This 'n' That–Folake Taylor, MD & Author

How Much “Blacker” Can I Be?

2011-05-05T10:20:00.000-04:00

I recently put in an entry for a contest for Black Women’s Fiction because I thought I was a black woman, writing for women, including black women like me.

Lo and behold, when I got the score sheet back, one of the judges felt I was confusing Multicultural Women’s Fiction with Black Women’s Fiction. Now, I totally indentify with multicultural, but I also identify with Black Women’s Fiction because I am 100% black, at the risk of sounding condescending, though no harm is intended. I am not mixed with anything. I am just about as black as they come.

I feel like Obama now. Do I have to bring my Birth Certificate to show who my parents are? Though born in the UK, it does list my Nigerian parents, which makes me fully Nigerian. Or do I have to do a DNA to prove my origin or just how black I am? Do I have to go to my local government in Nigeria to prove I’m on some kind of list?

Now, if they really meant African American Women’s Fiction, why didn’t they just say so? Then we African women would know to step to the side. But I take offense with being told I do not belong in Black Women’s Fiction but rather in Multicultural Women's Fiction. So, I go better with Asians and Indians (which I totally have no problem with) than I do with those sisters that have my skin tone? Why can’t I belong in both genres?

Once again, I feel this distancing by African Americans from Africans. This is the exact reason why I am now part of an organization that is spreading the word about unity among African Americans and Africans. It is called Bridging the African Divide (BTAD), a non-profit. Our board consists of the most amazing group of African Americans and Africans I have seen in one place in a long time.

I am already aware that African American readers do not read much of books by Africans, generally speaking. Not the rule, of course. This was actually explained to me by a Nigerian book store owner who caters to the African American crowd but hardly stocks books by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie because the few copies he has have gotten old in his store. That has been his experience and I agree with him because generally, I have not seen enough support from the African American community either.

Is that warped or what? Is it just me, or is something wrong with that picture? Is this just another manifestation of the Black people nontogetherness? Like the Tyler Perry syndrome! And yes, I just made up that word because I can.

Will we ever be one?

Blessings.

Aggrieved,

Folake. :(

Novel Writing: What Have I Learnt Lately?

2011-04-30T10:07:00.000-04:00

And yes, I meant learnt and not learned. I choose not to write the American version today because I can. Lol.

Anyway, still working on my novel and I have finally joined critique groups. I wrote for a year, prior to which I have never written anything fiction, not even a short story. Then I entered 3 contests and of course, I realized shortly after submitting that I could never win. Why? I had some editorial No-nos and in the first chapter too.

Here are four important Editorial No-nos:

1) Do no start your novel with a dream sequence.

2) Do no start your novel with a telephone conversation.

3) Do not start your novel with your protagonist waking up from sleep or a nightmare, startled.

4) Do not have a flashback in the first chapter, or even the first thirty pages.

In addition I also decided this:

5) Never critique a first draft!

And although I never did number 5, when I finally joined a critique group recently, there was still so much to be done in those first 2 chapters that I have struggled with and changed several times over the course of the year that I knew if I had critiqued the first draft, it would have been so disastrous I might have given up. And I did let some facebook friends read what I thought was my first scene about a year ago. That's when I realized I had PLENTY of work to do and I started to buy books on writing/fiction writing. What I couldn't buy/afford, I borrowed from the library. Don't forget your local library is a great resource. I didn't even have a library card till about 6 months ago but now I wonder why not. Lol.

I have also joined a physical critique group where you have to read your work out loud. We'll see how that goes but if anyone says I have an accent or corrects how I pronounce certain words differently, I will have my frying pan with me!

As for numbers 1 through 4, that also includes having any of those near the beginning of your novel, even if it doesn't start off with it. I read in several books (by Noah Lukeman, James Scott Bell, Randy Ingermanson, etc), heard in several forums (including the ACFW loop!) and finally heard back from the judges of one of the contests about NOT doing some of those. It creates an impression that you are confused, an amateur, did not start the book in the right place or you're just bad at it, period. It will end you in the slush pile very fast, and nobody would have gotten to the good part yet.

For a list of books I have found helpful either from reading or from someone else teaching the principles from the book at a meeting or workshop, please visit my website.

http://www.theonlywayisup.net/home/this-n-that/

I am so glad I am finally letting other eyes look at my work and help me fine-tune it. I am grateful to the ladies of SheWrites who have hammered it into a pulp. I actually got my first comment on Authonomy and it's not from someone who wanted me to back their work or anything:

"The toilet paper made me laugh. Well written. will definitely get back to this one will try and make room on Wl in the near future Good luck."

I have also joined a critique group on Authonomy. I've sent a request anyway. We'll see how my first reading goes at the physical critique group, an AWC group (Atlanta Writers Club) in my area. I am trying to join their online critique group as well. I can't figure out how Absolute Write Water Cooler works so I am not active in a critique group on there yet, though a member.

Why several critique groups? There's always something new to offer in each group. Also, it will take years to get your work critiqued in my estimation if you belong to only one group. And I've read articles by seasoned authors saying they belong to several groups as well. We'll see how it pans out. And I'll keep you updated.

Enough yapping for now. I'm just excited.

BLESSINGS.

Folake.

My WIP! And that's my other name you didn't know about. Cover courtesy of my brother Temi, AKA Antigravity.

Italics: To be or not to be?

2011-03-09T19:26:00.005-05:00

This seems to be a big question or bone of contention in writing circles recently, to use italics in deep POV or not.

