The Power Journal

I received this book and had to write about it. The Power Journal by Waset is a funny, honest and creative amalgamation. Waset has a keen perspective that definitely had me nodding in agreement.

I just received this from a listserve, funny, the book was on my mind to mention and I get this press release/wonderful rant:

THE POWER JOURNAL EXCEEDS SALES EXPECTATIONS
DESPITE DISTRIBUTION OBSTACLES

What began as one woman's weekly e-mail rants to friends
and notorious e-mail forwarders has swiftly become the hot
literary breakout book of the season. The POWER journal -
Chronicles of a Revolutionary Black Woman in White America
offers a cross between a hip-hop album and a fiery political
commentary. The book delves into controversial topics
such as the sagas of R. Kelly and Michael Jackson,
the "War on Terror", the dilapidation of blackmusic,
brothas on the "down low" and more. Initially released
in mid-2004, the first version of The POWER journal was
so successful that The Golden Collector's Edition of the book
was released in December 2004. As remarkable as that may
appear, what's even morenoteworthy is the fact that the book
has sold well without the benefit of a national distributor.

"Although I contacted every African American bookstore
I couldfind, only a handful of proprietors such as Afrikan Sistahs
Marketplace.com and African American Images in Chicago
were interested in this type of book. I was told that The
POWER journal wasn't `urban' enough to entice readers
away from the ghetto fiction that bombards the marketplace.
Luckily, I had enough courage to follow my first mind and
ignore the people who said there wasn't an audience for a
`blackfrocentric' book thatisn't ghetto,yet contains much flava."
WASET faced with the seemingly insurmountable task of selling
sizable volumes of books without a major distributor, Team POWER
journal sought out to locate and seduce a target market of individuals
who are often ignored by mainstream "urban" advertising tactics.
Armed with a bevy of stellar reviews, the team advertised and sent
complimentary copies of the book to sororities, teachers, churchgoers,
students, fashionistas, revolutionaries, social outcasts, politicians, and
even some famous people. In essence, the team built their own
distribution network that has paid off significantly through
word of mouth and repeat buyers."When I sat down with my
marketing team to identify the target audience for The POWER
journal, I realized that my core audience consisted of people like
me who think BET is a disgrace, think 50 Cent is a `sucka,' and
think that Condoleezza Rice is TheManchurian Candidate." WASET
known by friends and acquaintances as the "anti-celebrity,"Waset
admits that book sales substantially increased once those in the
"celebrity in-crowd" got wind of the journal.Nevertheless,
both Waset and her publisher, Golden Ankh Publishing, insist
that The POWER journal was created for regular folks who know
that there is a difference between can't and "cain't," and for those
who know that just because you sell a lot of records certainly does
not mean you can sing. Frequently one to rebuke the glitterati of
Hollywood even though she calls Los Angeles home, Waset has
several music, film and television writing deals under consideration.
In addition, she has a new book scheduled for release in late 2005 e
ntitled, FAT, Black and maybe even Ugly...Now What?"It's funny
when Producers call me and ask me about writing`urban' products.
Normally what they mean by `urban' is ignorant,slapstick and/or ridiculous.
What's sad is the fact that many of my black peers suggest that
I should go ahead and write some derogatory and stereotypical
entertainment for the sake of a good payday. Sorry, I write
message driven material. It can be fiction, but there has got
to be some positivism in the story or I won't partake. For me,
it has never been about achieving great fame; it is about achieving
the POWER required to help build a successful future for black people.
I don't push a Maybach or rock a Rolex watch, and for some reason
Boyz II Men has not granted me that interview I requested.
All the same, as long as I'm happy and true to myself, I'm cool
without theRolex and the Maybach - but I still want that Boyz
II Men interview."

WASET For inquiries contact: Sakkara Regir, Managing Director, Publicity, CollectiveWorks, an entertainment firm
P.O. Box 641626 ~ Los Angeles, CA 90064 ~ (888) 729-1609 ~ Sakkara@waset.net
Available now at www.waset.net and amazon.com