JKeonte - Dark Hearts Author

Jkeonte  

[00:00:00] DexsidePart3: So being an independent author, have you done any sort of independent markets or what have you done to sort of get things going with your book? 

[00:00:10] JKeonte Part3: Yeah. 

[00:00:10] So I have, done a lot of indie markets, where I go out. I sell my book of course, and you know, I talk to people about it. So. We get into a lot of different things. We talk about, you know, my father, um, take taking his life. Uh, we talk about, uh, just the wellness of people. You know, we, we tend to not keep our wellness. 

[00:00:43] You know, we tend to let different energies interact with our spirit and. It just, we were out here all chaotic, but focusing on our own wellness [00:01:00] allows us to push all that negative energy away and, you know, focus more on our wellbeing. So the wellness against suicide. Initiative is just to just get out there and, you know, talking to more people about speaking about their emotions, you know, um,  

[00:01:26] DexsidePart3: Yeah. 

[00:01:27] JKeonte Part3: there's always something that can be done or someone that you can talk to. 

[00:01:31] There's always someone that is there for you, even when you don't think it is. Um, uh, a random stranger can be, you know, The light at the end of the tunnel, you know, uh, a metaphor they might come up with or anything even your own, your own thoughts can be that light, that just that guiding light. It's just, you know, just [00:02:00] channeling your inner, your inner self and, you know, talking it out. 

[00:02:07] It's really, so that's one of the things. When I go to these different events, I focus on, you know, I talk about my book and, you know, I signed copies. I signed, uh, 

[00:02:21] DexsidePart3: whatever 

[00:02:21] JKeonte Part3: different messages. Yeah. 

[00:02:23] Like I try to connect with people. And in that moment that we connect with, I try to give them their own personal message, when I signed copies, unless, you know, unless it's a line of people that, you know, I got there, I got to get in signature mode and just  

[00:02:36] DexsidePart3: Yeah.  

[00:02:36] JKeonte Part3: with it.  

[00:02:37] DexsidePart3: I imagine you get a sense of catharsis, uh, cleansing. Every time you try and help someone individually. 

[00:02:44] JKeonte Part3: I do. Um, it's actually, um, it's, it's bittersweet, uh, because when it came to like my dad, I seen him, uh, I sent him a message like, um, [00:03:00] two days before, you know, uh, he, he did it or whatnot and. I was, I was, I was angry with him because he wasn't like he was taking his time responding. But in this, in this moment, it's like, my dad was really dealing with stuff. 

[00:03:19] Like he was really going through like so much. And you never know what a person is really going through when you're putting your weight on top of them as well. So I was, I was upset with him. Um, I was getting. I was getting pushed back from the editing company that I was using to do the cover of my book and they weren't, they weren't doing it right. 

[00:03:49] And I sent my dad a copy of the, uh, the cover and he was like, it looks amazing. [00:04:00] Um, just make sure what is on the inside reflects what's on the outside of the. And it will do well. And that's the last conversation I had with him. And that was just, it was so when it comes to talking to others, that bitter sweet moment comes at the point where it's like, you've gotten through to them and it's just, you know,  

[00:04:38] DexsidePart3: Yeah. That's, uh, that's pretty heavy. This, this might be. The hardest interview I've had a deal with because I identify with everything that you said, you know, those, those feelings. I have kind of a weird relationship with my dad. I love him, but I don't know if we, you know, he always respects me and, you know, we just don't always see eye to [00:05:00] eye with things it's always a lecture and stuff, but that doesn't mean I don't love him or anything like that. 

[00:05:06] So shout out to you pop. Oh, one of these days, you can understand some of my stupid jokes. So, but yeah, that's it, you know, reaching out to people is it's, you know, cause reaching out to somebody, it might just change the entire day. It might, might even change, you know, I hate to say it, but my changing entire lives and you know, sometimes we just got to do for each other and we ended up doing more for ourselves by doing for somebody else. 

[00:05:36] JKeonte Part3: right.  

[00:05:36] DexsidePart3: But that's just me adding  

[00:05:38] JKeonte Part3: way that you, the way that you, uh, describe the relationship with your dad is 100% the same relationship. Um, with, with my father, it was, it was just like, you can't, you can't win for losing. It's just like. Like pops. Like what, What  

[00:05:59] DexsidePart3: What do you [00:06:00] think it's a generational thing? You know? Cause  

[00:06:01] JKeonte Part3: it probably  

[00:06:02] DexsidePart3: the Southern authoritative type,  

[00:06:05] JKeonte Part3: Yeah, this is like,  

[00:06:06] DexsidePart3: say my humor. 

[00:06:08] JKeonte Part3: it's, it's my way or the highway. 

[00:06:11] Um, like he called himself like the real old G like he was just hardcore, like. He didn't have to be. And that's one of the last things. That's one of the last things that I said to him. When I saw him face to face, because his then wife had just passed away and all of that stuff had a lot to deal with, like do with it. 

