Comic Books are NOT supposed to Grow Up With You Part 2

Last year I wrote a blog stating that comic books aren’t supposed to grow up with you. Some comic fans took offense to that statement.

I stand by my word. Comic books are NOT supposed to grow up with you.

32-page comic books, are designed primarily for CHILDREN.

Here’s the deal: Comic book characters are like an American Mythology. Each generation reads the tales of these legendary characters doing incredible feats.

And each generation uses these characters to make social commentary about the social ills and social injustices of their time.

And each generation passes them down to the next generation. Adding to the mythology. What works stays, and what doesn’t gets charged to the game. Comic fans grow older and pass their comics and the characters in them onto their sons and daughters.

 And they go and buy their own comics which make social commentary about the social ills and social injustices of their time.

But that stopped happening around the 1990s. Instead of passing the characters on to the next generation, Generation X and some of the Baby boomers decided to hold onto these characters instead of passing them on to Generation Y and the millenials.

This narcissistic need for some members of the two previous generations to hold onto comic books and the characters in them has led to a disconnect between the current two generations. And because of this disconnect two generations never got into comic books.

And over the last 20 years the void from comic books was filled with other products featuring video game characters, pro wrestlers and literary characters like Harry Potter and the Monster High characters.

The big problem with comics today is that people want THEIR characters from the 1960’s, 1970s, 1980s and the 1990s.

But it’s 2014. Kids want their versions of the characters. And they’re more likely to see their version of comic book characters in a movie or a TV show, not in a comic book.

What is culturally important to an 8-year old in 2014 is not the same as  a 35-40 year old who discovered comics in the 1980s.

This is why I say comic books are NOT supposed to grow up with you. Kids don’t see the world the way people saw it 50 years ago. Heck they don’t see the world the way they saw it 20 years ago. Living in a world where computers, social media  and cell phones are a part of everyday life, They don’t relate to the stories in today’s comic books, most of which are using a 30-year-old story model from the late 1980’s.

Sure a 35-40 year old can relate to a story with a 1980s story model but an 8-year old who is used to tablet PC’s and cell phones and Facebook as the norm is not going to relate to that kind of story. Their world is different. Their world isn’t being reflected in modern comics.

And the comic book industry needs kids 8-13 to start reading comics again. That’s the only way to reverse the two going on three-decade slump the industry is in.

Comic publishers have to show kids THEIR world if they want new readers, not their fathers.

But comic editors like Dan Didio say comics are for 45-year olds. And Kids comics are silly stuff like Scooby doo.

Not understanding YA and Independent reader authors like myself produce content that is far from dumbed down. Kids can understand the same type of content in a comic. book. But someone has to make an effort to publish it and market it to tweens and teens.

The comic book industry has always relied on kids. That’s how they sold most of their comics like superheroes and teen comics, the big moneymakers for the business  for close to 75 years. They had the most disposable income of any demographic.

Sure there were books for older readers who enjoyed the comic storytelling medium, but they were marketed as such.

And again, they never sold as well as comics targeted to primarily to kids because kids have several streams of disposable income. Driving kids out of the industry has driven up prices, and prevented new readers from discovering comics.

This is why a 32-page comic costs $4 today. 40,000 40-year-olds are buying comics as opposed to 250,000-500,000 8-13-year-olds. When there’s a bigger supply of customers demanding comics the price goes down.

And when younger customers demand comics, it ensures the medium can survive for another generation.

All of this contraction in the industry could turn into expansion if older people let go of 32-page comics. There’s clearly a market for comic stories featuring adult themes and more complex storytelling.

But Shoehorning superheroes and children’s characters into these kinds of roles has prevented the industry from reaching that audience of adult new readers.

I see a big market for Original graphic Novels in America just like in Japan and in Europe. But the industry has to take the risk.

And the readers have to realize they’ve outgrown 32-page comic books.

Personally I believe there’s a market for comics for everyone in America like in Japan. But 32-page comics for the most part need to go back to being for kids. They need to return to being the gateway to reading. Comic books aren’t supposed to grow up with you. But you can still enjoy the comic storytelling medium in other formats such as the graphic novel.

E'steem: Demons Anonymous Chapter 1 and a note

 I’m feeling a runner’s high as I jog through the tree-lined paths of Riverside Park. Man, these morning jogs are a great way to start a day.

I look up at the sun rising out of the morning sky and realize how late it is. John and I have got to be at the office in about two hours; I better see if he’s getting ready. I slow my pace, slip my iPhone out of its armband sleeve and switch off the Whitney Houston Mp3 I was listening to in my Bluetooth earpiece. After I punch in John’s number the phone picks up on the third ring.

“John Haynes.” John’s voice greets.

“Hey John, just wanted to know if you were up.”

“I just came out of the shower.”

