eBook versions of Commencement Moving to KDP Select in July- Last chance for Smashwords readers!

At the request of author Lawrence Cherry, and in an effort to reach a larger audience of Christian readers, the eBooks for the Commencement Saga are moving from Smashwords and its network of eBook retailers and Barnes & Noble exclusively to Amazon’sKDP Select starting in July.

Commencement Book one at Smashwords

Commencement Book Two at Smashwords 

Commencement Book Three at Smashwords 

Commencement Book Four-The Conclusion on Smashwords

So if you want to still pick up a free digital copy of the Commencement eBooks at Barnes & Noble, Sony, Kobo or Apple, please DO IT NOW. The books will be pulled from Smashwords next Sunday so I can make them exclusive on the Kindle next month.

When the Commencement Saga becomes exclusive to Amazon’s Kindle, I’ll be promoting it as free on the first Saturday in July.

However, if you want to show Lawrence Cherry some support, please buy a paperback copy of Commencement. It makes a great graduation gift for the graduate in your family! 

Cheating is Just Too Much Work

I’m lazy when it comes to relationships. As I see it cheating just takes too much work.

All that running around with two or more women is just too much work. Planning for two different dates with two different women every week would wrack my mind. All the phone tag back and forth with them. It’s hard enough maintaining a schedule when you’re with one woman; that becomes a bigger headache when you’re out with two of them.

And spending money for two different dates with two different women every week would practically drain a man’s wallet. It costs over $100 for dinner and a movie these days. Spending another $100 or more for on dinner and a movie with another woman means a dude would either have no lights, no food, no cable or wind up behind on their rent.

Seriously, the sex can’t be worth sitting in the dark. And it can’t be worth starving. I mean a dude can steal out the fridge at work, but come on, enduring somebody else’s diabetic ham sandwich or their low-calorie hummus can’t be worth it.

I’d rather eat my own home-made meatloaf than pay for two women to eat at Red Lobster or Applebee’s.

Then there’s keeping two different schedules. And when you’re on a date keeping your cell phone away from one woman so the other doesn’t see her number.

Hoping, wishing, and praying you don’t run into one woman when you’re out with the other.

Cheating doesn’t seem like fun. It just seems like a chore. Again, it’s just seems like a lot of work to get in another woman’s bed. Having sex with one woman is a labor intensive effort with the foreplay, romantic games, and the eventual intercourse. A dude would have to have superhuman stamina to sexually satisfy two of them at the same time. At the end of the day somebody’s getting sloppy seconds.

And it ain’t the ladies.

I don’t see how people have affairs. From where I sit cheating is just too much work.

Seriously is the sex that good? Is it worth it? I know stolen waters are sweet at first, but they leave a bitter taste in your mouth afterward.

Not to mention venereal diseases and illegitimate children.

And the secrecy- It’s just too much effort. It’s just a pain in the behind trying to keep the lies and the details of those lies straight. Telling different stories and trying to keep them consistent. Hiding receipts. Looking out for the mailman so you can get the credit card statement so your wife or your woman doesn’t find the charges on there for the other woman’s dates or her gifts. Wondering when your woman is going to figure out even though you work a kajillion hours of overtime on your job you’re always broke.

I tell you it sounds like a headache.

Now I know relationships are hard work. But putting in this kind of overtime for a little extra side pussy just isn’t worth it for me. I mean cheating on a woman is like working two jobs. Two crappy jobs at that. With low pay and next to no benefits.

Seriously guys, the sex can’t be that good. And if you’ve seen one naked woman you’ve seen them all. I know most women don’t look like Playboy models, but most wives and girlfriends are better looking than the women that most men cheat with.

Looking at the chicks guys cheat with they look like a step down. A HUGE step down. Like the hoes Eliot Spitzer and Tiger Woods cheated on their wives with. I mean Eliot got a #9 from the escort service, but take the make-up and fancy clothes off her and she’s a 0. And all the chicks Tiger Woods ran through were just par for the course.

And then there’s the chick Arnold Schwarzenegger cheated on Maria Shriver with. Seriously, is the sex that good from a bustdown like that?

I mean, some of the chicks these guys cheat with look like shit. What do dudes see in them? Is the sex THAT good? Or do they have great personalities? A sense of humor? What do they offer a man that the woman they’re with currently with doesn’t?

