- 2 days ago
Join the team of Storehouse Voices for an inspiring session on the journey from lifelong writer to published author. Explore what it takes to shape your voice, find your audience, and navigate the world of publishing—whether you're working on your first book or have stories that have lived with you for years. Gain practical tips, hear real-life experiences, and leave feeling empowered to bring your writing to the world.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Good morning, everyone. Thank you so much for joining us. We are the publishing team at Storehouse Voices, which is one of the newest imprints at Penguin Random House.
00:09The mission of our imprint is essentially centering, serving, respecting black women. That is how we got our start. Between the four of us, we have 60 years of book publishing experience and another 25 of significant entrepreneur and business leadership experience as well.
00:30And the team together is really excited to be able to share with you how you can break into this business, if that's your interest or someone in your life's interest, whether you're an author or even want to see yourself on a panel like this talking about what book publishing is.
00:46I am Portia Burke. I'm the associate publisher of this imprint and a 21-year veteran of Penguin Random House. So thank you. I'm joined by my publisher.
00:55My name is Tamaira Chapman. It is an honor and a privilege to spend some time with you all this morning. I am the publisher of Storehouse Voices and also CEO of Storehouse in a Box. I'll kick it to you, Jen.
01:07Hi, good morning, everybody. I'm Jennifer Baker, or Jen Baker. I'm the editorial director of Storehouse Voices. I'm also the author of Forgive Me Not.
01:15Both of our books that Chelsea will talk a little bit more about, The Best Man and Forgive Me Not, among a plethora are available for sale from our wonderful friends, Mahogany Books.
01:26And so we'll also be having, what do we call it, an activation table not far from here, from 1 to 5 today and 9 to 1 tomorrow.
01:36So if you have any additional questions, feel free to stop by and we'll remind you at the tail end of this panel.
01:41Chelsea?
01:43Hi, so good to see you guys. My name is Chelsea Johns. I am the executive editor at Storehouse Voices.
01:48I am also the editor of this phenomenal book, The Best Man on Fitness Business. Go buy it. It's fantastic.
01:55But look forward to talking to you guys and just exploring more about book publishing.
01:59Fantastic. The reason that we got to have an imprint, it started with Tamaira bringing a really great business opportunity to us.
02:06Do you want to talk about how you got to us?
02:10Yeah, sure.
02:11Okay.
02:12So Storehouse in a Box had a phenomenal opportunity to work with Penguin Random House maybe three years ago.
02:19And it was during the launch of Ms. Obama's Becoming in a Light We Carry.
02:23And we had a fantastic partnership where we worked to launch that book and seed it within the black community.
02:31And by virtue of doing that work, what I noticed was that not only did we want to read books, we also wanted to be authors of books.
02:38And so I reached out to the leadership team at Penguin and said, well, you know, it's really nice that we're able to do these marketing partnerships together.
02:44But what I really think would move culture forward is if you help us demystify the publishing industry.
02:50Can you give us an opportunity to bring black men and women to the table and learn more about how this process works?
02:57And Penguin agreed to their credit.
02:59And during that time, I was partnered with Ms. Burke.
03:02And so within a short amount of time, we signed up over 10,000 people for this publishing program.
03:07We were able to do that in under 30 days.
03:10Within those 30 days, we signed up 10,000 folks, and they told us about all of their publishing interests.
03:16They told us about the hardships and the challenges that they were facing in the industry, what they could use to move them forward, the sort of books that they loved to read, and the sort of books that they wanted to write.
03:26I then gave all that information to Portia.
03:28And Portia created an amazing six-week program where we then allowed those 10,000 folks to come and learn everything about publishing from beginning to end.
03:37And then at the end of the program, my hope was that I'd be able to follow up with Penguin and say, hey, well, we've graduated these 10,000 people.
03:46You know, some of them have manuscripts.
03:48Would you consider buying some of these manuscripts and doing deals with them?
03:52And to my surprise, the program was so successful that Penguin said, no, you should instead have an imprint because we now see the power in this community.
04:01So I'm sure I've missed so many parts that you'd add.
