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Hood Wellness author on writing for your community
Tamela Julia Gordon addresses the San Diego Writers Festival
Tamela Julia Gordon, second from left, with other authors at the San Diego Writers Festival.
“It is very expensive to be a successful black author," says Tamela Julia Gordon.
Her audience pays close attention when she speaks, and why not? She is a writer who cracked the publishing nut. No less a house than Simon and Schuster has published her book, Hood Wellness: Tales of Communal Care from People who Drowned on Dry Land. Today, she’s addressing black writers here at the San Diego Writers Festival. Her book has garnered both attention and cool reviews. “In the spirit of the Underground Railroad, Hood Wellness leads us to care for ourselves and each other with grace, tenderness, and ferocity,” writes Tanya Denise Fields, founder of The Black Feminist Project.
Today, Gordon is addressing black writers here at the San Diego Writer's Festival. “I personally was the kind of author that did not have representation,” she says. “My first go-to was looking for the publishing houses that were offering advances,, but not requiring a book proposal. Most often a literary agent has to submit for you. When it comes to [getting] an advance, it really does tie in with things like agism, and above all, accessibility. The bottom line is that it’s very expensive. It doesn’t start with you getting an idea, it doesn’t start when you talk to your editor. It starts when you sit down and you start writing. From that very moment, you begin to realize, ‘This is going to be fifty times harder for me because I don’t have this access and I don’t have those platforms.’ So it really is about doing the legwork [of networking, finding influencers]. I mean, I did a fundraiser just so I could get here, just so I can look cute as I sit here.”
Everybody breaks into applause and laughter.
Mainly, she says, if you’re a wannabe black author, it’s about finding your crowd, identifying your target audience. “When it comes to accessibility and when it comes to what you’re writing, more often than not, [you’re writing for] your community, and I don’t just mean abstract black people. I mean whatever the piece that you’re writing, the black people that would read that — that’s your market. More often than not, you’ve got this money, you’re putting it into this machine: you’re sending books out to all those reviewers, and you’re [aiming for] the top of the ladder. Whereas a lot of black authors realize: we should work within our community. So I’m passing [my] book out to local black book clubs, black book influencers. At one point, Simon and Schuster were very much opposed to Hood Wellness being printed as a paperback. Because even though it would cost $10 less, it wouldn’t get the attention. At least when you’re locked into the audience you are writing for, even though it’s still a mountain to climb, it’s a lot more climbable.”
Here's something you might be interested in.
Hood Wellness author on writing for your community
Tamela Julia Gordon addresses the San Diego Writers Festival
Hood Wellness author on writing for your community
Tamela Julia Gordon addresses the San Diego Writers Festival
Tamela Julia Gordon, second from left, with other authors at the San Diego Writers Festival.
“It is very expensive to be a successful black author," says Tamela Julia Gordon.
Her audience pays close attention when she speaks, and why not? She is a writer who cracked the publishing nut. No less a house than Simon and Schuster has published her book, Hood Wellness: Tales of Communal Care from People who Drowned on Dry Land. Today, she’s addressing black writers here at the San Diego Writers Festival. Her book has garnered both attention and cool reviews. “In the spirit of the Underground Railroad, Hood Wellness leads us to care for ourselves and each other with grace, tenderness, and ferocity,” writes Tanya Denise Fields, founder of The Black Feminist Project.
Today, Gordon is addressing black writers here at the San Diego Writer's Festival. “I personally was the kind of author that did not have representation,” she says. “My first go-to was looking for the publishing houses that were offering advances,, but not requiring a book proposal. Most often a literary agent has to submit for you. When it comes to [getting] an advance, it really does tie in with things like agism, and above all, accessibility. The bottom line is that it’s very expensive. It doesn’t start with you getting an idea, it doesn’t start when you talk to your editor. It starts when you sit down and you start writing. From that very moment, you begin to realize, ‘This is going to be fifty times harder for me because I don’t have this access and I don’t have those platforms.’ So it really is about doing the legwork [of networking, finding influencers]. I mean, I did a fundraiser just so I could get here, just so I can look cute as I sit here.”
Everybody breaks into applause and laughter.
Mainly, she says, if you’re a wannabe black author, it’s about finding your crowd, identifying your target audience. “When it comes to accessibility and when it comes to what you’re writing, more often than not, [you’re writing for] your community, and I don’t just mean abstract black people. I mean whatever the piece that you’re writing, the black people that would read that — that’s your market. More often than not, you’ve got this money, you’re putting it into this machine: you’re sending books out to all those reviewers, and you’re [aiming for] the top of the ladder. Whereas a lot of black authors realize: we should work within our community. So I’m passing [my] book out to local black book clubs, black book influencers. At one point, Simon and Schuster were very much opposed to Hood Wellness being printed as a paperback. Because even though it would cost $10 less, it wouldn’t get the attention. At least when you’re locked into the audience you are writing for, even though it’s still a mountain to climb, it’s a lot more climbable.”
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