Tag: books

Williams Wells Brown – Novelist

We have talked about some of the first black poets. Now, Williams Wells Brown is considered the first African American to publish a novel (recorded). Brown was born into slavery to a black mother and a white slave owner. Wells served various masters before escaping slavery in 1834. He then took on the name of a Quaker who helped him in his escape, Wells Brown, and in 1847 published a slave narrative, A Fugitive Slave. Brown’s only novel, Clotel was published in 1853 and tells the story of the daughters and granddaughters of President Thomas Jefferson and his slave woman. Wells also wrote a play “The Escape; or, A Leap for Freedom” in 1858, along with other historical writings.

99 Cents to Help Me Launch!

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Help Me Launch for just 99 cents! Pre-Order Stella Book #3 on Kindle before the price goes up! You have until Wednesday, February 24th. Your downloads will help me to move up in rank. I’m trying to make the top 100 before Launch Day!

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(Don’t look at me like that, yes I said Top 100. I believe in setting reasonable goals. Gotta crawl before you walk!)

As of today, Friday, February 12, 2016, there is exactly 2 weeks left before The Stella Trilogy is complete. The early reviews are vitally important to authors like myself and your support is greatly appreciated. While you can’t leave a review now, here’s what you can do to help spread the word about this book:

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Just spread the word! (you were waiting on something fancy huh? lol hee hee). Let your friends know they can download Stella Book #3 for $0.99! They will have from now until Wednesday, February 24th  to pre-order the Kindle Edition at this price. Don’t have books 1 & 2? Don’t worry! Request the first two books in the series free in exchange for an honest review.

Two Weeks Before Book Launch

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I can’t believe its two weeks before launch day! Where did the time go? In just a short while, I’ll be wrapping up The Stella Trilogy with the release of the 3rd installment. I’m excited but I’ve been keeping things pretty chill. So here’s what’s going on.

Editing

I was excited to see that my editor sent me the copy of the final edit last week. There was a lot that needed to be changed and some things I just completely took out. I am so grateful for the revision process and the extra set of eyes. I think my ARC readers are going to really enjoy the revised edition.

Ebook Formatting

I have decided this time around to pay for professional eBook formatting! I don’t want my ebooks to keep looking like: who did it and why did they do it? So, while I have the basic understanding of how to format, I think its best to let someone more experienced handle it until I can perfect the skill. I am really excited about this change and should be getting the newly formatted manuscript back this week.

Print Book Proof

I am always very excited about my print book proofs! This is the final FINAL check where I get to read the book in its print book format for one final run through. I am expecting the mailman to deliver me the copy sometime this afternoon. Of course, I’ll do a FB blast when it arrives (that one part where I stand in front of a poster and hold the book up like I just made The New York Times Best Sellers List).

Photo Collage

I am thankful for all of the people who have submitted pictures so far for my Stella Photo Collage! Or at least the first one (I’m sure more pictures will be taken in ATL). I’m going to wait until a week before launch to put it together though. I want to wait until almost the last minute for the collage because I don’t want to miss including anyone’s picture.

Atlanta Event

Primarily, I’ve been focused on the Atlanta Stella Book Signing Event taking place in ATL the end of this month. It will be a combination of my Book release for Book #3 and a book signing for all of the books in the series. I am using these two weeks to finalize my Power Point Presentation and pick up the decor for the event. Which, interestingly enough, seems to be a lot bigger than anticipated. It wasn’t exactly an event per se at first but I actually have a staff now (special thank you to the six women who have come forward to assist me on the ground!) I am also going to be in a play the day following the signing which is keeping me busy. As we get closer to the date, we are rehearsing more. I am now in practice four nights a week. Speaking of which, I need to buy more coffee.

Future Works

The funny thing is that while I have this book coming out, I’ve been focused mostly on the next project. I’m reading so many books I can barely keep up and the research itself has been mind-blowing. I would tell you more about the project itself but its somewhat on the low right now. I will say it is another short story and I think Stella’s going to get a run for her money on this one! In the meantime, I am considering a Stella Book Tour to help keep me busy as I write this next story. What do you think? Would you like for me to visit your town?

Ann Lane Petry

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I’ve actually ordered her book, which should be here pretty soon.

