Zane’s Interview in the Wall Street Journal

Excerpt from Zane (It’s a Pseudonym) on the Art Of Writing, Publishing Spicy Fiction
By JEFFREY A. TRACHTENBERG
July 21, 2007

Zane, 40 years old, first used her pseudonym a decade ago in an online chat room, choosing it because it was short and easy to remember. She has since written six novels with such titles as “Shame on It All: A Novel” and “Addicted,” and edited several erotica anthologies. One of her novels, “Afterburn,” published in 2005, hit the New York Times best-seller list.

There’s little question that readers are increasing interested in spicy fare. In 2006, the industry offered 1,553 erotic titles, up from 136 in 1997, according to R.R. Bowker’s Books in Print database. “The erotica category has really come into its own over the past four years,” says Michael Norris, a senior analyst at Simba Information in Stamford, Conn.

“When women’s fiction publishers started diversifying their offerings, they noticed that the sexiest stories were being snapped up faster and faster.” As a result, such publishers as Kensington, Harlequin and Avon began to offer steamier works, he adds.

Zane has also made her mark as a businesswoman, launching Strebor Books, a diverse line of minority authors, in 1999. She eventually struck a joint venture with Atria Books in 2005, but she continues as publisher.

The Wall Street Journal Online: What accounts for the growing interest in erotica these days? It seems that every major publisher is trying to launch or build such brands.

Zane: Sales. It’s the money. They are trying to cater to a market that they didn’t realize was huge. I haven’t read every book, but a lot of them are missing the market. I also deal with social issues. I use sex as a means to explore deeper issues. A lot of erotica books are just hot sex scenes. Then publishers are disappointed when they don’t sell. I don’t publish stories without a story line, even with short stories.

WSJ.com: What is the difference between literary pornography and erotica, and do readers make such distinctions today?

Zane: Some probably don’t care, but most probably do. Pornography to me is when two people enter a room, have sex, and that’s the story. Erotica is a storyline with real characters that people can relate to, stories in which characters have motives. Most of my stories could be written without the sex scenes and they would still be stories. To me the sex scenes are the least important part of a book. It’s the story that really counts.

WSJ.com: What do you look for as a publisher?

Zane: I publish controversial books about controversial issues. For example, this September we’re publishing “Do Me Twice: My Life After Islam” by Sonsyrea Tate. It’s about her experiences as a member of the Nation of Islam. We’re also publishing Rodney Lofton’s “The Day I Stopped Being Pretty,” a candid, graphic memoir about being HIV positive. David Valentine Bernard’s literary novel, “Intimate Relations with Strangers,” just got a starred review in Publishers Weekly. I know what I want when I see it. And I don’t only look for a specific book. I look for authors who will promote their work, be enthusiastic about their work and who are willing to support the other writers we publish. They have to do signings together, and support each other.

WSJ.com: In recent years so-called “street lit,” urban-flavored crime fiction, has gotten plenty of attention. Is it still hot?

Zane: I think it’s cooling off. There are lessons being learned. It’s not enough now to have somebody walking off with $1 million at the end of the book. The stories are important, and it’s great that people like them, but ultimately there will be a lot of one-hit wonders. Only a few will stand the test of time.

WSJ.com: Can such writers hit the best-seller lists if they can’t attract white readers?

Zane: It’s very difficult. You need a good story.

WSJ.com: Will cover art become more race neutral if publishers try to broaden their reach, or would this dampen interest from black readers?

Zane: A good story will find readers. If there is a compelling story or memoir, it doesn’t have to be about a black person for me to want to read it. And it won’t matter to people who love to read. But I don’t think the covers will become race neutral.

WSJ.com: What prompted you to write a sexual advice book?

Zane: I’ve gotten thousands of emails over the years, and it made me realize people are confused about relationships and sexuality. For me, this is a way to show people why I do what I do. The main reason relationships fail is because of a lack of communication. I’m also trying to keep readers entertained.

WSJ.com: What subject is raised most frequently, and how do you respond?

Zane: I get at least 20 to 30 emails a week from women asking how to take control during a sexual situation. They’re scared. In our society, women are considered vessels for men’s pleasure. That’s why the main sexual position is called the missionary position: we’re missionaries. Women who aren’t sexually satisfied need to take a stand.

