Author Speaking Event — Jackson College
Author Speaking Event — Jackson College
I had the opportunity to speak to some kids at Jackson College and to offer them some encouragement and here’s a clip from that — enjoy and don’t forget to leave your comments below and click the like button on YouTube!
When I was in school I knew I wasn’t good at English class because I had such a fear of reading out loud. I stuttered and fumbled my words, so I spent most of my time in school avoiding that.
So, when it came to reading, I wasn’t interested in doing something that brought me so much discomfort.
It took until I was about 25 to get over it. It wasn’t that I couldn’t read, but that I had a complex about reading out loud. Then when I started doing a Bible study with a friend, she didn’t laugh and that helped me come out of my shell. That was one of the biggest things that helped me to overcome that.
Writing wasn’t something that I set out to do, but when the idea came to me it was so strong, I knew I had to get it out there. I believe that we all have content that we have to provide and if you keep it in there, it’s not going to help who it’s meant to help.
No matter what type of content you want to do, whether it’s writing or videos, you have to get it out there.
So, now I have this idea and what am I going to do with it? I thought of my sister who loves to write, she went to school for it and it’s right in her field. I went to my sister and I said “I want you to write this, it has to be done.” And she said okay, so we brainstormed and we came up with some things. But, next thing I knew it wasn’t getting done.
It kept coming at me and I believe that it was something that was put in me from God. I heard that it was something that I was supposed to do. So, I started doing it. The next challenge was, “you don’t know anything about writing.” These were the things that continued to try and hold me back and stop me from doing it.
One thing I’ve learned from past business ventures is that whatever it is that you want to do, you need to be working on it on a daily basis. You need to research it and try to interview other people who did it. So, I started to reach out to other people and started learning.
The main thing I learned with writing was to “show and not tell” which means that you’re supposed to show more in your writing than you do your telling. For most people, we try to tell the story and you have to put it into action form instead.
This started to become more exciting for me and not only did I write Bright and the Bully, but I wrote another book, and then another. Now I have about six pieces of work and I’m wondering, “where is all this coming from?” with this person who is not a writer, because I’m not a writer in a traditional sense. I didn’t set out to be a writer or to win any kind of award.
But, all of this content is inside me, each and every one of you have a story. If you just go back over your life and think about the things you’ve experienced, you could write tons of books, and those books can help somebody.
I looked at different things, like traditional publishing and the pros and cons versus self-publishing. I learned that self-publishing was a great way to go in today’s climate because of what Amazon has done in the publishing field.
In the next step, I looked at it like a business, that’s one of the things that brings me a lot of pleasure, more than writing. So I started my own publishing company called 215 Publishing. With doing this I had to research even more and then it was all set up and ready to go.
We’re talking about writing, but I think that in anything that you have that you want to do, anything that you have in your heart that God put there, whatever has been put in you, is meant to get out of you.
The first thing you have to say is “I’m willing to do it,” and you have to be willing to take that step.
I had to start taking these steps, and then I turned around two years later and I had this finished product called Bright and the Bully. Also, I had a publishing company, I had different social media outlets, and a huge buzz from people all across the world who wanted to buy my book and wanting me to speak at different places.
That’s my story and what I feel as far as encouragement, because you’re all at an age where you’re thinking about the future and what you want to do. It doesn’t have to be writing, but whatever it is, you have to do it with the same tenacity and the same kind of mindset of working right away.
As for the art for the books, it was a challenge. I know a lot of people who can draw really well, and one friend, I said, “Ok, I want you to do this book for me,” and I paid him and he started working on it. But, what happened was that he was a great artist, but he wasn’t capturing the illustration process in the way that I wanted it to be. I didn’t want my book to be a “fly-by” book, I wanted to put a lot into it.
So I searched all over the internet through Facebook groups and YouTube, because anything you want – you can find through Google. Through searching all over I ran into a guy from Singapore and he does really good work. I told him that if he could draw me out a storyboard that I would hire him. He did and we developed a good relationship, as a matter of fact, I just watched his wedding a couple weeks ago via live-stream. So, it’s given me another connection from somewhere else.
That’s one of the most important parts when you’re dealing with a kid’s book is to make sure the illustrator is up to par because in children’s books the pictures are what really tells the story. My sister for example, her kids that are over five, they can read it great, but the little one who is three doesn’t read on the same level, but she can understand everything just by seeing the pictures.
That was one of the things that was challenging in the beginning, especially when you’re looking at illustrators and they cost from a couple thousand to ten thousand, or twenty thousand, depending on who you get to do it. The more well known the illustrator is, the more it’ll cost.
