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Hi Chicki I'm posting you youtube video below (basically you post the url and the forum's software will automatically embed the video.

Yeah, Trice is one of those mutually supportive authors, we need more of. On top of writing good books; behind a very pleasant, and attractive exterior, is a serious business woman. Here are the results of her posting on Facebook. The quick answer to the question of how many clicks to the website resulted from Trice's posting on Facebook, 41 hours ago, is 24, as shown on the chart below. Considering her post had 162 likes and 5 shares (2 were mine), this is far better than any ad I've placed--not just because it did not cost me anything extra, but because the engagement rate was far higher. Organic engagement always performs better than paid engagement. I'm attributing all of these click to Trice's post, because during this period I was not aware of anyone else posting on Facebook but the same page on my site, so I could be off. But if I am, I doubt the impact is significant. There were 30 authors on my last bestsellers list, those that share the list, generally tend to perform better in sales, on my site. Of course I appreciate Trice's support so I also more willing to help her when I can. These are the types of relationships that fuel our businesses and helping readers discover better books. During the 41 hour period, Facebook was just over 2% of my over all traffic. Of course Trice link was not the only source of referrals, from Facebook, during this period, but it was the largest one. Looking at the chart on the right you can see that during the 41 hour period all social media made up 3% of my source of traffic, and referrals from other sites was double that. This is why I will increase engagement of other site rather than social. Looking at the chart on the left you can see that Facebook referrals make up most of my social media referrals--facebook always has. What is most striking is how poorly Google Plus and Pinterest performs for my site. I'm not surprised by Goodreads, because I don't engage there at all. I'll probably blog about this in more detail.

Got it! Please post your ISBN13 so that I can add your book to my database. Thanks. I'm pleased to see you also mentioned African American bookstores as a source. Authors used to say something like, "available where books are sold," without giving any particular store the free promotion. Today many authors say, "buy my book at Amazon" and display a big Amazon logos on their websites. An independent bookstore would kill for that time of free publicity. On my site redesign I'm sending readers to a variety of different stores--even to the publisher's website, when that is an option, to buy the book. I'm also considering transitioning to selling books directly. Man if I could get authors to display an AALBC.com logo on their website and say by my book at AALBC.com I would actually pay for that. .

Righteous, you have a very nice website =, but I could not help but notice that your are selling your book directly, as the only option. I was wondering if there was a specific reason you chose to do that.

Man I just read the banner I created for your books and I see now that it makes no sense. I'll correct it but is there else that you would like me to write there instead?

Man Chris you got me ranting today :-) Helping people understand that we can do more to help ourselves than Facebook can will do, can not be done with reason. There has to be an emotional component, and nothing I can think of is a powerful as what facebook can do for one emotionally. Authors who post frequently on Facebook, there are many, generally post personal stuff and it gets a lot of likes and comments. If an author can get 1,000 likes for saying it is their anniversary, you can't pull them away from that, it is a terrific ego stroke--even if an very small percentage of that activity translates into traffic to a place where readers will buy their books. But many authors are in the business for notoriety, so this is perfectly aligned with what they are looking for. The authors I'm likely to attract are the writers who want people to read what they have written, and don't want to be bother engaging will the masses on a social networking website, Don't get me started on the NAACP. Last year I was willing to fly out and cover their event--on my own dime. They declined to give me a press pass! Keep in mind I have no interested in celebrity award shows. I just wanted to cover the books--which gets no coverage. Every year I post articles and cover the award winning books. I get ZERO acknowledgment, thanks, recognition, not even a retweet, not even an "Atta Boy!" For my efforts. I can deal with this I'm not doing this for recognition, I'm doing to recognize the authors and share information about the books. But it is frustrating, hence this rant. Last year, desperate to cover the event in a more meaningful way than simply listing the books, I asked a couple of the authors that I knew to write about their experiences. The NAACP would even help share those articles by Gwen Richardson, and Dwayne Smith (who won his category). This stands in stark contrast to the ALA, I have always covered the Coretta Scott King Awards, and various libraries link to the list, reference the website, and I even keynoted a dinner at the BCALA this summer. I just finished listing (on the new site) all of the CSK winning books going back to 1970. I have covers for every book, video, description information about all the authors and illustrators -- no one has this type of information on all of these books, not Google, not Amazon, not even the ALA. But I know this will be a resource that they reference, sending me valuable traffic and giving AALBC.com a level of legitamacy. I plan to do the same for the NAACP winning titles, but I know, going in, that I will get no help from them, but again not matter how I might personally feel about the image awards, other than the African American Literary Award Show, they are the only entity celebrating, a large number of popular Black authors. So I'm support them even though is is not reciprocated. Chris you mentioned that if I have the support of 100 authors, I would be killing it, if I had the support of a few Black of our Black institutions that would be just as helpful. Should you submit you book, that is not a question I should answer for you :-) I assume there i still a fee for submission (how much is it). You have to cover your expense to and from LA. Though I understand based upon what Gwen told me, that you are treated well once you are there. You get to rub elbows with celebs (if that is you thing) and being nominated is always a credential that you can use. Depending upon your finances it might be worth a chance on getting a nomination. I've been at this PC since 6:30 this morning. I'm going to the gym for the first time in months. I miss being in shape ;-)

