Angela Yarber is on a virtual tour of her book Queering the American Dream. Choices is so pleased to host her and to showcase her thoughts about how publishing a book can transform our business and life.
Here’s Angela and her essay.
Living the Authorpreneur Life
How publishing a book can transform your business and life
Publishing a book has completely transformed my life and business, creating financial sustainability I’d only dreamed of.
Over a decade ago, after protests from Westboro Baptist Church, a thick stack of hate mail, and even a few death threats, I decided two institutions had become too toxic for me as a queer woman.
The first was the church. Interestingly, I was its pastor.
The second was the academy where I was a professor.
To reckon with our shifting vocations, my wife and I quit our jobs, sold our home, and followed the beckoning, our toddler in tow, writing a memoir along the way. Beginning the day the Supreme Court ruled our marriage legal, my queer little family traversed the American landscape for two years in a camper named Freya, following in the footsteps of revolutionary women from history and myth. Amid our wanderings, I grappled with the loss of faith, addiction, death, parenting, and what it means to reimagine the so-called dream promised to so many. With unapologetic grief, humor, and radical imagination, I created a new dream, not just for myself, but for all marginalized people living in America. In writing and publishing Queering the American Dream, I became an authorpreneur.
In the ten years following the big quit, I published 8 award-winning books with 4 different publishing companies. I realized, however, that most independent publishing companies didn’t understand the nuances of what it means to be a feminist or queer writer; they certainly didn’t know how to market us. And let’s not even talk about how grim my royalties were.
One of my favorite writers is Gloria Anzaldúa, a queer Chicana feminist who claimed: “The world I create in my writing compensates for what the real world does not give me.”
The “real world” has given us, on the whole, an old-school, white, male, predatory publishing industry that, at best, doesn’t understand the nuances of queer and feminist writing, and at worst, preys upon us for capital gain. So, I created Tehom Center Publishing to compensate for what the real world has not given us. Tehom Center Publishing is a press publishing feminist and queer authors, with a commitment to elevate BIPOC writers.
Publishing Queering the American Dream with my own imprint was not only empowering, but it also galvanized me to coach other marginalized authors in the power of living the authorpreneur life. Yes, Tehom Center publishes authors at absolutely no cost, but we also offer just and equitable coaching programs empowering authors in creating entire businesses aligned with their books, thereby sustaining a financially abundant life.
A book is one of your best marketing tools for elevating your brand or business. Plus, it powerfully spreads your message and establishes nearly unmatched credibility and expertise. Why not leverage this credibility to live the life of your dreams? Marginalized authors do not have to be beholden to toxic institutions that hold us back. In community, with radical imagination, we can live the authorpreneur lives of our dreams.
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Book Summary
Beginning the day the Supreme Court ruled her marriage legal, Angela Yarber’s queer little family traversed the American landscape for two years in a camper named Freya, following in the footsteps of revolutionary women from history and myth. Amid her wanderings, this queer clergywoman grapples with the loss of faith, addiction, death, parenting, and what it means to reimagine the so-called dream promised to so many. With unapologetic grief, humor, and radical imagination, she creates a new dream, not just for herself, but for all marginalized people living in America.
Publisher: Parson’s Porch
ISBN-10: 195558141X
ISBN-13: 978-1955581417
Print Length: 188 pages
Purchase a copy of the book on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Bookshop.org. You can also add it to your list on Goodreads.
About the Author
Rev. Dr. Angela Yarber is an award-winning author of eight books and a highly sought public speaker. She is the Founder of Tehom Center Publishing, an imprint publishing feminist and queer authors, with a commitment to elevate BIPOC writers. With a Ph.D. in Art and Religion and over a decade serving as a Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, five of her books were listed in QSpirit’s Top LGBTQ Religion Books. Her work has been featured in Forbes, HuffPo, Ms. Magazine, Tiny House Nation, and more at https://angelayarber.org
You can find her online at:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/angela.yarber
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tehomcenter
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tehomcenter/?hl=en
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