I enjoyed speaking to the kids at Jackson College and I hope that they’ve learned some things about the writing and illustrating process that helps them to do the things they want to do in life.
Thanks and Be Bright!
T.W. Bright
T.W. Bright — Author Interview — Faith Talk With Tamara
Listen to Faith Talk With Tamara and T.W. Bright
Bullying in the Christian Community
How would God want us to deal with bullying?
First, I want to thank Tamara for combating this prevalent issue among both children and adults.
We discussed the book Bright and the Bully, which gives children five simple steps they can take to fight against bullying, in a Christian manner, and without violence.
Tamara: With all the books out there, what inspired you to write this book?
T.W. Bright: When I was a kid, I was not a good reader and not very good in school when it came to reading. I was able to read, but reading out loud was something that was very embarrassing for me. I didn’t even want to pick up a book because it represented something that brought me the most shame.
When I was in my twenties and became a Christian I finally got over it through the help of a dear friend who I did Bible study with. Through the encouragement and building up, I was able to overcome my difficulties with reading and was able to come out of my shell.
One of the difficulties with children, it’s also the looks that parents give their kids, or the complaints that the parent makes about the child not doing what they should. These things are just as much a part of bullying as their child getting picked on in school.
Not to sound cliche, but I really do feel that writing is something that God wanted me to do. I first thought of doing a children’s book based on a Bible verse. I was always interested in superheroes, so I looked up children’s books that were biblically based, and I didn’t see anything that had any action.
After trying to get my sisters to write it for me, I found out I had to do it myself even though I really didn’t feel that I could ever be a writer. It turned out that God wanted me to step out of my comfort zone, so it was something that was just simply there, unfolding, rather than being planned.
One of the major things that makes this book different from other bullying books is that it focuses mainly on the bystanders are the biggest influence on bullying.
Tamara: I love how you incorporated God and this superhero kind of character. And it’s funny, growing up, I was bullied. My grandmother and my sister would always say, even though we were Christian, it was “if they hit you, you hit them back, do you want me to come to school and fight for you?”
And when my son started to get bullied, I came with a different approach, I used your book. We went over the book and we read it. I showed him — this is what Bright did, and instead of coming back and retaliating, we come back and we pray for him and we pray for his heart. Because the reason why he’s bullying is because he needs healed from something. You helped give me a different perspective on how to address my son who’s also growing up in a household of faith.
As Christians, do you think we talk enough about these issues?
T.W. Bright: It’s kind of funny, you said you were taught, “when someone hits you, you better hit them back” and that was the very phrase that stuck in my head when I was writing this book. I was a firm believer of that. I was never bullied because I was the kid that bullied the bullies. When my sister got bullied because she had bifocal glasses, I was the one that came behind and bullied the one that was bullying her.
I was taught that, and every other African-American that I knew was taught that same thing. It’s not that you don’t defend yourself, if you look at the steps in the book, it tells you to stand up for other people also. The big thing with Bright, is to not act selfishly.
I wanted to do something different than what I was taught.
There are other options. I only knew one option, and that was to fight. I don’t want kids to only have that one option.
To answer your question, I would say the answer is a yes and a no. As believers, I feel that we do need to talk more about real-life situations, and bullying is a real-life situation. If you can’t talk about real life with other believers — where else can you talk about it?
I talk about this a lot when I’m teaching, too many of us are church-minded, organizational-minded. In this, our identity is wrapped up in church or a congregation, or even a political party.
We’re so wrapped up in this identity, that we don’t have the identity of Christ.
So, yes, on one end, I believe we need to talk about this more. But, then when we talk about being believers, I think we talk too much. In writing, you’re suppose to show more and tell less, that’s the fundamental key of writing. I believe it’s the same thing when it comes to us as believers, show more and tell less — in your actions, because too many of us can talk the talk, but we can’t walk the walk. The answer is both yes and no, it really depends on the angle you’re coming from.
I definitely think that this is something that needs talked about in the church. I do what we call “real time” – I incorporate what happened throughout the week into the scriptures. When you get people out and interacting and you have a dialogue, it opens up so many different doors.
Tamara: Yes, people can learn to experience true healing.
T.W. Bright: Exactly, it’s different than just sitting and listening all the time. Instead you can take things and learn to apply them in your everyday life.
Tamara: As we were speaking about this I realized, your book is actually a starting point for conversations. I can see this as something for small group discussion. “Let’s talk about Bright and the Bully and how to respond. Have you ever been bullied? How have you responded to these things?”
I even see this for small groups in different churches, and different types of settings for talking about these types of issues. I definitely commend you for writing this book. I see this going in a bigger new avenue of opening up and being able to talk about bullying for what it really is.