“Great. I should be back up there in about five minutes for breakfast-”

Before I can finish my sentence, I’m startled by a teenage boy who jumps out from behind a tree onto the path. When he points his Glock pistol at me I stop dead in my tracks. “Gimme the cell phone or I blow your brains out lady!” He barks.

John hears the threat and becomes concerned. “E’steem-”

I let him know everything is going to be okay. “John, I’m gonna have to call you back. Looks like I’m being mugged.”

“Don’t hurt him.” John laughs.

I hit end on my cell phone, slip it into the waistband of my running tights and greet my mugger with a friendly smile. The boy becomes frantic on seeing how relaxed I am. “You crazy. How you gonna call him without a phone?”

Time to scare another one of Harlem’s hoods straight. “Because you have to take it from me.” I growl as my brown eyes change into reptile ones.

The mugger’s eyes grow wide on seeing my fingernails change into cloven claws and long Black horns shoot out of my forehead. He shakes so nervously he can barely hold his pistol. “OH MY GOD! YOU’RE A M-MONSTER!”

Demon. I’m a demon. Don’t they ever see the horns?

The panicked thug fires shot after shot at me that echoes in the silence of the empty park. I flash him a smile with my canine teeth as the bullets bounce off my chest. A wet spot begins to form on the front of his sagging pants when I snatch the gun away from him and crumple it in my hands like tissue paper.

“I guess they don’t make boys like they used to.” I jab looking down at his peed up pants.

When I toss the remains of his weapon to the ground, His fight or flight response kicks in. Before he can get two steps, I grab him by the shoulder and a gentle yank sends him tumbling onto the path. Because he’s a kid I’ll let him off with a warning.

The once unrepentant thug is on his knees praying when I make eye contact with him. “GOD, PLEASE DON’T LET IT KILL ME!” the boy pleads with tears streaming down his cheeks.

“It? I’m a she.” I retort smiling at him.

“Please don’t kill me, I don’t want to go to Hell!”

Looks like I’ve convinced him to start walking down the straight and narrow path. “Then you better do what it says in the Bible.” I say. “What was that Commandment again you were breaking just now?”

“Th-Thou shall not steal.”

“That’s the one. You don’t want to have to deal with creatures like me for all eternity now do you?”

“N-No.”

“Then I suggest you go to church every Sunday and follow what’s in that Bible from now on.”

“I-I’ll do that miss.”

“Good. Now go on home to your mama.”

The crying boy springs off the asphalt and scurries up the path running like he has a motor tied to his behind. As I change my face back into its human visage, I hear a round of applause behind me. Looks like I’ve got company. And since I can’t see anyone on the path I have to wonder what realm it’s from.

A flash of light explodes in my eyes and when it dissipates I’m greeted by a tall handsome honey colored young man casually dressed in rinsed blue jeans, a white print button down shirt and black trainers. I greet the sexy stranger with a smile as his dark brown eyes meet mine. “Wow. You really put on a show.” He tells me.

I’d have to say he puts on a show himself. Just looking at this sweet taste of honey is giving me a sugar rush. “Just doing what I can to scare the sinners into saints.” I say. “Sometimes you have to believe there’s a Hell in order to start heading down the road to Heaven.”

“You know the Lord isn’t going to be too happy with you costing him souls.”

Whoever this demon is, he seems to approve of my approach to converting the heathens. “You seem to know a lot about me…”

“Claudius.” The man says extending his hand. “I’ve been reading about your “scared straight” campaign online for the past few months.”

“I had no idea it was that popular Claudius.” I say shaking it.

“It’s all the demons talk about in the E’steem group on Facebook.” He gushes.

I really need to Google myself. “Do you want an autograph?”

“No, I was kind of hoping to ask for your help.”

Help? I’m persona non grata in the realm of Hell. Whoever this is must be very bold to approach me. Or very crazy. “You know I’m no longer part of the Legion. Just being seen with me can get you killed.”

“I know. But we need someone like you to help our cause.”

“What cause is that?”

Claudius reaches into his messenger bag, pulls out a piece of paper and hands me a flyer. “My organization “Demons Anonymous.”

E'steem: Demons Anonymous is a KDP Select exclusive book! You can buy for 99 cents or borrow for FREE if you have Prime on Amazon. It'll becoming to Smashwords soon!  

NOTE: Due to a glitch with Jury Duty (thought I had to serve) I couldn't get a blog written for today. But there will be new one this Sunday. Working on two books and trying to finish up All About Nikki Season 2. So I'm real busy. If you have a gift card, hook a brotha up with an eBook sale or two! 

Shawn’s frustration with Amazon’s Kindle Return Policy

I’m really considering taking my titles off the Kindle. The way some of their customers abuse Amazon’s return policy on eBooks really pisses me off.

I’ve had several instances where customers have bought books, held them for several days and returned them. One held a title for close to a week. This clearly constitutes theft of service.