Even if there is an attraction between a man and another woman in an affair I have to ask: Is cheating worth the sleepless nights? The worries? The anxieties? The stress?

I don’t think it is.

Then again I’m lazy about relationships. I’d rather work with the woman I’ve got than run around behind her back. If things aren’t working out just cut her loose and move on. It’s a lot cleaner that way. Leaves me free and clear to pursue someone who I could be happy with.

I’m not dating anyone right now. But let me tell you I’d rather stay single than cheat.

At least I know where I stand.

Besides it’s just better to just casually date until you’re ready to make a commitment. Everything is out in the open. And you’re both being honest with each other. No strings, no headaches, No worries. No lawyers. No divorce. No alimony. No child support. No stress.

I don’t see what people see in cheating. From my vantage point in life it just looks like too much work. I’d rather just stay single than deal with all that drama. Cheating is just too much work. 

Is Playtime Over for DC Comics? -Is Licensing of DC Comics products No Longer Profitable?

For decades the comic book publishers like Time Warner’s DC Comics relied on licensing of properties to bring in revenue during slow periods in the comic book industry. The money made from sales of merchandise such as toys, clothes, video games and other products often offset the declining sales numbers for comic books and kept the industry afloat during tough economic times

Now that revenue stream seems to be drying up for Time Warner’s DC Comics. With Mattel’s comic based DC Universe Classics toy line and its TV-based Young Justice toy lines coming to a close due to poor sales at retail, it’s clear that the business problems that plagued the comic book industry for two decades are now starting to stagnate the once profitable retail licensing and merchandising part of the business.

The sales numbers are so bad that Mattel has sworn off producing toy lines based on DC Comics animated programs. While animated shows like Batman: Brave & the Bold, Young Justice which were somewhat popular on Cable TV with two to three million viewers, the merchandise based on them did poorly at retail.

With a median retail price of $19.99-$24.99 for a 6” action figure and $11.99-$14.99 for a single 4.5” action figure they were out of the reach of many younger toy buyers who found a higher entertainment value per dollar with WWE action figure three packs at $19.99-$21.99, Transformers or Beyblades at $11.99-$14.99 or Video games at $14.99-$59.99.

Since 2010, it’s become harder to sell comic-book based superhero products to children at retail. While toy lines such as DC Universe Classics and Young Justice were sold in toy stores, Wal-Marts, K-Marts and Targets, in the toy aisle children weren’t buying most of them.

It was adult collectors.

And the median age of those adult collectors is 35.

A median age that high for a licensed toy line is bad for the toy business. A median age that high means that most of the characters in the DC comics catalog have no brand recognition with children.

Having a median age that high is going to bring down the value of the DC comics catalog and DC Comics properties long-term. Especially with licensors and retailers. Without brand recognition among younger buyers it’s going to become harder to sell products such as action figures, T-Shirts, video games and other merchandise over the next ten to fifteen years.

It’s clear the two decade decline of sales of comics in the comic book industry is finally starting to encroach on the licensing of DC Comics and DC Comics properties. Since 1996, an entire generation of children has grown up without seeing a comic book or DC Comics Superheroes in places such as supermarkets, newsstands, or drugstores.

Unfortunately, many in the comic book industry and the toy industry didn’t understand that without long-term product visibility in venues children go to it’s hard to sell merchandise to them. As comic books comic book based merchandise retreated to comic shops, new licensed characters such as Harry Potter, Yu-Gi-Oh, WWE Wrestling, cable sitcoms like iCarly Victorious, Disney Princesses and Monster High filled the void that DC Superheroes left at retail with casual buyers over the past ten to fifteen years. As these new characters gained in popularity and visibility they gained brand recognition with the millions of younger buyers of the current generation.

Compounding DC Comics’ product visibility and brand recognition issue with younger viewers was Time-Warner’s cancellation of Saturday morning cartoons in the mid 2000s. Time Warner didn’t see the long-term damage it did when it ended its Kids WB! lineup then for the cheaper manga-based syndicated CW4Kids.tv content . By removing that line-up of original content from broadcast TV and moving new cartoons to cable, they cut their audience for those cartoons in half. Many homes in inner-city and rural areas don’t have cable and relied on broadcast TV to get their content. And due to the economic crunch of 2007, even more were cutting cable in favor of the internet.

