2015 Year in Review
Normally I start out the New Year with my goals. But I’ve
been super busy. In between YouTube videos and the editing work on this year’s
four (possibly five) new books I haven’t had much time to write blogs. I’ve
been working so much on my own projects it’s like I actually have a full-time
job these days.
To my surprise I made a lot of progress in 2015. I wasn’t
expecting to do much this year, but with God’s help and the support of people
online I was able to get a lot further than I planned.
In April I got the Kickstarter funded for the Isis/E’steem
Crossover. Thanks to the help of brothers in the community I was able to get
the funds to pay Bill Walko of the Hero Business to design the covers for Isis:Night of the Vampires and E’steem: Undercover.
Bill’s covers had a tremendous impact on both books and left
a powerful first impression on readers this Summer and Fall. In numerous
Facebook Groups both covers left a strong first impression on new readers. And
on Smashwords Isis: Night of the Vampires got over 200 Facebook likes and
E’steem: Undercover got over 60. Most Books with my own covers usually don’t
get those kinds of numbers on Facebook likes. But with a great cover many were
willing to give the crossover a try and a few who read the eBooks came back for
other titles in the Isis series. A handful even went back to buy all the books
in the Isis series.
Both Isis: Night of the Vampires and E’steem: Undercover
even managed to get some paperback sales. It’s rare for me to have a paperback
sale these days on a new title, but a few readers decided to pick up hardcopy
versions of the Isis/E’steem crossover.
Along with the Isis/E’steem Crossover I published the SecondEdition of Stop Simpin. The Second Edition of the first book in the Simp
Trilogy was a strong seller (Well, SJS DIRECT wise) on Kindle and Smashwords.
Men all over the world picked up the book and came back for the other two book:
Manginas: They Look like Men but Act like Ladies and The Misadventures of
Captain Save a Hoe.
And I published Lawrence Cherry’s sequel to Commencement TheAtonement this summer as well. Another strong performer, The Atonement managed
to not only pick up new readers but bring back readers to buy the other two
novels in the Commencement saga: Commencement and School of Hard Knocks: TheRe-Education of Jim Reid.
I spent the summer promoting this year’s books and writing
next year’s. Since July I’ve written the first drafts for five new books. Right
now all the pages of 2016’s books have been laid out and formatted. I’m in the
process of doing edits on the final drafts of them. If I can get this years’
Kickstarter funded, they’ll be ready for an April/May/June release.
I also spent the summer making lots of YouTube Videos. In my
second year of making videos, I’m building an audience there. The reason why
there haven’t been as many blogs is because many of the blog subjects I present
like Men’s issues or issues in the Black community actually get more views and
hits on YouTube.
For example my video on Halle Berry got over 1,000 views in
three months. While a blog on the same subject got only 20 or so hits.
And a video I did on the Justice or Else March got over
1,000 views. While the blog on the same subject only got 120 or so hits.
And when I produce YouTube videos people friend me on
Facebook and a few even buy books.
Currently I have over 1,100 subscribers to the Shawn James YouTube
Channel and I’m planning some great content for 2016 for all my viewers.
If anyone has noticed, Blog has become a lot more comic and
fantasy centered these days. And that’s because comic fans and fantasy fans
read the blog on the regular and look forward to the articles I write. Plus I
have a lot more fun producing that kind of content.
I’ve been getting back into writing Men’s issues, but from
here on in I want to focus more on men working on improving the quality of
their lives. I think men need to start focusing on themselves and putting
themselves first. I’d rather write about the little things men can do for themselves
like paying themselves first. I believe if more men started focusing on
themselves and putting themselves first it could change the culture in America
for the better.
In October I launched my sixth novel, Spinsterella.
Spinsterella is a Tim Burtonesque romantic comedy featuring an African-American
Goth heroine. From responses I’ve gotten from readers on Twitter and YouTube
people enjoyed the story and they love Mad Matilda Crowley.
Spinsterella is the first romance I’ve written applying
techniques from MRAs/MGTOWs and many of the relationship approaches I’ve
written about in my Simp Trilogy books. If one reads the book they’ll actually see
that there are no player lines, games, fancy dinners, or wining and dining in
Spinsterella’s love story. The man and the woman are equal partners in the
relationship. And instead of “falling in love”, the characters take
responsibility for their actions and look for intangibles in each other relating
to character such as respect and cooperation. In Spinsterella I wanted to show
what the foundation for a healthy interdependent relationship looked like.
Spinsterella was the first book I wrote to target not only
Black audiences in America but nonblack and foreign audiences as well. I’m well
aware of my audience of nonblack and foreign readers and I wanted to offer them
a story that would appeal to them too. The Goth subculture is bigger in foreign
countries than in the United States and I wanted to tell a story that readers
in other parts of the world could relate to and identify with.
I’d love to do another story featuring Mad Matilda, but I
want to see what the response will be to Spinsterella. I’ve got an AWESOME YA
prequel planned for the character in her high school years, but I need to see
if there’s an audience for the book.
In November I did my first radio show The Men’s Advocate
Show with Linda Gross. In that hour we discussed my 2012 blog Ways Single
Mothers destroy their sons. I had a great time on the show and I’d love to do
another show with her again.
I’m working hard to build on much of the progress I made in
2015 this year. I have a new Kickstarter planned for this year’s titles and I’m
working on expanding my presence on YouTube. I’m working hard towards getting
to the next level and I’m hoping to take some more steps on that journey.
I may never get why do some people lionise Winn Schott when it's clear that Supergirl sometimes rejects his advances, despite her own problems wanting to date James as well. One wonders why don't both of them have platonic relationships with not just each other but also with others instead.
ReplyDeleteGood to see you'll be producing more content this year, Shawn. Just a question though: how is it that you come up with all these relationship advice books despite being a celibate yourself?
ReplyDeleteI do my research and I study other people's relationships. While I stay to myself I do study people and behavior for the stories I write. And when I see patterns I can identify them clearly. Besides, who better to write a book about relationships than a guy who isn't in one? A single man can like myself can give people better advice because we're the ones actively looking for a relationship.
ReplyDeleteAh ok, but surely one must experience a relationship before offering advice on it? An observer's experience is rarely the same as actual participation. I say this because (and correct me if I'm wrong) I read years ago in one of your posts that you'd never been in a relationship and are a virgin.
DeleteI've dealt with Simp bullies since I was 12 years old. And the harassment I got from them gave me enough experience to write multiple chapters in STOP SIMPIN.
ReplyDeleteThe way these males harassed me about pussy and not having a girlfriend showed me how these males put Vagina on a pedestal. And watching these dudes chase females and sacrifice their dignity and self-respect for a vagina fart showed me how they were going the wrong way.
And when I heard stories from family members who had done stuff like paying women's rent, buying furniture for females and blowing their paychecks just to impress a chick I had plenty of background knowledge to write about SIMPIN.
I can remember males who would get emotional to the point where he'd want to fight another me because I would not agree with him or go along with his plan to date someone he wanted to hook me up with showed me back then how much of a SIMP many boys and men were.
I have had relationships back in the day. But with most girls back then growing up into the ratchet women of today it's just safer for me to go MGTOW than to deal with these dysfunctional females.
So you don't have to be in a relationship to write about Simpin.