February 5, 2025 • 11 mins
This episode dives into Jay Floyd's journey of publishing his first fiction novel while celebrating Black History Month. He shares insights on the importance of storytelling, representation, and finding one's voice in the publishing world.
• Understanding the significance of Black History Month
• Introduction to the coloring book "Burnt Sienna"
• The inspiration behind the book's title
• Importance of representation in children's literature
• Jay's journey toward publishing his first fiction novel
• Value of knowing and articulating your story
• The importance of genre in storytelling
• Encouragement for listener support and involvement
https://iamjayfloyd.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Yo, what's good everybody.
This is Jay Floyd.
Welcome back to On Everything.
It's my podcast, man.
I know y'all not seeing meright now, y'all seeing an
avatar, and I mean, some ofy'all are listening to this and
that's cool too.
But the ones of y'all who arewatching this man, I just, I
don't know, I just tossed alittle avatar on there.
(00:24):
Make it a little moreentertaining for y'all who are
watching this man.
I just, I don't know, I justtossed a little avatar on there.
Make it a little moreentertaining for y'all, you know
.
See, make it like I was kind oftalking to you, kind of.
So let's get started.
Man, I wanted to updateeverybody on the journey that
I've been going through withtrying to publish my first
(00:45):
fiction book.
Right, you know, I started onOpen Book Media and it is my
publishing and brand and wepublish a lot of things, man, in
fact, I should probably startwith this.
Right now.
It's February, first week ofFebruary.
There's a lot of talk aboutBlack History Month, a lot of
(01:07):
people talking aboutspecifically this fear of Black
History Month going away.
You know what I mean.
I'm not going to get into thetopic too deep right now, but I
do have a pretty strong stanceon that.
But no, I don't operate out ofno fear that.
But no, I don't operate out ofno fear.
And Black History Month is whatwe make it, and so I know
(01:33):
everybody's celebrating BlackHistory Month, as you should.
Black people and allies, oranybody in the world, should
also be celebrating BlackHistory learning as much as you
can.
So, in that spirit, I do wantto shout out the book that we
published last year, which isBurnt Sienna, a coloring book
for brown crayons.
This is for all children tolearn become familiar with, gain
(01:55):
, respect for, and love for, andknowledge of, some key Black
figures throughout history thatdon't really get taught all the
time in regular school settings.
So hit my link in bio.
Hit my link in bio and go outand take a look at that.
I encourage everybody to gograb a copy.
(02:17):
It is on Amazon.
The reason why I called it BurntSienna was because when I was
growing up, burnt Sienna whenyou get that 64 box of crayons,
that one that we all reallywanted, that 64 boy, the big one
, you know, the one that comewith the crayon sharpener on the
(02:39):
back when you get that one, Isharpen her on the back.
When you get that one, well,that comes with some new colors
right.
And one of the colors that itcomes with is called burnt
sienna.
And when I was a kid I alwaysnoticed that when I go to color
(03:03):
Black people naturally right.
You know, I was fancy myself asa bit of an artist.
I wanted things to be asaccurate as possible and my I
noticed that you can't just grabbrown.
You cannot just grab brown.
If you want to accuratelyreflect the diaspora and the
spectrum of melanated folk likeblack folk, you're gonna have to
grab something a little moredeep, a little more rich right,
(03:29):
a little more nuance to it.
And I noticed that there wasone crayon called Burnt Sienna.
It was brown but it had alittle reddish tint up in there,
had more depth, and I noticedwhen I used that that was a
little more accurate to blackfolks, specifically me as a kid.
(03:51):
So I always wanted to payhomage to that crayon.
I always think about it and soI decided last year to make a
coloring book for kids to beable to take advantage of that
burnt sienna crayon in there.
Go ahead and grab that.
(04:13):
I know not all Black people areburnt sienna.
Growing up my mom would alwaysmake note hey, you got to grab
the burnt sienna for you, yougot to grab the beige for me.
My mom was, you know, one ofthose light-skinned ladies from
Mississippi, so you know herswas beige.
And shout out to all of that.
(04:34):
Shout out to all.
You know God paints in allcolors.
So I think it's so importantthat we teach our children to
love all the colors of thespectrum.
So yeah, in honor of BlackHistory Month, I suggest you go
out and buy that.
