Troy

I blame their publishers more. Too much responsibility is expected of the writer to self-promote on social media. As the writers become "famous-famous" they probably should do less social media. This is the great loss of our generation. Journalism as been replaced by tweets. No other community has been more impacted than the Black community. yes, one can becomes "Black Famous" on the Chitlin' Circuit. I see someone mentioned Eric Jerome Dickey. Eric is a cool Brother -- a staple on the chitlin circuit. In fact @Mel Hopkins The day I ran into Kim Coles (when I texted you the photo), I saw Eric too -- at the National Black Book Festival. Eric has made a fine living as a writer. However, the risk as a Black writer who is "Black Famous" is that the platforms supporting your work (events, bookstores, websites, magazines, newspapers, radio, etc) are drying up. Without having the data I'm fairly confident in saying that collectively all the Black famous novelists are making less money today that a decade ago. Amazon is largely the cause. I think readers are beginning to see this. Yes, I recall Caldwell be white -- it is a great song IMHO. Literary agent Tanya Mckinnon is really doing her thing! She has several 7 figure deals under her belt. Yeah Kwame is Da Man now, he sponsored our Black Pack Party this year, which Jerry Craft attended 🙂

@Mel Hopkins' post about the 1st African American, Kennedy Ryan, to win the Rita Award and how neither of us were previously aware of the author, who has previously published 16 books. It also got me thinking about the importance of the predominantly white institutions (PWI) relative to Black institutions and how they both relate to an author's notoriety and success. I did an event recently in which a panelist described knowing another author for years because they met on the "Chitlin' Circuit." I immediately knew what the Brother, author Brian Smith, was talking about because I've run into him on numerous stops on the "Circuit." The Chitlin' Circuit is the variety of Black run book events across the country that host Black authors. I don't particularly like the term because it marginalizes the events. It is also, I believe, why some Black authors don't participate in these events. Omar Tyree, Troy Johnson, Brian W. Smith, and Clarence Nero at the Bayou Soul Literary Conference around 2009 I doubt Ryan has done any events on the "Circuit," otherwise it would have been far more likely that I would have known who she was before she won the Rita Award. It is during "Circuit" events that I discover and connect with writers. Some very prominent authors, who have garnered acclaim by PWI's, fully embrace Chitlin' Circuit events. One author who immediately comes to mind is Walter Mosley. I give Mosley a lot of credit, because to this day he still does Black events; long after President Clinton told the world Mosley was his "favorite writer." Mosley still supports these events. In other words, Mosley no longer "needs" to do these events, but he recognizes by doing them he is benefiting the hosting organization, which is good for everyone. Kirkus Award winning author Jerry Craft, Troy Johnson, and Walter Mosley at the African American Literary Awards Show (2012) Most, if not all, of the Chitlin' Circuit events may be found on my events calendar. The Harlem Book Fair, in its prime a decade or more ago, was arguably the premier event on the circuit. Other events on the circuit include the National Black Book Festival in Houston, TX, the National Book Club Conference in Atlanta, GA, and the Leimert Park Book Festival in Los Angeles, CA. There are many many others. The one I attended most recently, featured author Brian Smith (mentioned above), was the Black Authors and Readers Rock event in Oxon Hill, MD. The calendar also contains events hosted by PWIs. I think it is important to do both types of events. Back in October Kirkus announced the winners of three $50,000 prizes (fiction, nonfiction, and childrens). All of the winners and more than half the finalists were Black. I thought this was astonishing. I also know several of this writers, personally -- from the "Circuit." The Kirkus Prize is relatively new and honestly I did not pay much attention to it. When it launched in 2014 only one Black writer was recognized a finalist, Dinaw Mengestu, an Ethiopian refugee living in Paris. PWIs, at that time, were really fixated with African writers. Interestingly, not one of the authors I know, who were recognized by Kirkus, told me about their honor. This is potentially life changing recognition. As a bookseller I'm actively seeking good books to share with readers. If I happen to actually know the writer I'm actually more excited to share the information with readers. I talked at length with a couple of these writers after learning about their honor. Initially I was told it was "on social media." However the conversations would have made a fascinating article. I wish I had the time and talent to write it. The issues were fascinating... but I digress. I guess all I'm trying to say to authors is that you can embrace Black events and platforms and still garner the acclaim of predominantly white institutions. It is not an either or proposition. You can and should do both types of events. When you do earn critical acclaim, please let us know directly; social media does not share everything equally and many of don't use it at all.

