Interview
Questions
James : When did you begin to write?
Carl: I began writing poetry on
March 16, 2007; two months before I graduated from high school.
James : When did you first discover that you were a writer?
Carl: I discovered I was a
writer after successfully publishing my first book of poetry and receiving many
book reviews from it. Before publishing a book, writing was a hobby and
interest for me.
James : How much did you write before you were published?
Carl: I wrote over 70 poems
before I ever published my first book of poetry. Inside of my first book, I
chose the poems that seemed appropriate for that season.
James : What is your favorite part of writing?
Carl: My favorite part of
writing is inspiration and aspiration. I love to inspire and encourage others
with the things I write about. I find issues that we face on a daily basis,
then look for ways to make us take a second look at the situation. Writing is
all about turning the ordinary to extraordinary! Along with inspiring, I write
to aspire and attain new goals in writing; as well as become proficient with my
grammar and choice of words.
James : Tell us about your latest release.
Carl: My latest release, Poetic
Expressions Vol. VI, has been recently published in June 2013 through Bowker.
The book is currently for purchase through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and
IndieBound. Poetic Expressions Vol. VI includes riddles, sonnets, short
stories, and poems filled with excitement, laughter, and relaxation.
James : Wow! This book sounds really good. Are you planning on writing
more in the years to come?
Carl: Writing is something that
interests me and something I do enjoy doing. Yes, I plan on writing more books
with new themes as well as attending a lot of writing courses through different
schools. Currently, I am attending Chicago School of Poetics, but did
Therapeutic Writing Institute and UCLA Berkeley Institute prior.
James : So far what is your worst criticism/attacks, and how have you
overcome it?
Carl: My worst criticism/attacks
lie within my book reviews. Two attacks I had to learn to overcome were being
told that my writing is boring and being called a homosexual because of the
themes I write about. One thing that helped me to overcome these attacks was
authenticity. I had to become real about myself and who I was and what I was as
a writer. Through many years of self-introspection, I have found it to be
comforting to know that all writers write with one goal in mind ---- to inspire
the reader!
James : What is the accomplishment that you are most proud of?
Carl: Being very proficient and
active in promoting a passion towards poetry, I can say that one of the
greatest accomplishments I am proud of is establishing a poetry club in 2008
and running as Chairman. This club taught me a lot about reaching out to my
local community and it gave me opportunity as well as venues, where I could
host different events and inspire my local community to become active in poetry
writing.
James : What does your writing process look like?
Carl: My writing process is very
scary, yet delightful and fulfilling to me. Before I write, I make sure to have
a cup of Hazelnut coffee, a medium point pen that has a good grip to it, and
looseleaf paper. Yes, looseleaf paper because writing inside of a journal
becomes a pain when the binder strap is in the way. First, I set the atmosphere
for writing. I look for a quiet place to write and I make sure to meditate
before I begin. Starting off with the first page, I write down whatever comes
to my mind; literally, every single thought. I write down the rhymes, word
plays, expressions, phrases, and all. I scribble all over the first sheet of
paper. Then, I take another coffee break, close my eyes, meditate, and come
back to that same sheet of paper two hours later. This time, I create word maps
meaning I put similar words, similar themes, and similar phrases into different
groups. These groups help me to come up with a title for my poem. If the poem
is written about something that I have not yet experienced, I do some research
on the idea and I check to see how everyone else feels about it. I want my
writing to feel real! After giving the poem a title name, I decide what style
of poetry I would like to write. If my thoughts are hot in my head and I just
want to write down something quickly, I’ll choose free verse or blank verse. If
I want to challenge myself and stick to a rhyming scheme, I may choose
quatrain, sonnet, terza rima, or Chant Royal. It all depends on the urgency of
my message.
James : How did you get
published?
Carl: When I first danced into
the book publishing era, I had to do a lot of research on a couple of things. I
visited bookstores and looked at the inside of books to see how they were
layered out (i.e. preface, foreword, table of contents). Then, I research the
book standards and ISBN information. This lead me to Bowker Book Publishing
Services. All of my books are published through them and all fees were paid by
me. I did not receive any assistance and each book costs me approximately $3000
total. This cost included ISBNs, EAN barcodes, copyrights, manufacturing of
books, book standard fees, and marketing of books through Kindle, Nook, and
other ebook networks.
James : How do you come up with title of your books?
Carl: Interesting question. A
dear friend of mine, named Anna Maria Clark ,
helped me come up with the first title of my first book. I wanted a catchy name
with a catchy book cover that would attract an ordinary person walking into a
bookstore. The name “Poetic Expressions” came from me expressing my passion and
appreciation to those who write poetry, advocate poetry in their local area,
and support me in my passion for poetry. After the first book, I learned about
volumes and I decided to create volumes on my books instead of separate
anthologies. Each volume contains a different theme with a different, inspiring
book cover. The cover image on the volume of the book gives away the type of
theme that book has. Before starting another volume to my book, I would assess
my poems and look for similar themes in them. I would wait until I had about 25
to 30 poems to squeeze inside of a book. The majority of my books are 60 pages
and less and this was done deliberately. Why? I thought about the reader. I
didn’t want them to feel like they were carrying a brick or attending a college
class.
James : Can you enlighten us a little more about your books?
Carl: As mentioned before, each
volume is centered around a theme of poetry. On Goodreads, I do constant book
giveaways to foreigners because I also want them to be given the chance to view
my books. Whenever a new release is brought to the public, I share 10% of my
finalized manuscript on Kindle, NOOK, and Kobo Books for free.
James: Tell us your guiding principle that governs your life?
Carl: When it comes to writing,
I have three principles I live by. The first one is never stop a person who
becomes interested in writing how they feel. Let them write until their hands
fall off, until they catch writer’s bump calluses, until they are fulfilled and
satisfied. Don’t destroy the dreams of a new-born writer! My second principle
is become real with yourself when you write! Don’t write a lie and don’t write
about something that you haven’t already experienced. I love one of
Shakespeare’s quote that says “To Thine Ownself Be True”. Let the world, let
your audience, see who you truly are and you’ll be amazed at how many lives you
touch. My last principle is God directs my steps in writing. In other words, I
allow Him to place me into a position to write down the thoughts that He gives
me and shape them in a way where those reading would understand, acknowledge,
and change. Writing is powerful, writing is transformational, and writing can
change lives!
James : How have you cultivated these values?
Carl: All three principles are
cultivated with positive affirmations that I say daily to myself. Literally, I
spend 15 minutes in my bathroom mirror staring at myself, reminding myself of
who I am as a writer and what I have become. I want my writing to be a
testimony to others and a passion to others, so everything I write about and
everything I say, I make sure that my life aligns to it.
James : Do you have any advice for writers looking to get published?
Carl: I have plenty of advice to
novice writers, but there are two things I would like to give them regarding
publishing. First off, publishing a book, whether through a press or on your
own, requires a lot of time, effort, and money. If any one of these objects is
lacking, please do not swim into the book publishing era until you have them.
You will need time because creating a manuscript and following a publisher’s
guidelines for your manuscript takes a very long time. I have spoken to various
novelists, writers, and poets who are authors and they all tell me that it
takes me months, sometimes years, to complete a manuscript. Money is definitely
needed … ISBNs, copyrights, book fees, marketing a book is all expensive, but
worth it in the end. Some advice I would like to share pertaining to book reviews
is don’t let them consume you or change your mind towards writing. Yes, you
want to know what your audience and you want to know how you become a better
writer. Take book reviews with a grain of salt and as constructive criticism.
Dust yourself off and get back up and write again. Change a little, but never
change your personality or passion towards writing.
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