Our kids are killing themselves because they’re being bullied. They don’t want to go to school because they’re bullied.
You don’t realize it, but you just tapped into something on a real large scale, something that we need to talk about.
Thank you for getting over the fear.
T.W. Bright: I didn’t realize it at first. I just realized that I’m not a typical author. I didn’t set out to get an award. I didn’t set out for accolades.
I just wanted to teach kids to be the light of the world.
And, not only kids, I wanted to teach people that. That’s what my life is about and I try to do those things by modeling those behaviors and principles that we find in the Bible. I don’t have to tell people that I’m a minister when I go places.
Bright and the Bully is already starting to open those doors, I’m already having those conversations. A lady at my church gave me something called a “Bully Ball” which has a lot of different questions about bullying. You toss the ball and the kid that gets the ball, whatever it lands on is a question. It opens up another dialogue.
I’ve been asked to come into some schools and what I’m going to do is bring the Bully Ball with me. So, yes, this is not just a book, this is a starting point. Yes, I’m an author now, but this is more of a ministry, something that I know that the Lord is going to work through in a deeper way than just reading a book.
Tamara: Definitely! I see this book as being for many different ages. What specific age group did you have in mind when you wrote this book?
T.W. Bright: I’m not a very traditional author, I didn’t really plan around an age. I just simply wrote what was in my heart. The way that I gauge the age is by my nephew, who the character Bright, is based on. He’s a very sharp young man who’s five years old, and that’s where I got the character from. He’s so intelligent and so smart, he can quote and read the Bible at his age. So, I just put age five up until you’re not interested in picture books anymore, because the principles in the book can help any age, from when they start to read they can get something out of the book — until they aren’t interested.
Tamara: I say five to adulthood! Even as adults, we sometimes don’t know how to respond to things. Like in the book, you tell us, don’t just be spectators — sometimes we just sit there with a camera-phone and video recording instead of doing something. So, this resonates even with us as adults — don’t forget to intervene.
T.W. Bright: I spoke at a bookstore the other day, and a lady asked me, “What would Bright do if this was cyber-bullying?” What I said was that bullying is bullying, so he would pretty much do the same thing, but the key is that the person who is going through bullying feels isolated.
They feel all alone and that nobody is there for them, so I said what Bright would do is reach out to them and let them know that they’re not alone. And then we can start through the other steps.
Like you said, Bright isn’t talking just to kids, but adults as well, because sometimes we don’t think of these things. We see things on social media, people getting picked on, and we never think to reach out to that person and just say “Hey, how are you?”
People kill themselves because they usually feel all alone and everybody hates them. I had a little girl tell me, “Everybody hates me,” and I was about to say that everybody doesn’t hate you, but I looked and I saw that they do treat her like they hate her. So, what I had to do was work with the other kids and teach them how to respect other kids.
One day, after about a month, some other kids were bullying the same girl and they stood up for her. After they stood up for her, I could just see, it just made her day. It changed the whole dynamic of how the children participated with each other.
That was one of the key things that I took and put into Bright and the Bully, and why I wanted to focus on the bystander. Because the bystander, or the spectator, needs to say something.
Tamara: Exactly, they need that support. Any words for anyone who’s looking to write their own children’s book? You talked about getting over fear and being able to push past that, what are some words of encouragement you’d give someone who’s stuck in fear right now, and they’re saying, “I have an idea right now”, but they’ll never push past the pen and paper? What are some words of encouragement that you have?
T.W. Bright: Know that your content is important. Whether that’s writing a book, making YouTube videos, or whatever that is, especially if it’s something that you feel the Lord is putting in your heart, your content is important and you have that for a reason. You have to believe your story needs to be told.
Once you can grasp that, it can help you move past the fear.
For me, it came so alive and was so strong that it just needed to get out, that I couldn’t do anything but get it out. So, if you’re thinking about fear when it comes to things like you’re not good at grammar or you’re not good at this, a lot of authors aren’t.
That’s why you have editors, that’s why you have people to go behind your work and to proofread and things of that sort.
Miles Monroe, he’s not only a great speaker, but he became a bestselling author. One day he was talking about how someone came to him and said, “You’re a great speaker, you should be an author.” He said that he wanted to for a long time, but he doesn’t have the time. The guy said, “I’m with a publishing company, and I have the time, so why don’t we just take your audio and I’ll make it into a book?” and he put them out there. And so he said, “I’ll work with you on that.” They went back and forth, came up with a deal, and now he’s a bestselling author.
I said wait a minute, he didn’t even actually write the books, he just spoke. His content is still in a book though, so, there’s always a way.