04:04You summed it up, and in part because it's not like we give out imprints to anybody, right?
04:09That's not how it usually works, and it's actually very rare to have an imprint that starts from an external partner and how necessary that was, an external partner with deep community ties, and not just community ties in retail.
04:24It was community ties in service.
04:26So we understood what people needed.
04:28Like, we call that the felt need for our books, right?
04:31We understood that, and we're prepared to serve that.
04:33That five-part series talked about the things we'll talk about here.
04:37What is it like to submit a book proposal?
04:40Why do you need a book proposal?
04:41What goes into it?
04:42Who do you give it to?
04:43Okay, we had literary agents who you give it to come and talk about what they do.
04:48We then followed that up with editorial and what it's like once you get in, once you get a book deal, what happens.
04:56We then talked about marketing and publicity.
04:58Okay, what is your responsibility as an author to help keep your book alive in the world, help draw the audience to it, and then what do you do next?
05:08That was so successful that we were able to create a speed dating opportunity for people to meet literary agents.
05:15Our vision of success is to be here before you next year with some of those literary agents as well, because we believe in making sure that that opportunity is real.
05:23We're not just going to information you to death, to use one of my publisher's terms.
05:27So to keep it moving, I would love to talk about, okay, how do you get into this book publishing business?
05:32If you are someone who has a story to tell, what is the first thing that you would do, Jen?
05:38Well, one of the first things I would recommend is, it's not just about if you have the idea, it's about the actual writing of the story itself, right?
05:49Building the community to help give you feedback, to understand more about your process, how to flesh out a story, what's working, what may not be working, how someone's reading it and perceiving it.
06:00From there, you have options, right?
06:02Self-publishing or what's called indie publishing is an option.
06:05That's one where you front the money and you have a lot more control.
06:10If you do want to go about the traditional publishing route, where you are engaging with someone on a publishing scale, you definitely want to learn more about it.
06:18And there are a lot of ways to do that.
06:19There's, you know, finding out what literary agents are looking at, and you can go to a place called Manuscript Wishlist, MSWL, if you ever see that kind of hashtag, that's what that means, Manuscript Wishlist, to see what are agents looking for, what are editors looking for?
06:36Understanding where your book is in the market place.
06:39So definitely focus on who you are as a writer, but also kind of understand what's out there.
06:45What books do you enjoy reading?
06:46Are you reading the acknowledgments or the copyright page where the editor may be listed, the agents may be referenced, people who have inspired the author will be toted in that part as well.
06:58And you can just be like, oh, so these are some of the folks that this person is in conversation with in terms of their art.
07:05These are some of the folks that they've worked with who understand what they're doing, and I think actually might be other folks that I think would work really well with what I'm trying to do as well.
07:15And that's just a starting point.
07:17I also want to touch base on what you were talking about with Women and Words, right?
07:21Because that virtual series is still accessible online, right?
07:25And so is it at womanandwords.com?
07:27That's right.
07:28Women and Words.
07:29And so that wonderful six-part series, which is a soup to nuts, just like primer on the industry, if you go to W-O-M-E-N-A-N-D-W-O-R-D-S, womenandwords.com, that will give you several hour-plus long conversations.
07:48And just digest as you want to digest them.
07:50There's so much information from Writer's Digest, Publishers Marketplace, people's individual blogs, podcasts, all these things.
07:58It can be, it can feel incredibly overwhelming, but first start in writing the book you love and knowing the community you want to be on the other end of the readership of that book.
08:08Finding your community and then really finding the people who will best be the collaborative entity that work with that.
08:16And again, that can be found in copyright pages, acknowledgements of the books you really enjoy that yours is in conversation with.
08:24And again, I'm giving you two starting points, womenandwords.com and Manuscript Wishlist.
08:32So you've written a book.
08:35You have the great idea.
08:37You have an understanding of who that audience is that's going to be served by the work that you're creating.
08:42You are going to look up the right potential agent partner, either at Manuscript Wishlist or within your network or womenandwords.com or storehousevoices.com for sure.
08:55And now what?
