NeNe Capri is a best-selling author with a degree in philosophy/law, and has written several best-selling novels. She is also the pen behind multiple New York Times and Essence magazine, USA Today, and Amazon best-selling authors for companies such as Simon & Schuster and Kensington.
Capri started her own publishing company, Boss Lady Publishing, in 2014, where she is the creative director and consultant for both contracted and independent authors who went on to become New York Times best-sellers. Her clients’ books generate tens of thousands in monthly revenue, and to date, continue to move millions of units.
Capri has a busy slate
With Capri’s success as a top-tier writer, publisher, and storyline developer, she is currently a co-producer with a slate of television series, docuseries, and motion picture productions with budgets over $30 million. She spoke to Isys Jay for rolling out and their conversation follows.
What is your profession, what is your company name, what are your responsibilities and why did you select your career?
Absolutely, I am NeNe Capri, best-selling author. I do have my own publishing company called Boss Lady Publishing, and I am now into film. I have Real Raw Films, and I’m out here as a producer and director in these Hollywood streets. A writer by birth, not just by choice. Writing to me is breath — without writing, I don’t breathe. So, there’s nothing without writing. I’m able to now take my writing and see it in motion.
What are you actively thinking about when you’re writing?
I like to give people what they want, right? And I like to make sure that what I’m writing mirrors what someone has gone through, what I’m going through, or what you may possibly go through. So I pull from all real-life experiences and I just colorize them a little, you know, to be able to protect the innocent.
As a Black woman, what do you consider your superpower to be?
To be able to say it and then do it. Whatever it is, you can dream of it, you can do it.
What thoughtful or encouraging piece of advice would you give to your younger self?
The only thing that I learned was that I still have yet to learn.
Why is it important for women of color to work in leadership roles and decision-making capacities?
I believe that leadership is not bound to color or race, no gender. It is something that is innate. Either you are, or you are not.
If you could thank any person for their contributions in your space, who would that person be?
I would have to say my grandmother. My grandmother raised me with strong convictions. She was a strong Black woman, and anytime I do anything in life, I always have to write in any dedication that, ‘I’m almost who she wanted me to be.’
As a successful woman in business, what is your greatest or proudest achievement?
The best thing I have ever done in my life, out of everything I’ve done — I have two law degrees, I have a minor in African American studies, I’ve written over 20 books and been a New York Times best-seller — but the best job I’ve ever had and the greatest work I’ve ever done is my daughter.
As an owner of a publishing company, what are some common misconceptions in your space?
The work needs to be edited, formatted, proofread. You know, you have to let someone else see that work. You can’t just tell the story to yourself. The first time you tell it, you tell it to yourself. Then once an editor gets on it and you get back on it, that’s when the real work comes to life.
If an author comes to work with you, what kind of experience can they expect?
One, I’m not going to lie to you, so I won’t throw you any shade and go, ‘Oh God, it’s so great.’ I’m going to give it to you the real way that it needs to be given to you. I just wrote a book called “Just Write It, Damn It,” and it comes out at the end of the month. But I take you from soup to nuts and help you understand what writing is, how to sculpt that writing, and how to sculpt your characters. Anybody can tell a story, but can you tell it right? Who are you talking to, and how are they going to receive it? And then, what ingredients do you need to make sure that this is being consumed and accepted worldwide?
How does technology assist you in your space?
I never sit so high that I think my computer is a boundary between me and my audience. I like to get out there, I like to shake hands, I like to see my readers, I like to hug them, touch them, feel them. But social media makes it a little easier in that I have people in the UK, I have people in Japan, people who can’t get to me, they can still reach me because of social media. So that part is a blessing. But you have to still do the real work.