Personally, I have no problem with the use of italics. I have great eyesight and I don’t find it distracting or annoying. But since my writing will be for other people and not for myself, I have done a lot of online research on the issue of the use of italics in writing.

My published work to date is non-fiction and I didn’t know many rules then so that doesn’t count! In that regard that is. However, my present WIP is women’s fiction and I will know all the rules by the time I’m done. Believe me.

Here’s my resolve about italics. I also was of the opinion that one had to write deep POV in italics but recent research has caused me to change my mind. It appears to me that the emerging convention is that it is not necessary to do that and the readers are smart enough to know when you are in the character’s head. I have decided not to use it in that way for these two reasons:

1) Some readers and critics are very annoyed by italics and find it distracting

2) Nobody has ever complained about a paucity of italics in any writing

That tells me I can do without it. I have written my novel in 1st person POV past tense. I found out that I can either just write the deep thought as is or add a qualifier such as “I thought” or so as opposed to writing it in italics. It seems to me that it is the way the italics is interspersed between normal fonts that some find highly annoying and distracting.

Here are some cases where I however still use italics, simply because it flows better and is more continuous:

1) In a dream sequence. In this case I also switch to 1st person POV present and not the past, to really draw the reader in.

2) When I am writing something that is written in the story such as a note, a letter, an article or a journal entry.

In both of these examples, the italics runs for a few lines or more and then switches back. It is a paragraph and not one sentence or three words in a sea of regular font. I believe it appears different.

Now, I am not an authority on anything and I cannot even remember the sites I have visited to arrive at this current convention of mine. Neither do I have an MFA in creative writing or any such qualifications. I just love the Google search tool on my laptop. But I do know that in books where I have seen these done such as Wendy Wax’s Magnolia Wednesdays, it looked neat. Wendy Wax’s main character was a journalist so each time she wrote an article, we read it in italics.

However, the jury is still out even on these scenarios in my novel and I might just end up scraping all of those in italics as well. At the end of the day, my protagonist’s journal entries start with “note to self” so you know what it is. In the case of the dream, the reader will also realize soon enough that it is a dream and thankfully, they’re not long and I only have two dreams in the book, one in which the protagonist wakes up momentarily in the middle and then goes back to sleep and continues the nightmare with weird variations that don’t make sense! I really don’t know that I want my book to start with italics though and it does start with a short dream. But it may be a good idea to leave it that way because the dream is in Victorian times and the novel is not so it may be good for the reader to immediately know it’s a dream.

I have read a host of novels with almost no italics at all except for the occasional emphasis, the name of a magazine or name of a book. I simply have not missed the use of it. That makes me feel like the less of it, the better. Probably.

Just as I thought I was done with this post, I did come across an old blog post by Brandilyn Collins that says everything I have come to believe about writing dreams in italics or not in which she also talks about the exceptions. I wasn’t crazy after all. And I still love Google.

I hope this helps someone. Your comments are welcome.

BLESSINGS!

Folake Taylor.

UPDATE.....
I have since scrapped any chunks of italics from my manuscript.

The only italics I have left are words being emphasize or the occasional phrase being emphasized as well. I used other fonts for journal entries and the same font (Times Roman) for any dream sequence, while just easing in and out of the dream much the same way as a flash back. My internal thoughts are just written in present tense without any attributions such as "I thought" and when warranted, the phrase gets its own line.

It's clear enough to the reader. I think it works and I know the haters of italics will not be offended.

Everybody wins!!!

Getting Your Self Published Book Into Christian Bookstores

2010-12-02T19:36:00.000-05:00

If you thought it was hard getting Borders and Barnes & Noble to carry your book, try getting your self published book into Christian Bookstores. That's the real nightmare.

I explored this a little initially but since The Only Way is Up is not categorized primarily as a Christian book though it has several Christian principles as the backbone of my beliefs, I did not pursue this hard. Nonetheless, I will share with you my experiences, what I can remember of it.

Choice Books. Have you ever walked into your local grocery store like Publix and Kroger and seen these little rotating stands that sell inspirational books? These are mostly owned by Choice Books in my neck of the woods. They rarely do POD books or even books listed by Ingram or Baker and Taylor because they are a distributor themselves. Here is a link to Choice Books so you can see what the process is however. I did send them my book and they didn't feel it was a good fit but who's to say they won't like your book. Laughing. What I also realized by perusing their stands is that they appear to be affiliated with certain publishers and if I were to write a strictly Christian non-fiction or instructional book in the future, I will definitely query these publishers (small presses) and editors that they have provided links to. One thing I can say about them is that they responded within a few weeks and were very courteous. One way around the POD issue is if you are your own publisher and you offer standard industry rates, discounts, returnability, and they deal with you and not the printer, there may still be a way. They are very particular about the book cover and quality of the book. I will suggest that you get professional editing as well to make your product competitive. You will be surprised at how many books I have bought (especially for my little girl) from these stands.

Family Christian Stores. This is the largest chain of any Christian Bookstore that I know, at least in the South East US. Here is a link to their submission guideline, for your product to be considered for their shelves. They have a name for their bookbuyer listed.

CBA, The Association for Christian Retail. Here is their website. They are mentioned by Family Christian Stores as a source of getting to them if you do not have a distributor. Please note the representatives they have mentioned near the end of the page. I have no direct experience with this but it may be worth pursuing. A means to an end, so to speak. A path to the promised land.

