This week, August 29, 1999, On The Same Page has the pleasure of re-interviewing author, Parry Brown. Her first novel, The Shirt Off His Back, is beginning to make the bestsellers lists throughout the country. Find out how she accomplished this! Addendum: As of September and October, 1999, Parry Brown has made the Blackboard Bestselling list two months in a row!

M.T.: Ms. Brown, what prompted you to self-publish?

P.B.: I attended the first Black Writers on Tour Conference produced by Dr. Rosie Milligan of Los Angeles, in February, 1997. I listened to the other published authors. I learned from them immediately. Mainstream is not interested in newcomers. If you’re not a McMillan or Morrison, they have little time for, or interest in you. A friend was dating a major player in a publishing company and when I sent her the first twenty chapters, she never even responded. I knew my story was one that needed to be told... so I set out on my own with the determination to make it happen.

M.T.: Had you tried mainstream publishing?

P.B.: After the "no" response from the friend of a friend, I never contacted another mainstream publisher. A friend said, "Let’s do this on our own." She had promised to fund the project, but didn’t. When that fell through, God provided me with a business opportunity that generated the money I needed to go to press.

M.T.: When did you begin to write?

P.B.: I was a writer at the age of six, but my aunt discouraged me. Told me I was being too ‘grown’ and who did I think I was trying to write. I never picked up a pen again, except to do business writing. Whenever someone died, I would always write the poem or obituary. In 1996, I was asked by the "Ebony Word," an internet magazine, to be a contributing writer. My first story was "Big Girls Don’t Have to Cry."

M.T.: When did you begin to take your God-given gift seriously?

P.B.: When I got the first e-mail from my first fan I was hooked! Someone enjoyed reading what I had written. I became a regular staff writer for "The Ebony Word" like I was collecting a pay check. "The Shirt off His Back" started as a short story, like all the others, but a plea from my fans kept me writing it every two weeks.

M.T.: How long did it take to write "The Shirt Off His Back"?

P.B: The story was published twice a month on the Internet for eighteen months. The last eight chapters were finished in eight days.

P.B.: I had just finished reading a story by another female African American writer and she had put down the brotha so bad in her book. I just cringed inside. I have so many male friends that are absolutely wonderful people...good husband, father, brother, son, friend...GOOD MAN and I was wondering why no one ever wrote about the good brothas. So, I started the story for my Internet magazine. It was going to be a three-part story. People were so happy to be reading good things about the brothas they begged me to continue. I loved writing about Terry because he exemplified the black manhood that was represented in my life. I knew it was a book about half-way through it.

M.T.: Your Web site is a wonderful marketing tool. Could you share some of your marketing savvy with other authors?

P.B.: That is really funny. I don’t think I have any. I just know what looks good and feels right. Along with writing, God has given me the gift of graphic design. I just put together what I knew looked good and felt right. I have been on the Internet for 5 years and developed a network of some very talented friends. They have been extremely valuable to this endeavor. It has been a word-of mouth thing. I have recently hired someone to do a marketing e-mail blitz, but I have had more than 2,100 hits from a friend telling a friend.

It is really important that we use this forum for the networking tool that it is. It is fine to try to get ‘da hook-up’ but there is sooooo much more available here.

I truly believe in this project and will talk about it until people say PLEASE enough already....no one has said that yet! So I’m still talking.

Author Update: 09-10-99

P.B.: Using a United States map and a calendar, I determined which cities I would visit on what dates. Typed out a schedule and faxed it along with a press release and biography to all of the African American book stores listed in Dr. Rosie Milligan's Guide to African American Writers and Speakers (Milligan Books $49.95).

M.T.: What would you recommend for other literary entrepreneurs?

You also need to have business cards available at all signings. I made book marks in a bright color that list all of my contact information. Larger than a business card and even if they don't buy my book right then they will probably use the book mark in other books and have the information right in front of them.

M.T.: Thanks, Ms. Parry Ebony Satin Brown, for this informative and inspiring interview. You can order the book from her web page at www.parnelle.com/shirtoff