http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CW2WMM8/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_zrIMrb0XNRXRD

Farrakhan will speak before the Detroit City Council, to members of the clergy and to residents of the city.  Acknowledging the Detroit's rich legacy, Minister Farrakahn opined about the city's present condition, saying "Detroit is where the Nation of Islam started.  Detroit is almost considered now, a dead city.  So we'll come back to Detroit where we began and loook at the condition of Detroit, pool our resources and try to buy properties in Detroit and start rebuilding one of the greatest cities in America where we're concerned."  From the Michigan Chronicle.

Are the Nation of Islam's goals consistent with yours?  What do you think a city run by NOI would look like? 

tells his teacher he wants to be openly gay when he grows up.

http://www.prlog.org/12140839-want-to-be-openly-gay-released-by-book-express.html

 

Banished from her clan for being a Muslim, a 400 year-old jinn named Zamar is hiding from her past. But an ancient evil is about to surface,
unearthing her secrets and carrying painful reminders of the life she once lived. Ages ago, Zamar had lived in solitary exile along the banks

of the Senegal River. Then a lone man entered her world, altering it forever.

Spanning several centuries, book one of Fire & Clay, pulls you into the unseen world of mankind’s distant cousins, the jinn. Like
humans, these beings were given the gift of free will. And like us there are a few that choose the way of good, some that choose the way of
evil, and many that live their lives torn between the two.

But what happens when the lives of creatures cast from smokeless fire, and those shaped from the clay of the Earth become intertwined?

The story told here takes readers on a journey of mystery, imagination, and magic to search for the answers. It plunges into the
depths of jealousy, fear, and greed—as well as violence, sorrow, and loss. But it also scales the heights of love and faith, hope and
deliverance. This story may be fictional, but it is true. Its truths are about what it means to be human, what it means to have the power to choose.

Fire & Clay is no mere fairytale. What we can see, touch, and taste is only a narrow sliver of reality. There is a war being
fought all around us, even within us. And sooner than we might think, our final battle is coming.

http://www.kaaronicaevansware.wordpress.com

Makeda was published by Open Lens an imprint of Akashic books. The imprint is run by three brilliants ladies Marva Allen, Regina Brooks and Marie D. Brown. The imprint debuted with l debuted with Makeda, by Randall Robinson who, as you probably know is the founder of the human rights organization TransAfrica.

Open Lens goal is to provide quality Black literature. I'm sure you'll enjoy the book!

successful Indy Book Publisher

Reviews for Ratchet Woman

 

“It's my pleasure to subscribe to AALBC. I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate your eNewsletter. As a writer and an avid reader, it keeps me informed with what's going on with African American books and films, and other literary and film events. I recently re-released my debut novel, -------------------- , so I look forward to advertising with AALBC in the near future, as well. So, thank you!”

or

“My family had an unfortunate lost at this time, but hopefully I can send the 1%, . before end of May.  I truly enjoy your newsletters, so informational, even when I can not afford a book I have the latest info at my finger tips... so for keeping me updated here in the Midwest were things are a little slower than your area.”

or

"I'd rather give you $10.00 instead of $7.99. I rather mail you a moneyorder. Just send me mailing info to send it too.
Happy to support"

In an attempt to help bring in revenue to directly support the eNewsletter I started asking people to purchase their subscription.  The campaign plays on the concept of "The 1%".  Where if 1% of the subscribers paid $7.99 for their subscription the eNewsletter would be much better..

The actual reach of the eNewsletter is 1,600 to 3,200 (reach meaning actual readers; people who open the eNewsletter email, in HTML format, and click a link).  I would actually like to get 10% of the actually eNewslettter readers to subscribe which would yield almost $16,000 (an average of 2,000 readers * $7.99).  Which would easily cover the eNewsletter expenses including paying for an editor and the writing of more pre-publication fiction book reviews – something I really would love to be able to do.

I also learned many people who would otherwise pay for their subscription don't do so because they don't want to use PayPal.  PayPal is much easier for me and makes renewing subscriptions much easier. 

While complaints come in less frequently than complements, complaints do come in – and I welcome them.  Consider the following;

“Why haven't you let us know about the new Maya Angelou book---Mom&Me&Mom--I just happened to find out from the Barnes and Noble website.”
 

Here is part of my reply:

I really meant to mention Maya latest in my eNewsletter, but I simply forgot.  I have already mentioned it in so many places. I’m sorry you missed these.

Most of this was done 5 to 6 weeks ago;

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/aalbc/statuses/313711762883112960
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aalbcfanpage (scroll down to March 18th)
• Discussion Board: http://aalbc.com/tc/index.php?/topic/1981-mom-me-mom-by-maya-angelou/
• And on Maya’s page on the website: http://aalbc.com/authors/maya.htm

In general, the eNewsletter is just a sampling of what happens on AALBC.com or what I know about.  I simply can’t cover everything.

