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So I was talking to an author friend today and she recommended I read the current Publisher's Weekly. The issue speaks mostly about African American publishing. However, I couldn't get past the article for looking at the book cover. What the Frank -N- Beans?
Althouth Calvin Reed has apologized for the cover. Here I still can't fathom who thought this cover complimented African American people? Or maybe I can't fathom that this is what publishing think of us? Is this why we have to climb a mountain and cross a hill to get a publishing deal? Will this madness be the reason why more publishers will direct black writers to going the self-pub route through their self-pub entities instead of giving them a decent read thru?
Happy Tuesday. Today are Trailer Park Tuesday spotlight is Nikki Grimes "The Voices of Christmas" (Zondervan, 2009.) This children's book shares the Christmas story through the voices of those who witnessed the Messiah's birth.
Please leave comments either here or via Twitter and Facebook how do you feel about this trailer. Is it effective? Does it help you decide whether you want to buy the book? What does it not say that you need to know?
Thanks To Author Rhonda McKnight for sending out this great holiday card idea. I thought I would use it as a Monday Motivator to keep your eyes on the prize.
Hey Y'all,
I saw this on one of my email updates and thought it was a great idea:
When doing your Holiday Cards, take one card and send it to this address. If we pass this on and everyone sends one card, think of how many cards these wonderful special people who have sacrificed so much would get.
A Recovering American Soldier
c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue,NW
Washington , D.C. 20307-5001
Please pass it on.
I think this is a great email to go viral. For all those who read this post, send one greeting card to the above address and the email message to at least 10 people you know and advise them to do the same. Let's see what happens!
Author Solutions President and CEO Kevin Weiss responds to the backlash from Harlequin and Thomas Nelson new self publishing entities here.
an interesting quote...
"There are plenty of books in traditional publishing today that just don't make it; it's a hits business," Weiss said. "It's why the publishing industry is going through a transformation today and the consumer has everything to say about what is good content and what isn't good content. To say that in order for a book to make it in the marketplace it has to blessed by a traditional publisher doesn't make any sense in 2009."
Unfortunately, I agree.
Let's take African-American Publishing for example...
In the 1990s publishers began pursuing self-published authors who had gained a decent platform on their own. (The late E. Lynn Harris, Kimberla Lawson Roby, Zane, etc.) However, the truth is, those authors self-published because traditional publishing didn't believe that African-American people bought commercial fiction and they didn't know how to market to them.
There successes--which are phenomenal(Zane has sold 2.7 million copies since)-- spawned a flood of self-published authors into the marketplace. Some good, some bad, but definitely changed the game for African-American authors seeking book deals with traditional publishers.
Imagine how much money Harlequin would have made if DelaCorte had self-pubbed Zane's "The Sex Chronicles?" Imagine if Thomas Nelson had selfpubbed The Shack through WestBow Press a few years back?
That is the question publishers are asking themselves. They are trying to catchup to all the money that they had left on the table years ago when they rejected authors for whatever reasons they had.
So what does this all mean now?
African American authors have been reacting, adapting and staying ahead of the publishing curve for a while now. Pay attention to what they are up to next.
As I said before published authors should take advantage of self-pubbing to leverage their brand and to provide a separate source of income.
But most importantly, we all need to think about how we can make our stories accessible to New Media and how to monetize that content?
Don't forget we have a Christmas Short Fiction Festival going on at Christian Fiction Online Magazine. Visit it here and vote.
Happy Tuesday! Today's Trailer Park Tuesday is none other then, Disney's The Princess and The Frog. Selah's excited and so am I. What impact do you think this movie will have on our children and current society?
This morning I was pleasantly surprised to see Michael Bublé's "Haven't met you yet" on the VHI Top 20 Countdown. i'm accustomed to seeing pop , rock or r & b hits not american classic good juiceness that is buble. so i took a ponder and realized why. times are a changing and in a good way. quality, craftmanship, intellect, and good clean fun is wanted again. you don't have to dumb down your art for pop culture to get you now. like the lyrics in the song they may not get all that you giv, but they love, crave, and buy it.