By moving DC animated programs to cable Time-Warner reduced the visibility of DC Comics Superhero characters with younger viewers. TV shows like Batman: Brave and the Bold and Young Justice were often broadcast on obscure cable channels. Worse, they were put on late at night when most younger viewers couldn’t see them.

This lack of visibility among younger consumers has already done considerable damage to the DC Comics Brand. While many parents from Generation X remember DC Comics Super Heroes, the young adults of Generation Y and Millenials don’t know anyone outside of Batman or Superman and some of their related characters.

When it becomes difficult to sell licensed product to small children and tweens at retail there is clearly something wrong with either the approach to business or the business model.

And both DC Comics’ approach to business and business model has been broken for close to two decades.

The average comic book sells 50,000-70,000 units. While more popular issues sell within the 100,000 range if they’re lucky.

The average production run for a commercial mass market toy line is 250,000-500,000 units a quarter of a calendar year.

When one does the math it’s clear the numbers don’t add up. There aren’t enough customers from the comic book reading audience available to buy all the product in the commercial marketplace.

Which is why merchandise piled up at retail nationwide at a 4:1 ratio and much of it remains on store shelves to this day.

Over the past two years Mattel catered to comic fan demands in its DC Comics action figure offerings. Unfortunately, they learned the hard way while a character can be popular in a comic book series and with comic fans, that popularity isn’t strong enough to sustain a characters’ product at mass-market retail where hundreds of thousands of units have to move for a profit to be made.

Moreover, the audience from the comic shop is not an area for growth potential. With the median age at of a DC Comics consumer being 35 and getting older, there are no new younger customers to be brought into the marketplace to buy DC Comics licensed product.

While efforts have been made to fix the cosmetic appearance of the product, (DCnU) the impact of those changes have not and cannot improve the sales and visibility of DC Comics products at retail. The under 35 consumer still has no regular exposure to DC Comics characters outside of a comic shop or an obscure TV show. Worse, they have no access to materials outside of a comic shop or an obscure TV show.

Which making it hard for licensors to sell merchandise or related products on store shelves.

Companies like Mattel don’t make a resolve to stop producing product based on animated programming with millions of viewers unless there is something wrong with the parent company’s approach to business. And retailers like Wal-Mart, Target and K-Mart don’t stop stocking licensed product unless there is something wrong with the business model of the source company.

If DC Comics doesn’t change its business model and its approach to business it could severely damage the DC Comics brand over the next ten to fifteen years. Right now it’s hard for younger customers to recognize DC Comics Characters as a brand. Outside of theatrical films like The Dark Knight and live-action shows like Smallville, most younger customers under the age of 15 haven’t seen a superhero in their original hand-drawn comic book style. Even fewer have seen a comic book.

Compound this with a lack of visibility of characters and products in outside venues such as drugstores and supermarkets along with higher prices for product it’s a recipe for consumer confusion and frustration at retail.

And the constant reboots, retcons, and revamps in DC Comics comic books aren’t helping to improve the brand recognition issues. Each new version of a character makes it that much harder for customers to recognize them and establish a relationship with them. That prevents DC Comics from establishing itself as a brand with new younger consumers.

It’s easier for a younger consumer to get into Harry Potter, WWE or Monster High than it is for them to understand the confusing hard-to-follow stories of DC comics and the enormity of the DC Universe. There are multiple versions of characters and multiple sub-universes within the DC Universe currently. Even a 38-year-old like myself who knew all the characters since he was four years old can find it aggravating and frustrating to understand these days.

And that’s why the DC Comics brand is struggling at retail.

For twenty years the comic book industry has catered to the needs of the hard-core comic fan. Unfortunately, the purchasing power of that demographic is not strong enough to sustain the DC Comics brand in an international commercial marketplace. With the median age of the hard-core comic fan at 35 there’s no place for the industry to expand in terms of licensing and merchandising.

A commercial manufacturer like Mattel can’t make a profitable brand out of a shrinking demographic of White males over the age of 35. Nor can it sustain its business catering to said customers. This was proven over the past two years with the poor sales of collector lines such as DC Universe Classics, Justice League Unlimited Batman: Brave and the Bold and Young justice at retail.