If you want to hit my link inbio, the link is linkinbio B-I-O
(04:58):
slash open book media.
That's linkedinbio slash openbook media.
You'll see it right there BernSienna.
You'll also see my other books,like the Driver's Seat, the
Poet who Watched the WholeParade, et cetera.
All right, so let's get intoour topic for the day.
(05:19):
I noticed this podcast is nowbranded as On Everything, but I
do want to focus in on the topicRight now.
I'm on this journey.
I hope y'all can rock with me.
I hope you follow me on thejourney.
I hope many more of y'all canhelp me out on this journey.
(05:43):
I've written a number of books,but this is my first time
writing a fiction novel.
I'm really, really, really,really proud of this book, right
.
I think this book is great, Ithink it belongs in the
marketplace.
So I have pitched it to severalliterary agents and publishers
(06:05):
and I've gotten some responseback to some people who like it.
No deal that I like yet.
No deal that is fully, 100%funded and with the marketing
push that I think it needs Notyet.
But I mean, I'm only about amonth or two in to when I
submitted it.
So usually it's about a sixmonth process of submitting.
(06:27):
So the more I learn, the moreI'm going to share with y'all,
right.
But it brings me back to somepoints.
Right of, I have this storystory, I've written it, I
(06:50):
understand it and now I needhelp by some publishers to see
the value in that story, right?
So I write these submissions.
It's my job to fully make themsee the vision, make them see
the vision, make them understandthe value in this story.
And it reminds me of how we arein life.
(07:11):
You know, in life we got thestory Right.
We got a story.
It's great, there's some goldin it.
Sometimes we need a little morepolish, so maybe we need an
editor.
Sometimes we need to be exposedto the right room.
So we need a marketingstrategist, but the gold is in
the story.
The story that I wrote is notthere yet.
(07:35):
It needs a little help andwe're working on it.
I know the value of it and, justlike when I walk into any door,
get any're working on it.
I know the value of it and,just like when I walk into any
door, get any opportunity, I gotto also know the value of my
story.
Other people haven't read ityet.
Other people haven't beenexposed to it yet.
They didn't even get a synopsis.
It's my job to present it,present myself as a walking
(08:01):
representation of my story,which means I gotta get all of
that strength, all of thatwisdom out of everything that
I've been through this journey,respect, the journey, everything
that I've been through, eventhe, the parts that I that
caused me a lot of pain, theparts that I had to go to
therapy to help heal.
Those are all pages.
(08:22):
They're all pages.
Some of them are in earlierchapters, but they're all pages.
And as I go throughout life andmy career and any role and
leadership role that I have, I'madding pages to the book, but
I'm still carrying this book.
Y'all, I'm carrying this bookand I got to know the value of
(08:44):
it and I got to know what storyit tells.
So I know where does this, wherecan this go?
Where does it belong?
You know one of the things I'mlearning with my book the first
thing the literary agents andpublishers ask me is what genre
is this?
Is this urban fiction?
(09:05):
Is it literary fiction?
Is it historical fiction?
What is it and who can I?
Where does this belong?
Right, I'm not saying we allneed to be in a box, but we do
need to understand who we areand when we should not be
(09:28):
limited to.
If you're not only urbanfiction, you're not only urban
fiction.
If you're not just a rom-com,you're not just a rom-com.
If you are not simply a summerread or a cozy, then you're not
that.
But if you are that, then youare that.
But if you're not understandwhere, you need to keep going to
(09:50):
Understand where your ceilingis Right, and that's what I'm
looking for right now.
So I say all this to say I amon a journey.
Y'all, I would love to have thisbook out this year.
I would love for y'all to bealong the ride with me.
I would love for y'all to helpme choose which cover to go with
(10:11):
.
I'd love for you to help me asI push it in the market.
Help me understand where themarket is.
If you have a book club, wouldlove for you to grab my book in
the book club.
If you're an influencer, I willhave pre-release packaging
(10:32):
going out to influencers so thatthey can take a look at the
book and a lot of differentmarketing gadgets and gifts, and
I'll be opening up the door forthat.
Right?
Do I end up selecting apublishing offer or, at the end
(10:53):
of the day, do I just put it outmyself through open book media?
We shall see.
Yeah, we shall see, and makingthe right move.
This is how we all are in life.