WSJ.com: There’s a line between providing advice and writing steamy books. Do you worry that your advice may have unintended consequences?

Zane: I try to be very careful, especially with advice to young women. Hopefully it won’t have bad consequences. I’m candid, but I’m also responsible.

Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118468734641069005.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Zane recently published a nonfiction sex advice book called Dear G Spot.

Report from the Harlem Book Fair

Here’s an excerpt from the WNYC report of the Harlem Book Fair with some positive and negative comments about street fiction:

REPORTER: Today the Harlem street scene is a little less radical. But Max Rodriguez, who founded the Harlem Book Fair nine years ago and runs it from the back of Thometz’s bookstore, says that books are playing a big part in Harlem’s commercial revival.

RODRIGUEZ: …You can walk on 125th Street and every other outdoor vendor will be a book vendor.

VENDOR AND CUSTOMER: How much is this? Ten dollars. Ten? I’ll be back. OK baby, thank you…

REPORTER: This is the world of urban books – also known as street lit. Hundreds of Black pulp fiction books appear each month with names like “True to the Game,” “Every Thug Needs A Lady,” or “G-Spot: An urban erotic tale by.” Henry Ndombo is one of the many book vendors on 125th Street.

NDOMBO: “And God Created Woman”, that’s fiction about four ladies from different backgrounds, I can say that’s the number one right now.

NDOMBO AND CUSTOMER: You get “Dutch 3”? It’s not out yet. What about the last Nikki Turner? No, I sold out. “Still Wifey”?…

REPORTER: Street lit may be low-brow, but it’s had a huge impact on the Black book business.

GRAY: I got so many favorite authors, it’s ridiculous. I want to meet Teri Woods, Zane… I own like 600 books.

REPORTER: And book buyers like Sharon Gray are getting the attention of the big Midtown publishing companies.

JOHNSON: The guys and girls selling that literature is actually driving what major publishing houses are selling.

REPORTER: From his home on 119th Street, Troy Johnson runs the African American Literary Book Club, a national website for Black bibliophiles.

JOHNSON: Virtually any one of them that’s sold a few thousand copies seems to be able to pick up a deal from a major house.

REPORTER: One of these writers is Relentless Aaron. You can’t miss his promotional van parked on 125th Street. He often sells his books out in front of Starbucks.

AARON: Push, and To Live & Die in Harlem. Those are like my 20th and 21st novels out of the 32 that I’ve written.

AARON: [Reads] “Word got around about the shooting and the events at the Lenox Lounge. 20 of its customers had been locked up for one reason or another…”

REPORTER: Aaron wrote many of his novels while serving time in federal prison. He’s only been out three years, but he has a multi-book deal with St. Martin’s Press and another with the hip-hop star 50 Cent. His stories are frequently set in Harlem.

AARON: “‘Gurrrl… did you hear about that dude, Raphael? Yeah, the one with the ponytail… right, the red-boned one…’”

REPORTER: Not all street lit is suitable for broadcast. Erotica and pornography are popular among the largely female readership. But some readers, like Eleanor Blake, object.

BLAKE: I don’t like those books, what I call bootycall books. It gives a bad image of Black women, it’s really negative, I think a lot of those books should be banned.

The ninth edition of the Harlem Book Fair takes place today. Up to 70,000 visitors are expected on 135th Street between Fifth and Seventh Avenues, along with 300 exhibitors from the spectrum of African-American publishing. WNYC’s Siddhartha Mitter checked in on the uptown book scene.

REPORTER: But book professionals aren’t so harsh in their judgment. Janifer Wilson runs a bookstore called Sisters Uptown at 156th and Amsterdam.

WILSON: I don’t have a problem with what people are reading because basically to me as long as folk are reading, that’s key. … A lot of these young girls will say, I read that book in a day. They will stay up all night and finish that book.

REPORTER: Marie Brown, a longtime Harlem literary agent, has a different concern. She sees the publishing industry rushing into street lit and she fears it stereotypes Black readers and closes the door to more literary authors.

BROWN: I don’t see those writers being celebrated to the extent that they were previously. When you look at the books that are being published I don’t think that they are going to be considered for Nobels or Pulitzers.