I know the eNewsletter is the most effective of all of my platforms as it is sent directly to the reader.  It is not dependent upon search result or how social media decides how to position your information for others to see it.

The really bad thing is that I discovered Maya’s new book the way any typical reader might.  I did not get a pre-publication galley not even an email from the publisher.  I might have even commissioned a book review if I had.

From a business perspective I can only afford to do so much to promote a book for which I get no support from the publisher or author.  An advertisement buy would be idea. But something would be helpful. 

As much as people complain about urban authors or self published authors in general -- they in many ways are keep many booksellers, like AALBC.com, alive and subsidize the promotion of authors like Maya Angelou.  

I actively look for new books from popular authors – discovering them is not always easy.  I can only image how difficult it must be for the average reader to discover a new book, or how a new author reaches an audience (well, that is where AALBC.com comes in )

“troy you know i love you but you MUST have your newsletter *professionally* edited... “

What can I say, I agree.  But the issue is one of allocation of resources.  I write and edit the eNewsletter myself. While some writers are better than others at editing their own work, none are as good as the fresh eyes of a professional editor – I get that.  If I got my paid subscriber base up I can certainly have one of my Edit1st.com editors handle the task.  Then again with better editing I might have more paid subscribers

Is the editing really that bad?       

STOP SENDING EMAILS TO MY INBOX! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO CLICK ON 'UNSUBSCRIBE'???  THIS IS NOW HARASSMENT!!!!

The AALBC.com eNewsletter is double opt-in.  You have to subscribe, then confirm you've subscribed via email.  Also each email include a link to unsubscribe.

In the past I have added people, who have attended an AALBC.com event, to the eNewsletter assuming I was doing them a favor.  But I got complaints and discontinued the practice.  So I had no idea why this person would be yelling at me (ALL CAPS WITH MULTIPLE EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!!).  After a little research I determined that this person subscribed on their own, but apparently could not figure out how to unsubscribe. I deleted them and checked with Madmimi support to see if there were any problems with unsubscribing – none were found.

It takes about 8 hours to write an eNewsletter and a few hours read and reply to the feedback.  Of course the underlying content in the eNewsletter takes days to compile and post.

After 15 years of spreading the word about books, writers and now filmmakers.  I know it is even more important than ever. There are simply less places for our stories to be told.  There are fewer book stores, and websites talking about Black books, than when I started.  Coverage of Black books in Magazines, Newspapers and on TV is far less.  Social media, despite the hype, has not picked up the slack (there is data to support my observations on social media).

Again I appreciate all the critiques the positive and the negative -- even if it is just to say you misspelled a word it is all good.  Thanks!

Click to Subscribe

I attended a presentation, given by PW and Bowker earlier this week where copies of the report were made available.  The list price is $999, so I was happy to score a copy. 

The presenters Jim Milliot Co-editorial Director, Publishers Weekly and Carl Kulo U.S. Director, Bowker

"The Annual Review explores demographic changes in the context of overall market trends culled from the Bowker Market Research consumer panel of almost 70,000 Americans who bought books of any format and from any source in 2011."

Again, the information in the 2012 book reflects purchaseS made in 2011 (the 2013 edition will be out soon), so that data presented immediately below is somewhat stale, but still interesting and valuable if you are involved in the book business.

Some highlights from the 2012 book include;

• Amazon is the country's largest bookseller; not matter how you measure it sales (26%), units or book buyers
• Online retailers accounted for 39% of consumer book spending
• Independent Bookstores' share of the book market rose 1%
• Bookclubs shared dropped to 2% from 13% in 2009 (ex. Black Expressions, Book-of-the-Month Club)
• B&N was the 2nd largest bookseller with a 16% share

During the presentation the 2012 data (from the forthcoming 2013 edition) was presented and discussed.  Online sale represent 43% of book purchases.  Amazon continues to lead the way -- no one else comes close. Walmart and Costco appear to be scaling back on book sales.  It looks like B&N will close stores going forward.  Also we see that;

• eBook sales have slowed and the decline in the sales of physical books is slowing and appears to be stabilizing.
• women represent 60% of book buyers, 65% of units and 58% of dollars spent

While discussing how people learn about books, social media was not listed as a significant factor.  While many in the audience reacted in surprise.  I was not surprised in the least.  The most common way people learn about a books are;

• Like this author (23%)
• Other at 22% (includes, Radio, TV, bestsellers lists, reviews and advertising),
• In-store display 19%

Of course this is just a microscopic sample of the information provided and discussed. 

The presenters Jim Milliot and Carl Kulo U.S. Director, Bowker Market Research will also be presenting at Book Expo America in a few weeks.

Ratchet Woman – Free limited Time – Four Star

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00COSW6JY

http://pollardpost.blogspot.com/2013/05/charles-ramsey-punished-thats-why.html