Great words to live by ❤️

The Kirkus Prize is one of the richest literary awards in the world, with a prize of $50,000 bestowed annually to authors of fiction, nonfiction, and young readers’ literature. There are 5 finalists in each category, 8 Black writers made up more than half of all the finalists and won every category! This is quite an accomplishment. When the award started in 2014 there was only one Black finalist and no winners.* *This is based upon recent research; if someone finds something that is factually inaccurate please let me know.

Yep @Mel Hopkins I found 16 books for her: https://aalbc.com/authors/author.php?author_name=Kennedy+Ryan#books

You think so? It does not appear to be more vocal to me. In any event it does not appear to be effective.

Yeah I created a profile for her and will add her books in my next upload. Ill probably highlight her award in the next newsletter.

Thanks @Mel Hopkins I was unaware of this writer. I'll add her to the website.

I'm beginning to think this is a global phenomenon, maybe even part of human nature. Even in all Black country people find not shortage of ways to hate each other; skin color, tribe, religion, gender, and on. Technology has enabled racism spread faster.

"...as a Black-American in Australia, we’re viewed as exotic. We have an “accent,” we dress different, and we carry ourselves in a different manner that makes us stand out. So, to no surprise, we’re very well received here." Read the full article. The above was one of main selling points. All you have to do is move to a diffetent region of the country to reap that "benefit." At anyrate, it wasn't a compelling argument to move there. @Del did any of this reasonate?

The Center for the Restoration of Ma'At, named after the Egyptian goddess for balance, is searching for its first class of 42 "initiates" to join a 14-week summer conversion course where disciples commit to becoming a Kemite. https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/manhattan/religion-pharaohs-grows-harlem-article-1.1798523 I generally don;t read the Daily News as it is a tabloid. But I came across the article looking for more information about an author I recently added to the website, Jabari (Heru Djeden Ma'at Aten-Ra) Osaze. His book, 7 Little White Lies: The Conspiracy to Destroy the Black Self-Image, seemed like a simply introduction to American indoctrination to marginalize Black people.

The site launched last year. I just added it to my list of Black-owned websites: https://aalbc.com/top_black_websites/top_black_sites_list.php#Tru+Dreadz You can find a lot of good sites there. Here I rank the top Black-owned websites using a formula I came up with: https://aalbc.com/top_black_websites/index.php If I'm missing any top websites let me know.

@Kareem I actually considered implementing this software myself. Please consider turning off ad blocker for this site. Basically this site would not exist without ads -- book sales alone would not cut it. Google adsense and author ads is a major source of revenue. In an era where Amazon is a virtual monopoly for the online sale of books and social IS the internet for many, I know of no other way to monetize the site. It would not exisit without ads. Google is always sending me emails telling me about content on this site that they don't approve of for advertising. I usually just ingnore them as they will block ad serving at the page level. In the old days they would block the entire site! This forum used to be on thumperscorner.com when Google blocked ads, because of the content of some posts, I migrated the forums here. About 3/4 of the participants dropped off at the point. Google is great at screwing sites over.

Sad but true. I never did understand the culture's fixation with dogs. Kissing them in the mouth, sleeping in bed with them, buying expensive food... Given the way they treated Michael Vick, one could argue white folks treat dogs better than Black even in 2019. People have had dogs for all recorded history. They provide protection, helped us hunt, herded sheep, and provided useful services. Today ehelp the blind navigate city streets and find bomb hidden in luggage. But up until recently dogs slept outside and ate table scraps. Today people carry them in purses and bring them on planes for comfort!? If you can't get in a plane without your dog you don't need to be in a plane; you need psychiatric help.

Agreed. Before I deleted my personal accounts I used to spend an hour or more a day using social media, humble bragging and vying for approval from "friends." Today if I spend an hour a month on social media that would be a lot. I use social media, I don't let it use me. Today I just post links to my site and that drives revenue. I actually make far more money since I stopped using social for personal reasons. This is smart, but I have not ditched my TV yet. I do not watch broadcast TV and have "cut the cord." I still use TV for cheap entertainment watching movies, YouTube, Netflix and HBO (my kids and I share these subscriptions). I listen to the radio (podcasts) far more than I watch TV I have noticed the more I watch TV the less I read.

Hey @Pioneer1, @Kareem you are probably already aware of this site, but in case you are not check it out: https://trudreadz.com/ The articles seem to align perfectly with your world views.

Cool!

@Coach Michael Taylor, what is the book's ISBN13?