What makes me even angrier is Amazon’s indifference to publishers like myself. After writing Amazon’s customer service they say they have protections to prevent theft, but do they really?

It’s not that hard to crack a DRM code and make copies for oneself. It’s even easier to take an author’s work and upload it to a BitTorrent or filesharing site.

Depriving authors out of their income. I’ve been out of work for five years now and I desperately count on that royalty money (as small as it is) to pay my bills and eat. 35 cent royalties ain’t much, but put it all together and I can do something with it.

What’s most frustrating to me about Amazon’s customers is how they’ll spend over $200 on a pair of sneakers or $500 on a game console, but will get all pissy about spending 99 cents on an eBook.

Even more infuriating are the lazy customers who don’t read synopses or previews then get upset when the story is not to their liking. All the god damn tools on Amazon that give you a hint to what the book is about and you dumb STILL SPEND MONEY? Then want a refund when the book isn’t what you expected?

Are people that CHEAP that they’ll demand a refund on a 99 cent eBook? What’s crazy to me are that the same people who just dropped $200 on a pair of Air Jordan sneakers or $400 on a video game console and another $240 on games for said $500 game console will all of a sudden become stingy as an old miser over a 99 cent eBook.

God Damn.

Seriously, what is wrong with some of these Kindle customers? I thought reading was supposed make you intelligent? But some of these Kindle customers are dumb as a box of rocks when it comes to that device. What? You’re telling me people can’t scroll down a page and to find out what genre a book is in? They can’t click on a cover that says LOOK INSIDE and read a preview?  They can’t look at a cover and find out what the story is about?

But they can click buy anyway without thinking critically about their purchases.

I’ve seen people take more time and consideration to think about a TV or a box of cereal before buying it on Amazon than their eBook purchases. I have to wonder if they’re just downloading content just because it’s there? Or are they making informed choices?

I’m thinking they’re doing the latter and not the former.

What’s super aggravating is that if you buy an MP3 off Amazon or stream a movie on Amazon, Amazon won’t let you get a refund.  If you buy a DVD and open it, you can’t get a refund. If you buy software or a video game you can’t get a refund.

Why? The Music industry won’t allow it. The Hollywood studios won’t allow it. The Video game industry and the Software industry won’t allow it. If people played their music or streamed their shows and got a refund after they started watching them, they’d take their business to another retailer.

 Amazon values their business. They fear them taking their content and the traffic it generates away from their site.

But they don’t value the business of the self-publisher. Amazon doesn’t think we generate enough foot traffic to their site.

When it’s clear we generate a lot of it. Self-publishers move a large majority of the books and eBooks on Amazon. And we the self-publishers deserve the same respect that Big Music, Hollywood, and the Video game industry receive, not the double standard that’s in place today.

Amazon calls that customer service when someone can get a refund from a self-publisher like myself who produces digital content.

Shawn calls it STEALING. If you can’t get a refund for other digital content like mp3s and television shows, you shouldn’t be able to get a refund for an eBook.

Amazon is the only place where eBooks can be returned. Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google Play and Apple DO NOT allow refunds on eBooks. Even other e-tailers who offer eBooks don’t allow refunds on eBooks. One small eBook textbook seller doesn’t even allow them after you read past a certain point.

Why? Because they don’t know what the customer has done with that file. And it’s not fair for publishers like myself to take a loss at some customer’s attempt to get over.

Clearly the technology is there for Amazon to prevent customer theft on the Kindle. But either Amazon is too cheap or too lazy to implement it. If a small retailer of textbooks can find the 20 percent point in an eBook to say the book has been read, why can’t Amazon?

I really like the Kindle. That’s where I get most of my sales these days. But I just get frustrated at the handful of Amazon customers who abuse Amazon’s eBook return policy. Amazon customers have every option to sample a book and try it before buying. I offer free titles throughout the year through their KDP Select program so a reader has the option to sample entire books and see what my writing style is like. The way I see it Amazon digital customers have every option available to them before they click the buy button so there’s NO EXCUSE for them to ask for a refund.

 I don’t want to take titles off the Kindle. They get the most traffic out of all the eBookstores. That traffic is the primary reason I’ve been using them for the past year as the primary point for launching new titles over their competitors. But Google Play, Smashwords and even the craptacular Nook are looking like better options for launching new titles.

 Amazon needs to get it together regarding the Kindle and their double standard regarding self-publishers. We deserve the same opportunity to be compensated for our content that the big studios and game industry do.

Why I Write Black Fathers In My Stories

If you’ve read any of my books like Isis, The Cassandra Cookbook/A Recipe For $ucce$$, All About Nikki, or The Thetas, you’ll notice I always make an effort to add one supporting character to the story: The Black Father.

I believe it’s important for Black readers to see who a Black father is and to see how he impacts the lives of the characters, especially female characters in the story.