Chris I don't disagree with single word you wrote. The fact that you mentioned Tavis' lack of integration with the grassroots is perceptive. I was trying to think of a way to describe it; elitist came to mind, but that did not seem to be quite it. I've met the man a number of times. We never really spoke or connected largely because he was not interested. I was a HUGE supporter of his publishing company. The only reason I had any connection with it was not because of Tavis, but because of the woman who actually ran the company an iconic figure in publishing Cheryl Woodruff. Cheryl thinks more like you and I, but was burdened (my word choice), by Tavis' sensibilities, which are not nearly as conscious, in my opinion. Chris active support of 100 writers would subsidize my support of 1,000 other authors. I always envisioned that that support would from the likes of a Tavis Smiley, a Toni Morrison, an Oprah. But people of that statue has never exhibited an inclination to support my efforts. My support comes from people like you, Hickson, and folks like Cynique. Back in the day when Urban fiction was getting beat up in the media. I would never say anything bad about urban fiction because they were were supportive of AALBC.com, and appreciated any and everything I did. Seriously, the support of these so called "ghetto" writers helped give me the resources to promote the work the writers who were the most critical of urban fiction--writers who never lifted a finger to support an AALBC.com. Do you see what I mean? At the end of the day, we who unabashedly support Black writers are marginalized by those same very same Black writers once they reach a certain level. Of course there are authors who are exceptions to this, but I think you see my point. At the end of the day, the white man's ice is just colder to many of us. Those writers will anxiously write for the huffington post, Goodreads and Facebook for free, and turn their nose up at the few dollars a Black independent could offer.

Thanks Hickson! An thanks for your support over the years. I added Ghettoheat's books to my database: http://aalbc.it/ghettoheat I still have to update some of your author pages, but that will part of a larger process down the road. As part my research I discovered this interview of you. I liked what you said about having our own. Man you get it, you really do. It feels like I've been saying this over and over, so it is refreshing to encounter someone who understands this out the box. I also liked what you business model and the revenue share (about 20 minutes into the video) with your authors. In practice, how has that worked for you over the years? Also I could not find much information about LOVE DON’T LOVE NOBODY can you post a better cover and the missing information here?

Chris I pay ZERO attention the the reviews on Amazon because most of them are worthless. I stopped posting there long ago, because Amazon won't even allow you to put a hyper link back to your website. So not only do they want me free book review they won't even give me the courtesy of a reciprocal link!? Occasional I'll post a review if an authors asks, but I don't even do that anymore. Now if you have one review and it only got one star, that does not look good and I can understand your reaction. But again this is Amazon's problem. They don't give a crap. Now if we posted a review you best believe ample consideration was given before posting especially if it was unfavorable.

