Those of you who know me must’ve heard the story of how I got into this publishing racket… *cough, cough* … I mean “industry.” If not, here are the Cliff Notes. In 2001, tired of rejection, uncharacteristically flush with cash, and still shaken from seeing the Pentagon on fire in my rear view mirror on 9/11, I made the decision to self-publish. Serendipitously, my cousin gave me a subscription to Black Issues Book Review (BIBR) right about that time. In a BIBR article on self-publishing, I learned about Infinity Publishing. I went with them, and the rest, as they say, is Black History. I still maintain that the owner of the company, Tom Gregory, changed my life.
So, six years, one mainstream book deal, and two books later, I find myself once again observing Tom on the innovative edge of the industry, this time, helping writers reach out to each other. He has introduced a portal for writers called Authornation. I logged on and browsed through it, and I hope Tom forgives me when I say it’s like MySpace for writers. And, from my July 17th entry, you all know how addicted I am to the cybercrack that is MySpace. Sometimes, I’m like Chris Rock as Pookie in New Jack City, scratching myself and whining, “It be callin’ me! It be callin’ me!” But I digress…
I opened an Authornation account, browsed, posted some new writing to introduce myself, and read through the many forums on the site. There are even forums exploring specific genres. I posted a question there, under “African-American” almost a week ago, asking for suggestions on how African American writers could achieve mass appeal. Shockingly, the question has had no replies, prompting me to think that perhaps The Kid may be the fly in the literary buttermilk. Once again.
Hence the thrust to share this innovation with you. Check it out. Here’s the link to Authornation. There’s no pressure. To visit this nation is practically effortless. No shots, quinine pills, or learning of another language is involved. No ham-fisted TSA man will grope you. You won’t have to put any of your liquids or gels in a plastic Baggie. And ladies, what you do with your breast milk is your own business! Logging on to Authornation was less painful than my last visit to Margaritaville (no hangover and projectile vomiting… yet).
Seriously, let me know what you think. At the very least, go to Forums, scroll down to Genres>African American and answer my lonely question. The Token is looking for the Obligatory Second… and Third… and Fourth…
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