You Wrote It. Now, Get Your Book Sold

All Self-Published or soon to be published. I have been selling books since 1992. My children's bookstore is now open in Philadelphia - Color Book Gallery,  so, definitely get in touch with me about placing your book in my store and coming for an author visit.

However, every author should go to our national conference - BookExpo America. May 25-27, 2010 at Jacob Javit Center, NY, NY. It is a must to get yourself in front of booksellers from around the country. If you are a children's author, you need to get permission use the list of children's book sellers from the Association of Booksellers for Children or other sources that have booksellers broken down by our specialty. Then mail, contact, send post cards, email, send samples, bookmarks, etc. If you go to BEA, bring material and pass it out as you bump into the many booksellers in the exhibit hall aisles, workshops, etc. If you can't make the national event, every region has an event.  You can find info on the national trade association website. - American Bookseller Association

This year for the first time they have added a day long conference - just for you - the self-published. It is Monday May 24th.  I give a workshop for authors covering all of the same information and more - but it is not online yet. Hopefully, this bit of information will get you going.  You have to think beyond your home town or I would never know about your book!  Otherwise, you need to be at every event you can, get written up in publications and blogs (especially Publishers Weekly), get interviewed, etc, For booksellers, we need to have access to your book. That does not mean through Amazon or your self-publishing company, it means through the wholesaler/distributors.  If you are distributing your book yourself, we need low minimums and returnable terms or preferably consignments.

Good luck!

We Can All Graduate!

Those following the news heard that the American Council on Education issued a report which reveals that black men are graduating from college at a rate which lags significantly behind other ethnic groups. Black males were found to have a graduation rate of 35 percent. This compares with rates of 59 percent, 46 percent and 45 percent for white males, hispanic males and black women, respectively.  I suspect this is very little change from previous reports.  We can continue to speculate on the reasons for this, but frankly, our rates will improve at college when they improve in the early grades. 

Literacy is key.  We must start reading to our children as early as possible - even in the womb.  They must be reading as early as possible - as a baby - even if they are just looking at pages and having you read to them.  We, the parents, elders, relatives, friends, and community must expose our children to as much education as possible - that could be just describing what is going on, why it is happening, the history behind it, who invented it (probably a black person), how much it cost, how to earn money to get it, how other successful black people got where they are, etc. 

Read everything you can get your hands on - especially the local Black newspaper, go to the library, pick up a book in the thrift store, flea market, or book store, etc.  Learn to love to read for the knowledge that you gain from it.  Pass these same traits on to your children - after all - YOU are their first TEACHER.  At that point, they will be able to learn anything, do anything - including excelling or passing their classes - from K through 12 and thus on to college - if that is their pursuit.

Deborah, Hampton University