo<\/strong>: \u201cI knew I wanted to write as soon as I could read. I read so much that I would hide in the closet with a\u00a0hidden light and I ended up getting glasses at 8. I have really bad eyesight. I started writing in first grade, little novels with a bio of myself in the back: \u2018Paula Yoo is in elementary school. This is her first book.\u2019 Writing for me has been a pipe dream. I never remember ever NOT wanting to be writer.<\/p>\n

AW<\/em><\/strong>: With all the different kinds of writing you\u2019ve done \u2013\u00a0People, Seattle Times, West Wing<\/em> \u2013\u00a0do you have a preference?
\n PY<\/strong>: My goal has always been to be a fiction writer. But I chose journalism at first because Hemingway was a journalist. I thought being a journalist would be a great way to hone my writing skills, live life, and have great adventures. And I did. But I never plan to go back to journalism, although I might do a nonfiction book someday. Right now, I\u2019m working on\u00a0a TV series and doing spec movie scripts. I\u2019m constantly writing, whether or not someone pays me. I feel like a renaissance writer \u2013\u00a0I can go from one genre to the next. I always find something appealing about each of the genres. … [click here for more<\/a>]\n

Author interview<\/strong>: “The Patiently Tenacious Paula Yoo,” AsianWeek<\/em>, May 12, 2005<\/a> [This links to the issue cover \u2013 whoo hooo! Click here for full article<\/a>.]\n

Readers<\/strong>: Adult<\/p>\n

Published<\/strong>: 2005<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"SixteenThe Patiently Tenacious Paula Yoo<\/strong><\/p>\n

When Paula Yoo got her first official rejection from a publisher, she ripped up the letter and threw a bona fide temper tantrum. She was all of 7 years old. \u201cThe publisher told me I was talented for a second grader and that I might be interested in entering a contest they had for child writers,\u201d says Yoo. \u201cI don\u2019t have time for silly children\u2019s contests!\u201d she remembers crying to her mother.<\/p>\n

Ironically, almost 30 years later, a contest award is finally putting Yoo on the bookshelves: Yoo\u2019s first picture book, Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds: The Sammy Lee Story<\/em>, is the result of winning the New Voices Award sponsored by Lee & Low Books, one of the country\u2019s largest multicultural children\u2019s presses. \u201cThis is the first book that I\u2019ve ever had accepted for publication so I\u2019ll always hold it close to my heart,\u201d says Yoo. \u201cI\u2019ve entered the contest before, and been rejected. But I\u2019m very stubborn and never give up,\u201d she laughs.<\/p>\n

Indeed, Yoo is all about tenacity. Remember that first rejection letter? Yoo had sent her 70-page manuscript to Harper & Row publishers because they published all the Laura Ingalls Wilder paperbacks (\u201cI devoured them,\u201d Yoo says). What perfect justice that Harper & Row (now HarperCollins) is publishing Yoo\u2019s next title, a young adult novel, Good Enough<\/a><\/em>. \u201cIt better get good reviews,\u201d Yoo jokes. \u201cOr people are really going to be making fun of that title!\u201d<\/p>\n

AsianWeek<\/strong><\/em>: You\u2019re a writer of various mediums \u2013 journalism, television, and film. Where did your initial interest in writing come from?
\n Paula Yoo<\/strong>: \u201cI knew I wanted to write as soon as I could read. I read so much that I would hide in the closet with a hidden light and I ended up getting glasses at 8. I have really bad eyesight. I started writing in first grade, little novels with a bio of myself in the back: \u2018Paula Yoo is in elementary school. This is her first book.\u2019 Writing for me has been a pipe dream. I never remember ever NOT wanting to be writer.<\/p>\n

AW<\/em><\/strong>: With all the different kinds of writing you\u2019ve done \u2013 People, Seattle Times, West Wing<\/em> \u2013 do you have a preference?
\n PY<\/strong>: My goal has always been to be a fiction writer. But I chose journalism at first because Hemingway was a journalist. I thought being a journalist would be a great way to hone my writing skills, live life, and have great adventures. And I did. But I never plan to go back to journalism, although I might do a nonfiction book someday. Right now, I\u2019m working on a TV series and doing spec movie scripts. I\u2019m constantly writing, whether or not someone pays me. I feel like a renaissance writer \u2013 I can go from one genre to the next. I always find something appealing about each of the genres. … [click here for more<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Author interview<\/strong>: “The Patiently Tenacious Paula Yoo,” AsianWeek<\/em>, May 12, 2005<\/a> [This links to the issue cover \u2013 whoo hooo! Click here for full article<\/a>.]<\/p>\n

