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September 6, 2006 - Self-Published Authors Gather At Book Fair
BY IRENE LEW M
More than 40 self-published and commercially published authors participated in the
second annual Queens Book Fair, held August 19 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Rufus King Park in Jamaica. The authors came from all over the United States, some from as close as New Jersey and others as far away as Michigan and Georgia. Many had full-time day jobs but they all turned their passion for writing into business ventures and were eager to promote their books.
The Queens Book Fair was founded by Carol Rogers and Brenda Piper, who also created their own book distribution and promotion company, C&B; Books Distribution. The first Queens Book Fair took place indoors at Jamaica Market in April 2005. According to Rogers, the 2005 book fair was a success, drawing nearly 90 authors and a crowd of approximately 4,500 throughout the day. It even caught the eye of Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, who issued a proclamation to the Book Fair Committee and declared that April would be Book Month in Queens.
According to their company Web site, Rogers and Piper had initially started selling children's books at St. Nicolas flea market in Queens but eventually expanded to selling books by African-American writers and other types of books as street vendors. Over time, the women garnered the moniker, "The Book Ladies of Queens", and the name stuck.
The 2006 Queens Book Fair was not limited just to books. In addition to giving out fliers about low-cost health insurance, staff members from New York Presbyterian Hospital gave away free water bottles and sunglasses. There was also face-painting, a children's story hour in which children made their own bracelets and a workshop on parenting led by Beatrice Joyner, author of a self-published book on parenting dos and don'ts entitled, Don't Need No Soaps, My Life is Soap Enough!
"It's a very family-oriented event," Queens Book Fair Public Relations Director Phil Andrews said.
Although the number of authors who chose to set up tables at this year's fair had declined from the previous year, the organizers and several authors who had attended the first Queens Book Fair agreed that the location was a big improvement over the previous year. "It was too congested," explained Rogers. "It's better because of the space and the area. You just feel [more] free and comfortable."
The subject matter of the books on sale was diverse, ranging from the comically titled novelty book, What do White People Really Know About Black People? by Geneva West to a book of love poetry titled Piper by a female writer named Tika, who said that she had been inspired by her husband's stint in Iraq. There were also suspense novels, mystery novels, children's books and non-fiction works.
Delores Thornton, author, radio talk show host and founder of Marguerite Press, the keynote speaker, led a wellattended workshop entitled, "How to Self- Publish That Great Novel Without Going Nuts!" She believes that book fairs are important for new authors. "If their name's not out there, they feel like they don't have a level playing field," Thornton said. "[These fairs] give much needed exposure to new writers. They always keep you in touch with somebody."
Many of the authors at the book fair seemed to share Thornton's mentality. In addition to displaying copies of their books, the authors often wore tee shirts emblazoned with their book's title and handed out business cards, fliers and bookmarks.
The authors cited various reasons for deciding to self-publish their books, rather than contract with a publishing company. The reason cited over and over again was the amount of control that self-publishing gave the authors over their final product. "It's best to do things yourself," explained Peavy, a self-published author from Long Island. "You can't trust anyone [else] with your ideas." Patrice Wade-Johnson, another self-published author agreed. "When I was sending [my book] out to publishers, they wanted to make so many changes," Johnson said. "I was very adamant about keeping it the way it is."
Instead of publishing her own book, Terri Patterson started Zy Iman Publishing so that she could publish An Inner Child Speaks, an illustrated children's book about a girl who is a victim of abuse, written by her 12-year-old daughter, Zykeya McLeod. McLeod plans on writing her next book on eating disorders. "People think that at my age, you can't write about this," she said. "They don't know how our minds work."
Selling books was not the only objective of the day. Itansa Wooden and LeRoy Dukes, authors of a children's book series called The Chill Street Gang, also saw the book fair as an opportunity to network and meet other authors. "It's about supporting your fellow authors," Dukes said.
Although the actual turnout was smaller than expected, the authors were not discouraged. "The crowd was light, but very receptive," said Michael C. Lee, a retired Detroit police detective who had recently self-published a crime novel entitled Chandler Park Drive. The fact that the book fair was held in Queens was also vital to Rogers' and Piper's mission to promoting literacy and reading on a local level. "Brenda and I wanted to have something that would let people know about Queens," Rogers said.
Rogers is already receiving inquiries about next year's book fair. Next year she hopes to hold it in the same venue, Rufus King Park, and is also aiming to have food vendors.
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