For too long, the role of the Black father has been minimized and downplayed in the Black community. And if he’s in a story, he’s shown as a no good triflin’ lazy deadbeat incapable of providing any sort of leadership or guidance to his family.

With so Many Black women growing up in single parent homes they’ve learned not to value fathers and they don’t see how his role shapes the futures of his family.

However, I see the value a strong father has on the impact on the life of a child. When a man enters the life of his daughter her emotional needs are usually met. And when her emotional needs are met, she’s confident and secure in herself. She doesn’t have to go out looking for love from other men in a series of unsatisfying relationships.

When I first wrote Isis back in 1999, I wanted to make a statement about the roles of fathers in the lives of their daughters. I knew many girls who grew up in single parent households didn’t grow up with their fathers in their lives and were upset about never hearing his side of the story. For them, their fathers were evil boogeymen who hated them and their mothers.

With Isis I wanted to tell the father’s side of the story. Explain to them what happened between him and their mothers. Provide answers to all the unanswered questions girls have been asking for years about their family histories and how it relates to their identities. Hopefully coming to an understanding that provides a resolution to the numerous father issues that prevent them from actualizing their potential as adults and having healthy relationships with others.

The way I see it a child who does not know their father is incomplete; they only get half of what they need from their mother. One half of a child is their father and they need to hear his side of the story and to come to a complete understanding of themselves.

I want my readers, especially children to understand the role a good father plays in their lives. Just like a mother, a good father provides the emotional support and nurturing to his children. He teaches kids lessons about manhood and the role a man plays in a family. Those lessons need to be seen in fiction so that children, especially Black children can start seeing the positive impact a father has on the roles of their children.

I feel it’s important for my Black readers to see a father in action and to understand his role in the Black family and I want to present a model of Black fatherhood in my stories. Black fathers are the first man a girl has a relationship with and if the relationship between a girl and her father isn’t strong it sets the tone for future dysfunction with her boyfriend or husband.

I’ve noticed among some Black female readers and even some female family members that they get upset when they see a Black father in one of my stories. On stories where I write a single female character like Marilyn Marie, they’ll praise the story and talk about how empowered she is. But when I write a story with a father in a role as a supporting character they get emotional. Picking apart the story and looking for flaws in it. Some start attacking the characters. A few even attack me.

I know a lot of sistas and women in general have daddy issues and are uncomfortable about seeing a healthy father-daughter relationship portrayed in between the pages of a story.

But I won’t let their unresolved daddy issues deter me from my mission as a writer and as a publisher.

I write about Black fathers because I want to promote healing in the Black community between the generations of lost children and their fathers. I want them to come to the understanding the role a Black father plays in building a strong family and how his influence shapes who they’ll become as adults.

As a publisher of positive Black fiction, I know it’s important to show fathers in the lives of characters so that readers will come to understand that Black men and women can have loving caring healthy relationships. For too long Black people have only been presented with the dysfunction of Baby Mama drama, and No good daddies in Black literature. In most modern literature the Black father is depicted as some deadbeat bum, angry abuser, or a sex fiend who rapes his own children. The only way to counter those images of Black fatherhood is to start presenting positive images of loving, caring Black men who are passionate about sharing their love with their children. I make an effort to show those men in action. I want readers to see the role a Black father plays in everyone’s lives. I’m hoping that after reading one of my stories life will imitate art and more Black men will become inspired and start taking a more active roles in the lives of their women and their children.

Black People…ACTION SPEAKS LOUDER THAN WORDS!

Black people love to talk. But rarely do they DO.

This is why Black people are the least respected in the world. This is why the Black community is the only one in the world regressing instead of progressing.

Black people still don’t understand that ACTION speaks louder than words. People are not what they say but what they DO.

And it’s clear to me by the actions of Black people that they’re still not serious about change. A few weeks ago some young Brothers and sisters were racially profiled at Barneys, Macy*s and other high-end retailers. In the beginning Black people were irate. They were ready to protest, they brought out Reverend Al Sharpton and other Civil Rights leaders demanding the right to be treated with respect.

Now Black people had an opportunity to make a STATEMENT through their ACTIONS that they weren’t going to tolerate racial profiling from these retailers. They could have withdrawn their money and shopped at Black-owned businesses and bought Black-owned products  like the books I publish.

But a few months later when the new Nike Air Jordans hit stores, those same Black folks were camping outside nonblack sneaker stores across the country waiting to give the same racist retailers their hard-earned money. Some were even fighting to be the first in line to buy these sneakers from nonblack stores and racist store owners who wouldn’t want Black people in their stores the other 364 days of the year.

Black people by their ACTIONS told those retailers that racial profiling of Blacks was fine. That business as usual was good for them. As long as they got to buy whatever they wanted that retailer could treat them any old way.