@Pioneer1 no, Omar did not write romance novels. Still, I can't think of any Brothers that have. A search of male romance novel writers shows E. Lynn Harris and Eric Jerome Dickey. My query of "Romance Novels sorted by pub date" above also returned Eric Jerome Dickey, but neither author are romance novelists -- at least as I understand the genre -- depite each having books categorized that way. I don't think there are any Black male romance novelist. If anyone knows of any let me know. Perhaps @Kareem will be our the first.

I've done this too. Recently I asked paid advertisers to supply links to their site (or use an AALBC page) rather than using an Amazon link. Most have agreed to do this. It seems that people get it when you tell them. This was not the case a few years ago. The tide seems to be changing. Sometimes, however, the author's goal is to make one of Amazon's best sellers lists, so directing readers, in this instance, to an alternative store is not possible. Given that Amazon has a bestsellers list for every category (thousands) some careful planning and pricing by an author can result in a #1 Amazon best selling book. Having a #1 Amazon bestselling book is as prestigious as making the New York Times Best Sellers list in some quarters. The problem with the NY Times list is that it is, naturally, biased against Black books and independently published books, these books typically don't make the shelves of the stores that report to the NY Times. AALBC reports to the Times, but my sales are not enough impact the list (The AALBC bestseller Sulwe, make the list during the period I reported 😀). Imagine, if book promoters directed readers to buy books from AALBC and other stores that report to the Times. We could impact the list and build the Black Book Ecosystem at the same time. Then again, imagine if the AALBC Best selling Books List, published since 1998, carried the same clout in our community as Amazon's or the New York Times' lists. Imagine...

As a bookseller I get pitches for new books several times a day — which is great, because it tells me sometime positive about the author: If they have the resources to invest in promoting their book, they've probably also invested the resources into producing a decent book. Of course this is not always the case, but I've found this to be true more often than not. One thing that has always irked me is when authors/publicists/publishers tell readers to buy book their from Amazon. In the old days they would say sometime along the lines of, "Available Wherever Books are Sold." Those promoting books were sensitive to the fact that explicitly promoting a single bookseller over all others ran the risk of upsetting other booksellers. Today, this sensitivity has been completely discarded. Why? Everyone knows Amazon sells books, so why do authors and publishers give the multibillion-dollar company free promotion by telling readers to buy their books from Amazon? In the early days of Amazon, there may have been some level of validation when Amazon offered one’s book for sale — sort of like seeing one’s book on the shelf of a prominent bookstore. Today Amazon provides a platform for the sale of ANY book no matter how poorly written or produced — they even offer bootlegged books and books published in violation of copyright for sale. A book being available for sale on Amazon has meant nothing for years. I simply ignore books that prominently promote Amazon. Below is marketing copy I received for a book a few moments ago. I'm sharing this image not to disparage the book, author, or promoter, but to share an example of what I mean (I shared this post with the person who sent me this email in the hope that they will understand). Again, this is not the only example, but it is a book I would have added to the site were it not for the Amazon ad. Amazon's logo is more prominently displayed on this ad than the author's own website, where the book is available for sale! As a bookseller, I'm not alone in this sentiment. However, few of us have a platform large enough to make this sentiment widely known. Imagine if the promoters wrote ORDER NOW ON AALBC.COM (and included our logo). Amazon is not going to stop selling books anytime soon. However, if authors, publishers, and their promoters continue to give Amazon free promotion, Amazon will become the ONLY bookseller who can sell their books. Anyone with a rudimentary understanding monopoly understands why this is bad for sales, discoverability, and pricing. Can we help restore a vibrant and diverse bookselling environment by not giving Amazon free promotion? We all, especially readers, stand to benefit.

Hi @Mel Hopkins I just updated the forum to the latest version of the software. Please tell me if the problem persists. If it does can you share a screen shot and let me know what platform you are using (which version of safari and model of Iphone you are using). I'll use an emulator to see if I can reproduce the problem and report it as a bug -- thanks

If is hard to say, for certain, what you'd do unless you're actually in the situation. A lot of Brothers who have been locked up for a long period of time go back to prison, for a wide variety of reasons. Shoot, some folks go to prison deliberately as they can't make it on the outside

In my Riley Freeman voice, "Nah, nigga dat's gay." Seriously, off the top of my head I can't think of any. Even the Brother's whise names pop up on the list book ate strictly romance. Sometimes erotica or book with sex scenes get categorized as romance. At any rate, your story is interesting 🥰 As an aside, look at the advertisement Google placed on the site based upon the content if this conversation (see below). Now Google has prevented me from serving ad on oages with less risque content