CONGRATULATIONS! 

You've taken the first step to getting your first novel published! Publishing Prep is a comprehensive 360 curriculum designed to give you the tools and resources necessary to successfully navigate your way around the publishing landscape.

If you've been eager to start your story or you've finally reached the finished line, Publishing Prep is here to help answer the big question, "WHAT NEXT?!" With panel discussions, workshops and lectures, we make it easy to learn how to get your story in the hands of your future readers and fans.

Would you say that your new novel, WHAT MOTHER NEVER TOLD ME, is primarily a story about mothers and daughters?

Yes. That is the heart and soul of the story. Through each of the female characters we see the often devastating impacts that the mothers have had on their lives. And as a result my three women are on a journey to find them and uncover the secrets that the mothers have kept from them all their lives.

Your characters come from widely divergent social classes. What role, if any, does class play in the story? 

What I want to show in this novel that it doesn't matter where we come from, how much money we have or what color our skin is, we all feel, we all strive for happiness and we desire the love and admiration of our mothers.

There are key plot points in the novel involving bi-racial relationships, not only Celeste's contemporary romance, but also some relationships that are long buried secrets. Is this interracial theme an important one in the novel?

Yes, it is key to one of the major threads of the story.

At the center of the story is a young woman's search for her mother and the truth about her heritage. Would say this is a novel about identity?

Absolutely!  All of my three woman, Parris, Celeste and Leslie are trapped in a space because they are unsure of who they really are, the roots of where they come from and it has "colored" every aspect of their lives and the women they have become.

Why did you make your main character, Parris, a singer?

I love to have musical themes and elements in my story.  Also, her grandmother was a soul-stirring gospel and blues singer and she passed it on to Parris. It was part of the legacy that spawned the lie.

Some might categorize WHAT MOTHER NEVER TOLD ME as a "woman's novel," yet your male characters are quite interesting and well-drawn. Do you think the average male reader would enjoy the book? 

I would love to think the guys could get into this book.  I have one male reader who is all man who loved What Mother Never Told Me.  I always try to draw strong, dynamic male characters so any man who reads my books will be happy to "see" himself portrayed positively on the page.

Parris' future, particularly her relationship with her father, is left open at the end. Do you think you'll revisit these characters in another novel?

Wow... it took me ten years to write this book. But you never know.  These characters have lived with me almost from the beginning of my writing career ten years ago.  They very well may turn up again.

Some of the characters in this novel appeared in your earlier book, Rhythms. Do readers need to have read that book to enjoy WHAT MOTHER NEVER TOLD ME?

It's not necessary.  I tried to write the novels so that they were both stand-alone books.  There is enough backstory  in WMNTM to give new readers a flavor of Rhythms.  But to get the total richness of this multi-generational story, at some point I would suggest checking out Rhythms.

As a black woman writer, do you think there is anything uniquely "African American" about your writing? 

 I mean other than the fact that the majority of my characters happen to be African American, I can't really say that there is anything "uniquely African American."  I'm not sure I know what that really means. Is there some secret language, hand signs, 'down home recipes' and 'sistagirl' neck rolling?  Naw.  LOL.

You started as a Romance writer and now straddle that genre and more mainstream fiction. Do you prefer one to the other? 

I have to tell you, writing those romances are hard as hell! Don't let anyone tell you that they are easy.  Although my women's fiction/mainstream novels are longer and more complex they are easier to tackle because I do not have the same kind of constraints as I do when I write romance.  Hmmm did I answer the question?  

You've written a remarkable number of novels-over fifty in twenty years. How do you keep your storytelling fresh? 

Just living every day is fodder for new stories.  Reading the news, watching television, keeping up with technology, overhearing conversations, being a woman.  There is always something to write about. They say there are 36 dramatic plots. So whatever story you are going to tell, it's pretty much been told already.  You simply need to put your stamp on it, your voice, your vision-and make it brand new!

 FALL  SCHEDULE:

CLOSED

"WHAT PUBLISHERS REALLY WANT!" 

OCTOBER 19, 2010

with Random House Editor, 

PORSCHA BURKE

FOLLOWED BY COCKTAILS & CONVERSATION WITH 

THE LITERATI:

"The Women Behind the Words" 

RAYCHELLE LEBLANC "How the Fierce Handle Fear"

CAROLE HILL MACKEY "Sister Girl Devotions"

LORI BRYANT-WOOLRIDGE "Can't Help The Way That I Feel" 

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Random House Assistant Editor, Porscha Burke, will lead this invaluable workshop designed to arm you with the coveted information you need to grab the attention of mainstream editors and get your manuscript noticed by top-tier publishers. You will learn the following: 

• What editors are really looking for
•  How to get your manuscript in the hands of the decision-makers at publishing houses
• How to package and market yourself for consideration
  
• How to craft your platform
  
• What will keep your manuscript out of THE SLUSH PILE

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"BACK TO BASICS!" 

8/18/10

with Author & Instructor

ERIKA J. KENDRICK 

 In this Seminar, we will be getting Back To Basics and focusing on the mandated sequence of steps necessary to secure representation for your manuscript. 

• Building a Targeted Agent List
• Writing an Effective Query Letter
• Branding the Story and the Author
• Building Your Author's Platform
• ... and more 
  

Erika J. Kendrick is an acclaimed author, having written two books, Confessions of a Rookie Cheerleader (Random House) and Appetite (Random House) and a short story, The Accidental Escort, in the Erotica Anthology, Can't Help the Way that I Feel (Cleis). 

"WRITE SEXY"

8/26/09

A Write Sexy Erotica Writing Clinic

with Best-Selling Author & Editor

LORI BRYANT-WOOLRIDGE

August 26, 2009

1290 Avenue of the Americas

6-9:30pm

          Premium PREP Value: $25          (writing clinic valued at $150)

Join best-selling author and editor, Lori Bryant-Woolridge for this informative hands-on writing clinic designed to teach you how to write erotica that tempts readers and seduces editors.  In this two-hour workshop you'll learn:

• The difference between Erotica and Pornography
• Choosing Sensual Words
• Describing Sex
• Character and Plot in Erotic Fiction
• Submitting Your Work to a Publisher

Lori Bryant-Woolridge is the author of three Essence best-selling novels and a contributor to several erotica anthologies including the best-selling, Best Black Women's Erotica and Brown Sugar 3:  Opposites Attract.  She is also the editor of, Can't Help the Way That I Feel: Sultry Stories of African American Love, Lust and Fantasy due out in March 2010.

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"THE AGENT"

8/10/09

An Intimate Evening with President of FinePrint Literary Management

STEPHANY EVANS

AUGUST 10, 2009

1290 AVENUE OF THE AMERICAS

NEW YORK  

6-9:30  

Listen and learn from tenured literary agent, Stephany Evans, President of FinePrint Literary Management. She will be on hand to answer your questions and provide insight and guidance for your journey to publication.