Church Bookstores. Each church has their own process and it works in a similar way to small independent bookstores in the area. You basically need to pick up the phone, speak with the manager/book buyer or whoever is in charge and take it from there. Preferably schedule a meeting. Sometimes impromptu face-to-face works better because you can create an impression and get five minutes of their time but it could backfire if you are dealing with a person who is a stickler for appointments. In my church for example, I was given the email address of the deacon that handles such issues and decides what book they carry. I never did follow up but I was interested in the process. It appears to be the same in most churches. It may be quite hard if their pastor writes books as well and you are not a Joyce Meyer or a church elder. But it is always worth the try.

Christian Book Distributors (CBD). They also have a website which I suggest you visit. They have no clearcut information about how to get them to sell your books but you can be a CBD affiliate and the details are available here. If I ever find any direct information, I will add it as an addendum here. They seem more internet based to me.

Regular Bookstores. Of course, there is nothing precluding you from attempting to get your Christian book into Borders or Barnes and Noble. They do have a Christian/Inspirational section as well. You would just have to follow the instructions outlined in a prior post on this blog, Getting Your Self Published Book Into Bookstores: Targeting Createspace Authors.

Internet Based Bookstores. This may be a bigger market for Christian books comparatively, in terms of when other books and the balance between brick and mortar stores and online. Amazon.com is still a winner for any kind of book.

The Christian Writer's Market Guide is said to be invaluable. Once again, don't forget that Google is an amazing tool.

In my opinion, most Indie Published Christian Books are sold to people you know, church members, Christian book clubs, family, friends, through blogs, online and then you call it a day. I will continue to research this and enlighten you guys as I come up with more information. I wish I had more for you but that's it for now.

PEACE.

Getting Your Self Published Book Into Bookstores: Targeting Createspace Authors

2010-12-01T16:17:00.003-05:00

I am back. It's been a while, on this blog anyway!

I keep getting asked this question, "How do I get my book into Bookstores?"

Just the other day, I got this email:

Hi, Can you share any info. with me on how I can get my book in stores like-Books-A-Million, Barnes-N-Noble or Christian Stores, etc? I am searching through Createspace trying to get some info. on how to in the above area.... Any assistance will be greatly appreciated.

So I decided to do a post on it. I realized that because I always refer people to Author K L Brady's blog for help with this, I have never written about my own personal experience. I will today.

I published the first edition of The Only Way is Up with no knowledge of the industry essentially. I knew enough to choose the most inexpensive Print-On-Demand (POD) Publisher out there with total control of every step of the way apparently, which I later found out was a good thing. Because Createspace (CS) is owned by amazon, that earned an automatic and fast amazon.com listing as well. But the part I missed was with the ISBN. When I started to do book signings, I realized bookstores did not want to order my book from Createspace/Amazon who they considered a competitor. They wanted to order my book from Ingram or Baker and Taylor. Therein was my first problem. Thankfully, after a difficult time for the first store, the others did let me come with my books. Then, I couldn't get my book listed with a Createspace ISBN starting with 978144---. Even though CS has this affiliation with Ingram and they have the Expanded Distribution Program (EDP), it still always came up in the computers at these stores as a POD book. That was a brick wall.

1) In interacting with other POD authors, I realized I had to get my own ISBN. Please click here for my post on the ISBN and Bowker process, links, how much it costs, etc. You do not have to buy a block of ten ISBNs but for me, since I intended to also have my book in ebook formats and some of them need a separate ISBN, paying for ten ISBNs was the same as paying for 2! With your own ISBN, it is now 978???---, in my case, it was 978098---, replacing the 144 which appears to be a POD tag. You become your own publisher instead of CS. I am now Arrabon Publishing.

2) I had to get my print ready files (interior and exterior) over to Lightning Source, a subsidiary of Ingram and publish a second edition of my book through them with some upgrades. I did this in April of 2010. For those who do not have their own full Adobe creator, there is a wonderful pdf creation service by selfpub.net for only $15. LSI does not have the same a la carte services that CS has like the editing, etc. But they will serve your purpose.

3) I sent my kit over to Barnes and Noble, Borders and Booksamillion according to the instructions on K L Brady's blog, Indie Publishing on the Cheap. I found all to be accurate except for the information for Baker and Taylor. I believe there might be an updated link in the comments section if you read all the way down.

4) Because of a hitch on LSI's part in which my book was not showing up on their iPage, I had to follow up with Barnes and Noble with a phone call. That is a good rule of thumb in any situation, except when agents or other such people say expressly, do not contact them! Remember to be sweet and unassuming when you call.

5) Barnes and Noble accepted my book and ordered a trial 25 copies to start with. They also have it listed online, probably related more to the Ingram listing. The ebook listing on Nook is through Smashwords distribution.

With Borders, it was a little tricky because I had done my signings of the first edition with another ISBN. I did send them the info but there is not a contact that I could find to follow up. However, I was involved with a Book Expo America project in which I got an interested party from a Borders stores in FL. A follow up of that contact has my book in at least that one store. I probably could work the Borders link more and set up signings with the new edition. We'll see. Busy, busy. I have realized that Borders and Barnes and Noble in different parts of the country operate differently. As of when I was actively working on this, Barnes and Noble in the Atlanta area were not doing events for Indie authors but I was able to get into many Borders stores all over town. However, it was easier to get Barnes and Noble corporate to accept my book than Borders corporate who I never heard back from. I realized in the MD or DC area, it was easier to get signings at Barnes and Noble stores.

With regards to the smaller bookstores, call each one, make an appointment and follow their lead!

Booksamillion has my book listed even though I never heard back from them. And of course, good old amazon.com always has my back for both paperback and Kindle versions of The Only Way is Up.