Would you do me a favor a write a paragraph, you can simply post it here, describing your music production side, and I'll add it to the end of your profile. I'm going to use a large slider at the top of the homepage page and every main section of AALBC.com. Yours will be the first ad in those positions, which means it will be in place many months I besides the web site redesign I have two major challenges Helping Authors Recognize the Potential AALBC.com Has in Enhancing Their Platform AALBC.com could be the "goodreads" of Black literature. If they choose to make it that. Rather authors have been posting content on my Facebook page. As a result, I've decided I will abandon Facebook with the roll-out of the new website, it is simply cannibalizing traffic. Besides AALBC.com can provice a better treatment of authors content than Facebook, for free, and without all the downside Facebook brings. I just posted a video describing how an author can post information about their books on these forums. Getting Quality Writers to Write for the Website Just today I discovered a book reviewer on Facebook posting a link to Goodread (owned by Amazon) for a review of a new book. I followed the link to Goodreads (as much as that pained me only to discover the person had written many reviews on Goodreads. Now Amazon is not paying writers to write these reviews, so it always floors me when writers give their content to massive corporations allowing them to profit, while overlooking independents that could really use the content and are willing to pay for it. I dug deeper and noticed that the buy links at the end of the review had affiliate codes applied. So someone else was earning revenue off the content from those reviews. Even the prospect of being "discovered" on a Goodreads from writing book reviews is unlikely. Since so many writers are willing to write for corporate websites for free, it is extremely difficult for any writer to be paid for writing book reviews- virtually no one makes a living doing it. As a result, I'm also working on a model to pay writers for articles and reviews. Right now I'm thinking of a payment system that is a function of traffic generated by the article and/or a share of commission from book sales. At any rate, it is better than what writers are getting from the corporate sites.Neither of these should really be problems if it was understood that everyone benefits, especially readers, if we all supported entities like AALBC.com with the same gusto we support Goodreads, or Amazon, or Facebook... But honestly this has always been a challenge, so I'm not really daunted by this, but it would really would be nice to have more active support from more authors--it is in their own best interest. I still have tons of work ahead of m, but I'm liking how the new site is shaping up. Chris, I'm glad that I I've been helpful. The feeling is mutual. Imagine a world in which folks cooperated on our level--and we never even met! We have similar life goals. Perhaps that is why we clicked. You have an advantage in that you have a few disparate revenue streams, I'm pretty much all in with the book website. I have branched into education and while I find that rewarding, it does not scale or have the revenue potential of a website. Peace

I was researching American trends, and there seems to be a similar trend in the Broader US market which mirrors what is happening in Canada, A 2013 PW (Publishers Weekly article, “Mixed Blessing in Slowing E-book Sales,” cited Kensington's CEO who called the declining growth of eBooks sales “a mixed blessing.” I find that an almost shocking statement to come from a CEO of a publishing company. If there is a market for a product you provide why on Earth would a decline in sales be anything but bad news? I guess that just illustrated how jacked up the business models are in publishing. More recently; E-book Sales Dropped in First Quarter By Jim Milliot, Jul 16, 2015 First-quarter e-book sales were down 2.5% and 36.6% in the adult and children’s/young adult categories, respectively, according to figures in AAP’s StatShot program. With sales of hardcover and paperback also down, first quarter sales in the children’s/ya category fell 15.9%. Big Drop in E-book Sales Led to Soft 2014 at HBG By Jim Milliot, Feb 10, 2015 E-book sales took a big hit at HBG in the fourth quarter, comprising 19% of trade sales in 2014 down from 27% in the fourth quarter of 2013. Once again, Lagardere blamed a stronger publishing schedule in 2013 and the Amazon dispute for the drop in e-book sales. For the full year, e-book sales accounted for 26% of all trade revenue, down from 30% in 2013. HBG added some more details to digital results, noted that the combination of e-book and downloadable revenue represented 30% of net sales last year compared to 33% in 2013. It is interesting to note that the average sales price for the top 5 selling eBook is 12 bucks! Visit PW for the full list. The average ebook sales price for AALBC.com is closer to $1. That combined with the negligible commissions generated by those sales have put a serious damper in revenue from commissions on book sales. Still I would not want to see ebooks go away, I just want people to read more and buy more book through AALBC.com. Top 25 E-Book Bestsellers, First Quarter 2015 RANKTITLEAUTHORPUBLISHERPRICE1The Girl on the TrainPaula HawkinsPenguin$12.992Fifty Shades of GreyE.L. JamesRandom House$9.993American SniperChris KyleHarperCollins$21.994All the Light We Cannot SeeAnthony DoerrSimon & Schuster$13.995Fifty Shades DarkerE.L. JamesRandom House$9.99We, Black folks I mean, tend to lag the rest of the industry in our behavior, at least that has been my observation. Slower to adopt technology, slower to react to changes in the industry, and slower to recover when things turn around. So I'm confident Black folks will come around to buying more physical books again, it just will take longer than we we are seeing in the broader markets.

