Naleighna Kai Builds a Tribe Destined for Success!
Naleigha Kai made her introduction to the literary world by giving away books, a gesture set to introduce her to readers being the newbie on the block; not only did it do that, but it also landed her a publishing deal with Simon and Schuster.
Over the years, she jet-settled amongst the literary greats and worked with some of your favorite author's favorite authors, and in each book, she was telling her story her way.
Never to be compared to a one-trick pony over her career working with some sought-after editors, she learned writing and editing. She understood early on that #BooksAreABusiness and could not understand the stories but the business. She also had a son, Jeremy, with a writing talent that landed him an NAACP Image Award nomination at 16. In recent years, Kai has assisted many authors in turning their literary dreams into published realities as affectionately known as the book whisperer.
Naleighna formed a tribe of like-minded people who wanted success and longevity like her. She has successfully put together the Calvacade of Authors, and what was a Chicago event, has ventured to the Bahamas and Dubai. To date, she is an award-winning National best-selling author, literary agent, and the newest mentee at the Seymour Agency. As the industry is ever-changing, she is now sitting amongst those in a position to turn books into film, and of course, the tribe will reap those benefits.
Lissa Lissa and The Cult Jam or LL, as I often refer to her, can be your mama, auntie, lawyer, confidant, prayer partner, and writer, who is not just your average writer. If she clicks with you and believes in you, she will push you, guide and nurture you, red pen your entire manuscript, demand you do better, and help you see what she already sees in you.
Her latest venture brings together 200 authors from various genres with one common goal; to bring authors to readers, and Tribe Called Success is doing just that from August 4-6th, readers will get free books! All you have to do is follow the hashtag #ilikefreebooks and sign up on her website. www.naleighnakai.com So, of course, I had to chop it up briefly with this literary superwoman.
KG: What do you want readers to take away from the WE LIKE FREE BOOKS event?
NK: they now have the start of a great series and some fantastic authors they might come to love. It's like Stuff Your Kindle Day, but this is for ALL genres, not just romance. It'll be about 200 plus of curated content, so I checked reviews for content and tried to ensure it was excellent across the board. I wanted readers to have a great to decent selection to choose from.
KG: You wear many hats. Which one would be the one you are most passionate about? Why?
NK: It has changed. I will always have a love for writing. But leaning into my literary agent career brings a different level of satisfaction. Ensuring authors find a good publishing home with a marketing and publicity team supporting them is pure gold.
KG: What made you create a Tribe Called Success? What was your initial goal?
NK: We started as M-LAS (Macro Literary All Stars), then NK Promo Partners, then NK's Tribe Called Success. Each leg of this journey taught me something different. We had a different focus each time. Writing anthologies, romance, working with genres that were different than what we aspired to, landing book deals with traditional publishing houses, supporting each other in personal endeavors. These authors aren't just sisters and brothers in the pen; they are family.
KG: The tribe has put out several successful best-selling series and excellent books, too; what made you bring the love of food and reading together?
NK: Ah!! The cookbooks have been an excellent marketing tool. Some of our most incredible memories are around certain dishes made by a loved one. So using a cookbook to share that love and those memories with readers has made us stand out. We now have four!!
KG: There has been a stigma about self-published authors; what do you do to set yourself aside from that with the tribe?
NK: We strive for dynamic COVERS, great CONTENT, and top-level CROSS PROMOTION. These three have been the driving factor behind our efforts, and we have an in-house team of developmental editors, content editors, line editors, alpha and beta readers, an award-winning graphic design team, consultants, and so much more. We aim to make our series concepts unique and something the reader will read more than once and recommend to others.