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Showing content with the highest reputation on 04/29/2016 in Posts

  1. Literacy on the Go! If you spot my Armada (you really can't miss it) and you can tell me the day, time, and location where I'm driving, you can be entered to win one of my awesome books for FREE! Just enter your email contact information on my website. It's that easy! I will contact you when you win. I'm going to be driving from Texas to Virginia to Washington D. C. starting late June 2016. I am also planning a road trip to Chicago to visit libraries, schools, and community centers in the Fall of 2016. Look for me. I'm coming to talk about literacy and the lack thereof. How far will I go to promote literacy? How far will I go to help struggling children? How about all over the United States! How about all over the World Wide Web (WWW.com) The big question is: How far are you willing to go with me? You can start by supporting African-American Children's Authors. We work hard to provide the great literature that so many children need. Visit my updated website at: www.readtoachieve2.com to see what I've been up to. Remember the importance of Reading to Achieve with all children! My brand is: Read to Achieve the Magic! (TM). I would love for you to share what I'm up to!
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  2. I just added the photo to the newsletter, which I will email this afternoon. @Shirley Gale, there is one thing I did notice, that is worth mentioning not just for your consideration but for any other authors who read this conversation. When deciding which photo to use, I noticed you included the text "Available at Amazon.com." There was a time when that would be considered sponsorship and a company would have to pay for that kind of exposure--and that time was not very long ago. One of the things I observed in recent years as that everyone gives the largest corporations free promotion. I know part of the reason social media is so very popular is that we all aggressively promote those platforms. We plaster their logos on all of our promotional material and refer readers to these platforms often before our own websites. It is not just Black authors who do this it is most business, from individual enterprises to large corporations, (though I have to believe the larger corporation plugging social media are not doing it for free). A buddy of mine recently designed a graphic to promote our Annual Black Pack Party. He put the logos of three popular social media platforms on our flyer. I did not ask him to do that, he did it on his own; collectively we have been trained. Don't get me wrong people should use Amazon, and social media, but lets not let they them get more out of us than we get out of them. As Black folks I think the issue is even more important because this free promotion, based upon my observations, has come at the expressive of our businesses. I have always suggested that Black authors, if they are going to plug a bookseller for free, plug a Black-owned store too. In 2016, one can pretty much take it for granted a book will be available via Amazon, explicity saying it only reinforces Amazon.com brand--again at our expense. I also know authors feel there is still some level of credibility that goes along with saying that their book is available at Amazon, But today anyone can make their book available via Amazon, there is no longer any cache in saying this, at least not in the way there might be to saying your book is available in a Barnes & Noble brick and mortar bookstore, which despite their size carries relatively few books written by Black authors--especially independently published ones. I hope for a day when Black-owned businesses can benefit from free promotion too.
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