08:57Your agent is going to be, let's say you do have an agent, although one of the great things about our publishing program you would see on our site is that we allow for folks to submit to us directly.
09:06And why do we do that?
09:08Because we're not gatekeepers and you'll see some of that language here around you.
09:13We know that the opportunities to connect with agents or to be seen as worthwhile in those agent's eyes, it can be biased, right?
09:23To put it plainly.
09:24And so how do we want to make sure that we know publishers want your stories.
09:28We know readers and people in your lives need your stories.
09:31So how do we make sure you can get them?
09:33And we've created a pipeline for you to do that.
09:36And you'll be able to see and hear more about that over the next couple of days.
09:39So, okay.
09:40I want to add something here.
09:42Please do.
09:43So when they said that combined we have over 60 years of publishing experience, I only added about three months to that.
09:51So really, that's representative from this group here.
09:54And so from my perspective, if you're an outsider to the industry, like really just dumbing it down, like so me, like an outsider, like I'm from Detroit, not in New York, let's go D.
10:07Like how to really, really, really get started, right?
10:10Like, and that first step is really writing a proposal.
10:13And so a lot of times you might have a bright idea, but maybe what you don't have are the chops to actually write this proposal.
10:21So at that stage, you could actually find a collaborator to share your thoughts and your ideas with, and a collaborator can help bring that proposal to life.
10:31And so to write a proposal, maybe somewhere between $3,500, $5,000 for a collaborator, that's too much?
10:41It depends.
10:42It depends.
10:42On the expert level of the collaborator that you're working with.
10:45But I think that's a good starting point.
10:47A good starting point.
10:48Just for the proposal?
10:50Yeah.
10:50Yeah.
10:50Yeah.
10:51Okay.
10:52So essentially, you have a bright idea.
10:55You have some family legacy, some journey.
10:58There's a business that you're running.
11:00The story needs to be told.
11:02You're too busy or you simply just don't know how.
11:05You can start to look around in the industry to figure out, like, who are some of the best collaborators?
11:09Who might you be able to partner with to share your story and then get them to actually bring that proposal to life?
11:16Once that proposal is complete, then you have an opportunity to go start pitching agents, or from our perspective, you can pitch us directly.
11:24So that's another way to get in the game if you aren't a writer.
11:27And so that was always important to me.
11:30So to the extent we're to say.
11:34Okay.
11:35Yeah.
11:35I was just going to add to, like, don't be afraid to do the first draft yourself.
11:39Because you need to understand what you're trying to get your collaborator to do and understand who you're selling to, what that, like, hook of your book is, whether it's nonfiction or fiction.
11:50So they're going to do a lot of writing and rewriting.
11:52But you should kind of know how are you selling yourself.
11:56Like, what's the book?
11:56Who am I?
11:57What am I bringing to the table that's different from an author that does other nursing books or does other race-related books?
12:04So, like, you should take a stab at it yourself and then bring in someone else to help.
12:10Couldn't agree more.
12:11What are those elements?
12:13Actually, we should probably spend some time breaking down what goes into a book proposal, right?
12:18We take for granted sometimes that everyone speaks that same language.
12:22So I know I, in talking about and teaching book proposal writing, the number one thing that I encourage folks to have is a strong overview line, right?
12:33And within one sentence that anybody around here, oh, you're working on a book, it answers the question, what is this book, right?
12:40That's a little different from what is this book about because you can do that.
12:44But what is this book?
12:45It's a memoir by who that does what within a sentence, 25 words, right?
12:51If you are a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist already, maybe you can span that into two sentences, but you should really be able to get in and out with that idea.
12:59The second part of that is then a synopsis, right?
13:02Again, no more than really 300 words.
13:05And there are as many ways to do a proposal as there are creatives, but, you know, a strong template gets you in and out.
13:12You have a short synopsis that covers three things.
13:15The plot, right?
13:16So that is what is this book about.
13:18You have the context.
13:19Why this book?
13:20Why this book comes into the world?
13:22What is the landscape that this book is coming into the world with, right?
13:25What else is going on?
13:26You get to talk about other forms of media.
13:29Is this, you know, true crime?