Black folks have sent a MESSAGE TO THE WORLD that it's okay to Abuse or KILL Black people. That they'll put up with ANYTHING because Black people don't value the lives of OTHER BLACK PEOPLE.

That’s clear to me by Black people’s actions over the acquittal of George Zimmerman, and the death of Renisha McBride and countless other questionable homicides of Black men. You can call a Black person a Nigger, slap them, beat them and even kill them.

But the only thing they’ll fight over, the only action they’ll take to stand up and fight to do is hand their money to a racist nonblack retailer for a pair of Air Jordan sneakers.

Damn. Just…Damn.

It’s a shame that Black people care more about a pair of sneakers than their intangibles such as their dignity, self-respect and self-esteem.  I’d have to say Black people are at the weakest point mentally since slavery.

Just backwards. Absolutely Retarded. Bizarro.

Black people are PASSIVE and REFUSE to be ACTIVE. They keep WAITING FOR SOMEONE ELSE to FIGHT FOR THEM INSTEAD OF FIGHTING FOR THEMSELVES.

Black people are the biggest complainers in the world. They whine moan, and then when it’s time for them to step up to the plate and DO something, that makes a statement, they chicken out and run away. Then make some bullshit excuse as to why they couldn’t do anything.

Or when someone like myself, tries to make efforts to change things, they love to GET IN THE WAY. Telling you why you can’t do anything about things. Some even trying to get violent making efforts to preserve the status quo.

Sometimes I think Black people really don’t want change. I really believe a lot of Black people are co-dependent on White people and need them around to have someone to blame as to why they’re not DOING anything. Then hope, wish, and pray that White people will be so ashamed they’ll do something FOR them.

I think deep down Black people have a FEAR of taking personal responsibility for their lives. They’ve been carrying the crutches of White Supremacy and Racism so long that they’re afraid they won’t be able to stand on their own two feet without them. I truly believe it’s this fear that prevents many a Black person from getting up off their asses and DOING SOMETHING.

The truth is NOTHING will CHANGE in the Black community unless Black PEOPLE DO SOMETHING CONSTRUCTIVE. Things like shopping at Black owned stores and Black-owned online businesses. Things like starting businesses. Things like supporting Black children who are trying to well in school. Building networks to help unemployed brothers and sistas find the hidden jobs in the jobmarket. Meeting with teachers to discuss the progress of black children. Reading on a regular basis. Constructive actions that lead to constructive results.

Black people there is No hope of THINGS CHANGING without ACTION. ACTION SPEAKS LOUDER THAN WORDS. People are not what they say, but what they DO.

Goals for 2014

2013 was a rough year for me. And I’m not expecting 2014 to be any easier. Money is still tight and I’m barely keeping my head above water in my fight to stay alive. But I’m trying to do what God told me and keep going.

Looking back at what I was able to accomplish last year I’m surprised I made so much progress in the face of my financial struggles. I published over 13 books and wrote 12 of the baker’s dozen. Out of that 13, I published four paperbacks and released a brand new full-length novel. I didn’t think I could work that hard or be so productive.

 This year I want to slow down. In spite of all my progress I’ve been struggling with quality control issues. Publishing so many books over the course of one year I’ve been slipping up and making mistakes like I did with the first edition of Isis: My Sister, My Frenemy. (Since revised with corrections) After publishing that book, I saw myself slipping into the pattern of rushing I fell into when I returned to publishing in 2008 with the Cassandra Cookbook. It was that pattern of rushing that prevented that book from actualizing its potential five years ago.

I’ve been feeling the pressure from my dwindling savings and it’s been making me rush. The truth is the clock has been ticking for my publishing business since 2010 when my unemployment ran out and I had to start living off my savings. I’ve been racing to get every manuscript I wrote published and promoted before I ran out of money.

I want this to work. I don’t want to go back to living off family members. I don’t want to go back to living on $2 a day. Even before I lost my job five years ago I’ve been fighting hard to get this business off the ground and keep it growing.

My main goal for 2014 is not just to stay alive but be able to stand up on my own two feet. To be able to make a living off my writing. Get those Kindle sales up to double digits instead of the singles.

Along with staying alive and standing on my own two feet I hope to:

Find new avenues for promoting books. Most of my promotion these days has been on social media like Twitter and Facebook groups. I’ve reached a lot of new readers on these sites and they’ve been a godsend. But If I’m going to sell more books to a larger audience I have to find new ways to reach readers.

I’ve been experimenting with making YouTube commercials for books like Isis: All About the Goddess. If I can learn about other marketing strategies that will allow me to reach new readers,

Offer fewer free titles on KDP Select. Amazon’s KDP Select program has been a valuable tool in helping me get the word out about new eBooks. It’s been like an incubator for struggling titles allowing me to reach new readers who might not have tried one of my books if they had to pay for it.