Readers<\/strong>: Adult<\/p>\n

Published<\/strong>: 2005<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30917,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,147,62,38,20,6535],"tags":[3598,6608,22,58,51,2519,29,3599,3600,434],"class_list":["post-4650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-author-interview-profile","category-biography","category-children-picture-books","category-korean-american","category-nonfiction","category-repost","tag-asianweek","tag-bookdragon","tag-civil-rights","tag-coming-of-age","tag-identity","tag-paula-yoo","tag-race-racism","tag-sammy-lee","tag-sixteen-years-in-sixteen-seconds","tag-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nSixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds: The Sammy Lee Story by Paula Yoo + Author Interview [in AsianWeek] - BookDragon<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/sixteen-years-in-sixteen-seconds-the-sammy-lee-story-by-paula-yoo-author-interview\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds: The Sammy Lee Story by Paula Yoo + Author Interview [in AsianWeek] - BookDragon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Patiently Tenacious Paula Yoo When Paula Yoo got her first official rejection from a publisher, she ripped up the letter and threw a bona fide temper tantrum. She was all of 7 years old. \u201cThe publisher told me I was talented for a second grader and that I might be interested in entering a contest they had for child writers,\u201d says Yoo. \u201cI don\u2019t have time for silly children\u2019s contests!\u201d she remembers crying to her mother. Ironically, almost 30 years later, a contest award is finally putting Yoo on the bookshelves: Yoo\u2019s first picture book, Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds: The Sammy Lee Story, is the result of winning the New Voices Award sponsored by Lee & Low Books, one of the country\u2019s largest multicultural children\u2019s presses. \u201cThis is the first book that I\u2019ve ever had accepted for publication so I\u2019ll always hold it close to my heart,\u201d says Yoo. \u201cI\u2019ve entered the contest before, and been rejected. But I\u2019m very stubborn and never give up,\u201d she laughs. Indeed, Yoo is all about tenacity. Remember that first rejection letter? Yoo had sent her 70-page manuscript to Harper & Row publishers because they published all the Laura Ingalls Wilder paperbacks (\u201cI devoured them,\u201d Yoo says). What perfect justice that Harper & Row (now HarperCollins) is publishing Yoo\u2019s next title, a young adult novel, Good Enough. \u201cIt better get good reviews,\u201d Yoo jokes. \u201cOr people are really going to be making fun of that title!\u201d AsianWeek: You\u2019re a writer of various mediums \u2013 journalism, television, and film. Where did your initial interest in writing come from? Paula Yoo: \u201cI knew I wanted to write as soon as I could read. I read so much that I would hide in the closet with a hidden light and I ended up getting glasses at 8. I have really bad eyesight. I started writing in first grade, little novels with a bio of myself in the back: \u2018Paula Yoo is in elementary school. This is her first book.\u2019 Writing for me has been a pipe dream. I never remember ever NOT wanting to be writer. AW: With all the different kinds of writing you\u2019ve done \u2013 People, Seattle Times, West Wing \u2013 do you have a preference? PY: My goal has always been to be a fiction writer. But I chose journalism at first because Hemingway was a journalist. I thought being a journalist would be a great way to hone my writing skills, live life, and have great adventures. And I did. But I never plan to go back to journalism, although I might do a nonfiction book someday. Right now, I\u2019m working on a TV series and doing spec movie scripts. I\u2019m constantly writing, whether or not someone pays me. I feel like a renaissance writer \u2013 I can go from one genre to the next. I always find something appealing about each of the genres. ... [click here for more] Author interview: "The Patiently Tenacious Paula Yoo," AsianWeek, May 12, 2005 [This links to the issue cover \u2013 whoo hooo! Click here for full article.] Readers: Adult Published: 2005\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/sixteen-years-in-sixteen-seconds-the-sammy-lee-story-by-paula-yoo-author-interview\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"BookDragon\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2005-05-12T16:29:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-08-17T14:55:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2005\/05\/Sixteen-Years-in-Sixteen-Seconds.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"948\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1263\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@SmithsonianAPA\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds: The Sammy Lee Story by Paula Yoo + Author Interview [in AsianWeek] - BookDragon","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/sixteen-years-in-sixteen-seconds-the-sammy-lee-story-by-paula-yoo-author-interview\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds: The Sammy Lee Story by Paula Yoo + Author Interview [in AsianWeek] - BookDragon","og_description":"The Patiently Tenacious Paula Yoo When Paula Yoo got her first official rejection from a publisher, she ripped up the letter and threw a bona fide temper tantrum. She was all of 7 years old. \u201cThe publisher told me I was talented for a second grader and that I might be interested in entering a contest they had for child writers,\u201d says Yoo. \u201cI don\u2019t have time for silly children\u2019s contests!