REPORTER: But these distinctions are set aside today. Max Rodriguez says the Book Fair presents the full spectrum of Black literature, and that Harlem is the perfect place to do that.

RODRIGUEZ: There’s a real romanticism about Harlem… Harlem is the concrete jungle, it’s the street, it’s where drugs and love and lust and passion and gunplay and failure and success all live.

REPORTER: And that’s why Harlem is more than a setting – it’s a character in its own right in the African American story.

Source: http://www.wnyc.org/news/articles/82592

A Little Praise for Streetfiction.org

Recently, we received the following email from a Streetfiction.org reader.

Dear Street Fiction,

Hi, My name is Alicia and I am 14 years old. When I grow older or maybe during my teenage years, I plan to own a SUCCESSFUL Urban Fiction Book Publishing Company. I’ve come to your site many times and really appreciate how you let a sistah know about a book before she ends up getting disappointed. This site provides a clear foresight of the books I am interested in reading and I want to thank you for that. As said before, I am looking to take place in the book publishing world any words of advice, or knowledge to me would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much for reading this letter, and I am hoping to hear back from you.

Sincerely,

Alicia

P.S. I may only be 14 , but that ain’t gon stop me from doing the damn thang :]

P.P.S. God Bless the whole staff. :]

Thanks Alicia for your comments and reading Street Fiction. There are so many stories of street fiction authors who through hard wok and determination have gone from self-publishing their to work to eventually signing on with big publishers - Teri Woods and K’wan are two examples.

If you want to write street fiction, I have two words of advice:

1. Read
2. Write

Read as much street fiction as you can. Discover how each author has their own unique style and then think about how you want to develop your own style that’s different from all the rest. Streetfiction.org offers links to Amazon to purchase books, but if you don’t want to buy the book or can afford to buy a lot of books, go to the library and get them. Ask your neighborhood librarian to purchase books by your favorite authors, tell them about Streetfiction.org so they can learn more about street fiction if it is new to them, or ask the librarian to interlibrary loan the book from another library if they don’t own the title you want and you doubt they are ever going to get it.

Then start writing and don’t stop! Develop a schedule that works for you. Write everyday if you can. After you finished your first story or novel, look it over and then rewrite to make it even better! Then send it out to a publisher (see Publishers on the Links page of Streetfiction.org) or publish it yourself. Vickie Stringer from Triple Crown Publications has a new book that offers a wealth of information on how she started publishing. Good luck to all of you aspiring street fiction authors. We can’t wait to review your books at Streetfiction.org one day!!

EVE by K’wan

The only family Eve Panelli has ever known is the infamous Twenty Gang. Orphaned as a small child, Eve quickly learned the art of the hustle, and by age seventeen she had spent two years in prison. But now Eve is eighteen, back on the streets of Harlem with her gang and up to one of her old tricks: strong-arm robbery. Despite her edge, she’s got a soft spot for Felon, the up-and-coming street king.

Eve’s life takes a serious turn when the powerful DeNardi family, the city’s biggest drug supplier, tries to tighten its hold on Harlem. And when Eve’s best friend, Cassidy, is murdered in the crossfire, Eve seeks revenge - starting all the way at the top.

Already read this book? Was it good or bad? Share your thoughts and do a review for Street Fiction. Tell us what you think of this book or author in the Comments section. Thanks.

Meta Smith Signs with G-Unit Books

Rap star 50 Cent recently added Meta Smith, author of such novels as The Rolexxx Club and Queen of Miami to his growing list of G-Unit authors.

Smith, dubbed the “Queen of Bling Fiction,” was signed to G-Unit book division due to the success of her previous novels, which were released by Warner Books. Smith’s new book titled Heaven’s Fury, which Smith describes as a “nea-noir tale of betrayal and deception.”

“50 Cent has commissioned me to bring you a hot novella reppin’ the streets and so I’m bringing you Heaven’s Fury in November 2007,” Smith said. “It’s all about a good girl who turns bad, once she finds herself caught in the middle of a bloody drug war.” The book is set in Chicago and Gary, Indiana.

In July, Smith is also planning to release an anthology called These Are My Confessions, which Smith labeled “a collection of sizzling Hip-Hop erotica” that features Cheryl Robinson, Electa Rome Parks and Joy King.

Original source: http://www.rapbasement.com/

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