Lately I’ve been seeing books like Isis: All About the Goddess stand on their own without the support of a KDP Select free promotion. So I really want to stop putting new titles on KDP Select.

Offer fewer free titles on Smashwords. The Summer YA eBook program is one of the ways I reach new readers during the busy reading periods. And I enjoy sharing new titles with readers. But with my finances at their lowest point something’s gotta give.

There will be a summer YA campaign. But there will be fewer free titles. It may be just two books. It may even just be one.  I know All About Nikki has its fans on the Smashwords network and I can guarantee Nikki fans will get a three episode book this year But they may not be season all 2 episodes. They may be a mix of Season 1 and Season 2 episodes and a lost episode. We’ll see.

Release a Thetas Paperback. The Thetas was a surprise hit last year on Kindle. Since the book has proven it can sell on its own I’d like to offer a paperback edition on CreateSpace. I’d love to offer an “official” edition on Lightning Source, but money is too tight for a LS print run.

Finally release a complete edition of All About Nikki The Sensational Second Season. Nikki’s second season has been on the back burner for two years now. Before my troubles, I planned on relasing this book out on 2012! But I kept running into problems. And to let Nikki’s fans know I hadn’t forgotten about them, I released a three episode Nikki eBook last year.  I’m shooting to finish writing the complete second season this year! I just need to write two or three more episodes to get it done!

Do more YouTube videos. I’m starting to get comfortable with the camera on my Macbook Pro and I’d love to do more YouTube Videos. I believe people seeing me discuss issues on my channel would give them a personal connection to me and my work. If I did most videos, they’d be in the style of my blogs. The only thing that keeps me from doing videos is bandwith.

 Start work on a new full-length novel. Lately, I’ve been writing stories in a Short story/novellete/novella model. I adopted that story model because it fit characters like Isis and made her stories easier to read for younger readers. Plus, it enabled me to get books on the market faster than a conventional novel.

But what I’d like to do is write another full-length novel. However, novel writing requires a whole different mindset. To sit at a computer and write 75,000-90,000 words like The Thetas requires my full, undivided attention for not just the editing, but for the writing as well. And I don’t have that right now. Thanks to my financial pressures, I’ve been focusing heavily on the business side of publishing. Trying to get sales of older works.

I’d love to start a brand-new novel featuring a brand new set of characters. Maybe I’ll be able to do it this year. Maybe.  

Explore a new story model. With Isis: All About the Goddess last year I decided to try experimenting with a new story model. Part of a writer developing their skills and keeping them well-honed is trying new things. New story models and new story concepts keep characters fresh and have readers looking forward to the next book. For many readers, my books are different from anything out there. And I want to readers to keep saying how different my books are from all the other fiction out there. 

I’m not expecting to do much this year. The money’s just not there and five years after I lost my job, I’m just trying to keep myself from falling back into the place I was in eleven years ago in 2003. Until I can find a new day job to replace the one I lost five years ago I can’t make too many long-term plans. Right now I’m just gonna have to take it day-by-day.

2013 Year In Review-Progress Report

2013 has been a rough year for me. Money was extra tight. I had to use money from my jury allowance from Federal Court in January to keep All About Marilyn and The Temptation of John Haynes in print this year.

In spite of my financial issues, I’ve published a lot of books, worked on a bunch of blogs and made every effort possible to expand my reading audience and make this work. Still struggling, but still making progress.

In 2013 I published the most books in the history of the SJS DIRECT imprint. Twelve titles written by me made their debut throughout this year. Those titles include:

1.     Isis:The Beauty Myth

2.     Isis:Death of a Theta

3.     Isis:My Sister, My Frenemy

4.     Isis:All About The Goddess

5.     TheThetas

6.     E’steem:No Good Deed

7.     E’steem:Deadly D’lilah

8.     E’steem:Demons Anonymous

9.     AllAbout Nikki-Three episodes from the Sensational Second Season

10.  AllAbout Nikki-The Sensational Second Season Volume 1

11.  Manginas-TheyLook like Men But they Act Like Ladies

12.  TheMisadventures of Captain-Save-A-Hoe

First book of 2013!

In addition to my books I also published the sequel to Lawrence Cherry’s Commencement. School of Hard Knocks:The Re-education of Jim Reid (Words by Lawrence Cherry, page layouts and cover by me)

Looking back at that list I can’t believe I wrote that many stories this year. I have to wonder if I’m a machine. Writing stories, designing covers, editing scripts, doing page layouts and uploading files for multiple books. Five years ago I barely published one book a year.

Five years before that I was broke. I only had one book in print, Isis and struggled to find a way to promote it while I looked for a day job. Now I’m managing a catalog of over eleven paperbacks and 38 eBooks. While I still look for a day job. I still feel like I haven’t done enough to get my work out there and, I’m still working towards getting to that next level.