Your opportunities in the world.
(11:15):
They rely on you understandingthe value that's in that story
you're carrying and taking it tothe hilt, yeah.
So keep rocking y'all and keepchecking for me.
I will have more episodescoming out.
I am Jay Floyd.
Thank you for listening to OnEverything Podcast.
Yo, what's good everybody.
This is Jay Floyd.
Welcome back to On Everything.
It's my podcast, man.
I know y'all not seeing meright now, y'all seeing an
avatar, and I mean, some ofy'all are listening to this and
that's cool too.
But the ones of y'all who arewatching this man, I just, I
don't know, I just tossed alittle avatar on there.
(00:24):
Make it a little moreentertaining for y'all who are
watching this man.
I just, I don't know, I justtossed a little avatar on there.
Make it a little moreentertaining for y'all, you know
.
See, make it like I was kind oftalking to you, kind of.
So let's get started.
Man, I wanted to updateeverybody on the journey that
I've been going through withtrying to publish my first
(00:45):
fiction book.
Right, you know, I started onOpen Book Media and it is my
publishing and brand and wepublish a lot of things, man, in
fact, I should probably startwith this.
Right now.
It's February, first week ofFebruary.
There's a lot of talk aboutBlack History Month, a lot of
(01:07):
people talking aboutspecifically this fear of Black
History Month going away.
You know what I mean.
I'm not going to get into thetopic too deep right now, but I
do have a pretty strong stanceon that.
But no, I don't operate out ofno fear that.
But no, I don't operate out ofno fear.
And Black History Month is whatwe make it, and so I know
(01:33):
everybody's celebrating BlackHistory Month, as you should.
Black people and allies, oranybody in the world, should
also be celebrating BlackHistory learning as much as you
can.
So, in that spirit, I do wantto shout out the book that we
published last year, which isBurnt Sienna, a coloring book
for brown crayons.
This is for all children tolearn become familiar with, gain
(01:55):
, respect for, and love for, andknowledge of, some key Black
figures throughout history thatdon't really get taught all the
time in regular school settings.
So hit my link in bio.
Hit my link in bio and go outand take a look at that.
I encourage everybody to gograb a copy.
(02:17):
It is on Amazon.
The reason why I called it BurntSienna was because when I was
growing up, burnt Sienna whenyou get that 64 box of crayons,
that one that we all reallywanted, that 64 boy, the big one
, you know, the one that comewith the crayon sharpener on the
(02:39):
back when you get that one, Isharpen her on the back.
When you get that one, well,that comes with some new colors
right.
And one of the colors that itcomes with is called burnt
sienna.
And when I was a kid I alwaysnoticed that when I go to color
(03:03):
Black people naturally right.
You know, I was fancy myself asa bit of an artist.
I wanted things to be asaccurate as possible and my I
noticed that you can't just grabbrown.
You cannot just grab brown.
If you want to accuratelyreflect the diaspora and the
spectrum of melanated folk likeblack folk, you're gonna have to
grab something a little moredeep, a little more rich right,
(03:29):
a little more nuance to it.
And I noticed that there wasone crayon called Burnt Sienna.
It was brown but it had alittle reddish tint up in there,
had more depth, and I noticedwhen I used that that was a
little more accurate to blackfolks, specifically me as a kid.
(03:51):
So I always wanted to payhomage to that crayon.
I always think about it and soI decided last year to make a
coloring book for kids to beable to take advantage of that
burnt sienna crayon in there.
Go ahead and grab that.
(04:13):
I know not all Black people areburnt sienna.
Growing up my mom would alwaysmake note hey, you got to grab
the burnt sienna for you, yougot to grab the beige for me.
My mom was, you know, one ofthose light-skinned ladies from
Mississippi, so you know herswas beige.
And shout out to all of that.
(04:34):
Shout out to all.
You know God paints in allcolors.
So I think it's so importantthat we teach our children to
love all the colors of thespectrum.
So yeah, in honor of BlackHistory Month, I suggest you go
out and buy that.
If you want to hit my link inbio, the link is linkinbio B-I-O
(04:58):
slash open book media.
That's linkedinbio slash openbook media.
You'll see it right there BernSienna.
You'll also see my other books,like the Driver's Seat, the
Poet who Watched the WholeParade, et cetera.
