I’ve discovered the deaths of family members on social media from people who have my number.
I’ve watched loved ones be more open on Facebook than they are with the people they can reach out and touch.
I’ve watched passive aggression and sneak dissing become new forms of communication.
I’ve watched as people open themselves up online in unprecedented ways. I don’t judge them, but I do wonder, does this person have something to come home to?
In an age where it’s expected to parcel pieces of our souls to social media platforms in the name of vulnerability, I wonder if there is anything we still hold sacred.
Anything still holy?
Is there any part of ourselves we still keep personal? Intimate?
I wonder.
I am not a big Beyonce fan, but I agree that “we live in a world with few boundaries and a lot of access. There are so many internet therapists, comment critics, and experts with no expertise.”
For those who make a home on social media, I hope you are not giving it everything.
I hope there is still some things you keep to yourself for yourself.
Please help me extend a warm welcome to Terry Lister.
Welcome to the PBS Blog!
What is your name and where are you from?
My formal title is The Honorable Terry Lister, FCA, MBA, JP. While l had to work very hard to be given these titles, today l am retired. And in retirement, l have more or less retired my titles. I live in a much more relaxed manner than that under which l was burdened when l was working.
Nice. And where are you from?
I am from the beautiful island of Bermuda. We, Bermudians, believe that everyone has heard of us and thus knows where our island is but l know that both of these beliefs are false. We are an extremely small island located in the Atlantic some 700 miles from North Carolina. I have lived in Bermuda all my life except for ten years when l studied and worked in Ontario, Canada. The title The Honorable is due to my serving as a member of the Bermuda legislature for 21 years including ten years as a Minister of Government. I retired in 2014 and immediately took on my most enjoyable task of my life, that of being a slow solo traveler.
What was your childhood dream?
What I do today was always a dream for me but before I could get to it life stood in the middle. I had to get educated and I had to have a job, preferably one that paid lots of money. Growing up black in Bermuda meant that any black male who did not seek a career in the trades would have three choices: doctor, lawyer or teacher. Not wanting to do any of these, I was stumped until one day when asked for the 100th time I responded by saying I wanted to be an accountant. The questioner was floored, never had a little black boy said he wanted to be an accountant. Seeing the reaction this answer produced, I said it every time from about 12 on. It didn’t matter that I had no idea what an accountant did, I just knew it had to be special by the reaction of my questioners.
By the time I needed to make an informed response and I found out what an accountant did, I was so on it and that is what I became. By the age of 27 I was a partner in the Bermuda firm of Deloitte, becoming the first black person to be a partner in a then Big 8 Bermuda audit firm. So I made my dream come true and I never regretted this. The FCA behind my name is a special recognition in my profession given to a small number of the members due to distinguished service to the profession and the community.
Terry outside Bascillica, Ivory Coast
Wow. What an amazing and inspiring story.
What would be the most amazing adventure to go on or that you’ve been on?
Given that I am a full time traveler, I have been on many amazing adventures. However, if required to name one I would say it would be trekking Mountain Gorillas in Uganda.
Wait, what?
Your stories get better and better! Go on, tell us more.
As we were starting to leave the Gorillas and head out, one quickly came down a tree and landed very close to me. The guides tried to act calm but I could see some degree of fear. However, I acted as calmly as I could and waited for the gorilla to wander off. Got some great shots! While I do enjoy writing, travel is my first passion and many of the experiences I have had were simply mind blowing.
Wow. I bet. So, what state or country do you never want to go back to?
To date l have been to 95 countries…
Say whattt??
Just about every country has something about it that makes me wish I could go back. However, the one place I will not go back to is Tunisia. This northern African country was recently in the news about their behavior towards black Africans. I was there for 12 days in 2019. I was not treated with any warmth most of the time, often I had to fuss with taxi drivers to get them to take me where I wanted to go and, worst yet, I had an incident with the police who detained me for several hours for the crime of walking along a country road going to see a point of interest. There was a nasty undercurrent as I moved through various parts of the country and for that reason I would not return.
I’m so sorry you had to go through that craziness. Thanks for the heads up!
Let’s get into your publishing journey. When did you publish your first book?
I published my first book, Immersed in West Africa, in August 2019 just two months before my bad experience in Tunisia. My wife had organized a launch party which went really well and the book should have been off to a great start. However, we had selected a launch date and refused to move from it. The result was the publisher rushed the book and it was not a good product. Some of the attendees who bought books that night have chosen to not buy any books since which l find to be such a disappointment. When l realized the extent of the problem we sat down and fixed the flaws and put out another copy which has sold well. Beyond that this book has won 12 awards. Today, l am very proud of my first book, Immersed in West Africa.
And proud you should be. It is a wonderful and informative read. I’m glad you didn’t give up and re-released it.
What takes up too much of your time?
The most time consuming part of my writing is the marketing of the books. I am not a known author so l have to work every day to keep my books in front of people. It is both very time consuming and very challenging. Naturally, my genre is Travel and l write about my travels. So l cannot say, “enough of this, I am going to be a sci-fi writer.” Therefore I use up many hours doing things to get my books in front of potential readers.
