Are "Black Books" Necessary?

I am publishing a book this spring entitled "Why Men Fear Marriage." It is written by a very talented author, who has a bunch of successful novels. As a man, in his thirties who has been running away from the altar, he wanted to put the reasons why in a book for women -- all women -- to gain some insight into the mind of a man. It's brilliant. There's only one problem. He's black.

The College Survival Guide

A Fridge
Regardless of whether you have a wonderful sized meal plan, your fridge may come in handy with leftovers or when you feel like stocking it with bottled drinks.

Computer
The convenience of a computer is essential when sending your kids off to college. Forget the hike to the computer lab across campus students need a computer in the comfort of their room. A printer comes in handy as well. Depending on whether your child plans to carry his laptop around campus, you might opt for a desk top since they're lighter on the pockets.

Snacks
You will surely survive with off of a meal plan but it doesn't hurt to stock up on snacks when you don't feel like leaving your dorm room. Bottled water, pop corn, cereal and Ramen noodles are all low budget snacks to stock up on. Just be weary of the freshman 15.

Things from home
Some college students suffer from homesickness the first year. It's best to surround yourself with things like photos of the family, pillows or even stuffed animals. Anything that reminds your child of home.

MP3 Player
With all the stress that comes from school and exams, sometimes it's nice to block out the chaos in your life and even your roommate with music. It's nearly impossible to find students walking to class who aren't jamming to tunes.

Budget
Students who enter college often come in at the ripening age of 18. A great time for credit cards. Parents beware, your child may end up ruining their credit at a young age

Alarm Clock
When you're in college you don't have the luxury of getting awaken by your parents. It's now your responsibility to get to class on time so alarm clocks are a must. But keep your roommate in mind. You shouldn't wake him up ever morning with a blow horn alarm.

Cleaning supplies
Now you don't necessarily need to bring in the rubber gloves, mop and gas mask but it doesn't hurt to bring along Clorox all purpose wipes for spills or dust. Vacuums and brooms come in handy too depending if you have a carpeted dorm.

Bedding
What most parents aren't aware of is that most college beds are twin sized but extra long and require special sheets. When shopping keep your eye open for sheets that clearly state 'extra long' or else your child may come up short.

Shower shoes
You really don't know what some people do in the shower these days. College showers are known to be creeping with germs so spare yourself the fungus and purchase flip flops for the shower. You'll thank us later!

I had lunch with a major publisher yesterday and we discussed the placement of this book. She suggested selling it as a "black" book because he has an audience and a track record there. But I feel it will be a disservice to him. Aren't there millions of white women who aren't married and want to know why? And would they pick up this book if it were in the black section?

So the larger question then becomes, do white people buy "black books" or books by black authors? We know they buy black music. But it hasn't yet been proven in book publishing.

Penguin released a very powerful money book last year entitled "Get Real, Get Rich." The cover is very generic, no author photo, and no references to any ethnicity or race. The author, Farrah Gray happens to be black, but Penguin decided to sell it as a mainstream money book.

It didn't sell well, despite being excellent. Would it have done better if it were a black book?

"The ghettoizing of books can actually help sales," said Tracy Sherrod, of the Tracy Sherrod Literary Agency, once a senior editor at Pocket Books and Henry Holt. "It makes it easier for an audience to find that author. I believe if black people knew that a black man wrote 'Get Real, Get Rich,' it would have done much better. You find oftentimes once we put our stamp of approval on something, white people-even if it's out of curiosity-will try it. That's what happened with Terry McMillan."

I'll admit, when I go into a bookstore, I do head to the African-American section first to see what's there. But I also get a little annoyed that the section is buried somewhere in the back of the store. And I wonder what would happen if we eliminated the black section. Categories are necessary. They have Religion, Young Adult, Self-Help, Financial and a bunch of other sections.

But Black or African-American, is that necessary? Or should our books be mainstreamed in according to the subject matter just the way everyone else's books are?

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