I still use CS to provide my books ordered from Amazon.com or directly from me because it is the cheapest per unit cost and very convenient. But Barnes and Noble orders from Ingram. So, everybody is happy.

This information is by no means exhaustive authors and do remember that Google is your best friend. There is nothing you cannot find somewhere online if you search hard enough. When I had no author friends or acquaintances, the internet was my sole source.

For more information, please visit the writer resource section of my website. Of course, you can always contact me with any questions.

PEACE.

Writing Competitions!

2010-07-25T00:07:00.000-04:00

Well my fellow writers, Writer's Digest still has 4 writing competitions open so what are you waiting on? Pick up your pen and notepad or your laptop or whatever and write. In my case, it's most often my blackberry which is what I have on me all the time to make notes. It doesn't matter what your preferred style is. Just write something.

Please click here for the Writer's Digest writing competitions and the rules for each one. And yes, the 79th annual contest is closed. Same as the self-published contest but there is no need crying over spilt milk! Let's just go with the ones that are still open.

PEACE.

Success With Borders and Barnes & Noble...

2010-07-05T17:59:00.000-04:00

YES! Finally I can say I have the major bookstore chains carrying my debut book The Only Way is Up: The Journey of an Immigrant. I can safely say I am screaming on the inside!

The journey has not been without hitches and it is far from over. You were all here with me when my first edition was published in November of 2009 in it's rawest form. Then I learnt a little more about the industry and released a revised edition in April of 2010 with some updates and improvements, this time making sure to have Ingram distribution on board. Of course the devil was at work as usual and there was nothing straightforward for me about this process. I thought everything was straight but to my amazement, it was actually Barnes and Noble that alerted me to the fact that The Only Way is Up was not live on Ingram IPage as it should have been. It took another month or so to rectify that.

Finally however, today I can say The Only Way is Up is available in at least one Borders store: BORDERS # 254, 9441 West Colonial Avenue, Ocoee, FL 34761. 407-532-2269. It has also been approved by the Barnes and Noble Small Business Department. At this point, I have no information about what stores will carry my title but will update this information as soon it is available to me. If it is not available in your local Barnes and Noble or Borders, it can be ordered quite easily since it is in their system.

I am just thankful to God that even with my full time job and without a book deal, and being a first time author self publishing, I am able to achieve much progress and it just keeps getting better and better.

Of course it does not end there. It is really just the beginning and I rely on your support as always to get the message out there about The Only Way is Up, my motivational book which targets women, African Americans & immigrants and focuses on self-esteem, self-worth, success, relationships, being single, single parenthood, teenage pregnancies, diet, health, weight, nutrition, spirituality, life outside of the United States, gender roles and so much more. It focuses on many societal issues in this age which we need to address and there is no sugar-coating here. I tell it like it is. It draws a comparison between my upbringing in the UK and Nigeria and life in the United states and offers solutions that are much needed in these times.

Please visit my website http://www.theonlywayisup.net/ for more information, how to purchase etc. If you have read the book already, please do leave an amazon.com review. The electronic version on amazon Kindle as well as in different electronic formats on Smashwords is only $2.99 at present and is part of the July site-wide sale on Smashwords as well. The print version is only $11.69 on amazon.com as well currently. Links to these may be found on the Buy page of my website if you do not wish to do a search on amazon.com.

I am work in progress but I have no doubt in my mind that truly, The Only Way is Up! To find out more about the process of getting these stores to carry your self published book, please read this exhaustive blog post on Indie Publishing on the Cheap by K L Brady, an initial self published author who in one year has gone as far as selling her book to Simon and Schuster and having a two-book deal.

Hard work pays off,
Consistency pays off,
Believing in yourself definitely pays off!

For all that have supported me and continue to show love, I say thank you and God bless you. For those who didn't and who could not bring themselves to believe in me, God bless you also. God is definitely perfecting his purpose in my life and I look forward to bigger and better things as we all strive to be better humans.

PEACE.

One Year Anniversary of the Dream of Becoming An Author

2010-05-28T15:23:00.000-04:00

Exactly a year ago, on memorial day weekend, I got inspired to write a book, The Only Way is Up. It is amazing taking stock and seeing how far I have come and how much I have been blessed to be a blessing.

He took me from being a mom, a wife and an MD to being all that and also an Author. For the first time in my life, I created something, a book. (I may be an MD but I didn't create that. I just studied it...)

He took me from having influence only in my immediate vicinity to being able to reach far and wide with the message in my book.

He took me from initially formatting my whole book in word and using a very basic Createspace tool for a book cover to using Book Cover Pro and Book Wizard for my second edition.

He took me from only having contact on facebook with people I know to being facebook friends with great authors, reviewers, promoters and marketers and a whole new world of great individuals as well as a facebook fan page with close to 500 fans that is still growing and getting close to 400 hits per week. I'm even getting the hang of twitter finally!!!

He took me from talking to patients one on one in exam rooms to radio interviews that reach far and wide.

He took me from dreaming of impacting the world to starting to impact the world.

He took me from not having an avenue to physically sell my books to starting to get into bookstores.

He took me from being afraid to sell and thinking I would literally suck at selling to having great sales numbers at Book Signings.

He took me from fear of public speaking to standing in front of a store at Book Signings and pitching my book effectively.

He took me from not knowing how my work would be received to getting good reviews from the Midwest Book Review, RAWSISTAZ, APEX Reviews to name a few.

Lord, I thank you for expanding my coast. Truly, The Only Way is Up. Book deal around the corner maybe? Yes, he who has done all these is able to take me from being self published to so much more. It is only a matter of time. I am not there yet but I sure am on my way.