All those lines catered to the comic fan producing action figures of obscure and long-forgotten characters along with the Superman and Batman variants. And all of them failed to sell the hundreds of thousands of units needed to sustain a commercial brand on the national retail level. Worse, they couldn’t even sell out as online exclusives in some cases.

At the 2011 San Diego Comic Con 2011 where collector oriented DC Comics exclusive product was outsold by the Monster High Ghoulia Yelps doll. Worse, on the Day of sale on Mattycollector.com, after the con August 1^st ,2011 The Ghoulia Yelps doll sold out before all the other exclusive products which languished online for two to three weeks.

When licensed comic-book related products can’t move at a comic-con something is WRONG. And when it’s outsold by a non-comic product there’s a clear sign that the marketplace is changing.

Observing the problems Mattel is having moving DC Comics related products at retail, I see a paradigm shift in the market regarding superheroes. A shift moving the market back towards the young tween, and teen consumer and the casual buyer. With films like the Avengers making over $1 billion dollars at the box office and its movie merchandise flying off store shelves I believe the market is moving from the diehard comic fan towards a larger more general audiences.

DC Comics and its licensors must adapt to this new paradigm.

In the wake of this paradigm shift, DC Comics must realize that it can’t continue to run its corporate business like a comic shop and catering to diehard comic fans. This approach to business is not going to allow a division of Time-Warner to compete in a changing entertainment marketplace. If it’s going to reach an audience of younger customers it’s going to have to move past the aging audience of over 35 customers at comic book stores and reach the tweens, teens and other casual buyers who shop at drugstores, supermarkets and other big-box retailers. Doing the math on the diehard comic fan who a median age of 35 now, in 15 years most of these customers are going to be 50 years old and some of them are going to be 65 and 70. With an audience that old there is no further room for growth.

And no new younger customers available to recognize DC Comics characters or buy DC Comics related products. Most of them will remember other products like video games, WWE, Beyblades, Disney Princesses and Monster high from their childhood.

Which is why DC Comics must make efforts to reduce the median age for its comic books and comic related products to 13 and its minimum age to 7. Young customers in this age bracket are consumers who can grow with the product over the next ten to fifteen years. They have more disposable income. And they are more open to recognize characters when exposed to them.

In rebuilding the DC Comics Brand Time Warner must make efforts to increase its exposure to a larger audience. Time Warner must make efforts to make DC Comics Characters visible outside of the comic shop. Saturday morning Cartoons on a Broadcast network like CW4KidsTV could increase visibility with younger viewers.

Or the Broadcast networks could just bring back Saturday Morning cartoons or Weekday afternoon cartoons. Yes, they are glorified 30-minute commercials. But that’s their job to move merchandise and establish brand recognition with customers. Let’s face it many a childhood memory has revolved around these kinds of shows.

Besides, it’s better when they’re on broadcast TV. It beats watching pirated episodes on YouTube or Vimeo. With so many people cutting the cable, it’s time Warner brought back Kids WB! to its CW affiliates to supplement the Cartoon Network broadcasts in the hopes of getting more new viewers in urban and rural areas.

In addition to reducing the median age and making efforts to increase exposure, DC Comics must also make efforts to reduce prices of its licensed products and make them more affordable to younger buyers. One of the big reasons many casual consumers passed on action figures over the past two years was the collector-oriented price point. Most parents balked at paying $11-$25 for a single action figure when they have other options in front of them with a higher entertainment value per dollar. If products were priced in the $5-$12 price range they’d move a lot faster at retail with consumers strapped for cash.

The paradigm for business in the comic book industry is clearly shifting. Management at DC Comics must understand that their approach to business has to change from catering to the small aging audience of diehard comic fans to the larger audiences of casual consumers. DC doesn’t need new number one issues or new costumes to get new customers. However it needs to change its business model so customers can access and recognize their products in the 21^st Century.

June's Summer YA eBook Exclusives

Memorial Day Weekend is the unofficial start of Summer. And the Summer reading season.

To kick off the summer reading season I’m offering a new series of FREE YA eBook exclusives on Smashwords for teen and tween readers.