13:31Is it, you know, harping on other popular stories around now?
13:37Is it, you know, an anniversary or a milestone if it's about America and so forth?
13:43Okay, what is the context for this book?
13:45And then the package synopsis.
13:47How many words is it?
13:48Do you need pictures?
13:50That kind of thing to help your publishing team understand what the package is going to look like, right?
13:57Some of the more deeper elements of the proposal.
14:00Jen?
14:01We just clarify that proposals for nonfiction.
14:04People do do it for fiction.
14:11Please don't.
14:13Please don't.
14:14And I say this because a novel or a short story collection or even a novella is a very different thing.
14:22And it is not a problem if you write your whole memoir and submit your whole memoir.
14:27That is totally cool.
14:28But if you are doing a proposal, it's generally the rule of thumb, and I use air quotes a lot,
14:34is that's for nonfiction.
14:36But for fiction, we really have to know the whole book.
14:39If I get 50 pages of your novel, what happens?
14:44Does it get good on page 75?
14:46Like, does it get put, like, did she kill him or not?
14:49You know what I mean?
14:50Like, I need to know these things.
14:52Like, do they get together?
14:53Like, I don't want to presume in a novel.
14:55I want to be immersed in the novel so that we can work together and I understand the full through line.
15:02With nonfiction, because you're, you know, it could be your memoir, and it's not to say they don't have plot.
15:07What a wonderful agent said is, like, things about memoir are hard because it's like you're taking a fiction writer's toolkit to something that's true life.
15:16And so you are immersing someone, and you might be the person telling it, or you might be kind of far away telling it, telling another person's story.
15:24So if we're looking at the overview, what is the book about, where does it go, what do you want to cover?
15:30Or after that, looking at marketing, and that also entails comp titles.
15:36So comp titles, what are those comparative titles?
15:39Meaning, what are titles that are like your book but not your book?
15:43You know, is it like The Message?
15:45Is it like Between the World and Me?
15:47Is it like The Sum of Us?
15:49Is it like Thick?
15:51Is it like, you know what I mean?
15:52And telling us within that context, well, my book is like Tressie's, but I'm talking about this.
16:00My book is like so-and-so's, but I'm talking about this.
16:04And from there, also, who are you?
16:07Do you have, who are your contacts?
16:08What is your platform?
16:11You know, what, where have you published?
16:13If you have published, please don't freak out if you have never published.
16:16It is fine.
16:17But if you have, we like to know.
16:20Also, a TOC overview, so table of contents overview of, I know what the 12 chapters are going to be, and I know what they entail,
16:28and a synopsis of what each chapter will be.
16:32Like from the introduction to the afterward, and afterward is just kind of like, and now I want to follow things up, if you choose to do that.
16:39But if that's what you have, great.
16:41And then from there, we definitely want to see the writing itself.
16:44So, again, pointing to why we want a full novel, I want to see how you handle story.
16:51I want to see what your writing voice is like.
16:54That is similar in a proposal where if you're not giving me the whole, you're giving me at least one to two.
17:00If you want to do more, love it.
17:02Love that for us.
17:03More chapters, great.
17:05But it gives me a sense of what you want to write and how you're going to approach what you said you're going to do throughout the rest of the proposal.
17:13So it's the overview.
17:15It's marketing, whether you have any marketing ideas, which is really great.
17:19Comparative titles.
17:20Again, books your book is like, but you are different from.
17:24Your own platform, your publications, if you have them, if you have any specific contacts in the area.
17:32Like, if you know Henry Louis Gates, great.
17:35Let us know you know Henry Louis Gates.
17:37Not that you were at the same party as them, but that you actually know them and you can contact them like that.
17:43And also the broken down TOC that describes each chapter and what will happen in each chapter.
17:50And also writing samples.
17:52So that can be as short as 30 pages.
17:55It could be as long as 50 or 75.
17:57I've gotten proposals that were over 100 pages.
18:00Please don't put that pressure on yourself.
18:02But it's what people wanted to do.
18:04They're like, I had a lot of material and I want you to know.
18:07So please keep that.
18:09And Chelsea?