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African American writer Ann Lane Petry is said to showcase the range of the black and white experience in her novels, short stories, and other works. The Street, her most famous novel (the one I’m anticipating to show up with the mail man on my doorstep) is said to be a social commentary on the despair of black urban life in the 1940s. Published in 1946, the novel sold 1.5 million copies and brought Petry to national attention as the first black woman writer to sell a million copies of her book.

Book Reviews: The Value

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Book reviews are, in my opinion, a double edged sword. It does not guarantee that people will buy your books but what it does is add value. When I go to purchase a book, if I had a desire to buy the book I’m going to purchase it anyway. I may scan the reviews yes, but whether or not I decide to buy depends on my initial thought processes before I even got to the authors page. If I’m still leery about purchasing I may depend more heavily on the review as opposed to if I already had my mind made up to buy.

Book reviews are interesting in that they validate that people are actually reading and discussing the book and I think this is what gives them their leverage. There are real life men and women who are interested in your work as an author and that adds a worth to them that becomes more important in the end than book sales. It’s a funny thing because book reviews do increase book sales to an extent (naturally) but they also turn out to serve a greater purpose. Book Reviews authenticate the author in many ways. One of these ways being that he or she have reached someone with their artistry. Its interesting because not everyone who reads a book will review it and that is why they are so special. Good reviews are like little compliments that help to encourage the author. Even if its just one person, the reviews help people to recognize the author as someone who is officially capable of using their skill set and talent to change lives.

PBS Customer Review Surprise

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In 2014, I tried my hand at writing a screenplay that reads like a movie script. I figured, OK well, since the writing moves like a movie in my head, why not? Of course, I would like to try my hand at all genres eventually. Anywho, July of this year will mark the 2 year anniversary of Pearls Before Swine so you can imagine my delight to log into Amazon and see this customer review for it! Of course this review was left some months ago but I had not seen it for some reason. Long story short, last thing I was looking for is a review from PBS. I wouldn’t say that I’ve forgotten about it, but I was pretty lazy in pushing it back then. Time truly flies and it just seems like I knew so little then in comparison to today in relation to book publishing. As I think about it, I think its because I wasn’t as into Book Reviews. I didn’t understand the value of them back then as I do today. But as I hold the book in my hands, I am still very proud of what the Designer did to the cover, and what the editor did to the interior. Shout out to Andre Hawkings of Kenosis Innovative Designs and Cynthia Brooks for hooking me up. Below is a screenshot of the surprise review. It truly made my day.

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Wise Ink: ERROR: Kindle’s Latest Warning Message

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Wow, check out this post from Wise Ink about Amazon’s coming Error Message. This is exactly why I prefer to always have a paperback copy of my books available. Electronics are not dependable and in the case that a great book is flagged because of minor errors or formatting issues, leaves the reader to do nothing but abandon that authors work. With no option to purchase a paperback / hard copy, what options are available for the reader but to abandon that book altogether? I’m not concerned about this to be honest (I try not to worry about things much anymore, especially things I can’t change) but I do see how it can be a hindrance to many Self-Pub authors. I would suggest making your work available in as many formats and on as many platforms as possible and to have an author website or blog set up as another option from which readers can find your work. I would have a paperback/hard-copy on standby just in case. Yes, technology is increasing every day and changing the book publishing industry, but don’t believe the hype. Readers still buy paperback books! To take it a step further, you can set up a DBA (“Doing Business As” name – A fictitious name (or assumed name, trade name or DBA name) is a business name that is different from your personal name, the names of your partners or the officially registered name of your LLC or corporation) and try to get your books stocked at a major distribution company where you can buy in bulk directly from them. I know, easier said. I probably just spoke of something nearly impossible unless your Oprah but it can be done. (In my “Flash” voice “Believe in the impossible!”) The process is long and challenging and tedious and I’m sure we will all be wanting to pull our hair out BUT I think it will be of great benefit in the end. I’m interested in why B&N NOOK, KOBO, and other platforms are not as prominent as Kindle as additional sources in which ebooks are sold. While I can’t “knock” Amazon for wanting to distance itself from the the lack of “Grammatical / Formatting professionalism”, I’m not sure if relying solely on Amazon as a source where readers can find your book is wise.