Below is a video I made while making the post above. I created it to demonstrate how easy it is post information to this forum. It is actually easier to copy and paste information here than it would be to my wordpress blog, or even a to a standard webpage. In fact, the video below is a flash file that I embedded directly into this forum (you can't even upload Flash file into youtube). As you see from the video, it took less than 5 minutes to post this message and share it on Twitter. If I were not actually recording a video while making the post it would have taken me all of 2 minutes. Just as many people, and potentially far more, will see information posted here than would see it on Facebook; PLUS people are FAR more likely to engage here with information here and click through to the underlying website. Again this is what the web is all about. This discussion forum is optimized for mobile, permanently archived here and discoverable via search. Did I say that I use these forums to discover information to include in my eNewsletter?

Hey Chris, let me know if there are videos for your books that would would like me to add and if you would like me to change the video on the page with your bio. I'll the other book (where do you find the time). I'll update the graphic on the slider as well. I think something like that will be the premium advertisement type on the main webpages of the website Also I watched most of the videos you made. I prefer the ones when you describe first then go into what is going to happen. Meeks music is dope.

Yeah we spoke about the Smiley Joyner riff back when it was occurring, but Tavis used to have a much more powerful and influential platform which is greatly diminished today. I wrote about what I percieved as Smiley's power and potential impact 5 years ago: http://aalbc.com/blog/index.php/2010/12/21/tavis-smiley-is-no-good-for-black-folks/ but agin this is greatly diminshed. The status of the Covenant's site is just one example. His publishing company SmileyBooks, is a faint memory. Remember the State of the Black Union Gatherings which died soon after Obama refused to attend. Imagine, it was politically expedient for Obama NOT to attend the most popular public gathering of Black leaders of the time, or since. Think about that. Keep in mind Tavis' influence and footprint grew after he parted ways with Joyner. The first clear sign perhaps was the complete evisceration of BET when Tavis and his program, the only thing worth a damn in BET, was canned. The tiff with Joyner was symptomatic of the larger problem. I agree I doubt many people know Tavis has TV a program. I don't hear anyone talk about it. The only reason I was aware of Sharp's appearance was because she told me about it. After listening to that interview I realized how important the work Tavis does is. So no. the show is not listened to by the people who could stand to benefit from it the most, because we own not platforms and refuse the support what little we do have left.

S. Pearl Sharp, a writer and actress who was an influential player in the Black Arts Movement and co-founded the Black Anti-Defamation Coalition is interviewed by Tavis Smiley. We need to see more people like Sharp gain media attention and exert greater influence on our culture. Here Sharp is the author of The Evening News: Essays and Commentaries from NPR and Other Clouds. We really need to see more people like Sharp gain media attention and exert greater influence on our culture. I have to give Smiley props for continuing to interview people like this. As an aside: I did not recognize this at first, but now I see that Smiley, along with Cornel West, have been marginalized by mainstream media. This probably started before the riff with Obama, and is part of the whole process of marginalizing Black men who are trying to do something positive for Black people, and are becoming too successful at it--too powerful.