Folake.

FREE KINDLE Reader for your PHONE and PC!

2010-05-16T09:21:00.003-04:00

I'm guessing writers and authors should also be avid readers, right? I hope my assumption is correct. Since this is the digital age, a Kindle would be in order, correct? Well, I want a kindle but I have not been able to acquire one. It's on my list but since I thought I had to pay for it, I hadn't quite gotten to it yet on my scale of preference. I just found out this morning that there are FREE applications that can be downloaded to your phone or pc to enable you to purchase kindle books from amazon.com. That makes me want to jump for joy or scream. All these are available:

FREE Kindle App for Blackberry

FREE Kindle App for iPhone

FREE Kindle App for PC

and more...

To download any of the FREE Kindle Apps available so far, click the following link.

FREE Kindle App for iPhone, Windows PC, Mac, Blackberry and iPad

Hope this helps. This is the real FREE. If you want to carry the proper Kindle device itself around however, you still need to buy it. I can't help you there!

If you like my post, please order a copy of The Only Way is Up on kindle. It's only $2.99 for a limited time. If it still says $5.99, give it a day or two to update please. And do leave me a review as well will you? That's all I ask.

Much appreciation.

PEACE.

AE Call for Submissions...

2010-04-13T15:25:00.000-04:00

Author Exposure has an interesting list of suggested topics for the next few months. Please visit the AE website directly for the full information.

Thank you.

Folake.

LSI Manuscript Formatting for Print Ready PDF Files

2010-04-09T21:40:00.001-04:00

Why am I blogging about this? I thought I had everything down. I was ready for my revised edition through both Createspace (CS) and Lightning Source (LSI). I got a rude shock. LSI kept sending my interior files back. Initially I had sent the pdf file the same way I always did for CS and they had said the text was centered from left to rigth and not top to bottom. Ok. So I sent another that was set to the postscript size of 6 X 9 and not the standard letter size the pdf will usually default to. Rude shock. They sent that back as well. Now the words were running off the edges on their printer because I didn't have space around it. I could not figure out how to fix it. I asked around and couldn't find any answers immediately or anyone who could help or who understood. I finally did get help however (yes there are still good people in this world) but there was also an answer already waiting...

I love Google. Finally, I did a Google search and there it was: an article with the answers from someone who had encountered a similar problem along with another friend of his. The article is titled Step by Step Formatting for Your Manuscript and is posted on the website for Independent Authors Guild. This lifesaver article led me to a page on Self-Pub.net where I was able to purchase a pdf conversion service for $15! It's called the pdf creation service. Kudos to Selp-Pub.net for doing their thing and to the person who posted the information about it. They are the same people I bought the Book Design Wizard from to format my revised edition and it actually looks professionally done now.

This is definitely a good deal, considering I have the revised edition published through CS and dated for a few days back! My Ingram distribution and subsequently being carried by big bookstores hinges on LSI.

I love the internet. Someone out there has had the same issue you are having. You just have to play around with the search terms on Google till you find a post about it. Go Google!

Have a great weekend y'all.

Folake.

Atlanta Black Book Expo

2010-03-28T18:46:00.000-04:00

I just found out about the 1st Annual Atlanta Black Book Expo. I am excited. It sounds like a winner. I live in Atlanta and that is obviously a plus for me that it's taking place in my city! But I just thought I'd put it out there for anyone who has not heard about it and is interested. I will definitely be getting a table. I wonder if we can share though? Hmmm. That's the cheap part of me speaking. Please click here for a link to the website for Atlanta Black Book Expo and do check them out on facebook and twitter as well. Authors, I hope to see you there. But it is also for vendors and a host of others.

Have a blessed week.

Folake Taylor.

PS: We cannot share table! It is addressed in their FAQs section.

A word of caution about Book Distributors...

2010-03-03T13:38:00.004-05:00

Thankfully, I am a very careful person. I have not fallen prey yet and hopefully I won't. But I remember that I have heard of several cases of Indie Authors being burned by Book Distributor deals. I heard of a story of a lady whose distributor went bankrupt and she lost her money.

I had looked into a few opportunities and last week, I actually got offered a deal. I was sent a contract and a lot of information about how it would all go down and let's just say it wasn't looking like what I had imagined. I'm not going to mention the name of the company but the marketing packages started from about $1,900 all the way up to $9,000. Automatically I knew I wasn't having them do any marketing for me. Unless I am sure of becoming a # 1 New York Times Bestseller, I'd never make my money back! Let us not forget I cannot afford it either!!! The first 3 or so of the packages (going up to $4,200) were all marketing efforts I have either made or am currently making by myself. It made me feel good that my effort on my laptop on a part-time basis everyday was seemingly worth so much.

Then I looked at the distribution contract itself. It went from a set up fee of about $500 to monthly admin fees and palet fees for storing my books. As a wise author advisor of mine just pointed out, it defeats the purpose of POD when I have to now pay for them to store my books. Let's not even start to talk about the kind of percentages that you stand to part with if you go this route.

They say they are affiliated with Ingram, Baker and Taylor and will get my book into the big three stores: Barnes and Noble, Borders and Booksamillion. I know of Indie authors who have done that by themselves and I am in the process of doing the same.

So, except for the prospect of spending less time in front of the laptop and more time with my family and in the kitchen cooking, I really do not see what they can do for me. Any distributorship they are able to pull off still depends on my marketing since their marketing packages are not affordable.