You don’t have to do things the traditional way, you just have to get busy and do the things you were called to do.
Whatever that He put in you, you need to go forth and do that, and it’ll make a way for itself.
That’s the place that I had to come to. Instead of wanting somebody else to do it, I just had to get busy and do my part. The rest is history.
So, that’s my encouragement — just do it.
Tamara: Thank you, and you definitely encouraged and inspired me just now too. I have some things and I’m stalling, so thank you for the words.
Where can we find Bright and the Bully?
T.W. Bright: It’s on Amazon – where you can get it in either hardcover or softcover, and also on my website – TWBrightBooks.com On the website you can find the links for the book, and find how to connect with me, and you can find a video blog that I’ve been doing.
Be sure to subscribe for updates because I’m going to be doing more:
Tamara: I was definitely encouraged, motivated, and inspired by your interview. We’ve touched on many areas that will resonate with my listeners. I want to thank you for being a guest on Faith Talk With Tamara and wish you much luck with your book and also the book will be on my website at http://simplytnicole.com because I truly believe in the message that is being shared through Bright and the Bully and I know that it will bless many.
T.W. Bright: Thank you for having me, and continue to be the light, continue to put yourself out there in front of the world. We have to be the example, we have to be the light. Shine, that’s what you were called to do, so thank you and God bless you.
You are the light of the world. (Matthew 5:14)
Meet T.W. Bright At Stirling Books & Brew
Author T.W. Bright – Stirling Books & Brew
Saturday, March 3, 2018 1-3pm
Get your signed copy of Bright & the Bully and listen while T.W. Bright describes the origins of the book, the hurdles he faced in bringing the book to reality, and the lessons he learned through the self-publishing experience.
If you missed his first visit, you won’t want to miss this one!
Bright and the Bully is a vividly illustrated book that helps kids to understand that there are better ways than violence to deal with bullying. In fact, there are five simple steps that kids can take, including dealing with bystanders who are often the biggest part of the problem.
Help kids to be a positive force in their communities with Bright and the Bully, the book that helps kids know there’s a superhero inside all of us and we don’t need capes!
Purchase copies of the book at Stirling Books & Brew and get your copy signed during T.W. Bright’s visit!
Also, if you’re interested in learning about self-publishing you’ll have a chance to ask T.W. Bright questions during a Q&A as part of the presentation. Stirling Books & Brew is a local coffee shop where both children and adults are welcome to join in a friendly community setting. We look forward to seeing you there!
Join the event on Facebook!
Author Visit to Stirling’s Books and Brew
T.W. Bright Author Visit to Stirling’s Books and Brew
Bright and the Bully Book Signing
Part 1
Part 2
The book signing was a huge success where I was able to tell everyone about the history behind Bright and the Bully. I gave away some t-shirts and talked about what being Bright is all about, including where the light bulb idea came from. I had a chance to give some personal history of how I came to be an author and why I went into self-publishing.
I also told about my personal experience dealing with kids and bullying where I helped them deal with the heart of bullying instead of focusing on the bully, which is what Bright and the Bully is all about. You’ll also get to hear about the future of the Bright books.
I discussed how I fine-tuned the book and about working with an illustrator who gave Bright and the Bully the brilliant illustrations. We also were able to hear about how the books have touched the hearts of people all over the country and how awesome it is to see the wonderful Amazon reviews about Bright and the Bully.
One of the questions answered was how I was inspired to write about Bright who is a superhero, but isn’t the typical vigilante, and where the book has action without being violent, while being based on scripture. I told how Bright and the Bully helps kids to deal with their emotions instead of just behavior.
Another question was also answered about how the situation would have been dealt with if it was done through cyber-bullying.
One of my future books was also discussed that’s coming out within a few months, once it’s gone through editing, as well as the experience that brought it about.
The challenges about writing and becoming an author were also questions that were answered and how I overcame them, then signed a bunch of books for the wonderful people that came.
Thank you so much for the support & don’t forget to leave your reviews at Amazon!
Be Bright!
T.W. Bright
Meet T.W. Bright Author!
Meet T.W. Bright!
See the Event on Facebook Here
If you’re in the Albion, MI area, I hope you can come and meet me at Stirling Books and Brew coffee shop and bookstore. You’ll be able to get a signed copy of Bright and the Bully!
T.W. Bright Author Visit
Saturday, January 13, 2018
Stirling Books & Brew
119 N Superior St.
Albion, MI 49224
Hope to see you there!
Leave Your Review!
If you’ve purchased a copy of Bright and the Bully on Amazon – be sure to leave a review – it’s a big help to spreading the word!