Hair Chat: Overcoming Obstacles Friday, October 23, 6:30pm - 8:30pm A heartfelt conversation with Miko Branch, Best Selling Author and CEO of Miss Jessie's. Miko Branch is the co-founder and CEO of Miss Jessie's LLC, the company behind the premium hair care product line that exclusively caters to the diverse spectrum of all curly hair types. Miko founded the company with her sister, Titi, and they named it after their much beloved and fiercely independent "do-it-for-yourself," and "tell-it-like-it-is" paternal grandmother - Jessie Mae Branch. As the visionary behind the Miss Jessie's brand, Miko revolutionized the haircare industry and became a leading pioneer of the natural hair movement by creating and marketing high performance and high quality hair care products. Free event, advance registration is required. Email: rsvp.lacasaazul@gmail.com Workshop: Cultivating Your Spirituality & Knowledge with Feng Shui Sunday, October 25, 2:00pm - 4:00pm Can the use of Feng Shui principles help you acquire knowledge and wisdom more easily and support you in developing and strengthening your spiritual life? Absolutely! Whether you find yourself engaging in some aspect of life-long learning, need to learn new information for your job or a program you are enrolled in, are writing a book or seeking a more fulfilling spiritual connection, Feng Shui can help you. In this workshop you will learn: - Feng Shui essential concepts - Ideas on creating a Feng Shui-friendly environment for your intellectual and spiritual pursuits Workshop taught by Feng Shui Expert Julie Anna Alvarez of HappyChiSolutions.com Workshop Fee: $25 P.A.T.R.I.A. (Por Amar Tanto Radiante Infinito Amor), reading with Édgar Javier Ulloa Luján Friday, October 30th, 6:00pm - 8:00pm Ciudad Juárez is the territory of the poet, composer and visual artist Édgar Javier Ulloa Luján. In his universe, he decides to interpret his concept of PATRIA as a word-symbol. There will be a Public Open Mic Session and performative intervention. The performative action will unite in the same moment the poetry of Edgar Ulloa and the voices of the viewers, generating a collective imaginary, re-interpreting collective memory and trauma across the border. $5 suggested donation This event is part of Celebrate México Now, a citywide festival of contemporary Mexican art and culture produced by CN Management. www.mexiconowfestival.org La Casa Azul Bookstore 143 E. 103rd St El Barrio, NY 10029 (212) 426-2626 6 Train to 103rd Street Store hours: Wednesday - Saturday 12:00pm - 8:00pm Sunday 12:00pm - 6:00pm Closed Monday/Tuesday 2nd location: La Casa Azul Pop Up Bookstore @Sugar Hill 898 St Nicholas Avenue @ 155th Street New York, NY 10032 Poetry night: This Ain't No Love Story Thursday, November 5, 6:30pm - 8:00pm Rumi once wrote "I have phrases and whole pages memorized, but nothing can be told of love." Join Yesenia Montilla, Rosebud Ben-Oni, Diana Marie Delgado and Sheila Maldonado. These fierce & brave poets will tackle love, heartbreak & the grit of New York City. Let their Alchemy transform you, it's an event that should not be missed. Join us at the Mosaic Literary Conference Saturday, November 21st 11:00am to 5:00pm The Bronx Museum of the Arts 1040 Grand Concourse Bronx, NY 10456 The Mosaic Literary Conference is a grassroots event and a great opportunity for the community, educators, students, program administrators, and parents to learn ways to integrate books and reading into the lives of teenagers. MLC offers a mix of informative programs and creative workshops to engage young minds, strengthen literacy, and develop education strategies. This year's conference will focus on the #BlackLivesMatter teachable moments, social and artistic movements that have risen out of Ferguson, MO, Baltimore, MD. and other police and community actions. Free event, register online.

