Tuesday, May 26, 2015

The Challenges of Selling African American Fantasy

1 comment:

  1. Shawn, ..good vid again. Keep up the good work.

    I disagree with you on one thing. There is one issue where you are 100% wrong.

    The critique of the skin tone and appearance of the characters on your book cover is a valid one.

    Your cover whether you like or not is the intro to your work.....it works like a movie trailer does for a future film. It helps prepare the reader's mind for what is about to come and the mental state they should assume upon entering the fantasy.

    Due to white supremacy, Blacks are bombarded day and night with images of whites and images that do not reflect them. Yes, Blacks come in many shades, but 90% of Black women DO NOT look like the females on your cover.

    By having those characters on your cover, you summon bad feelings and anxiety on the part of prospective readers .....turning them off even before they have a chance to sample the material. Not only is that bad business on your part, it can perceived as being insensitive and cruel.

    Your are a writer in the business of selling books....your target demographic has voiced valid concern ....as an asutue businessman and conscientous person you should try to address their concerns. At the end of the day, what will it really cost you ?? Remove your ego from the equation.

    Finally, regarding the Isis thing, you dont have to be an Afrocentric or as you say afroSimptrick to know that classical Egyptians were indigenous Black Africans...according to the most recent DNA analyses, they were as Black as you and I.
    .....their culture came up from the South and their parent population are the people from the Great Lakes area....(Tanzania,Uganda,Kenya,...)

    The religion has been traced to Sudan as its
    earliest mention of Isis, Osiris, etc.
    My point is having an Isis character that appears white/lightskin/ethnic but not too black is 100% wrong on how the ancients would have viewed her. And, for modern Black people who have a cursory understanding of Egypt as Black, the
    "whiteneing" of Isis is highly offensive. It smacks of the standard Hollywood White Egypt nonsense we are all so familiar with...but in this case, the author is Black !..

    I hope my breakdown helps you to open your mind on thr subject matter. One of the hardest things to do as a Human Being is to change one's mind, to be flexible, and be open to constructive crticism...most people are incapable of it. We as Black me are very guilty of this. So, I hope you take my comments to heart.

    Keep up the good work !

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