Over the past year I’m getting a bit more comfortable with running a publishing imprint. I’ve got a handle on release dates and scheduling books for release, promoting titles and keeping books on a deadline.  On recent titles like School of Hard Knocks and Isis: All About The Goddess I was able to build a nice window before the title’s release to do pre-promotion on the blog.

I’ve also gotten a bit more editorial experience on working with clients like Larry. Over the past year, I’ve learned how to communicate with clients and how it’s an editor’s job to LISTEN to their writers and be there for them by giving them support and guidance so their books can be the best they can be. It’s never a writer’s job to re-write a writer’s work or to tell them how to write it. It’s an editors’ job to give them advice, make suggestions, and on occasion correct some grammar. The goal is to produce the best quality books and maintain the integrity of the work. I’m learning the editor has to believe in the writer and their work, in order for the relationship to work at a publishing house. If an editor doesn’t believe in a work, then they shouldn’t publish it.

On the suggestion of a friend, I split the summer YA campaign into two different promotions. One set of books on Smashwords and one set of books on Kindle in the KDP Select Program. Splitting the titles between booksellers was a smart move, I expanded my audience with both retailers.

 I published Lawrence Cherry’s second Novel: School of Hard Knocks: The Re-education of Jim Reid. A sequel to Larry’s first book Commencement, this powerful Christian title did very well as a Free title in the KDP Select program with over 1,000 downloads over three promotions this summer. Since the title was doing so well we moved it over to Smashwords this December. Larry’s not happy about the slow sales, but I’m telling him to give it time.

After a yearlong run on Kindle, Commencement made a return to Smashwords. Since it’s return Commencement has been downloaded over 3,000 times between Smashwords and its affiliates and has over 122 facebook likes.

getting a following!

The Isis series has done fairly well since its debut a year ago. This year Isis: The Beauty Myth has sold decently on Kindle and Isis: My Sister, My Frenemy is starting to build an audience there as well after a slow start this summer. Isis: Death of a Theta also struggled on its debut, but is starting to pick up a little momentum. Isis: All About the Goddess is building up some momentum since its debut. Readers seen to like the Isis series.

I will try to work on two new Isis books this year. Still running ideas in my head for them.

sleeper hit! 

A huge surprise hit was E’steem’s book. The free short E’steem: No Good Deed has received over 3,000 downloads on Kindle, Smashwords, itunes and Barnes & Noble. While some have complained about the length, they seem to keep coming back to download it.  

E’steem’s second book Deadly D’lilah received over 2,000 downloads on Kindle, Smashwords and their affiliates.

Unfortunately E’steem: Demons Anonymous flopped on KDP Select this month. Only 25 downloads L in a KDP Select promotion. Really disappointed in that. I put a lot of heart into that story and to see it perform so poorly was disheartening.

Not too popular :!

If I do any more E’steem stories they’ll be on Smashwords. That’s where her audience is.  I really want to do an E’steem series. I have fun writing her adventures. But the hardest part is getting readers to try her stories. I know many have an issue with the demon angle in her stories, but there’s no Satanism or Satan worship. But her stories are as harmless as a Harvey Hot Stuff comic.

Smash hit! 

My new novel, The Thetas has been a hit since its May debut. In the two free campaigns I’ve done with KDP Select the novel has received over 1000 downloads and has received positive reviews from readers. The book has performed so strongly that I feel confident enough about taking the title out of the KDP Select program and releasing the title on Smashwords and Nook later in 2014. I’d love to do a paperback run, but I don’t have the money for a full print run. If I do a print run It’d have to be through CreateSpace.

All About Nikki’s Second Season has performed well as a free eBook on Smashwords. Over there it’s one of the most popular books in my catalog with over 1,000 free downloads. On Kindle, not so hot. I’m going to have to regroup before I launch the Sensational Season 2 full edition this Summer.

MRA/MGTOW  HIT!

On the Nonfiction front, Manginas-TheyLook Like Men But Act Like Ladies was the most popular Nonfiction book this year with over 1000 downloads. The Second part of the Simp Trilogy is not only a hit in America, but all over the world. Manginas has been downloaded in the UK, Austria, The Netherlands, Germany, and even far away as Australia and Russia!

Thanks to the popularity of Manginas I’ve met a lot of MGTOW/MRAs on Facebook and have been invited to join their groups.

MRA/MGTOW HIT! 

The final part of the Simp Trilogy The Misadventures of Captain-Save-A-Hoe has been a breakout hit since its November Debut with over 100 downloads on Smashwords and 100 downloads on Smashwords affiliates in less than 30 days! Misadventures is well on its way to becoming just as popular as the other two books in the Simp Trilogy.

In addition to the dozen titles I published, I wrote over 200 blogs. That’s up from 2012’s 183 blogs.

