Atlanta’s own, Shaun Sinclair has a black-owned publishing company that makes it his business to create books that entertain and educate. He also helps other authors get published in 90 days or less.
Sinclair got his start as an author during a prison stint where he wrote ten books before being released. After recognizing how much people enjoyed his writing, Sinclair decided to delve deeper into writing. Once home, he continued to create books that people enjoyed and which they looked forward to reading. Additionally, he has his eyes on making movies. The Set-Up is one he can’t wait for you to see once it’s released.
Here is my conversation with Shaun Sinclair, bestselling author, director, and screenwriter.
Can you tell us what led you on the road to being an author and what impact your life experiences have had on your writing?
What led me on my road is that my first love is music; I used to write music. I was involved in the independent music scene in South Carolina and North Carolina primarily from the time I was fourteen until around twenty-one. So, my stepfather wrote a book called Black Gangsta years ago, I had to be about fifteen years old. And around that time, I was reading Stephen King and Dean Koontz, and things of that nature because books for us didn’t exist back then. So, when I saw him write his book, it inspired me to know that we could write books about our stories, because other than author Donald Goines, there weren’t any books that spoke to our life and the life that I was living at that time. So, that was the first indoctrination to where I was like, I can do this.
So, years later, I was incarcerated living that same life I just spoke about. And that was around the same time as the big boom with Sista Soulja―Coldest Winter Ever came out, Terri Woods―True to the Game, Eric Jerome Dickey, Omar Tyree, and a few others. And so, it wasn’t until I started reading their books that I said, “You know what, I have a story here myself.” And I would tell the guys on the pod or in prison my story, and they would say, “Man that sounds like a book.” And so, I started thinking if I could write music, I could write a book. So, I started writing my first book, which is called Street Rap now, but back then, it was called Street Music. And I wrote three chapters in one night. The next day, I sent it to a few guys on the pod and let them read it, and if you don’t know, prison houses the harshest critiques; there’s nobody more critical than guys in prison. So, I sent it to a couple of my guys inside and they passed it to some other people and before the day was over with, they were coming back, and when they said, “He didn’t write this.” I knew I had something because anytime somebody doesn’t believe that you wrote it, that’s when you know you have something. That’s kind of what inspired me. I finished the first book, and then I wrote another book called Blood Ties, and I wrote a sequel to that. So, by the time I came home, I had ten books completed already.
You write in a self-proclaimed genre called Gangsterotica. How many books have you written and tell us what readers can expect when they read your books?
The Gangsterotica series is a sub-genre I created. It’s erotic-crime fiction and those are my favorite two genres―crime fiction and erotica. And I found out that a lot of readers liked crime fiction but didn’t particularly care for erotica, and vice versa. So, I figured if I’m going to be late for the party, I better bring my own champagne. So, I came up with that genre. When you read those, you’re always going to get crime fiction and erotica. By crime fiction, I mean it’s a coming-of-age story. With the Gangsterotica tales, I like to play “what if” and how far we would go for love. Love is the motivating factor for a lot of our lives. So, I like to explore what you would do for love. I take a woman or man from the wrong side of the tracks and they will end up getting with someone from the opposite side of the tracks and try to make it work. And that’s natural conflict because conflict is what pushes the story. And so that’s how I came up with that genre. So, what you can expect in that genre is a lot of sex, and a lot of violence, and you can always get a lesson as well.
For anyone who wanted to be a bestselling author, what steps would you encourage them to take to get started?
Number one, write the book. Now, I always say write a book that’s true to your heart. Don’t write for the money. Don’t look for the money because in the beginning there might not be a lot of money there. Number two, be patient and give yourself grace because it doesn’t happen overnight. Number three put the work in. So, we’re in the entertainment industry, it may on the fringes of it but it’s still entertainment. There’s entertainment and then there’s the industry. Once you complete your first book, the entertainment is over. Now, it’s the part of the industry, the business side. So, push yourself and promote yourself. Look at it as a business. It’s a lot to be a bestseller. It doesn’t say the best writer, it says bestseller. No show is too small or too big because somewhere, somebody has never heard of you. So, you want to approach all potential readers as if they’ve never heard of you. And don’t get big-headed, stay humble.
