Each month at Books And... we will feature guest posts on various nuanced topics on the writing life. Each week's Wednesday post will showcase a different author. This week's author is Carleen Brice and our current topic is loyalty. It was born of a discussion on the observation of some black authors shifting gears in their writing genre or style to keep pace with other highly accessible and fast produced works. We asked our author to explore the writer-reader loyalty dynamic.
Every Book Is a Promise
Loyalty is something that must be earned. How does a writer earn the loyalty of readers? I think every book is a promise to the reader. A promise that the writer has given it his or her all, has written the best possible story they could write. As a reader, I know that it sometimes feels like the promise isn’t kept. Sometimes, I read a book thinking there’s no way the writer gave this her all. But everyone’s reaction to a book is subjective. As a writer, I believe there’s no way to know for sure whether or not a writer worked his behind off and I still disliked his book.
I’ve heard readers complain that some of their favorite writers are pushing out books too quickly and now the quality of their work isn’t what it used to be. This may be true in some cases. The publishing industry really likes authors who can keep product moving on the assembly line. Some writers may feel pressured to churn out more than they would normally take on so they can meet their publishers’ expectations and keep getting advances. But please don’t let it affect your opinion about all of us.
Often, black people feel a special loyalty to black artists. We know that if we want to keep reading books by black authors, then we better buy those books. But that’s a terrible burden to bear. Because not every “black book” is going to appeal to us all.
I have been the recipient of lovely folks who have bought my book because they are black and I am black and they hated the idea of me sitting at my little table not selling any books. While I am deeply grateful for that kind of loyalty, I don’t bet on it. And I don’t think the publishing industry should either.
Some would say the book industry has overtaxed that loyalty by flooding the marketing with substandard books. Perhaps. Call it a weird side effect to success: When there are so many books to choose from, it becomes harder to choose. It becomes harder to know which books are good and which are just trying to take advantage of the marketplace.
But we do that all the time with all kinds of products. Have you ever stood in the supermarket staring at aisle after aisle of vitamin supplements or low-fat whatevers? When a category gets “hot,” companies rush to have something (sometimes anything) in that category they can sell. Buyer beware. But please don’t turn away from the whole category. Do your research. Read book blogs. Talk to your book club members.
Even though I like to think of books as art, the rules of business do apply. If people don’t buy them, if the audience goes away, so does the category. Unfortunately, companies will lump almost all of us black authors into a single category. It doesn’t matter if one writes romances and one writes mysteries and another writes comedy. If you’re black, you go in the category. And if those romances or mysteries or comedies start to suffer a decline in sales, that impacts all of us.
My promise to my readers is that I will always give it my all. What I need back from my readers is that if you like what I do, buy my books and talk them up to others. On behalf of other writers, I also ask that you not blindly support black authors just because we are black. But please do something that might be even a little harder: look for what you like and support that. If you love a good thriller, check around a little and see what authors of color are writing in that genre. If you don’t like the first author, try another and maybe even another.
I won’t give up on readers. I hope readers won’t give up on me.
*****
I’ve heard readers complain that some of their favorite writers are pushing out books too quickly and now the quality of their work isn’t what it used to be. This may be true in some cases. The publishing industry really likes authors who can keep product moving on the assembly line. Some writers may feel pressured to churn out more than they would normally take on so they can meet their publishers’ expectations and keep getting advances. But please don’t let it affect your opinion about all of us.
Often, black people feel a special loyalty to black artists. We know that if we want to keep reading books by black authors, then we better buy those books. But that’s a terrible burden to bear. Because not every “black book” is going to appeal to us all.
I have been the recipient of lovely folks who have bought my book because they are black and I am black and they hated the idea of me sitting at my little table not selling any books. While I am deeply grateful for that kind of loyalty, I don’t bet on it. And I don’t think the publishing industry should either.
Some would say the book industry has overtaxed that loyalty by flooding the marketing with substandard books. Perhaps. Call it a weird side effect to success: When there are so many books to choose from, it becomes harder to choose. It becomes harder to know which books are good and which are just trying to take advantage of the marketplace.
But we do that all the time with all kinds of products. Have you ever stood in the supermarket staring at aisle after aisle of vitamin supplements or low-fat whatevers? When a category gets “hot,” companies rush to have something (sometimes anything) in that category they can sell. Buyer beware. But please don’t turn away from the whole category. Do your research. Read book blogs. Talk to your book club members.
Even though I like to think of books as art, the rules of business do apply. If people don’t buy them, if the audience goes away, so does the category. Unfortunately, companies will lump almost all of us black authors into a single category. It doesn’t matter if one writes romances and one writes mysteries and another writes comedy. If you’re black, you go in the category. And if those romances or mysteries or comedies start to suffer a decline in sales, that impacts all of us.
My promise to my readers is that I will always give it my all. What I need back from my readers is that if you like what I do, buy my books and talk them up to others. On behalf of other writers, I also ask that you not blindly support black authors just because we are black. But please do something that might be even a little harder: look for what you like and support that. If you love a good thriller, check around a little and see what authors of color are writing in that genre. If you don’t like the first author, try another and maybe even another.
I won’t give up on readers. I hope readers won’t give up on me.
*****
Carleen Brice’s debut novel, Orange Mint and Honey, was an Essence “Recommended Read” and a Target “Bookmarked Breakout Book.” For this book, she won the 2009 First Novelist Award from the Black Caucus of the American Library Association and the 2008 Break Out Author Award at the African American Literary Awards Show.
In February 2010, Orange Mint and Honey premiered on the Lifetime Movie Network as "Sins of the Mother," starring Jill Scott. It was the second-highest rated original movie in LMN’s history.
Her second novel, Children of the Waters was a book about race, love and family. Booklist Online called it “a compelling read, difficult to put down.” Essence said, “Brice has a new hit.” AOL Black Voices said, “Brice sparkles with a tale of love and family.”
Carleen is also the author of two nonfiction books, Lead Me Home: An African American’s Guide Through the Grief Journey, and Walk Tall: Affirmations for People of Color, which sold 100,000 copies. She edited and contributed to Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number: Black Women Explore Midlife. She has written for The Washington Post, The Denver Post, The Chicago Tribune, Poets and Writers, and Mademoiselle.
She maintains the well-known blog “White Readers Meet Black Authors” www.welcomewhitefolks.blogspot.com In addition, you can find her on Twitter, Facebook, SheWrites, Goodreads and other sites.
In February 2010, Orange Mint and Honey premiered on the Lifetime Movie Network as "Sins of the Mother," starring Jill Scott. It was the second-highest rated original movie in LMN’s history.
Her second novel, Children of the Waters was a book about race, love and family. Booklist Online called it “a compelling read, difficult to put down.” Essence said, “Brice has a new hit.” AOL Black Voices said, “Brice sparkles with a tale of love and family.”
Carleen is also the author of two nonfiction books, Lead Me Home: An African American’s Guide Through the Grief Journey, and Walk Tall: Affirmations for People of Color, which sold 100,000 copies. She edited and contributed to Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number: Black Women Explore Midlife. She has written for The Washington Post, The Denver Post, The Chicago Tribune, Poets and Writers, and Mademoiselle.
She maintains the well-known blog “White Readers Meet Black Authors” www.welcomewhitefolks.blogspot.com In addition, you can find her on Twitter, Facebook, SheWrites, Goodreads and other sites.
