Why You Should Self-Publish (Article) - 7/9/2014 6:38:11 AM
A very well written and informative article. I was at a rally for Nelson Mandela's release in Little Five Points, Atlanta in 1979. Although I've been active in civil rights as far back as the early 60s, I had heard of Mandela's plight. At a small table, I struck up a conversation with a handsome young architect who had worked on designing Hartsfield international Airport. I had to go to the restroom, and when I came back, a young black woman was talking to the guy. When I sat back down in my chair in front of my empty drink glass she gave me a cold stare like "What are you doing, intruding on my conversation with this handsome guy?"
Somehow, she learned that I had previously been at the table, and it diffused her anger as we listen to a talk about Mandela's plight. She gave me her card as a freelance secretary. I was doing some research that I needed typed, and thought I'd give her a try. I went to her modest home where she was a single mother working out of her home. She told me that she only read Black authors, but was willing to take my work. She did a superb job of editing and typing my roughly, hand-lettered text. We became great friends. She finished her working career with the Southern Foundation, and we communicated via email after she retired. In my classes at Atlanta University, I didn't recommend Black authors because I didn't know of any writing about the subject matter in my course, but I'm sure many of the professors only required Black authors for their subject matter.
Recently I joined a writer's group at TSU started by an English professor. Most of the participants in the group, NuRoots, were students who came and went. Most of them were very good writers and I encouraged them all I could to get their work published like I did.
Ron
