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Urban Reviews:
Start by telling our readers about Every Woman
Needs a Wife.
Naleighna Kai:
It's the
story of a woman who walks in on the husband and the
mistress and says, "You know what? If you're going to
cheat, then I need to get something out of it. The
mistress needs to come home, clean my house, keep the kids
and put some money on the bills, too."
Urban Reviews:
What inspired you to create this unique storyline?
Naleighna Kai:
A late
night conversation with a friend. All my books are
based on what if's. What if I caught my husband
cheating? I'd do the exact same thing that my main
character did--move the mistress in to teach hubby a
lesson.
Urban Reviews:
Can you give us a sneak peak at your next novels and when
we can expect them to be released?
Naleighna Kai:
Open
Door Marriage is the story of a teenage author who
uses his agent to find his mother the perfect mate. Then
the woman floors "the perfect mate" with a strange request
for an open door marriage. Was it Good For You
Too? is all about the recent Wal*Mart tour; but
instead of just 19 authors, I'm throwing a couple
of celebrities on the bus to make it interesting
and rekindle a relationship between one of the authors and
a celebrity. Should make for interesting
reading when he has to compete with her current lover, an
East Indian man with a way of lovemaking that can put a
curl in a bald man's hair.
Urban Reviews:
How did you start your literary career and what led to you
sign with Strebor Books?
Naleighna Kai:
I
self-published my first two novels and my son's books
before deciding to make a splash at BEA with a novel that
I had written at the last possible moment. I was so
focused on helping others to get into print that I got a
little sidetracked. The year that I released
Every Woman Needs a Wife and my son's book
Superwoman's Child: Son of a Single Mother, gained us
the attention of several major houses and eventually Zane
emailed me a contract--point blank--for both myself and my
son. We were at the RAW Affair in Atlanta and had to
step outside of the activities to fax back signed
contracts. We signed with Zane for several reasons.
We had both worked with her before. My son's story
("God Does Answer Prayers") is in her award-winning
anthology Breaking the Cycle, and I'm in her
Caramel Flava Anthology (my short story is "Just Damn
Good Sex"). So we already had a relationship with
her in some form. Plus she was willing to sign both of us,
which I'm not sure would have happened with another house.
I truly believed that all it took was to be signed with a
major house, such as Simon & Schuster and things would
take off. Most houses have a publicity department in
place to make sure books come out with a bang.
Unfortunately, there was quite a bit of transitioning in
the publicity department so we were pretty much on our own
then--until the Wal*Mart Tour, which was definitely a
bonus. But now our books are a year old and we won't
receive the "soon to be released" three month
marketing benefit as much from the new publicity person
who I met last year at the Essence Festival when she
worked with Harlequin/Kimani Press.
Urban
Reviews: You are also the founder of Macro
Publishing Group & the Cavalcade of Authors event. Can you
briefly tell us more about these two unique ventures?
Naleighna Kai:
Macro Publishing Group
started as a publishing house. When I
started writing in December 1999, I wanted everybody and
their mamas to write. I even wanted my dog to write (and I
didn't even own a dog!). I soon learned that
babysitting other people's children, means neglecting your
own. So I changed the focus of the company, which is
now a marketing and promotions firm and a literary
services agency; and helped the majority of my former
published authors to start their own companies.
I started the Cavalcade of Authors in conjunction with the
City of Chicago's Book Festival Month to promote and
market fellow authors and to make sure that I was covering
my own back yard on the marketing and promotion front. The
event is being held
this year on October 26-28, 2007 and features a 70's Old
School Ball scholarship fundraiser, free seminars, store
signings, & a book lovers brunch. More information is
available on
www.calvacadeofauthors.com.
Urban Reviews:
What is your impression of the book
industry so far? Is it what you expected?
Naleighna Kai:
The industry has changed
a great deal since the days when they scooped up the
Senior class of self-published authors and made the
national bestsellers. Then the publishing houses didn't
want those books put out by individual authors to compete
with what they had going onto the shelves. If you
can't beat 'em, get 'em to join you. Six figure
advances reigned supreme and the Senior class kicked down
the doors and allowed many other behind them to come
walking through with ease. Many of that class have come
and gone, but what I realize is that quite a few times
Black books and authors are treated like rare beef--smack
it on its ass, walk it through the fire, put it on the
plate; instead of the grooming (editorial training and
conditioning as well as full marketing and promotional
support). Every Woman Needs a Wife's release with
an imprint of a major house was definitely a step above
self-published because the book was everywhere at once. I
spent over $20,000 to market and promote the
two books on my own when the publicity department at a
major house could have pulled off more for less in a
far effective manner. I could say that that was a major
disappointment.
I do realize that authors still have to market and promote
on their own and that the publishing house doesn't do
everything. But I would have rather spent the money
on outlets that the publishing house does not consider or
does not do. The difference is doing a tour of Atlanta to
book stores that I'm able to secure; rather than the
publicity department setting it up and putting print,
internet and radio media along with it. Get the
point? I also would have rather used the funds to secure
the services of L. Peggy Hicks (Tri-Com Publicity) who
does a dynamic job with Black books and has outlets at the
stroke of a button that has taken some people years to
achieve. And here's another thing, I had a conference
call with that new publicist and she dropped one single
bit of information that would have placed Superwoman's
Child in the eyesight of librarians and high school
librarians nationwide. That bit of information would
have been key upon its release, and it's something that
authors might not readily know or understand how to take
advantage of. I will still attempt to help my son's
book break into that market, but it would have been so
much better in the beginning.
Urban Reviews:
What advice would you give an
author as far as marketing their book?
Naleighna Kai:
Consider all of the internet marketing sources such as
Mosaic Books, AALBC, Ebony Authors, RAWSistaz, Macro
Publishing Group. In the beginning, participate in events
that will give you more bang for the buck: Book Expo
America, Harlem Book Fair, Indiana Black Expo, Printer's
Row Book Fair, Baltimore Book Festival, Cavalcade of
Authors, etc. Have your plan in place at least six
months before your release.
Urban Reviews:
Is there anything that you
know now that you wish you knew before the release of your
debut novel?
Naleighna Kai: An
agent is more than just the person who takes that 15%;
they are the person who deals with getting answers right
away that sometimes will take an author much longer to
come by. They also know the ends and the outs of the
financial end of the game. I don't have an
agent--yet; but I can definitely understand more having
had to be one for myself and my son.
Urban
Reviews: What do you
want people to know most about you?
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