While my personal preference for reading is supported by this video, my sites sales do not quite reflect this trend—yet. eBook sales growth has differently peaked; sales have not continued to grow over that last couple of years, on my site. However eBook here are running neck in neck with physical book sales. Some months eBook sales exceed physical books sales but never more than single digit percentages. But over the course of a calendar year, physical books have always outsold ebooks on AALBC.com. I believe this is really a function of the recession (depression in the Black community). Reading a newly purchased hardback book is still a luxury, both in terms of cost and mental effort. Increasingly folks turn to social media for diversion; the effort is minimal, and there is no additional expense. Unless attitudes change, and the economy for the middle class improves, eBooks will probably remain a strong competitor for paper based books.

...at Least in Canada and Great Britain

Hey Chris I just migrated your profile the the new website: http://aalbc.it/burnsbooks I'm also flirting with running large ads at the top of my main pages, in sliders.

Hi Kathleen, I'm glad so see you take advantage of this platform. You did not include a buy for your book or a link to your website. But I got you covered: http://aalbc.it/kathleenbooks If anyone has reviewed your book they can post it here as well. If you have a link on youtube share it here and I'll update my database with the link. Peace

HIckson, if you post, or email, me your book's ISBN's (posting here is probably best just for SEO purposes) I can make sure I have them in my database. This is what I have so far for Brown Girls Books: http://aalbc.org/authors/publisher.php?imprint=Brown%20Girls%20Books (I’m going to filter out eBooks in the future so that titles are not displayed twice). I just need the ISBN13 in a list without dashes like this: 9781625174529 9781625178855 9781625175069 This will give me a great deal of flexibility on how your books are displayed on the website. I'm currently working on migrating authors profiles as well. There are over 2,000 in the database so far :-)

Keisha, how are you! Thanks for sharing information about your book here. Of course I just added your information to my new version of AALBC.com: http://aalbc.it/keisha-gaye it is still underconstruction, but I hope you like the direction so far. I'm looking for feedback. Go SU!

Still interesting that a viable Black candidate has almost zero support from northern from Black folks. Every Black person I talk to hates the man. I shared Gwen's position because while she is not giving him an endorsement, she seemed open minded and willing to listen to what he had to say. I just noticed this video and think it is pretty good look for Ben. The interviewer asked interesting questions about race. I never noticed Ben's wife before seeing this video. I'm sure she will get a lot of grief for her appearance if Ben remains a viable candidate well into next year (No, I don't have much confidence in the maturity of folks).

This was an update written by Gwen Richardson. Dr. Ben Carson spoke at our church (Fallbrook Church in Houston) this morning at both 8:00 and 11:00 a.m. services. Many of my FB friends were interested in hearing my perspective on his presentation, so I'm posting a few details. First, there were a few dozen white congregants in the audience, more than we usually have. Fallbrook is a large church and we have some diversity but our congregation is 98% African American. This was one of the major Houston stops on Carson's book tour, which was the purpose of his appearance. He just released "A More Perfect Union," and is on a nationwide book tour. Second, his message was almost entirely non-political. He spoke for about 20 minutes about his impoverished beginnings, how his mother inspired him by forcing him to read two books per week, and details of some of his most difficult surgical procedures. He also spoke about his faith. There was little that would be considered controversial in any church in America, including black churches. There was a lot of humor in his speech and a big focus on education and success. He received respectful applause at the beginning, and robust applause at the end. He spoke before the Sunday sermon, which was delivered by our pastor, Michael Pender. His presentation was completely different at 11 a.m. compared to his speech at 8, but the themes were the same. After service, he took pictures in a separate area of our facility and signed the books that people purchased. I have never heard him speak in person before and can understand why he has a following. He has a quiet way of gaining attention from observers and has a very compelling personal testimony. Even people who don't like his politics or his political statements would be inspired by his story. I'm not sure what this will mean for the duration of the presidential campaign, but I think his book tour will be helpful to him. Here's a photo of his book tour bus [above] that was parked out front at our church. (Photo is courtesy of my friend, Teesha Moore.)

This image is was taken in the neighborhood I grew up in, and live in now. When I see shots like this, they conjure fond memories for me. But on another level, it is quite depressing because Harlem, where this image was shot, was in terrible condition during this period and many people suffered from living in the environment. The impact, for many, persists to this day...