In November, the blog celebrated it’s 200,000^th hit on the web. Currently the blog has gotten over 230,000 hits. Over 100,000 of those this came in year.  I’ve had several days where the blog has gotten 700 or 800 hits. One day I almost hit close to 900. I’m hoping next year I can have that 1,000 hit day.

Several blogs continue to remain extremely popular since their publication:

Why Real Men Avoid Single Mothers is now the most popular article on the site with over 17,000 hits. Many MRA and MGTOW sites use that article as a reference or just discuss it. Some single mothers have written response pieces to that particular article.

The article The roles of Fathers in the lives of Children has over 4000 hits.

The article Why 70 Percent of Black women are Single has over 3000 hits. In addition to several comments and response blogs to that article Someone made videos in response to that article on YouTube.

Lots of people link to my blogs and I’ve gotten requests to use the in e-zines. I have no problem with people linking to my blogs as long as they give me a credit.

Following God’s guidance I’ve started writing more about Men’s issues on the blog. And I’ve helped a lot of guys and some girls get a better understanding of what it is to be a man. I’m proud of the Men’s issues articles and I really like sharing my wisdom with young men.

I’ve gotten several requests for blogs on relationships and Men’s issues and they’ve been hits. Blogs like Negro Bed Wenches and God send me a Man, were written after I received requests from readers. 

There will be more blogs on Men’s issues next year and I’ll be tackling more issues relating to things only a man knows about.

Unfortunately, with all the blogs on Men’s issues there have been detractors both male and female. I’ve had to deal with arguments from females in the comments section on blogs like What Women Don’t Know about Being The Side Piece, The Silence of Black women, and How Halle Berry Tarnished the image of Black women. I don’t mind a debate, but in a lot of cases I’ve had to check fools in the comments section. If I can I’ve had to follow up with a blog where I can turn that argument into a teachable moment.

I was forced to delete the blog Why Real Men avoid Single Mothers Part 2 because of people trying to take the subject off topic. I don’t like deleting topics but in this case I had no choice. In between the ad-hominem attacks, promotion of homosexuality, gay Marriage, Atheism, and Manginas looking for pussy points™ I had to shut it down. People are allowed to disagree but not to get personal. 

DISCONTINUED THIS YEAR! 

On the paperback front I continue to struggle with poor sales.  This year I had to discontinue All About Nikki-The Fabulous first season in paperback on Lightning Source due to no sales. The paperback while critically praised, never sold a single copy. Oddly, the eBook is a top seller for me. I guess Nikki’s audience is only a digital one.  I’ve kept a paperback edition of Nikki on CreateSpace, so I don’t lose all the money I spent on the ISBN and barcode ($179) and the Uploads ($120) and the maintenance fee ($24).

Thanks to donations from readers, I’ll be able to keep All About Marilyn and The Temptation of JohnHaynes on sale at online retailers in paperback for another year. I’m doing what I can to rally sales so I can keep these paperbacks in print, and I’m asking readers to help me out and buy a copy or two. All I need is four paperback sales on Amazon or Barnes & noble to keep these books on the market. These are great books, give them a try!

In addition to my work on the blog, I had the pleasure of contributing articles to the site stopthecoonery.com. I really enjoyed working on the features for that site and I’m looking forward to working with them in the future.

I also had the pleasure of working with Gabriel Foreman and the staff of the Monroe College Ecosystem on improving my LinkedIN profile and page. With their help I’ve updated my page to look more professional and be much more readable. Trying to expand my LinkedIN network, so check out my page over there.

A lot of people discovered the blog on Facebook, and Twitter over the past year. I’ve met a lot of great people over on Facebook and I'm getting more connected with my reading audience. 

 I had the pleasure of discovering Facebook Friend JM McSwain’s blogtalk radio show Tech Talk. Tech Talk is a great show where African-Americans talk about IT and computers.  I’ve promoted their shows on the blog because I believe in their program and I want to see more brothers and sistas in the IT field.

I finally managed to deal with my feelings regarding the job I lost at The City College of New York’s Science Library by writing a 25-page blog I published soon after my 40^th Birthday. I had been depressed over the issue for five years and kept working towards my goals in spite of how I felt. After putting my experiences down on paper I’ve felt a little better. It still hurts, but I have to follow God’s order and Keep going. I’m glad to know I’ve helped a lot of Black men with that blog and showed them the numerous pitfalls to avoid when they enter the job market.

I’m getting a little better at making YouTube Videos. I’d love to do more of them on the regular, but until I can make enough money on books or find a full-time job to pay for a Verizon Smart Router, they’ll come sporadically. Right now I’ve got a lot on my plate and I’m working hard to get my books and myself to the next level.

2013 was a year with a lot of struggles. But I’m still trying to make progress. I’m giving away less and selling more. Building up my catalog. Books I release are able to stand on their own without book clubs or review copies. Titles are getting reviews from readers, and not just book clubs. I don’t have that best-selling novel yet, but I’m on my way.