\u201d she remembers crying to her mother. Ironically, almost 30 years later, a contest award is finally putting Yoo on the bookshelves: Yoo\u2019s first picture book, Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds: The Sammy Lee Story, is the result of winning the New Voices Award sponsored by Lee & Low Books, one of the country\u2019s largest multicultural children\u2019s presses. \u201cThis is the first book that I\u2019ve ever had accepted for publication so I\u2019ll always hold it close to my heart,\u201d says Yoo. \u201cI\u2019ve entered the contest before, and been rejected. But I\u2019m very stubborn and never give up,\u201d she laughs. Indeed, Yoo is all about tenacity. Remember that first rejection letter? Yoo had sent her 70-page manuscript to Harper & Row publishers because they published all the Laura Ingalls Wilder paperbacks (\u201cI devoured them,\u201d Yoo says). What perfect justice that Harper & Row (now HarperCollins) is publishing Yoo\u2019s next title, a young adult novel, Good Enough. \u201cIt better get good reviews,\u201d Yoo jokes. \u201cOr people are really going to be making fun of that title!\u201d AsianWeek: You\u2019re a writer of various mediums \u2013 journalism, television, and film. Where did your initial interest in writing come from? Paula Yoo: \u201cI knew I wanted to write as soon as I could read. I read so much that I would hide in the closet with a hidden light and I ended up getting glasses at 8. I have really bad eyesight. I started writing in first grade, little novels with a bio of myself in the back: \u2018Paula Yoo is in elementary school. This is her first book.\u2019 Writing for me has been a pipe dream. 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Click here for full article.] Readers: Adult Published: 2005","og_url":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/sixteen-years-in-sixteen-seconds-the-sammy-lee-story-by-paula-yoo-author-interview\/","og_site_name":"BookDragon","article_published_time":"2005-05-12T16:29:25+00:00","article_modified_time":"2015-08-17T14:55:35+00:00","og_image":[{"width":948,"height":1263,"url":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2005\/05\/Sixteen-Years-in-Sixteen-Seconds.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@SmithsonianAPA","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/sixteen-years-in-sixteen-seconds-the-sammy-lee-story-by-paula-yoo-author-interview\/","url":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/sixteen-years-in-sixteen-seconds-the-sammy-lee-story-by-paula-yoo-author-interview\/","name":"Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds: The Sammy Lee Story by Paula Yoo + Author Interview [in AsianWeek] - BookDragon","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/#website"},"datePublished":"2005-05-12T16:29:25+00:00","dateModified":"2015-08-17T14:55:35+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/#\/schema\/person\/a00f6dcfcb279c75f3f992ad2919d51d"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/sixteen-years-in-sixteen-seconds-the-sammy-lee-story-by-paula-yoo-author-interview\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/sixteen-years-in-sixteen-seconds-the-sammy-lee-story-by-paula-yoo-author-interview\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/sixteen-years-in-sixteen-seconds-the-sammy-lee-story-by-paula-yoo-author-interview\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Sixteen Years in Sixteen Seconds: The Sammy Lee Story by Paula Yoo + Author Interview [in AsianWeek]"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/#website","url":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/","name":"BookDragon","description":"Books for the Diverse Reader","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/#\/schema\/person\/a00f6dcfcb279c75f3f992ad2919d51d","name":"Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/79b5f08575e8962bd00388cd126d374b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/79b5f08575e8962bd00388cd126d374b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/twitter.com\/@SmithsonianAPA"],"url":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/author\/riemert\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4650"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4650"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4650\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39404,"href":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4650\/revisions\/39404"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4650"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4650"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/bookdragon\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}