Who is your favorite historical figure?
When l started high school way back in the dark ages, as my children would say, my class was taught Latin. Little did we learn but some of us took to the stories especially the Punic Wars and General Hannibal. He became and remains my favorite historical figure. When l went to Tunisia I went to see the remains of his city, Carthage. Consistent with the removal or destruction of many other creations of Black Africans prior to colonization, there was little to see while throughout Tunisia there are many Roman sites from the same and slightly later time period.
So, is the Honorable Terry Lister a political man?
Am I political? Does a horse drink water!
Yes, l served 21 years in the legislature of my country from 39 to 60. These were the peak years of my work life so it is impossible to not be political. However, I see my role today as observer and scribe. I spend very little time in political discussions or arguments as I was expected to do for the previous 21 years. My experience does make me well prepared to observe and to ask questions as l travel along.
You’re amazing.
Thank you, Terry Lister, for spending this time with us.We enjoyed you!
Terry Lister on the Skywalk at Kakum Nationsl Park in Ghana
Traveler and author Terry Lister enjoys both. Prior to this, he worked as a realtor, a minister in the Bermudan government, and a partner in the accounting firm Deloitte. However, he had always desired to travel, so in 2014, at the age of 60, he decided to retire and started traveling alone.
Lister had visited 48 nations when he retired, but since then, he has visited 50, staying in each for a week to six weeks. It’s been a journey! His first book, Immersed in West Africa, chronicled eight weeks of action-packed travel across five different West African nations. He has now traveled to 18 more countries in Africa and authored four more books.
While he is off the road, Mr. Lister enjoys unwinding with a good book, which must be historical or biographical. Although Terry would like to read more books in different genres, there are enough excellent novels in his field to keep him reading. He always has a few travel books in progress in anticipation of his upcoming trip.
Before leaving, Terry says he undertakes much research to identify activities that visitors are not always aware of. There is little time to be bored for this wanderer. He enjoys playing football and cricket in his spare time-cricket and football being his games. So little time to be bored!
Being on your own timeline is one of the tremendous benefits of self-publishing. The days of waiting ten years for a major publishing house to approve your work are long gone.
But how much time do you spend on your book before you Self-Publish it?
Sure. You can self-publish a book you wrote in two weeks, but is this wise? Has anyone seen the manuscript outside of yourself? Has it been properly edited? Formatted? And how’s that cover looking?
Remember, writing and publishing books are two separate processes.
There’s a reason books take a long time to release in traditional publishing, and while we self-publishers have the privilege of not having to wait as long, we should take our time.
I’m sorry to tell you, but being published on Amazon is not the flex it used to be. The platform is oversaturated with mediocrity. You don’t want your book swimming in this sea.
We can all agree Washington is a phenomenal actor, but exceptional people don’t just happen. Extraordinary people are birthed from hard work, practice, and study.
This is your reminder that you are not running late or behind in today’s immediate gratification society. You don’t have to publish your book right away just to be able to say you did.
There is only one way to eat an elephant, according to Desmond Tutu, and that is one mouthful at a time. He meant that everything in life that appears difficult, overpowering, or even impossible may be completed gradually by taking on just a little at a time.
I was stressed when I first got the edits for my black history book back. “This is going to take forever,” I thought.
But that’s because I was looking at the entire book with no system or organization to get it done. It was just one big pile of words that needed to be sorted out. So, what did I do?
I left it alone a couple days.
The time helped me to see how I would attack it. I decided to work on two chapters at a time. And by work on, I mean do everything that needed to be done: revise, add citations, summarize. Using a dope Black history planner I ordered from Black Prints on Instagram, I blocked off the entire month of January and February with the chapters I would do for each day, leaving one day (every Sat) as a rest day where I would not work on the book at all.
It’s so cute!
This changed my outlook immensely!
I find myself looking forward to work instead of dreading it (even the boring stuff like formatting citations). If a chapter is short enough, I could do three in one day. With this system, I am already on chapters six and seven.
Doing less feels like I am getting more done!
Moral: Few people who want to write a book get around to doing it because they are thinking about writing a whole book. But how about just writing a chapter? And if that’s too much, a paragraph?
If you can commit to writing a certain amount a day instead of all at once, you will look up to a finished book in no time.
However, it’s equally important to honor your commitments, or this strategy does not work. That’s the thing about writing, no one can do it for you. If you say you will write a chapter a day, try really hard to write a chapter a day.
I am really not all that organized. I just honor the commitments I make to myself.
I would also recommend staying within schedule. While I do three chapters if the two I have for the day are short, I never go on to four.
Since we live in a capitalist society, money is the first thing we think about when wanting to go places or do something, and if we don’t have the money, we become hopeless.
And I get it. You need money for everything. Not even a charity can run without funding. What kind of society makes it so you can’t even help people without money?