18:09Yeah, I would just add to around that comp titles thing, but slightly different.
18:14It's the why you and why now.
18:15Like, we probably get, I don't know, some months it could be 75 to 100 proposals a month.
18:22We get a lot of nonfiction and a lot of memoir submissions.
18:25Or fiction as well, right?
18:27And so how do you rise to the top?
18:29I think when I acquire an author and I'm talking to them about how we're going to sell the book, I say it starts with the book.
18:36Like, publicity is going to do amazing.
18:37Marketing is going to do amazing.
18:38But it's the read there, right?
18:40And so we're talking about the proposal, but actually getting someone to help workshop the actual material is really helpful.
18:46So if you get into a writing group or, you know, you have friends that are also writers or you pay a freelance editor to take a look at your work.
18:54But I would say, you know, for fiction, some people don't love that I say this, but I think like your first 50 to 75 pages are so important.
19:01Because an editor can sometimes check out after that.
19:04It's like, I'm going to give you 50 pages.
19:06And if I'm not hooked yet, or if the writing is swimmingly, but like the plot is a little soft, I don't know if I should stick around.
19:13So I would say like really beefing up that first material.
19:16For nonfiction, actually, I love a good two to three chapters because we just want to see like you exercise your muscle, right?
19:23And so like even if you have a rough proposal, but the material is amazing, I'm kind of like, oh, I want to talk to them.
19:30Like, all right, the proposal is whatever.
19:32We can fix that.
19:33We know how to sell it.
19:34But the writing is there.
19:35And so I would say like work on that and get that to like a place you love and a place that you've given it to some other writers and some reader friends and left them pitching on it.
19:45And then like the why you, why now?
19:48We know what year we're in.
19:49We know why politics is trash right now.
19:51Like what are you offering?
19:52Have you brought some new context to this conversation?
19:55What's different about your book versus like what's in the marketplace right now?
19:59Because we need and want that.
20:00And so I would say remember the context of where you're publishing into in the next year, right?
20:05So the year, publishing takes typically about 12 to maybe 19 months, a year, year and a half to get a book out.
20:12Sometimes faster when it needs to be faster.
20:14But think about like the market you're publishing into and how we're going to sell it then.
20:18Let me just say that.
20:22So that's a very interesting point, Chelsea, thinking about the market that you want to sell this into and the reason for accelerating a schedule for a book.
20:32Can we talk about timeline a little bit and how that time is spent?
20:36So I've just met you.
20:39My agent connected us and you're like, you loved my writing on the page.
20:43I feel so good about that.
20:45And you want to make me an offer, which you thank you for the offer to be published by your illustrious imprint.
20:52Now what happens?
20:53How long is that going to take before I am the best man with my book in the world?
20:57It depends.
21:01So when you sell nonfiction, you're selling us a proposal in three chapters.
21:05So normally an author will ask for about a year to 16 months to go actually write the book from there.
21:11And so throughout that year, 16 months, every editor is different.
21:15But I am normally seeing and talking to you maybe monthly or at least quarterly and asking to see material.
21:21So really you get a book deal and then that first year is really spent getting the book done.
21:26On the fiction side, we are probably editing for a year as well.
21:29We're going through two to three drafts of the manuscript from big book doctoring, so plot, character development, pacing.
21:37And then by the last edit, we're doing the line edits, that sentence structure and syntax.
21:41But that could be a year's time.
21:43And really we're trying to get to the best book possible, right?
21:46You have gotten it to where you thought you could get it.
21:48Your agent got it to where you guys could get it together and now you work with the editor to get it to the place we can put it into production.
21:54So that first year, I mean, if you sell a novel and it's ready to go, maybe that's four to six months.
22:01I've never seen it, but maybe.
22:05But yeah, so that's the first step is getting the book done.
22:07From there we go into production.
22:09That's another nine to 12 is what you would like in a production schedule.
22:15But while that's being done, our sales team, our marketing team are starting to read and starting to put plans in place for the book.
22:21So some folk can get a deal and they're like, where's my web page?
22:25Why aren't you doing pre-orders yet?