In fairness to the distributors, their services are probably worth what they charge as they have salaries to pay and overhead costs too. It just makes me feel good about myself to know that the efforts I have been making to promote my book are actually worth several thousand dollars. The real question is this: "Do I need their services however?"

I do not have all the answers yet but I seem to smell a rat! More importantly, I just need to trust myself and what I can achieve with my own efforts. All I will say is, be careful before getting into those deals. I have found one very comprehensive article about this on the net and you can click here to access Apples and Oranges: An Analysis and Comparison of Distributor Agreements by Ivan Hoffman. Please click here for Articles for Writers and Publishers which contain a long list of articles that help writers in general with legal issues as well as two more articles on issues with book distribution, also by Ivan Hoffman.

Whatever I do decide concerning Book Distribution however, I hope it's the right decision.

Peace.

Folake.

Filing Taxes as a Writer...

2010-02-27T14:09:00.000-05:00

As a debut author, this filing season is the first year that this will be a consideration for me. I did some research on the net and found a few articles which I felt may be useful to someone else as well. Here they are:

How to File Income Taxes if You're a Professional Writer or Hobbyist

Death, Taxes and the Writer

Taxes and Finances for Writers

I hope this helps. Now I need to go sort out how to file mine based off of this information!

Folake.

Writing Contest

2010-02-26T23:36:00.002-05:00

This is a repost from a fellow blogger. Author Exposure had this on their blog and I just wanted to pass it on. Please click here get the details of the writing contest from AE blog directly.
Have a blessed weekend.

Folake.

Edit vs Review

2010-02-21T17:30:00.003-05:00

Editing is usually a paid service pre-publication. There are different levels of it. There are professional editors. If you have a major publisher, one would be assigned to you. Other options are authors who are well published who also offer this service. For more detailed info on editing, please visit K L Brady's blog where she has a nice write-up on it.

Reviewing can be pre or post publication and can be paid or free. Usually, the review is the property of the reviewer to post anywhere they deem please. They do give you the rights to use in part or whole however. Some reviewers offer it as a paid service where they give you the option of not posting the review if it is a negative review or if it is less then a 3 on a scale of 1-5 stars. Sometimes, the payment is for the purpose of expediting the service. Common reviewers of AA literature or non-mainstream self published work (not exclusively!) are RAWSISTAZ, APOO, OOSA Online Book Club, the Romer Review (TRR), AALBC, AAMBC, etc. There are also several smaller Book Clubs or Blogs that offer these services such as Joey Pinkney, Author Exposure and Flavor Book Club etc.

Rules I would advise we go by are as follows:
1) Be cognisant of the fact that you are never assured of a positive review. If it is pre-publication, do not ask for a review if you are not willing to change anything about the project or incorporate the advice. If it is post publication, if you produced quality work, enough reviewers will see that and the occassional negative or lukewarm review will not matter. Reviews are subjective. One person's opinion may not necessarily reflect how the public will receive your work. But do pay attention to criticism and use it to improve on yourself and your work even while staying true ro your vision for your project.
2) Try to send your work to reviewers of similar work or the same genre. For example, some reviewers only do fiction. Pay attention to their review and submission guidelines and their past reviews on similar writings.
3) Know that most reviewers do not keep to the timeframe that they promise. This is partly because a lot of these free services are run by volunteers and they have normal jobs and lives. Be patient with them. A rushed review because of the pressure of frequent emails from you is not in your best interest.
4) Do your research about your project and make sure you cross all your 'T's and dot your 'I's because someone will notice it if you don't.

Now I will go and apply all these rules even as I try to patiently await more reviews this week! Here's to hoping there aren't one or two places I've sent my book for review that I should not have!
Do have a blessed and productive week.

Folake.

Short Story Contest

2010-02-09T23:18:00.000-05:00

Here's another contest sponsored by BookRix and posted by a fellow blogger. It's free to enter and has $1800 in prizes. This one closes February 23rd. Please click here for contest details.
Thank you.

Folake.

Empowering you, the official blog for "The Only Way is Up"

2010-02-07T08:17:00.000-05:00

Please check out my official blog for my book The Only way is Up by clicking here. This new blog focuses on issues discussed in the book and is very interractive. We would love to have you on there frequently! We also have a free book giveaway every Friday in the month of February in honor of Black History Month. Details available by visiting Empowering You blog. This will continue to be my blog for writer resources and the blog section on my website will continue to carry information that is specific to the book itself.
Do enjoy the rest of your weekend and the week ahead and keep it positive.

Folake.

Another Successful Book Signing!

2010-02-06T22:35:00.000-05:00

I had a wonderful day today @ Stonecrest Mall, Borders yet again. I am so thankful for my friends who showed up and all the people who were interested in my book and those who purchased it. I met so many people who are associated with one Book Club or the other and after purchasing the book, they wanted to know if I was available for discussion with their Book Club if they liked the book! It was of course another tiring day. After four hours of standing, I was not only tired but cold!!! But it was well worth it.
Thanks y'all. For more pics, please check the event portion of my website or facebook.

Folake.

Self Publishing Writing Competitions/ Awards; Call for Submission...

2010-02-01T11:59:00.004-05:00

Hi all,

Good Morning.

Just some quick updates from my fellow bloggers I thought I'd share with you.

Please click here for a list of awards that Independent Publishers are eligible for and click here for a call for submissions I came across this morning.

All the best and have a good day.

Folake.

Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award

2010-01-31T07:48:00.000-05:00

Top of the morning to you. Here's another big award sponsored by Amazon, Createspace and the Penguin Group. Publishers Weekly is the reviewing sponsor. Grand prize is $15,000! It's for fiction only so I can't enter for this one but I wish you guys who do all the best. Please click here for details of this BIG contest...You have to move fast on this one as the entry period only lasts till February 7th or when they get 5,000 entries for each category: General Fiction and Young Adult Fiction.

Have a blessed week.

Folake.

Writer's Digest Writing Competition!

2010-01-30T16:57:00.004-05:00

Writer's Digest is at it again: 79th Annual Writing Competition. Click here for more information and how to enter.

GRAND PRIZE: $3,000 cash and a trip to New York City to meet with editors or agents.

Submit your manuscript for a chance to win a trip for you and a guest to New York, where you’ll spend three days and two nights in the publishing capital of the world. While you’re there, a Writer’s Digest editor will escort you to share your work with four editors or agents.

The Grand Prize manuscript, the First Place manuscript in each category, and the names of the top 100 winners in each category will be printed in a special competition collection. Reserve your copy of the 79th Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition Collection.

Compete to Win in 10 Categories:
1. Inspirational Writing (Spiritual/Religious)
2. Memoirs/Personal Essay
3. Magazine Feature Article
4. Genre Short Story (Mystery, Romance, etc.)
5. Mainstream/Literary Short Story
6. Rhyming Poetry
7. Non-Rhyming Poetry
8. Stage Play
9. Television/Movie Script
10. Children's/Young Adult Fiction

All the best.

Folake.

Block of ISBNs now less expensive!

2010-01-30T10:13:00.009-05:00

Good morning to you my people! It had been rumored toward the end of last year that ISBN cost was going to be cheaper in 2010. Well, guess what? It is so! This only applies to the block of 10 ISBNs however.

It is $250 for a block of 10 when purchased from My Identifiers which is the link where you can also purchase a single ISBN or an ISBN and bar code. The cost for these still remain at $125 and $150 respectively however. On this site, you get your ISBNs immediately. There is no $30 Reg fee here.

When purchased online with the normal processing timeframe of 3 weeks, a block of 10 ISBNs is now $245 from RR Bowker. For those who were not in the "know" it used to cost $325. It may not seem like a big difference but believe me, it is! Every little help or break one can get counts...Now, if you can split that block with someone...(There's also a $30 Reg fee which makes the total cost for a block of 10 ISBNs $275). The cost is higher for express processing etc.

The barcodes are $25 each with bulk discount available.

Basically, it's like getting 10 ISBNs for the price of 2. Now, who would not want to take advantage of that and just keep writing? Pls let me know if you would like to split a block of ISBNs with me!!! Click here to email me.

Thank you RR Bowker!

Folake

Update/ Workshop rescheduled

2010-01-21T18:51:00.003-05:00

Hi all,
Unfortunately, the workshop initially slated for this weekend was cancelled. No worries though. It will be rescheduled for sometime in April and I'm still looking forward to it.
Meanwhile, I have at least 4 Book Signings scheduled in the next 2 months which is a blessing. 3 of those are in February alone. I guess I'll really be celebrating Black History Month by trying to make a change in my own little way!
Watch this space and please keep giving for Haiti recovery. They will continue to need us for months if not years to come to recover from this devastation.
One world!

Folake.

CTB Radio/ Author Exposure Book Club

2010-01-12T12:14:00.006-05:00

CTB Radio stands for Catch That Book Radio! I had the good fortune of coming accross Traci Green, the talk show host on Blogtalkradio and she is doing wonderful things in the area of putting out word about new authors. I am scheduled to be on her radio show on February 17th @ 12:30pm. They also have an online book club, Author Exposure Book Club. Here are the links:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/catch-that-book

http://ctbradio.ning.com/

http://www.authorexposure.com/

http://twitter.com/radiopublicity

Watch this space for more info!

Folake.

Book Signing Success

2010-01-10T18:04:00.009-05:00

I am so thankful for the turn out at the book signing today. Thanks y'all! It went well and the Borders store staff said and I quote: "You blew it out the water..." Trying to arrange for a second one at another Borders and working the system till they carry my book!

I am tired though. Selling is hard work. I had to do the same spill over and over and stand for 4 hours straight. It was no joke. But the success of it made it all worth while.

To see more pictures of the event, please click here and scroll down to archived events.

Have a blessed week y'all.

Folake.

AAMBC

2010-01-08T18:41:00.008-05:00

That stands for African Americans on the Move Book Club. The organization was founded by Tamika Newhouse in 2008. They are doing a lot to support new and self published authors. At the moment, they are offering a free 30 second commercial on their BlogTalkRadio Show. That's mighty kind of them. They also do book reviews, interviews, feature authors for Book of the month, etc. They have an annual conference which will take place in Chicago on June 12, 2010. I will be on their radio show on June 10th @ 8pm and will be a Book of the month selection for that month (BOTM).

Website: http://www.aambookclub.com/

Radio Show: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/aambc

___________________________________________________
Company Information

• AAMBC Radio provides a literary service to avid readers that reaches about 350 listens per show.
• AAMBC is a online based book club opening doors for authors to promote and for readers to call home.
• AAMBC hosts an annual conference every year in a selected city the second weekend in June.
___________________________________________________
Industry Information

• AAMBC is a book promoter at affordable prices for authors and poets
• AAMBC Book Reviews is a service offering a professional opinion helping to promote your books with a certified review
• The AAMBC National Meeting is a avenue for readers to meet authors face to face

This takes me way back...