However, there are two other things we have that can make things easier:
Our mind
Our connections
Many people ask me about my self-publishing journey, and I can tell you it has been challenging. Nothing about self-publishing is easy, even now. However, what has made it easier is my connections with other people.
December, 30, 2017
When we first moved to Georgia, my husband and I visited the Nubian bookstore in Morrow. Every two weeks or so, we would buy books until we developed a relationship with the owner Marcus. As two nerds, we had no other agenda but to buy as many books as our wallets could afford and our arms could carry.
Two months later, I asked Marcus how I could get my own books into his store. (It had not occurred to me before then.)
To my surprise, we worked out a consignment deal on the spot and put my books on the shelf.
Then, he told me about the Medu Bookstore in Atlanta and referred me to Nia. I submitted I am Soul, which had to go through a review process.
This is why…editing.
June 13, 2018
A couple weeks later, I got the call that I had passed the review board, and just like that, I was in two bookstores.
While hosting a book signing, I met a guy who told me there was a Barnes and Noble that accepts self-published books. He said I should check it out. I did, and a few moves later, I was in B&N.
Of all the advice I’ve ever given, this is probably the most important:
Building genuine connections and relationships with people can take you places money won’t.
It will allow you to skip steps you would otherwise have taken.
June 16, 2021
Once I am Soul passed the review board, The Women with Blue Eyes didn’t have to go through them to get on the shelves because they trusted me to deliver high-quality work.
In this season, instead of mindlessly scrolling social media, consider ways of leveraging your connections for more growth.
I was twenty-two years old when I loc’d my hair. It is the only other time it has been this short (or a little shorter than this).
As a spiritual-minded person, I do not think of hair as just hair. I see it also as energy. (I believe the keratin protein in hair contains crystalline structures that act as energy amplifiers and antennas.) Thus, as the years have gone by, a lot of energy has been built into my locs. Some of it good, some of it not so good.
While there is the power of all I’ve accomplished, there is also the energy of losing loved ones. The energy of miscarriages. The energy of depression and sadness. As the years passed, my hair became more burdensome. They are thick and healthy but heavy. I saw this as much more than the weight of hair, but the weight of all I was still carrying after thirteen years of growth.
While I don’t think I will ever cut my locs off completely (I love my hair!), the symbolism of my cut is a cutting off of toxic emotions stored in my hair over the years and a separation from the past. It is a physical, mental, and spiritual cleansing through the release of the old and embracing the new. As I let go of those old branches, I await the beauty of the new ones to come in.
Just as pruning trees helps to remove portions that have a disease, fungi, and other types of decay, my trim represents the removal of those parts of my hair that can spread to the other “branches” and prevent them from healthier growth. It helps expose my scalp to more sunlight, air circulation makes it easier to wash and sleep, and it does not hurt my neck and back.
I feel this all on both a physical and spiritual level.
I love the overall freedom this new look gives me. I literally felt a weight lift when these heavy locs hit the floor.
This year, I intend to live more freely. I do not want to rush to do anything, conform to anyone’s ideas, or allow myself to be limited in any way. I am here for it all. This haircut is a symbol of this freedom.
I am excited about this new beginning.
PS. Exciting new update on the Black History book coming!!
Hulu is about to release an exciting new series based on Octavia Butler’s book Kindred. This will open the floodgates to new interest in the book and a host of new readers.
Kindred was first published in June of 1979, which means there are new generations of readers who have probably never heard of it or read it.
First edition cover of Kindred
This brings me to one of my favorite sayings:
“Your book is always new to the people who have never read it.”
Yecheilyah
But what does this mean?
Books are eternal in that no one has read every book in the world, which is why classics like Kindred are still being discovered.
Your book is not only new when you first publish it. It is always new to fresh eyes.
Here Are Some Ways of Resurrecting Your Backlist:[mepr-show rules=”31881″ unauth=”message”]
Update the Cover
Updating the cover can be an exciting way to reintroduce your older works. Has the market changed? Can your book compete? Take the time to consider what’s selling in your genre.
Because believe it or not, books are judged by their covers!
Repurpose Into Other Formats
Is your book available in every possible format? Paperback? Hardcover? Ebook? Audiobook? Bring your older book back to life by repurposing it into a different format to reach new readers.
Bundle It, Offer Discounts / Freebies
Book bundles are great for a series but can also work as a way of offering several of your books at a discounted price.
You can also offer discounts on your first book in a series or lower the price of an older book when a new book is about to drop.
Buy a New Book, Get an Older One Free!
Another cool idea is to give a book away free in exchange for an email or offer a “buy the new book and get an older one free” deal.
Republish It / New Editions
Whether the first edition is riddled with errors or you want to add an alternate ending, publishing a new edition can bring more attention to a book you thought died on Amazon’s electronic shelf.
I have long wanted to republish my very first novel, a Sci-Fi Thriller. I hope to reintroduce her to the world in the coming future.
The moral of the story is even if you published a while ago, you can still push your backlist to new readers.
Because, and I think it is safe to say, books never die.[/mepr-show]
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