22:27And it's like, we're not there yet.
22:29We just want to get the book finished and get that ready to publish.
22:32And then that second year, so I signed my first year, we're writing together and I have help.
22:40Remember, you're not writing by yourself.
22:42The by yourself part has already happened.
22:45That's how you got in the door.
22:46Now you do have an editorial partner who will help you carry that forward.
22:50That's really important for writers to know.
22:52You're no longer on your own.
22:54Although if you do want to go away to a cave and write, then you have that opportunity.
22:59What happens in that second year, Jen, Chelsea, thank you for saying that, okay, sales needs time.
23:05The folks here who are selling the books need time.
23:07Marketing needs time to be able to review now your finished, well-polished manuscript and start to prepare the infrastructure,
23:15start to prepare the publishing world for the work that you want to bring into it.
23:20What does that entail?
23:21I'm going to try not to be too in-depth, but also give people the reality of it, right?
23:29Is that I talk to your, I talk about your book a year ahead of time to those internally to my team.
23:35So that wonderful sales marketing group and, you know, all the sales people who coordinate with the booksellers
23:42and special markets and wonderful festivals like this, we talk about your book a year in advance.
23:48So I am talking to these teams about books that aren't publishing until next summer already.
23:55I think perpetually because of this industry way ahead of time.
24:01That's my personal life, too.
24:03I'll be like, can you do something tomorrow?
24:05No, you need to get me six months from now.
24:06That's not how I work.
24:07Sorry.
24:08But, so that's the context of that, is like we are prepping presentations.
24:13We are talking to them about what we foresee, who you are, what you might have planned, what you have done.
24:19We're getting them hyped up about the book that we've seen, whether we've seen it in totality or in portions.
24:26So we are thinking consistently while working with you and letting you know that.
24:31Like, hey, the sales team is hyped.
24:32We're really excited about this book.
24:34This is going to be amazing.
24:36No, I don't have links yet, you know what I mean?
24:39Because we get those links nine months ahead of time, and so that becomes the technical part, right?
24:44And so once we get it into production, that's when we get the copy editor who might do some fact-checking,
24:50but fact-checking is not necessarily their job, so definitely do that as well.
24:54They, you know, we start to talk about your cover.
24:57We start to get the book proofread and laid out, and that's when you see it in those wonderful typeset pages.
25:02So that's what layout means, and that's when the proofreading happens.
25:06We're talking to marketing and sale, you know, marketing and publicity more specifically, but we're still talking to our internal teams as they sell in,
25:14and that means they're talking even further with their client base.
25:17So we're doing the nitty-gritty production stuff, and we might be talking about the next book if we're aiming to work together,
25:24if your book is a series, if it's illustration, we are really in-depth about that,
25:29and that may add a lot more time to the process if yours is a heavily illustrated book.
25:33So while stuff can be truncated, stuff may take longer if you have full illustrations that are entailed as well.
25:40So know that we're constantly working when you're, it's kind of this hurry up and wait,
25:44which you may have heard about publishing is like, we're doing so much, we're doing so much,
25:48and then you're just like, it's quiet, but we're working.
25:51We're getting all the things done.
25:53We're getting the people hyped.
25:54We're preparing the links.
25:56We're helping, and we're preparing to help you be in the business of publishing,
26:00from going from the creative that you are to now being the business person who is also selling their book as well.
26:07And so that's the lead-up process for nine months, which is ideal to get this book copy-edited, proofread,
26:13typeset, the cover, bound, printed, shipped.
26:17That's all happening.
26:19Yeah.
26:20The thing that I would share, and I think that this was a really helpful overview,
26:25and when you all are getting ready to walk out, what you will find is we've provided for you
26:30an overview of Storehouse Voices, our imprint in general, how to find us online, the website,
26:36how to submit a proposal, and some other information that we'll announce right at the end.
26:42But from my perspective, I guess a lot of folks are always trying to figure out, like,
26:47I think I have a story.
26:48Like, do I actually want to tell it?
26:50Do I want to be published?
26:51And we may decide, you know, I'll tell my story in a short-form way.
