We were lucky to catch up with Sa’id Salaam recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Sa’id thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Parents can play a significant role in affecting how our lives and careers turn out – and so we think it’s important to look back and have conversations about what our parents did that affected us positive (or negatively) so that we can learn from the billions of experiences in each generation. What’s something you feel your parents did right that impacted you positively.
My love of literature stems from the bedtime stories my mother would read to me as a child. She would really get into character as she read. Different voices and inflections. I remember being amazed that all of those exciting adventures where in those words and pages.
Reading was big in our household. My mother would post new vocabulary words each week. I would learn them, use them and claim them for life.
So becoming an author came so naturally to me.
Sa’id, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I have wanted to be an author since I was three years old. However life, bills, family and responsibilities kept me from pursuing this art from. It was an article by Terri Woods regarding self publishing that I discovered it could be a viable profession.
I submitted my first manuscript to several agents since agents are required to secure a deal with any of the major publishers.
None shared my vision and didn’t like my particular prose. I ended up signing with a small independent publisher and released my first book in 2012. Readers spread the word and my career was launched.
Fortunately for me the publisher was shady and didn’t pay me. The beach of contract allowed me to recover my publishing rights. I have been independent ever since.
It seems to be working for me since I’ve managed to sell over one million books as an independent author.
Have you ever had to pivot?
My childhood dreams of being an author were derailed my adult life. Bills and mouths to feed dictated to put the dream on the shelf and provide for my family. I was a single dad also caring for a disabled parent. No time to be staring off into space thinking about characters, dialogue and scenery. My entire life and family were derailed when I found myself in jail for a crime I didn’t commit.
I refused to just lay down and die, instead I picked up a pen. I try to make the best of this unfortunate situation and keep my mind free.
Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?
Being an independent author is a daunting task. Add incarceration and it adds an element of impossible. I lost everything I worked for in life and had no resources.
I didn’t let it stop me though. I used a flip phone to write and submit my books. I would flip whatever royalties I made into the next project.
Contact Info:
- Website: Saidsalaam.com
- Instagram: Saidsalaam
- Facebook: Sa’id Salaam
- Twitter: SaidSalaam
- Youtube: Sa’id Salaam
- Other: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=sa%27id+salaam+kindle+books&crid=4ILK03T3E4TU&sprefix=Sa%27id+Salaam%2Caps%2C326&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_1_12