Jill Shawntaye Kapri
Author Bio: Author Bio: I am Jill Shawntaye Kapri, The Author of Hoes In Da Hood.
Author Interview:
1. What inspires you most to write?
-What inspires me the most to write is, knowing that I can do it. And having that capability of going inside of myself and my mind to create a body of art through words.
2. What is your favorite genre?
-My favorite Genre is Drama, but also Romance; I enjoy reading and writing both.
3. Who is one author you admire, if any, and why?
-I have more than just one; my favorite two authors are Wahida Clark and Ashley Antoinette.
I love them both, I started reading Wahida first, and then I started reading Ashley’s books, and I knew from that moment on I wanted to be able to picture paint stories and deliver them to an audience in that same form. They know how to keep their readers awake.
4. How do you overcome blank writing spells?
-That’s a great question because I have that a lot. My mind will go completely blank sometimes, and I’ll have to meditate for at least an hour. I have also to get back to a place of comfort to relax my mind and pick my pen back up.
5. What legal publishing advice can you give?
-Honestly, I don’t have any to give right now, because I did consider signing to a publishing company then decided against it. Because I know how I want certain things done for myself and my projects and I felt like I had come this far without a publishing company behind me so I may as well continue to strive on my own. I will say, make sure you keep a Lawyer on standby though at all times, especially when it comes to legal matters. Always be prepared
6. How many books have you written, are any a bestseller yet?
-I have a total of eight books written so far and ready to be published; I have one published, Hoes in da hood, part 2 is in the process of being released at the end of this month. I have six that are on standby that will make their debut later this year and early next year. I do not have a best seller right this moment, but it is in the making, and I will be a top bestseller.
7. If you had the opportunity to rewrite one movie script which would it be, why?
-Tyler Perry’s A Diary Of A Mad Black Woman; I wouldn’t rewrite it though, But I would have been a part of helping write in a few more ideas to make Charles suffer more when it came to the betrayal and heartbreak he placed upon Helen. After being together for more than twenty years. I think Charles had too much of a lead way and didn’t get the highest severity of suffering the consequences of his actions.
8. What are some difficulties you've experienced in your writing career; how do you handle book critiques/criticism?
-My difficulties are, and sort of still are, not knowing how to publish a book on my own the first try. Not having enough people to tune in and read my books. Reaching out to people who were once in my shoes as a beginning author, who made it but didn’t feel like I was worth giving advice to, because at the time I didn't have that established platform or fan base. I had one publisher once tell me for her company even to consider reading my manuscript. I needed to have at least five thousand followers on my social media. So that did something to my spirit, it bothered me honestly, but I also knew that I would run into many more people like that. I just have to have tough skin, build myself, my brand and my platform up to the point when I do step into this game my name will be forever written as one of the greatest to do it despite the odds.
-With the book critics, I continuously have to remind myself; not everyone is going to love or like what I write and that’s just the way life goes. The genuine criticism I take it as a way of pushing myself to do better and be better I don’t look at it like that person is trying to discredit me or tear me down I look at it like they are trying to teach me to stay ahead of the game with the actual hate and lousy criticism that’s coming along with my career and my books.
9. What are the best experiences in your writing career?
-My best experiences are receiving the love, the support from strangers, who will see me somewhere, and know who I am, or they will ask me when I am releasing more books, etc. I know from just experiencing the small things like that when I’m not even a best seller author yet or have a lot of material released. The feeling of it drives me to go harder and remind myself that this is my purpose: writing is what I am supposed to be doing.
10. Do you prefer to write in silence and or have some sort of sound in the background?
-I prefer silence. I need my entire universe in my head to be quiet so that when I get into my writing mode, it’s much easier also to act out my scenes in my head the exact way that I am writing it.
11. What are some encouraging words you'd give to another author/writer?
-Never Give Up; No Matter What! Stay Consistent. Never compete with other writers/authors. Write for yourself. Enjoy it. Be passionate about it and stick to it, whether one or five people read your books, you are in charge of how great that you can become. Let the man above do the spiritual work while you put in the physical work. It will pay off eventually even if it’s later. Time never mattered. It’s never too late to make your dreams your reality.
12. How did you decide the pricing of your material; how did you go about promotion/advertising and distribution of your work?
-The pricing, I kept the books at a reasonable price because It only takes one cent to believe in yourself, and the more cents you add to yourself, the more valuable you become to other people.
13. Why should anyone read your book?
-People should read my books because anything I write is as real as it will get lol, but seriously I believe in quality. I believe the people who take the time out to read books should be left satisfied and given a reason to brag to the next person about my material.
14. Did you have a book coach?
-No, I don’t have a book coach, anything I learn I teach to myself.
15. What was your favorite subject in school?
-My favorite subject in school was, of course Writing and Language Arts.
16. Are you self-published or have an established publishing contract elsewhere?
-I AM INDEPENDENTLY SELF PUBLISHED!