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by Jarold Imes
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ADULT CONNECTION:
Mark Anthony
Other than Omar, Eric E. Pete, Joylynn and KaShamba… I don’t think there has ever been a person in this industry that I looked up to more than Mark Anthony, the Essence Best-Selling author of THE TAKE DOWN and publisher of Q-Boro Books, now part of the ever growing Urban Entertainment Group headed by National Bestselling Author Carl Weber.
While building his company in 2004, he and Q-Boro Books helped define the lengths of what street/urban/hip-hop fiction could be. He has published bestselling authors like Eric S. Gray, Anna J and DeJon.
Now, Mark Anthony communicates with OurTeenVoices to talk about his upcoming works and his predictions for future growth and expansion of the African American young adult/mature teen market.
OTV: A lot of young men are drawn to your street/urban/hip-hop novels, how does that make you feel?
MA: It makes me feel good that a lot of young men are drawn to hip-hop novels because I feel like it exposes them to possibilities that they probably never thought were there. Like everybody doesn't have to be a rapper or a ball player to be relevant. And I think our books expose them to the reading which is good but also to the book publishing industry in general. And in the book publishing industry there are jobs and entrepreneurial options that these young men can now explore as an option that has become possible due to the popularity of our books.
OTV: When you and I were first publishing our books in the late 90’s, there weren’t very many males writing books or making it big. Now fast forward to almost ten years later, there are just as many brothas as there are sistas doing their thing and we are all over the place. How does that make you feel?
MA: It makes me feel good that there are many male writers simply because if men are writing books then that speaks to so many things. It speaks to our perseverance, determination, and creativity and in the process it crushes many of the negative stereotypes about men, particularly black men.
OTV: How would you define your growth as a writer from the original publication of PAPER CHASERS in ’98 to THE TAKE DOWN in 2006 or HARLEM HEAT in 2007?
MA: The way I define my growth as a writer now as compared to my early days of writing back in 1998 can be summed up by saying I am more disciplined and I am more of a student. Back in the days I just wrote for the fun of it and now I write for the fun of it and I am passionate about it but as a student I study the industry and where I fit in as a writer and I craft my writing to best position me as a writer going forward. And by that it means I study what's selling and why, and what my audience wants and why, and I do this all the while trying to challenge myself to bring something new and fresh each time. And as far as disciplined, I know now that I try to write three to four books a year and I can only do that by setting a schedule and following. And back in the days I wrote as a hobby whenever I felt like it. I look at it like doctors and lawyers practice medicine and law every day, the best basketball players play and practice everyday and they do that because that is there profession and that's the only way you become the best at anything. So how is writing any different. This is what I do so I discipline myself to do it like a professional.
OTV: As a publisher, what do you look for when selecting a title and an author to become part of the Q-Boro Books family?
MA: As a publisher what I look for in selecting books and authors for QBoro is authenticity. An authentic story that comes from an authentic author will always connect with readers. Its an intangible thing that's hard to explain but when I judge that correctly we have bestselling books. And when I don't we get books that don't perform as well as we would have liked.
OTV: What makes a Mark Anthony book a tale to remember?
MA: I think what makes Mark Anthony's books memorable are the believability that I try to put forth when I create characters whether its dialogue or in narrating a scene. And I know I've done it correctly when readers insist that my story was either derived from real life or it was told to me by someone. When I hear that I know that the readers are simply saying "got damn that shit just seemed to real to be fiction."
OTV: Would you consider publishing a young adult tale?
MA: I would definitely consider publishing a young adult tale but it would have to be a hot story preferably written by a high school or teenage kid. Because to me only they can authentically relay what goes on in the young adult world. If we are 25 and up, we may think we are hip and relevant and we very well may be, but whether we want to admit it or not there always is a disconnect of some sorts from one generation or age group to the next. And I would be afraid of not connecting on an authentic level with the Y/A readers if the book wasn't written by a teenager. Now that's just my theory. But obviously when you look at writers like Judy Blume her success smashes my theory to pieces.
OTV: What are your opinions about the growing young adult market? Where is there room to growth and do you see it doing the same thing as the street/urban/hip-hop genre?
MA: The young adult market definitely has room to grow. But that's if we are talking about the African American young adult market. The white young adult market may be just as saturated as the hip-hop fiction market, I would have to study it out to say for sure. But at the end of the day it always comes down to who wants it the most and what they are willing to put forth in order to get it. That's ultimately what would make success possible even in a genre that has no room to grow or tremendous room for growth.
OTV: Tell us any information you have on your next project.
MA: My next project is the G-Unit HARLEM HEAT book that is coming this July. I'm excited about that and then after that is a book that I am equally excited about. It’s called Reasonable Doubt. And I'm excited about it because I'll be touching on something that no one else, to my knowledge has shown before in this genre, and that is the devastating effects that mandatory minimum sentences are having on the young black sisters whose biggest crime a lot of the time is simply that they knew and dated a dude from the hood who was ballin'. The story is crazy and I know it will be my beat book ever!!! At least it'll be the best until I drop the one after that but I can't give any hints on that one just yet....
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