All right, so let's get intoour topic for the day.
(05:19):
I noticed this podcast is nowbranded as On Everything, but I
do want to focus in on the topicRight now.
I'm on this journey.
I hope y'all can rock with me.
I hope you follow me on thejourney.
I hope many more of y'all canhelp me out on this journey.
(05:43):
I've written a number of books,but this is my first time
writing a fiction novel.
I'm really, really, really,really proud of this book, right
.
I think this book is great, Ithink it belongs in the
marketplace.
So I have pitched it to severalliterary agents and publishers
(06:05):
and I've gotten some responseback to some people who like it.
No deal that I like yet.
No deal that is fully, 100%funded and with the marketing
push that I think it needs Notyet.
But I mean, I'm only about amonth or two in to when I
submitted it.
So usually it's about a sixmonth process of submitting.
(06:27):
So the more I learn, the moreI'm going to share with y'all,
right.
But it brings me back to somepoints.
Right of, I have this storystory, I've written it, I
(06:50):
understand it and now I needhelp by some publishers to see
the value in that story, right?
So I write these submissions.
It's my job to fully make themsee the vision, make them see
the vision, make them understandthe value in this story.
And it reminds me of how we arein life.
(07:11):
You know, in life we got thestory Right.
We got a story.
It's great, there's some goldin it.
Sometimes we need a little morepolish, so maybe we need an
editor.
Sometimes we need to be exposedto the right room.
So we need a marketingstrategist, but the gold is in
the story.
The story that I wrote is notthere yet.
(07:35):
It needs a little help andwe're working on it.
I know the value of it and, justlike when I walk into any door,
get any're working on it.
I know the value of it and,just like when I walk into any
door, get any opportunity, I gotto also know the value of my
story.
Other people haven't read ityet.
Other people haven't beenexposed to it yet.
They didn't even get a synopsis.
It's my job to present it,present myself as a walking
(08:01):
representation of my story,which means I gotta get all of
that strength, all of thatwisdom out of everything that
I've been through this journey,respect, the journey, everything
that I've been through, eventhe, the parts that I that
caused me a lot of pain, theparts that I had to go to
therapy to help heal.
Those are all pages.
(08:22):
They're all pages.
Some of them are in earlierchapters, but they're all pages.
And as I go throughout life andmy career and any role and
leadership role that I have, I'madding pages to the book, but
I'm still carrying this book.
Y'all, I'm carrying this bookand I got to know the value of
(08:44):
it and I got to know what storyit tells.
So I know where does this, wherecan this go?
Where does it belong?
You know one of the things I'mlearning with my book the first
thing the literary agents andpublishers ask me is what genre
is this?
Is this urban fiction?
(09:05):
Is it literary fiction?
Is it historical fiction?
What is it and who can I?
Where does this belong?
Right, I'm not saying we allneed to be in a box, but we do
need to understand who we areand when we should not be
(09:28):
limited to.
If you're not only urbanfiction, you're not only urban
fiction.
If you're not just a rom-com,you're not just a rom-com.
If you are not simply a summerread or a cozy, then you're not
that.
But if you are that, then youare that.
But if you're not understandwhere, you need to keep going to
(09:50):
Understand where your ceilingis Right, and that's what I'm
looking for right now.
So I say all this to say I amon a journey.
Y'all, I would love to have thisbook out this year.
I would love for y'all to bealong the ride with me.
I would love for y'all to helpme choose which cover to go with
(10:11):
.
I'd love for you to help me asI push it in the market.
Help me understand where themarket is.
If you have a book club, wouldlove for you to grab my book in
the book club.
If you're an influencer, I willhave pre-release packaging
(10:32):
going out to influencers so thatthey can take a look at the
book and a lot of differentmarketing gadgets and gifts, and
I'll be opening up the door forthat.
Right?
Do I end up selecting apublishing offer or, at the end
(10:53):
of the day, do I just put it outmyself through open book media?
We shall see.
Yeah, we shall see, and makingthe right move.
This is how we all are in life.
Your opportunities in the world.
(11:15):
They rely on you understandingthe value that's in that story
you're carrying and taking it tothe hilt, yeah.
So keep rocking y'all and keepchecking for me.
I will have more episodescoming out.
I am Jay Floyd.
Thank you for listening to OnEverything Podcast.
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