M. Ray

I can’t believe so much has changed since I joined. #MyXAnniversary

Happy Black Indie Authors Day. Thank you all for your amazing stories. #BLKIndieAuthorsDay

The reasons I won’t buy something online ( a book this time) #34: when I checked out there wasn’t an option to pay with PayPal or ApplePay. I’m not about to go get up and look for my purse that my toddler thinks is hers and get my credit card.

@hausofriya She hates Black people and half of herself. There’s no other explanation. And I know her momma is a yt racist that fetishizes Black men. What other reason is it to write that 💩?

@arobwrites0112 I will not. Writing, I love. Publishing and everything that goes with it, I don’t love.

@MRayWrites No arguments on that front, but .... dammit Mrs. Ray. You'll come around eventually.

I need that lady (my mom) to get off my neck about publishing my books. We went to B&N today. Her: Your books should be on these shelves. Me: It’s actually difficult for Black authors to get on these shelves. Her: Who do I need to write a letter to? Me: So many people.

Come back for one day and it’s still bs over here. Let me go back to threads.

@AmethystAmber87 Oh okay.

@MRayWrites Oh no, this was years before that.

I’m so tired of the “this is social media” or “it’s public” excuse to be rude and racist on the internet and to not mind your damn business. I promise y’all wouldn’t say a quarter of the stuff in real life. I don’t argue and I got hands rated E for everyone.

@AmethystAmber87 Your book was on the shelf. True it wasn’t a lot of Black books.

@MRayWrites For me it’s my Dad. And I was like man look around, how many books by Black authors do you see on these shelves.

@arobwrites0112 I know it’s not impossible. It’s a fact that Trad publishes a small amount of Black books. The data speaks for itself. I just don’t want to publish.

@MRayWrites A little birdie told me Ingramspark was free now. And you get automatic placement on the B&N website which gets you easier access to brick and mortar availability (no letters involved) ingramspark.com/features

@aalathegod Girl, shut the f up. You are a loser that goes on random folks post to be bitter, racist, and mean because you have no life. Go play in traffic.

@KimmieFerrell @ReadLoveListen1 Yes. Reading helped. Writing little notes about what I would write if I could helped me. Having a trusted friend to vent about your feelings and anxieties about writing. Most of the times it’s not the writing, there’s something else going on with you that affects your writing.

Authors, have you ever dealt with anxiety to start writing again after a break? How did you ease into writing again?

I did not know there was an OVO clothing store at the Grove and the amount of people taking pictures and videos saying “OV Hoe” and “Not like us” in front of that store had me dying.

Summer is usually when I’m the most productive. June, 4k words. July, 6k words so far. Plan on writing more tonight.

Haven’t written since February. Did a little editing in March. There’s so much going on with family obligations, work, school and other things. I’m going to take a break and catch up on reading . I’ll get back to writing in late May.

My Writing 🧵 for 2024

@AuthorTBMalik lol. It is. That’s why I support independent projects even more than before.

What did y’all expect from a series based off a book w/ only yt characters written by a yt writer that said Black people didn’t have happily ever after endings? Maybe adapting actual diverse stories written by BIPOC writers would help.

I appreciate all the love and thanks I’ve received this Teacher’s Appreciation Day. A big thanks and happy vibes to my fellow educators. #TeacherAppreciationDay