June’s YA EBook titles are:

STOPSIMPIN- Why women don’t need Finance to get Romance

A guide explaining why men shouldn't spend lots of money on women when they're dating. Also discusses the tactics Simps use they use and why they all fail in courting the opposite sex.

This guide was written to help tween and teen boys and young men understand what Simpin is and how it prevents them from having good relationships with women.

Buy Stop Simpin-Why Men Don't Need Finance to Get Romance on Kindle

Buy Stoip Simpin-Why Men Don't Need Finance to Get Romance on Nook

And

AllAbout Nikki-Sensational Season 2 Sneak Preview.

The International best-selling Smash hit is back with all new episodes!  

Six months after moving to Los Angeles sixteen-year-old Nikki Desmond is adjusting to life on the west coast. As she starts a new semester at Beverly Hills High School, she’s resolving to make changes to overcome her surly racist and rude behavior. In the screenplays of the first three episodes of the Sensational Second Season of this teen sitcom, Nikki tries to navigate the Beverly Hills High social scene with a combination of tough love, humor and life lessons. 

Buy All About Nikki Sensational Season 2 Sneak Preview on Kindle

Buy All About Nikki Sensational Season 2 Sneak Preview on Nook 

All these titles are FREE on Smashwords for the entire summer. However, if readers want to support me in my writing endeavors they can pay 99cents for them on Kindle or Nook. 

More new titles next month! 

Not that there’s anything wrong With Gay Superheroes (except the execution)

There’s nothing wrong with Gay superheroes.

Except how the Comic book industry executes the concepts for them.

In 1992, Marvel comics announced that Alpha Flight’s Northstar was coming out of the closet in its 106^th issue. It got huge press in the national mainstream media.

Alpha Flight was soon cancelled in 1994 with the 130^th issue. Not because Northstar was gay, but because the book was a poor-selling fourth-tier title with next to no readers. The book had been garbage since John Byrne abandoned it around the 24^th issue.

In 2004, Marvel Comics announced the Rawhide kid was gay. Again it got huge press in the national mainstream media.

The Miniseries came and went. Again, the Rawhide Kid was never a big player in the Marvel Universe so his coming out had a marginal impact on readers. Currently his comics can be found in a quarter bin at most comic shops.

In 2008, DC Comics announced that Batwoman was a lesbian. She got her own critically acclaimed comic. Not a top 10 seller, but it’s got a small following among the over 35 white male comic fans.

A few years later DC Comics introduced two more lesbian superheroes, The Question and Scandal Savage. They also had small cult followings in the small group of comic book fans.

In 2010, Archie Comics announced it was introducing Kevin Keller, it’s first gay character.

His first appearance in an issue of Veronica Sold out.

In 2011, they announced that Kevin would participate in comics first gay wedding to huge national press.

The book sold out.

Leaving Marvel and DC with egg on their faces.

Not to be upstaged by Archie, in 2012 Marvel Comics Northstar’s is getting married to his longtime boyfriend Kyle in the pages of Astonishing X-Men.

And now DC Comics is announcing another one of its major iconic characters is going to come out of the closet to huge national press in the mainstream media.

Big deal.

The editors at Marvel and DC still don’t get it. And that’s why they look like they’re jumping on a bandwagon instead of reaching an audience of new readers.

Which is why there are next to no new gay readers flocking to Marvel or DC comics after a comic book character comes out of the closet in one of their titles.

There have been gay and lesbian characters in comics for years like Obsidian in Infinity Inc. and Maggie Sawyer in the Superman comics. When they’re written well the reader doesn’t notice their sexual orientation.

Nor does the reader care. There’s no need for all the fanfare.

This kind of gimmick shows how out of touch DC Comics editors actually are at publishing and promoting comics. It’s the kind of silly shock marketing that should have stopped in the 1990’s when Northstar came out of the closet.

Over the past 20 years comic book publishers have exploited homosexuality as a gimmick to get some cheap press in the national news media. Usually it leads to a lot of controversy in the beginning, but at the end of the day it doesn’t’ have new readers picking up comics.

Why? Instead of creating a new character that gay readers can relate to and identify with, like Archie did with Kevin Keller, they slap a gay label onto an existing third or fourth-tier character not realizing how offensive they are to gay and lesbian readers.