2010-01-08T14:08:00.007-05:00

I am having a moment of pride today and I just want to "shout-out" my people...

Here is a photoblog that features pictures of The Obafemi Awolowo University In Ile-Ife, Nigeria-where I did a lot of my early years as well as being the University I obtained my medical degree from:

http://modamo.wordpress.com/2009/10/09/photographs-of-obafemi-awolowo-university-ile-ife/

Parent blog:

http://modamo.wordpress.com/

It is run by an old family friend of mine, Theophilus O. Emmanuel.

Here's another photoblog by another childhood friend of mine, Dehumo Bickersteth:

http://www.dehumob.com/index.php/pictures

and some great ethnic music:

http://www.dehumob.com/

This entertainement magazine is run by family, Bode Ojo & Temi Kolawole:

http://www.goldenicons.com/

This site, STURVS, is run by my brother, Temi Kolawole:

http://www.sturvs.com/

Yet another childhood friend Tosan Aduayi is making waves with his magazine Trendy Africa:

http://trendyafrica.com/editor/

There was an article highlighting The Only Way is Up in December.

Just wanted to share. In your spare moments, please check these out.

Folake.

It's a beautiful day!

2010-01-07T10:06:00.006-05:00

I stepped out of my front door this morning to a beautiful sunrise immediately noticed by my daughter, 28 month old Jordan. She said it was "Pretty!"
I am so proud of her developing keen eye and artistic mind. It's supposed to snow later today and I look forward to it for her sake since we only get this once a year. I hope Jordan gets to play in the snow and enjoy it...I look forward to her expression of what she thinks of SNOW. Maybe she can even build her first snowman since she is always fascinated with it on her DVDs...
Take a moment to appreciate everything about life, both big and small. Before we know it, it will all pass us by. I want to enjoy every minute of 2010 that I can and I hope you can too!

Folake.

Excited!

2010-01-06T13:40:00.002-05:00

I am really excited about the Writers' Workshop opportunity (see below) and the networking it affords. My life is taking on a direction that I could not have envisiaged even a year ago and I am so thankful to God. I did not know I could even write an article for a magazine or newspaper not to talk of a book. It was not a plan because if it was, I'd have been preparing to get on the literary scene for years which is pretty obvious I haven't been...lol. I thought all I was good at was Medicine...God is good. Re-discovering me...yay!

Folake.

Writers' Workshop Series by LeTay Publishing POSTPONED!

2010-01-06T10:38:00.003-05:00

Please check out this link for an upcoming Writers Workshop in the Atlanta area on Friday January 22nd-Saturday January 23rd:

http://www.letaypublishing.com/events.html

Here are details of involvement if you choose to be a sponsor or vendor:

http://www.letaypublishing.com/events/sponsorsvendors.html

Hope to see you there!

Folake.

Fellow Authors and Aspiring Authors...

2010-01-05T18:07:00.001-05:00

I may not have the time to speak to you my fellow authors and friends over the phone much to exchange notes and ideas, especially for those of us that are self published. I may not be able to do the facebook IM or any of these avenues as much as I would love to. But I would love for us to share on this forum if you please. I believe we can all benefit from eachother. I am also specifically referring to those of us who are of African descent because we have certain things in common and we have similar stories which are not mainstream but nonetheless, need to be heard.

And this would also benefit those who are aspiring authors as well. Maybe by asking questions or by reading some of the comments from others, you might even avoid making some fresh ones of your own!

I used Createspace to self publish my book and I would like to know how that compares to Xlibris or Author House for example or even Lulu or Lightening Source. Hopefully, we all plan to do some more writing and we need to get better and improve on some of our choices and decisions each time.

Please share folks!

Folake.

Marketing, marketing, MARKETING!

2010-01-05T13:40:00.001-05:00

Yes, that is the word of the day. It doesn't matter how great your book is if nobody knows you wrote it. It also doesn't matter that much more if only your friends and family members buy it...lol. But I am determined to change that and I am changing that already. That is why I am on this quest to do for myself what a big publishing house would have done, if I could find one to broadcast my story. That however, is not an easy task when you are a minority and an immigrant. So, I decided to self publish. You gotta be a celebrity or Reality TV Show Star nowadays to get a non-fiction book deal. And don't even think of a memoir or autobiography if you are neither. Even Barack Obama's "Dreams from My Father" did not get the recognition it deserved till he became a politician with a voice.
But I love this process and I feel like I am learning a new trade.
On Sunday January 10th @ 12 noon, I will have my first Book Signing Event @ BORDERS in the East Cobb area of Atlanta. (Really Marietta but still the Atlanta metro area!)
I am so pumped. God is good. If all goes well, Borders will carry my book "The Only Way is Up: The Journey of an Immigrant" eventually.
The door may not be held wide open for you but you can always find a crack in the window. I found mine and I will work it.
There is always a way!
Peace...

Folake.

WELCOME!

2010-01-05T13:38:00.007-05:00

Wecome to my blog! I'm a debut author so yes, it is a writer's blog...May 2010 bring us all joy, peace and prosperity...

Folake.
FT@theonlywayisup.net
http://twitter.com/folaketaylor
http://www.theonlywayisup.net/
http://ctbradio.ning.com/profile/folaketaylor
http://www.iseecolor.com/profile/FolakeTaylor
http://www.booktour.com/author/folake_taylor
http://essenceonline.ning.com/profile/folaketaylor
http://www.bookexposure.net/profile/folaketaylor
http://motownwriters.ning.com/profile/folaketaylor
http://www.facebook.com/pages/F-Taylor/238094610556