26:55Maybe I'll just tell it online.
26:57Maybe I'll self-publish.
26:58But the reality of why you all should take the big step back and actually do this work,
27:03like, some of it may sound meaty, and it may sound like an uphill battle,
27:07but if you put in the work, the result will be there.
27:09So I'll start with that.
27:11But the second part is that a book is a generational asset.
27:15So when you all think about the stories that you want to tell,
27:18if you tell that story the right way,
27:20then this is something that will pay your family, like, in perpetuity with royalties, right?
27:25As opposed to you wanting to self-publish, and then after you're gone,
27:30like, who's left to really be out there selling that work for you?
27:33If you want to do it in a short-form way,
27:35the Internet just takes your work and your intellectual property for free.
27:40You know, Chelsea, hopefully she'll have a little bit of time to think about it,
27:44but when we think about properties like The Best Man,
27:46which we all know was first in film,
27:49we want The Best Man to be no different than a Marvel
27:51or to be no different than a Disney, right?
27:54Like, where we can keep reimagining new ways to use our IP.
27:58So it actually works that we take the time
28:01and do the heavy lifting to create these properties,
28:03because what can happen from it is really something extraordinary.
28:07And that's why it was important for me to get involved in publishing.
28:10And with that, I think we want to open the floor to just see if,
28:13do you all have any questions that we can answer quickly for you?
28:16Sure.
28:16Yeah.
28:16Hi, I'm Charlotte.
28:25What's the role of community, like, to sell to and market to in publishing?
28:32Community is the most important piece of it.
28:35So this is part of the book proposal.
28:37So when we think about who is the audience for this work,
28:42we have to think about where can we find these people?
28:45Where do they exist?
28:46How can we bring them on a customer journey?
28:48And when you get ready to tell a story, is this story just for you
28:52or is it a story for, like, masses of people?
28:55So can you see, you know, 3 million people reading it?
28:58And if it is 3 million, like, where are they?
29:00Like, are they in coffee shops?
29:02Like, are they on Facebook?
29:04Are they on TikTok?
29:05Like, where do they gather when they gather?
29:07Like, what are they speaking about?
29:09So we require community for all things.
29:11And, in fact, our imprint was founded and based on community.
29:15It's how we got there, by serving this community of black men and women.
29:19It basically necessitated this work.
29:21So it's really at the heartbeat of our foundation.
29:29And thank you for this session.
29:30This is so informative.
29:32So following up on her question,
29:35on community and building an audience,
29:36do you guys have any advice for introverts building a community?
29:40Because it can be a bit of a challenge to put yourself out there
29:44when you're really more inward and a little bit more private,
29:48but you really believe in the story that you have to tell.
29:52So in my writing world, everything is fabulous.
29:56But when I have to put it out there
29:58and try to build a community around it,
30:00I find that I shrink a little bit,
30:03which only delays the process of getting it out.
30:06So any advice and tips will be helpful.
30:10I think we all have tips.
30:12You'd be very welcome in our industry,
30:14unlike, and it's something we talked about even in coming to Essence, right,
30:17and bringing authors with us here,
30:19and you'll have the chance to meet many of our authors,
30:21including Malcolm Lee.
30:22Book publishing, you find a lot of introverts in this business
30:25just because of the nature of writing and reading.
30:28It can be a very individual pursuit, right?
30:31So it's turning it on when you've got to turn it on, right?
30:34You know that we told you about a two-year process for writing that book.
30:38So that full first year, it is just you and just you and your editor, right?
30:42You get to, by the time you meet your marketer or your publicist,
30:46then you tell them what your strengths are,
30:48what outlets you are going to be more dynamic and able to sell yourself.
30:52If that means you're doing a lot more written media, right?
30:56So pursuing op-eds, trying to place other elements of your work, essays, and so forth,
31:02before and have that be how you develop your platform,
31:06and that would be more than a television show, right?
31:09Or doing more audio podcasts, right?
31:12Instead of taking stages, there are options,
31:15and being able to crystallize that in your marketing plan
31:18and in your approach to play to your strengths.
31:21You have that option.