Just slapping that label onto an existing comic book character who was once straight is a cop-out. It shows how ignorant comic book writers, artists, and editors are about gay culture and gay lifestyles. No one who is straight just decides to be gay out of thin air.

And just slapping that label on said existing character shows that a comic book publisher just doesn’t CARE about gay readers, just making a few quick bucks off them.

Who wants to read the adventures of a second rate version of a fourth-tier character? Don’t gay and lesbian readers deserve a first-tier original character? Don’t homosexuals deserve a book all their own? After all, their money is the same color as everyone elses.’ Why should they have to pay for team books featuring second or third tier characters so they can read about a hero that is just like them?

This latest stunt by DC comics is another half-assed attempt at diversity. just like DC’s Latino Blue Beetle, it’s Black Firestorm or its Asian Atom, this “iconic” “Formerly straight” character coming out of the closet is just going to be a token character just meant to make it look like DC is doing something groundbreaking when they’re actually just patronizing gay and lesbian readers.

What would get new readers interested is creating a new gay character from the ground up and letting the audience discover them.

Which is why Archie Comics is successful and Marvel and DC are playing catch-up.

The reason why that issue of Life With Archie sold out was because Archie comics made a serious effort to reach new readers. They didn’t just slap a gay label on an existing character in the name of political correctness. No, they created a new character (Kevin Keller) from the ground up with traits readers could relate to and identify with. Then after his debut, they gave him his own series. Archie Comics supported the title and allowed the readers to form a relationship with him. It took them two years to build to that wedding issue and its success.

It’s not the idea, but the execution. I know this from personal experience.

I'm a heterosexual Black man and I’ve written gay characters. (A Recipe For $ucce$$/The Cassandra Cookbook ) And I know from personal experience most readers don’t care about a characters’ sexual orientation. If a character is interesting they’re going to grab the reader from the first page whether they’re gay or straight. People who read A Recipe For $ucce$$/The Cassandra Cookbook loved the story not because the villain was gay, but because he was a lying cheating misogynistic bastard. It always made me proud that most people who read the story never saw Gerald’s sexual orientation when they read the story, but his dishonesty. Readers were more angry over his cheating and scheming than the fact he was gay.

If the White Males at Marvel and DC  would put the kind of effort I put into Gerald Davis from A Recipe For $ucce$$/The Cassandra Cookbook into developing its gay characters it’d have an audience of new lesbian and gay readers. There’s nothing wrong with a gay superhero. There’s just something wrong with the way White male comic book publishers like Marvel and DC execute the concept. Gay and lesbian readers deserve better than second best treatment and fourth-tier characters. 

What Do Black Women Bring to the Table?

Twenty years ago many Black women often asked Black Men what they brought to the table when they wanted to be in a relationship with them. 

And when they asked about what a man had to offer they often requested material things. Things such as an education from an Ivy-league university, work at a high profile job, own a home in an affluent neighborhood, drive a luxury car and wear expensive designer clothes. 

Fast forward to today. With the tables turned, now Black Men are asking what Black women bring to the table. However, when they ask what Black Women offer in a relationship the list is totally different. Their requests relate more to internal character traits than material possessions. 

And character is an area where a majority of Black women fail miserably. Most Black women are so focused on the material aspects a man has to offer in a relationship that they don’t focus on providing for a man’s emotional needs. Worse, they’re so focused on achieving material accomplishments that they don’t consider what they bring to a relationship in terms of spiritual intangibles. 

What do Black men want Black Women to bring to the table? Here’s a little list of some of the things Black men want from a partner in a relationship:

Trust. Most brothers want a woman who is secure enough in herself to believe in him and have enough faith in him to do right by her. Moreover they want a woman who believes in herself that she’ll do what’s best for their relationship. 

Loyalty. Most brothers want a woman who will stand by them. A Black man wants to know his woman will be there not only when times are good but, when times are bad. They want to know their woman will stand by them when they lose a job, go through a period of unemployment or when a close family member dies. They want to know that the person closest to them will have the courage to stand with them in their time of need and during their time of crisis.

Tact. There’s a right way and a wrong way to say something. And a good woman knows she has to consider her man’s feelings when she speaks to him. Most women who have long satisfying relationships with men know a little tact goes a long way. Moreover, they understand a soft answer turns away wrath and persuades others to see their position.