What has been the hardest part of writing and marketing your books, and what tips can you give to others to help them?
Great question! The hardest part initially was just owning my genre. Because I can write so many different things, I made a mistake thinking that my books are for everybody. When in reality, they’re not. So, tip number one, know who your audience is. Number two, find your audience. And once you’ve identified your audience, number three, feed your audience. Don’t step outside of your lane. Be comfortable inside your lane. Everything is not going to be for everybody. So, once you find your lane, stick to it and drive it home.
Tell everyone about your company, Pen 2 Pen Publishing, your new movie The Set-Up, and how do you help others?
So, Pen 2 Pen Publishing is my company and I initially started to put my books out. Forbidden was the first book I put out under, Pen 2 Pen, and I went on to sell 30,000 copies independently. From there, I got to a major which is Kensington Publishing through their independent imprint. So, when I started selling all these books, I had to beat the pavement, and like I said nobody’s too small. I did these events all over the country pushing my brand and a lot of times I would see authors just like myself who had good stories but the craftsmanship wasn’t there. They had bad editing or formatting problems and I like to consider myself a solutionist. Instead of talking about the problem, I like to present a solution. And so, when I saw that, around the same time I got signed to a major. With the major, you have a noncompete clause, so I couldn’t put out my books around the same frequency that I was used to but I had all this skillset, knowledge, and know-how, inside of the industry and my head. So, back in 2017, I restructured my company to be an author services company.
What Pen 2 Pen Publishing does is we take regular manuscripts and bring them to market within ninety business days or less. And we specialize in getting authors who probably wouldn’t normally get their books published. Because even with being published to a major―I’m what you call a hybrid author meaning I’m signed to a major but I still have my independent books out. And so, I’ve seen the business from both sides. So, with Pen 2 Pen, we empower authors to be in control of their careers. They pay us to produce the book at a high-quality level, and once the book is done, they own everything. And of course, we advise them along the way and give them tidbits. Once done, they own that book. We don’t take any royalties or anything and we’re a full-scale publishing company.
With The Set-Up, I had a partner with this one, Danielle Marcus. She co-wrote and co-produced with me. She also wrote with me, Plug Love. She’s from out of Detroit and a phenomenal sister. She’s an author of 26 books as well. So, with this project, I initially wanted to turn all my books into movies, but there are processes that you have to learn and I wanted to learn the process first. So, we wrote The Set Up as a short film so we could see who we would work with. And I directed it and we produced it together meaning we put our own money and cast up, and we selected our team. It will be on all streaming networks in September.
And I also help authors by making sure they control their Intellectual Property. I like to coach them, and even authors that I don’t coach, any time I come across authors I like to give them advice because that’s what they did for me. But the biggest advice I give to them is to be in control of their career. That’s what Pen 2 Pen does, and at the end of the day, that’s why we’re still operating for them.
You are an Army veteran. Tell us about that time in your life and how it helped you in your life?
So, at the time I was doing music, I was heavily involved in the streets. And with my oldest son, his mother became pregnant with him at the time, and it doesn’t take rocket science to know that in the streets you only have two exits, jail or dead. So, I had to reinvent myself and change my life so I could be there for my son. And at the time, the army was the only viable option for me because that’s the only thing that was a drastic enough change to get me out of the life that I was living. Incidentally, the army changed my life in so many ways. Most importantly, it gave me a greater perspective on what life is. Because before going into the army, I thought life was just one way for a black man in America particularly. When I went into the military, it taught me discipline. The same discipline that carried me through my life. That same discipline and ambition helped me survive prison. Even today, it taught me to plan, and that I could do anything I put my mind to. It changed my whole life. Those army core values, I carry with me until this day.
What’s next for you?
Movies! And I think I’m always going to write books. My whole writing style is called “edutainment.” I like to educate and entertain at the same time. Whatever I write, there is always going to be a segment of our population that wants to read books although movies can touch us in ways that books never will. So, I’m going to focus on movies probably eighty percent of my time.
How can people reach you?
Facebook │Instagram│ Twitter │ Website
Writer, Debbie Stokes is a contributing writer, Follow her on Instagram @iamdebbiestokes
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