By Coach Michael Taylor
During an awards ceremony on BET, Tyler Perry gave an inspirational speech about how he was able to build his successful company. It was a powerful and inspirational speech that ignited a fire in me to follow in his footsteps to build my own company. During his speech, he said something which was so powerful, I immediately put it to memory and have been using it as my motivational mantra ever since I memorized it. He said: “Stop fighting for room at the table, build your own table!”
He was speaking about overcoming the challenges to get his movies released, and how he got fed up with Hollywood and decided to launch his own movie studio. He knew there was a market for movies targeted specifically to a black audience so he built his own table and now owns one of the largest movie studios in the world.
As I listened to his speech, it reminded me of my own struggle to get my book published back in the nineties. I wrote a book titled Brothers Are You Listening? and I submitted it to sixty different publishers in an attempt to get it published. I received fifty-nine rejection letters before I finally found a publisher who expressed an interest in my manuscript.
When I received the letter which said they were interested in my book, I was extremely excited about the possibility of having my book published. But more importantly, I definitely could have used some financial assistance because at the time, I was completely broke. I was way behind on my rent, and creditors were calling every day.
When I spoke with the woman from the publishing company, she told me how much she really enjoyed my book. I could sense she was really interested by the tone of her voice, but all of a sudden, her tone changed and I had a bad feeling she was going to tell me she wasn’t interested. And then she said something I didn’t expect. She said she really enjoyed the book and she thought it would sell but her marketing team said their research showed black men didn’t buy personal development books. She then asked me if I would be willing to change the title and some of the content of the book so it would appeal to a wider audience.
My first thought was to say yes, because I really needed the money, and the book advance would have really helped me out financially, but as I sat there thinking about it, my heart knew there was no way I was willing to do that. In my heart of hearts, I knew black men would buy my book if I could just figure out how to get it published. I declined her offer and decided I would find a way to get my book published. After our conversation, I had a conversation with God and I prayed that I would be guided to figure out what to do next. As usual, my prayer was answered and God simply said, you have to learn how to publish your own book.
Back then, there was really no such thing as the Internet. So I went to the library and did some research on how to self-publish. I read several books that gave me some insights on what to do, and then I decided to get a job at a bookstore. After a couple years, not only was I able to publish my book, I actually launched my own publishing company. Fast forward 28 years and I’ve written and published 11 of my own books, in addition to publishing several books for other people.
Therefore, I followed Tyler Perry’s advice and I built my own table!
Today, publishing a book is relatively easy. The hard part is marketing the book and getting it in front of the right people. It is still difficult in a lot of cases to get exposure for positive black stories and content in mainstream media, but with the advent of technology and access to information, we no longer have to rely on mainstream media to get positive black media and content out into the world.
I’m super excited to be partnering with DX Faith Network because it gives me an opportunity to reach my target audience with the upcoming AWAY channel created specifically for black men. When Maurice Butler reached out to me about this groundbreaking new network, I immediately saw the opportunity to join a network of visionary people who are putting together a powerful new platform to showcase black creators of all types.
If I had to choose one word to describe why I’m optimistic about the future, that word would be technology. Technology is the great equalizer in our society today, and those of us who create new technologies that allow us to share our content with the masses, are the ones who will change the world.
I believe the technology within the DX Faith Network can do just that. It will give content creators like myself a platform that allows us to tell our stories, share our wisdom, and empower our people to reach new heights. I’m looking forward to being on the ground floor of this new platform and working hand and hand with the DX Faith Network to build this “new table” that I believe can change the world.
