Urban-Reviews.com - Inside Out with Jessica Tilles

Jessica Tilles

JESSICA TILLES is a best-selling author, publisher, founder, and CEO of Xpress Yourself Publishing, LLC, Poetic Press (an XYP imprint) and The Writer's Assistant. A native of Washington, DC, she is a creative writer in all genres of fiction, with several titles in print: Anything Goes, In My Sisters' Corner, Apple Tree, Sweet Revenge and Fatal Desire and Unfinished Business. She is the recipient of the 2003 Memphis Black Writer's Conference’s Rising Star Award and The Jackson Mississippi Readers Club's Contribution to African American Literature Award.

Jessica has been featured in Booking Matters Magazine, Memphis ViP magazine, The Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, MS), Romantic Times, BlackMenInAmerica.com and countless Internet sites and eZines. She has appeared on Kixie 101FM and Channel 4 News at Noon, both in Jackson, MS, and with LaDawn Black on 92Q FM (Baltimore, MD). In addition, she has contributed to Black Romance magazine and is a staff writer for BlackMenInAmerica.com.

Jessica is the brainchild and co-founder of J.T.'s Book Corner, featuring personal, one-on-one interviews with authors and leaders in the literary industry.

Read An Excerpt from Sweet Revenge: Click Here

Author's Page: http://www.JessicaTilles.com
Publishing Site: http://www.XpressYourselfPublishing.org
Author's Myspace Page: http://www.myspace.com/JessicaTilles
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Urban Reviews: Tell us about Sweet Revenge.
Jessica Tilles: Sweet Revenge begins at the heated conclusion of my best-selling novel, Anything Goes, where the main character, Raven, engaged in a series of erotic adventures and commits murder, along with blackmailing her brother-in-law into a series of hot, sexual affairs.

In Sweet Revenge, all of Raven's actions catches up with her. She's irresponsible, irreverent, over-sexed and totally immoral—a woman without much of a conscience, Raven is tough as nails, but she's no contest up against her sister Morgan, who truly defines that old saying: Hell hath no furry like a woman scorned, when she finds out about the sordid heated affair between her husband, Arthur, and her beloved sister, Raven.

Urban Reviews: Where did you come up with the idea for this storyline?
Jessica Tilles: Since Sweet Revenge is the sequel to Anything Goes, continuing the storyline was pretty much easy. Truly, if you read Anything Goes, you will see that it really is the product of the author's imagination. LOL. My latest release, Unfinished Business, is the final installment for Raven and her antics.

Urban Reviews: You're the CEO of Xpress Yourself Publishing? What prompted you to start your own publishing company?
Jessica Tilles: Once Anything Goes was completed, I was terrified to present my manuscript to publishers—fear of rejection never sat well with me. After attending a writer's workshop at Coppin State University in Baltimore, Maryland, where I listened in as Brenda L. Thomas, Collen Dixon and Jamellah Ellis told of their successes with self-publishing, I knew the route I was going to take.

In 2002, I formed Xpress Yourself Publishing, LLC, and wrote and released five titles within a three-year span. When I was approached in 2005 by author Bill Holmes, with his new manuscript, One Love, I decided it was time to open my publishing house to new and seasoned authors. Currently, Xpress Yourself Publishing is the home of 15 authors. And, the first author we signed, Bill Holmes, is now a national best-selling author, ranking #4 on the ESSENCE Best Seller's List for July 2002.

Urban Reviews: What would you say are the strengths and weaknesses of self-publishing?
Jessica Tilles: The biggest weakness is not doing the required research. As with any other venture, you should research it to the point where you have a strong handle on what the business is about. Too many of us aren't doing that, and thus we are getting screwed left and right, by "predators" preying on new authors who don't have a clue.

For years, self-published authors—we are now referred to as independent press—have been stigmatized by the release of poor quality books: bad typesetting, poor quality cover design, and bad editing. Doing your research on the production side of the business, and ensuring your end result is on the same level and standards as the large, mainstream publishers, would be a publisher's biggest strength.

Urban Reviews: As a publisher, what types of things do you look for before you accept an author's work?
Jessica Tilles: The first thing I look for is if the author is serious about their work. If the manuscript submitted is riddled with typographical and grammatical errors, it exudes a lack of seriousness and passion. Whether or not the author can capture my attention with the first paragraph, and hold on to me for a couple of hours, is a plus. Also, and of course, if the story is well-written and thought out, then character and plot development will fall into place. I'm not so much into if it will be a book that will sell, or if it's the trend at the time. Because, quite frankly, the book can be 300 pages of crap, but if the author has the passion, desire, drive and hustle that it takes to market and promote their books, you'll have a best seller on your hands in no time.

Urban Reviews: What is the best advice that you would give an aspiring author?
Jessica Tilles: Research, research, research, and more research. Everyone wants to write a book, not everyone doesn't want to do what it all entails. Don't cut corners. If you're going to write a book, then hone your skills. Learn what it takes to be a masterful storyteller. If you're going to self-publish, set high standards and exceed them with each book you publish.

Urban Reviews: Are you working on any upcoming projects?
Jessica Tilles: I have a few projects in the works: Last Request, Matrimonial Bliss and RoomMates. Which ever title I finish first, will be my next solo release. Also, XYP will release an erotic anthology, Erogenous Zone: A Sexual Voyage on August 15, 2007. This anthology promises to be one of the hottest reads for the summer, with stories by William Fredrick Cooper, Nathasha Brooks-Harris, Elissa Gabrielle, Gayle Jackson Sloan, Nyah Storm, myself and other wonderfully talented authors.

Urban Reviews: What do you want the world to know most about you?
Jessica Tilles: As long as I possess the love for the written word, and the passion and desire to weave entertaining, and sometimes thought-provoking, stories, then I will not be a one-hit wonder. Jessica Tilles and Xpress Yourself Publishing is here for the long haul!