Yanatha Desouvre arrived from Haiti to the United States at the age of three, knowing very little English, but now he is a prolific author of books written in English, in every genre from poetry, to fiction, to a children’s book that he co-authored with his nearly five-year old daughter.
Raised partly in Brooklyn, New York and partly in Philadelphia in the late 1980s, Desouvre is a one-man publishing phenomenon, taking advantage of the electronic publishing platform, in addition to the traditional print medium to publish his works that also include an unconventional self-help book series “Walk Through the Journey”, as well as audio books.
He didn’t start out studying publishing formally. He attended Drexel University for his undergraduate studies and earned a dual degree in Management Information Systems and Marketing. Desouvre has since earned a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Lynn University. He’s currently working towards a doctorate degree in Education, which more than makes sense, considering the educational, personal improvement and empowerment aspects of the book and audio products he’s produced.
The author-entrepreneur-IT expert’s knowledge of computer systems has helped him considerably in integrating technology and publishing. Apart from his publishing endeavors, Desouvre is also a motivational speaker on the roster of the Quest Talent Agency, and he frequently lectures on self-development and personal growth.
Q & A
“My Heart Aches and I’m Trembling (Ayiti Cheri)” is a poem that you wrote.
I wrote “My Heart Aches and I’m Trembling (Ayiti Cheri)” the day after the devastating earthquake in Haiti. What inspired it? When it comes to writing poetry, for me, everything can be inspirational from the good, the bad and the ugly. I physically could not stop shaking the only thing I can do is write, it’s part of Walk Through this Journey: Volume 2, The Next Forward (Special Edition) excessively available on Lulu.com along with other books I’ve been fortunate to self-publish. It’s also in the mobile apps Proud Haitian/Proud to Be Haitian I created almost a year later for the iPhone, iPod touch, iPads and Android Devices. The apps were created for two reasons: one out of sense of defiance because I was passed up for a promotion and also for my beautiful children.
You have an MBA from Lynn University. Has that come in handy in the field of publishing?
The MBA from Lynn University helped me hone on my marketing and communication tactics to build on my digital footprint as an author.
Walk Through This Journey: Volume 2, The Next Step Forward is your latest book.
Walk Through This Journey: Volume 2 The Next Step Forward is the second part of the Journey Trilogy. The final Journey book will be titled Walk Through this Journey: Volume 3: Rising Above it All ; it will be a book that consists of essays and poems on how to turn tragedy into triumph. Having loved and lost and identifying ways to rise above it all as we all go through this journey called life. My most recent book was A Family Affair: Inspirational Short Stories and Poetry about Family and Faith now available on Lulu.com, amazon.com and Apple’s iTunes store. I plan to also have an audiobook for all the books as well. Currently Volume 1 has a audiobook on iTunes.
Do you remember the first book you read that made an impression on you?
S.E Hinton’s The Outsiders. It reminded of the trouble we all can get into with our friends and that real friends stick with you through the end. The Purpose Driven Life book is a book I highly recommend everyone to read.
What’s next for you in terms of books?
I am working on my first non-creative book Life is About Purpose (Not Position) A Guide to Actionable and Effective Leadership —Fall 2013. Then my first kids book titled Big Sister, Little Sister mostly written by my four and a half-year-old daughter. I figured if she could write it, she can read it and hopefully other kids her age can do the same. Half of the profits from the book will go to a literacy program. In the process of looking for one now.
What advice do you have for those who want to get into publishing?
The self-publishing route, which Apple recently featured on their iTunes store, is the best way to go, because the companies are out there like Lulu, Authorhouse, Createspace—a division of Amazon.com—and much more. Subscribe to a magazine like Poets and Writers for amazing resources. Do not chase agents they will come to you. E-books are outselling printed books, so do not let get left behind. Definitely copyright your work as manuscript through copyright.gov. Make sure you have an editor and be ready to several calls to your local libraries, bookstores to doing readings from your book however get ready to be rejected. See the challenge of rejections as an opportunity for growth and inspiration.
Your undergraduate degree is in technology. Did you initially want to be a writer?
I wanted to be lawyer—thanks to Kenneth Murphy—who gave me my first job at 16 years old at a law firm he worked in. I also wanted to compose music for films when I was younger, however my technology hobby became more than a hobby. For sixteen years now I’ve worked as an IT professional, currently creating mobile apps and much more. I have a passion to empower others. It just happens I am fortunate enough to do this through the IT work I do and hopefully my writings. When it came to writing a book, I did not want to do it because my older brother, Steiman Desouvre, was the first to publish a book called Sole Songs also available on Amazon. I did not want to follow my brothers’ footsteps. The entrepreneur in me wanted to create my own path. It was Jason Fleurant, a phenomenal artist, whom I first befriended on MySpace around 2006. I posted several blogs of my poetry [on that social network] and was humbled by all the subscribers and feedback I received from all [over] the world from China to Costa Rica, [and Fleurant asked] when is the book coming out. Thanks to Jason asking that question and the demand was there for my very personal poems that have universal themes of friends, love, lost, family and faith, as the female emcee Rapsody says the “rest is the future.”
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