PBI:  Well, it sounds like you did it the right way.   So what was your process to getting the book published?  I mean, did you do everything yourself or did you have other people working with you at this stage?

TRICE:  I did have other people working with me.  What’s good about research is if you don’t know how to do something you can find someone who knows how to do it.  And there were quite a few things that I did not know how to do,like design the cover.  I knew aesthetically how I wanted it to look but I didn’t know technically and mechanically how to do it.  Through my researchI found a wonderful photographer who happened to be my neighbor and she did a photo shoot that that resulted in a fabulous cover.  I used my sister and a couple of friends to be my cover models,and it turned out so well.  One of the reasons I was able to get my book into stores and get national distribution was because it was packaged and marketed professionally.  I wanted to ensure that if my book was sitting on the shelf right beside a book from Simon & Schuster or Grand Central Publishing a reader could not tell the difference, in terms of quality, aesthetically.  We concentrate, as writers, on crafting a well-written story; and that’s very important, but no one will read that beautifully written, well-crafted story if the packaging doesn’t drive them to pick it up.  So I assembled my team.  I hired a typesetter, I hired a graphic designer. 

 

PBI: How did you manage distribution in the early stages?

TRICE:  Distribution was another issue.  The printer that I used had a fulfillment  center and they helped me with distribution in terms of getting the books out the door.  And that’s very important.  Nowadays distribution is very different with the advent of e-books, but physical distribution was one of my biggest challenges.

 

PBI:  So… the first book was released 10 years ago.  When did Kensington come into play?

TRICE:  Well, I completed the book in 2004 but it wasn’t released until November of 2007.  Because it took me that long to research and form my publishing company and feel comfortable enough to quit my job and head out on my own.  In 2010, I woke up one morning to an email from an editor at Kensington Publishing, saying they were interested in my work and asked if I would give them a call.  It was good timing because by then I was ready to relinquish some of the day to day rigors of publishing and get my work into a larger, broader market.

 

Interestingly, I asked the editor at Kensington what prompted her to contact me. She said she had been aware of me for some time.  This is something that all self-published authors need to know. .. publishing houses stay on top of what’s out there in the marketplace and what’s trending.  My editor had seen my name, she’d seen my work and seen my book covers but for the longest time she did not believe that I was self-published.   She thought that I was published by a small publishing house.  And that speaks to the power of how when you present your work it has to be professional.  So that’s how my relationship with Kensington came about.  It took several months to negotiate a contract but we got it down.  Interestingly, the agent who brokered the deal for me with Kensington was one of the agents that initially turned me down. 

 

PBI:  That’s bananas!! Really?

TRICE:  Yes, Janell Walden Agyeman with Marie Brown Associates.  She initially turned me down.  She was the only agent out of all -the agents I’d submitted to who actually offered to speak with me . She gave me very good advice and feedback on my work.  She said the book was very well written but that it was too long.  She told me  that it wasn’t necessary to explore every scene in such great detail.  Also, at that time she couldn’t accept additional clients. There are only so many clients an agent can work with effectively.

 

Even though overall I got rejected, I took our interaction as a positive.  I felt that she had great integrity and I wanted to keep in touch with her.  I believed that something would come of my quest to get published and I knew that there was going to be an opportunity in the future. She’s been my agent since 2010.

 

PBI:  Did you have any formal training in writing or is yours an innate talent?

TRICE:  A little bit of both.  In college I took writing courses.  I’ve always been a good writer; very strong in English.  After college, and in recent years, I have taken some writing courses.

 

PBI:  Family-wise, are you from a literary family; a family of readers?

TRICE:  My mom read a lot and my parents always encouraged us to read.  Once a month, I remember they use to take my brother ,sister, and me to the Half Price Bookstore and let us pick out books.  Whatever we wanted to read.. comic books, novels, different genres.  They encouraged my love of reading and books.  I think it’s important that kids are encouraged to read and to choose what they like.

 

PBI:  So your inspiration to write came from your lifelong love of reading?  Were there others in your life that inspired you or motivated you to be an author?

TRICE: I didn’t think about becoming a writer until my sophomore year in college.  I had been an avid reader but I had never read literary fiction.  Growing up, of course, it was all kid’s books and young adult novels.  With that I had never read books written by people who looked like me, books by African Americans. 

 

I enrolled in an Advanced Literature course in college that focused on African American female writers and poets.  It was taught by Dr. Elwanda Ingram.  I credit Dr. Ingram for opening my interest.  She introduced me to Alice Walker , Toni Morrison, and Zora Neal Hurston, and poets like Nikki Giovanni and Sonia Sanchez. Those writers opened up a new world for me.  Those women, looked like me and they were telling stories that really resonated with me.  That inspired me and I decided, ‘I want to be a writer.’

 

PBI:  How much emphasis do you put on promotion personally, for your work?

TRICE:  It’s very important.  I dedicate as much time to promoting and marketing as I do to writing.  Maybe more at times.   It’s essential.  You have to define yourself and your work.  To be competitive you have to ensure you stay relevant in the midst of a lot of great talent out there.  It’s critical for authors to develop a voice and presence that will help us find and grow our audience.  Social media plays a big part and takes a lot of time as well.  I’m the type of person that, if I get a message from a reader, I want to respond to them.  There’s only one of me and thousands of them, so that can be a challenge.   Also, I travel quite a bit for events, book tours, and speaking engagements.

 

That said, I love meeting my readers.  The book signings and book clubs.  There’s nothing like getting out and meeting your readers.  I go to book events and network and hand out bookmarks and meet and greet. 

 

PBI:  Now I have to pose a fan type question for you.  If you could make a movie from one of your books which book would you choose and what movie actors would be your lead characters?

TRICE:  Wow, that’s a good question.  (Looooooooooong pause).  I think out of the books I’ve written I’d have to say, Looking For Trouble  I think it would make a great movie because it’s a saga in itself. 

 

For this particular book, I would say that the person who could play the lead character, Alexandria, would be Tracy Ellis Ross.  Because she looks just like the character I envisioned.  Now Victoria, the older Victoria could be played by Janet Hubert, the actress who played Aunt Viv on Fresh Prince of Bel Air.  The first Aunt Viv.  The male leads, I’d say PJ would be… Michael Ealy. 

 

When I think of them as these characters it’s not necessarily because they look exactly like the characters in the book, but, rather,the way they carry themselves.

 

PBI:  Well this interview could go on but I guess we’d better wrap up.  I have to ask, what comment would you like to leave your readers with?

TRICE:  I’d have to say that I love meeting my readers.  I have had so much positivity!  They give me feedback that I’d never thought of.  I have very LOYAL readers that support book after book after book.  They are key to my reaching my goals and I appreciate them all.

 

 

I have to admit that I learned a few things in talking to Trice.  It's great to see anyone take the independent route and make it work for themselves.  In Trice's case, her talent, hard work and planning put her on the path to making her dream a reality.  Continued success to you Trice!!!

 

V. Ray

#positiveblack