With the release of my second and most recent African-American Children’s book entitled “The REAL GoldiLOCS” I have been asked by family, friends and “internet friends” to post a blog with details and information that could be helpful to both Write and PUBLISH A BOOK! While many think that writing a book takes hours upon hours and LOTS of MONEY…..they are RIGHT! but not always, it merely depends on the project and the type of book you are looking to publish!
When I first decided to write Children’s books I had no idea WHAT kind of children’s books I planned to write. Due to serving in the mental health community for over a decade as a case manager, supervised therapist, operations manager etc. I learned that children were my favorite people in the world! I learned how to understand on their level which more times than not made PERFECT sense compared to the sometimes overthought and overanalyzed options we give ourselves as “grown ups”. Anyways, as I worked with children I worked predominantly with BLACK and Latina children and for the first time I noticed there TRULY WAS A NEED FOR MORE MINORITY CHILDREN’S BOOKS!!!!
When I was a young girl I remember reading books such as “Amazing Grace” and “Boundless Grace” written by Mary Moffman and illustrated by Caroline Binch. Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters by John Steptoe, “Uncle Jed’s Barbershop” by Margaree King Mitchell and “Aunt Flossie’s Hat’s and Crabcakes Later” by Elizabeth Fitzgerald Howard. It was a treat to obtain money from my parents to attend the Book Fair at the School, and or be granted access to go to the School Library. Through books I learned not only my heritage and background but also how to be as a “child” and think of things as I should as a future Adult without the toxicity of Social Media and all of the other devices and networks that children are able to access now with the click of a button. More so for African-American culture than not: Violence, Sexual promiscuity and Indecent behavior is celebrated and requested in spite of SO MANY in the SPOTLIGHT claiming to want the BEST for our FUTURE!
Therefore, I saw a NEED for the style of book I chose to write. Not JUST Children’s books…but African American Children’s Books. Then when I thought of writing black children’s books I thought of WHAT I WANTED TO SAY TO THEM! Before writing a book you must know WHY you are writing it, WHO you are writing it too, and WHAT you are writing it for. I decided to write black children’s books with a REAL MESSAGE. We are in ZERO need of anymore stories about SLAVERY. While I understand that we MUST remember our past in order to be prepared for our future we must also have something to look FORWARD TO in the FUTURE, or the past will continue to repeat itself. My first African American Children’s book was entitled “Same Kind of People” and I both Wrote and published all in the same year and over 200 copies sold within the first 3 months. Far from a New York Times Best Seller but much better than anticipated being that I was merely dipping my toes in publishing world.
When it comes to PUBLISHING expect to spend some MONEY!!!!!! If your publisher is cheap you might as well do it yourself. MORE important than the work you put into every word and detail of your masterpiece is who you trust to peddle it to the masses! Beware of fake and faulty publishing agencies that pretend to offer 100% royalties out gate for your books. This is MORE times than not a SCANDEL and could result in you sending your uncopyrighted work to someone that will not only NOT pay you but possibly publish YOUR work for themselves and you have NO PROOF worth using to fight in court. The publishing agency I utilized was very polite, punctual on releases and imformation needed by Press and Media outlets as well as TOP SELLERS such as Barnes & Noble, Target, WAL-MART and Amazon ONLINE.
I have recently published my second book and as of now it is for sale at the above mentioned locations. I originally thought that I would never be able to have a book featured or located at these retailers due to thinking I had to be a “BIG NAME” or someone already in the public eye to obtain this sort of priviledge. IT IS NOT TRUE!!! My second book entitled “The REAL GoldiLOCS” features a little girl with LOCS that teaches a lion to have confidence about his hair and his place within the KINGDOM! I wrote this book for any and all kiddos that struggle with “LOC CONFIDENCE” and or feel that their hair is anything less than AMAZING AND BEAUTIFUL! Recently I had the pleasure of meeting a young man in my area that struggled with Loc confidence and ultimately needed a story such as “The REAL GoldiLOCS” to obtain a NEW way of thinking about himself and his hair, which takes me back to my original statement that what a child reads could ultimately change their lives.
Find you purpose in writing and ensure that before you begin your journey you know exactly WHAT, WHO, WHY and HOW you plan to write to and about. This is how you will be able to remain grounded and centered in WHO YOU ARE while allowing your mind to wander deeper into your imagination and pull the MAGIC out!
Some Dope Black Girl Writes.. 