31:23Jen or Tulsi, do you want to pick it?
31:25I think you said it all, but I was just also going to say start small, start local.
31:30And so, like, sometimes the safety is in your community.
31:33So if you're going to, like, a community-driven writer's group, right?
31:36Like, it'll start exercising your muscle of talking about your work amongst a smaller group.
31:41So I think starting small and starting local,
31:43and depending on what you're writing, whether it's fiction or nonfiction,
31:45it sounds like it might be nonfiction.
31:47Like, I think don't be afraid of if you want to publish a piece,
31:50but you don't want your name on it.
31:52People use, like, you know, students' fake names all the time.
31:56Your agent can still use it and say, look, she published X, Y, and Z before.
31:59If it just needs to be, I'm getting my foot wet, I'm getting a piece published,
32:03but I wasn't ready to, like, my family knows this is my story.
32:06Or, like, you know, there's a way to go about that.
32:09But I would say start local, too, in the groups.
32:11I could co-sign that, but I also want to add, like,
32:15is there something you want to create online?
32:18Because what I've experienced with a lot of folks who are introverts
32:22is that they really flourish online.
32:25And then it came to the interactivity,
32:28but by then, because you've built your online community,
32:32you can say, hey, y'all, I'm coming to this thing.
32:34Can you show up for me?
32:35I'm here.
32:36And that can be, to your point, like, starting local,
32:39letting folks know what your interests are.
32:42But if that's where you feel good,
32:44and there's a space like a sub stack,
32:46or, like, there's a media outlet where it's like,
32:49I'm really good on this, or I want to create writers
32:52who are introverts, the community, come join.
32:55You know what I mean?
32:56Let's build regional district.
32:57You know what I mean?
32:58Like, some people have done that to, like, build their community
33:02so that when they were ready to go out,
33:05they had something, they had a bit more grounding.
33:07So that can also help, too.
33:09But only if you like being online
33:11or you find your footing there
33:13in a way that feels good and healthy
33:14and is productive for you.
33:16Don't do it because you feel like you have to sell something.
33:23Yeah, I think we only have time for one more.
33:25One more? Is that okay?
33:26Is a proposal different for illustration
33:37or for a children's book?
33:39Meaning, like, a picture book that's illustrated?
33:43Yes.
33:44I mean, because a picture book is only, like, 200 words,
33:47maybe it's 400,
33:48it's ideal if that's finished.
33:50If you have an illustrator in mind,
33:53that's helpful to send to a publisher and say,
33:55hey, my picture book is ready.
33:57These are kind of the illustrators I'm thinking of.
34:00But in that way, that would be how a picture book would work.
34:04Graphic novel, it would be different.
34:07It would be similar and different.
34:08You'd do a script,
34:10but you would need to let us know what the book is about,
34:13what the overview is,
34:14who you are,
34:15comparative titles,
34:16and a script.
34:17And again, if you have an illustrator
34:19who's aligned from the front,
34:21having those kind of illustrations
34:23so we can see kind of the tone,
34:25not just from the text,
34:27but from the illustration point,
34:29that's really helpful.
34:31So it's similar, but it's different
34:32because you're accommodating what graphic novel is.
34:36Thank you, Jen.
34:37And thank you for that question
34:38because I learned something new
34:40working with these dynamic women every day.
34:42We will be around.
34:44Well, we do have one announcement to make.
34:46Yes, we do.
34:48So as you all are getting ready to head out,
34:50you all will receive two information packs.
34:53One, I already mentioned about Storehouse Voices.
34:56The second one is a contest
34:57that we're launching with Essence
34:59where we are getting ready to identify an author
35:02that could win a contract worth up to $100,000.
35:06So that officially kicks off
35:08and launches this weekend at Essence
35:10and will go for the next couple months.
35:12You'll see a lot of publicity about that.
35:14In addition,
35:14so just feel free to grab that on the way out.
35:19Visit us too.
35:20We're at the activation booth
35:21that's right behind here
35:23from 1 to 5 today
35:24and 9 to 1 tomorrow.
35:27Thank y'all.
35:46You're welcome.
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