Support. Most brothers want a woman who has enough faith in them to encourage them. A shoulder to lean on, a sympathetic ear to hear their problems. A partner who will work with them towards achieving their dreams. 

Honor Most Black men want a partner who will present herself in a way that reflects positively on both of them. A woman who will respect herself enough to not do things that reflect badly on them in public or reflect badly on herself. A woman who loves herself enough not to do things that will embarrass her man and herself like acting out in public, wearing sexually suggestive clothing, or saying things that will turn others away. 

An Open line of Communication Black Men are looking for a woman who is willing to talk to them, not talk at them. They want a partner who will see them as an equal and speak to them as an adult. Moreover, they want someone who will work with them at discussing solutions, not complaining about problems. 

A Positive Attitude Black men want a woman who is pleasant to be around. Someone who has an optimistic outlook on life. Someone who brightens their day. Someone with a hopeful perspective. A woman with a positive attitude is someone people want to be around and someone a man is eager to come home to. 

Friendly A wife is a Man’s best female friend. And a man wants someone who he can confide in and share with. Someone who trusts him enough to share with him Someone who he loves spending time with. Someone who makes his eyes light up when he sees her.

Kind A man wants a woman who is polite. Someone nice enough to think of him just like he thinks of her. Someone who lives by the Christian principles of do unto others as they do unto you and Someone who loves him as she loves herself. Someone who will consider his feelings the same way he considers her feelings.

A sense of humor After a hard day in a racist world, a Black man loves to laugh. And a woman who can tell a joke is someone who he’d love to come home to. A woman who can tell a joke and share a laugh is someone who brings a lot to the table in a relationship. A woman with a sense of humor is someone who can help a man through the hard times. 

Honest The second most important thing a woman can bring to the table in a relationship is honesty. Next to trust it’s the one of the core foundations of building a rock-solid relationship. When a woman is honest, a man has faith in her that she’ll work with him towards making their relationship it can be. 

A Smile A woman’s smile can break the ice. It can also make a man feel better about his life after a hard day in the world. For Black men who experience racism and hostility every day, coming home to a smile gives them the hope to go back out in the world the next day and face it.

The ability to cook. The old saying is the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. And women who can cook bring a tremendous asset to the relationship table. There’s nothing like a good home cooked meal that can get a man excited about being with a woman. 

Wise. Educated is being taught enough to gain an understanding of something. Smart is the ability to use that knowledge to one’s advantage. But Wisdom is the experience to apply knowledge to everyday life. And a woman who is wise can help a man get ahead in the world. 

Heart  A woman has to have passion. A love for life. A spirit filled with energy that radiates out to others. This liveliness can uplift a man’s soul and ignite a spark in him. It makes his chemistry swirl and makes him want to be around her. A woman with heart makes a man feel like he’s better off with her than he was without her. 

Self-love A woman who loves herself loves who she is. She knows she’s valuable because God made her. A woman loves herself is someone who can love others. She’s the kind of person who a man can connect with and get close to.

Love The ability to give and share is the cornerstone of a great relationship. Being able to give and share requires someone to trust and allow themselves to be open to a man so he can connect with her and get close to her.

Creativity A woman who has an imagination and can think out of the box is a woman who a man wants to be around. She’s the kind of woman who can turn some sandwiches and a couple of cans of soda into a picnic, the kind of woman who can turn the time spent in a damp basement into a magical evening. She’s the kind of woman who can create memories a man can never forget because she understands it’s not what she has but how she uses it. 

 Its’ these little things that men appreciate most about women. It’s these little things that make for long-lasting satisfying relationships. And these are the things Black men want Black women to bring to the table when they’re ready to commit in a relationship with them. None of these things cost any money, but they’re what men value most about a relationship with a woman. 

Unfortunately, it’s these little things that many Black women don’t see as valuable. Many are so busy chasing the dollar that they don’t understand it’s the little things in life that have the greatest value to a man. Being with a woman who can share those small moments are what make the memories of a great relationship. 

So when a man asks what a woman brings to the table, He wants to know what she has to offer in terms of character and values. He cares more about the contents of her character than the contents of her wallet. It’s not what a woman has, but how she uses it. 

So Sistas, what do you bring to the table?