We recently connected with Sabriyah Richardson and have shared our conversation below.

Sabriyah, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you walk us through some of the key steps that allowed you move beyond an idea and actually launch?

So I have self- published two books, both have completely different themes and vibes, so it was two totally different experiences with going from idea to execution with both. When I began writing my first book i didn’t even know it was gonna become my first book, as it started as a therapy assignment. I began grief counseling when I was 16 years old after I unexpectedly and tragically lost a close friend of mine to suicide the summer before my junior year of high school. As I began my journey in therapy eventually my therapist gave me 2 assignments, to write something in my journal everyday, and to write a goodbye letter to my friend. Those two assignments ended up being the idea behind my first book ” When the Sun disappeared”. I kept the journal going even when my time with my therapist had ended and it wasn’t until my freshman year of college that I picked it up with a fresh pair of eyes. As I was re-reading my own words I noticed how it flows as a story, my story, and I believed it could help others. I knew I was not the only kid, yes kid (under 18 years old) that had experienced a close loss due to suicide, there are far more than there should be and there is no honest representation of that demographic. I remember not being able to really talk about it in school, not acknowledge that this death was by suicide for fear of how it would look and what it would cause, that same fear and stigma being the reason we needed to talk about it openly. So many suffer in silence over their loved ones death myself included, and I knew I wanted to share this story in hopes it would start a chain reaction of other accurate, raw, and necessary depictions of suicide loss survivors within our mainstream media and dialogue. I ended up finishing the book over the first lockdown of the pandemic because I had nothing but time and energy to pour into finishing it. I finished the book in a lawn chair on my driveway and edited the entire process with adobe office and my sticker covered laptop. I finished the book in May of 2o20 and released it September of 2020 since September is Suicide Prevention Month. With my second book the process was a bit different in origins, writing time, and rollout, I was definitely a lot more confident going into the second book. The idea for my second book ” he loves me…NOT” came from life just like the first but this time it wasn’t just my life, I noticed the problems the book is based off were affecting friends, family, celebrities literally our mainstream media was saturated by it, the problem is very normalized in society. So I began planning the book cover, theme, photo shoots first because I knew there were so many creative opportunities with the book release date being Valentines Day. When it came close to promo and release date time everything was created, except the book. Anytime something I wanted to write in the book came to me I wrote it down in my phone notes, or scratch paper so I wouldn’t forget it. Therefore most of the writing I did along the way and refined as I put it to pages. The second book was the most fun to create but I like the content of my first book a little more. The second book was typed, edited, and in a proof copy within a week, while the first book took literal years.
The process for both were unique and special in their own ways.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

As a 21- year old college student Sabriyah wrote, designed, and self-published her first book When the sun disappeared in 2020. Two years later she released her 2nd self-published book, a poetry collection he loves me…NOT. While both books are unrelated in topic they both share themes of mental health and controversial yet important subjects.

Ultimately Sabriyah hopes to further her education out of state obtaining her masters degree. While writing is a beloved pass time her main goal is to counsel children, African- American children especially. She hopes to work in marginalized and underserved communities spreading the importance of mental health and self-care. If you can teach a child to love themselves correctly you can teach them to love others correctly.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

Luckily for self- published authors the majority of your cost comes from ordering proof copies and your stock to sell. Luckily I get to buy my books from my publisher at less than half the price that I sell it for, however even if the authors price is $4 a book, I still have to order 50 of them to sell. So the most important initial capital is the $150-200 to buy the books, to put on my personal website to sell. The other part is shipping, I found myself breaking even often once i shipped the books via local mailing so I am still trying to figure out a way to reduce shipping cost!

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Yes! I had to figure out a bunch of adobe office by myself and Google! I wish I would’ve been as educated on adobe products as I am Microsoft office.

Contact Info:

• Website: sabriches.com
• Instagram: @sabriychardsonn
• Facebook: Sabriyah Richardson
• Twitter: @sabrichardsonn

Image Credits
@Sabriychardsonn @AmariRenee_ @squidlik