[00:06:34] So I went out there to see him and because he lived in Colorado, that's why when I saw Yeah. 

[00:06:41] DexsidePart3: Yeah.  

[00:06:41] JKeonte Part3: oh Yeah. 

[00:06:42] Yeah. Yeah. 

[00:06:43] DexsidePart3: Yeah. 

[00:06:44] JKeonte Part3: he lived in Colorado. So I went out there to see him and, you know, I told him, I said, you know, you don't have to be so hard, you know, it's not, you can, you can have emotions. Like it's it's okay. 

[00:06:59] And, and, [00:07:00] and as I was going through his stuff, like his text messages and things or whatnot, he, he made reference to that. When he was sending out a message to someone. And to me, that hurt me because I was like, dang, maybe I, maybe I said it too harsh. Like maybe I didn't have to go in too hard or whatever with them, but I felt like, like, Pop's like, you know, it's okay to have a soft spot. 

[00:07:33] It's okay to. To love like yo son, like it's okay to like, give me a hug. You know, what I'm saying? Like, it's, it's all right. You know what I'm saying? But, uh, 

[00:07:47] DexsidePart3: You know, it's 

[00:07:49] JKeonte Part3: you know,  

[00:07:50] DexsidePart3: yeah,  

[00:07:50] JKeonte Part3: he didn't, he didn't receive it.  

[00:07:53] DexsidePart3: yeah. It's, it's funny because that really got me thinking about how different my father [00:08:00] is with me versus his grandkids. Just like, where were, where was this? When I was  

[00:08:06] JKeonte Part3: Yeah,  

[00:08:07] DexsidePart3: where was all this? And, you know, I think. Time, you know, if you give things enough time, you know, people change perspective chains, you know, you know, I, I, I still to this day go to my parents for advice on parents. 

[00:08:23] You know, even though like they created me, so I'm like, how am I going to you for advice? I know what you did all those years. I know who you are. I know  

[00:08:33] JKeonte Part3: Right,  

[00:08:34] DexsidePart3: you grounded me. I remember you turn them off that Nintendo, you know, just, you know, all those little things. And, um, you know, I, I got good parents. 

[00:08:43] I love them to death. But I, I see how they treat their grandkids and I'm like, man, Yeah. I don't know what I went through when I was younger, man. I have no idea, but I guess, you know, again, given enough time and people, [00:09:00] people change, people definitely change, but I want to get back on this whole book thing, because honestly, you're the first author I've interviewed for the show and, you know, going through the indie route, you mentioned having an editor. 

[00:09:15] What, what all did this editor do for you? 

[00:09:18] JKeonte Part3: so I'm the editor. Basically, you know, edited the, the manuscript. They went through and was like, all right, this needs to be connected. This is too wordy, you know, they, they went through the whole thing and  

[00:09:42] DexsidePart3: But you mentioned the cover art. They did the cover art for you also. So 

[00:09:47] JKeonte Part3: did. So 

[00:09:48] I gave them a concept. I told them what I wanted. I wanted a hand holding an apple, a snake wrapped around and the roots from a tree[00:10:00]  

[00:10:00] DexsidePart3: Uh, 

[00:10:01] JKeonte Part3: and they couldn't get it right. This, that back there, that that's not what they came up with. And we were going at it for like three, four months. It's just like, This is not what I want. And, and, and it, it, it seems like when you see like on TV and you see like certain people, like going in on people or whatever, and you think, Hey, he's being a little bit hard. Sometimes that's what you have to be. And I that's, I that's one of the things that, that I started to, to, to learn, to start to figure out, because, you know, you always want to be respectful, but.  

[00:10:42] DexsidePart3: yeah. 

[00:10:43] JKeonte Part3: A lot of people they'll, they'll give you the bare minimum of what they feel like they can get away with. And in this scenario, it really, it made me upset because, this was in 

[00:10:56] November 20, 20, [00:11:00] I was done with my book and I'm giving them this stuff we done. We done got. It's going on. We're done with that. 

[00:11:08] And I was the cover. Um, my, my dad, uh, died in February, February 15th, 2021.  

[00:11:18] DexsidePart3: Oh,  

[00:11:19] JKeonte Part3: And I feel like had they done their job? Yeah. 

[00:11:23] I could've, I could've signed my dad's copy, but, and then it wasn't until after that, after my dad passed that I, that I really liked. Got hard on them because they were dragging their feet on what I wanted. 

[00:11:38] So  

[00:11:39] DexsidePart3: for yourself?  

[00:11:40] JKeonte Part3: right. And I told him, I said, if you guys can't do, if you can't get what I'm asking for, then just give me, give me my stuff back and then I'll find someone else. And the next, like a week later they had what I asked for.  

[00:11:58] DexsidePart3: Oh, okay. Yeah. 

[00:11:59] JKeonte Part3: it was just [00:12:00] like, well, if I would've came with that energy, You know, maybe I could have saved a life, but it was just like, that's, that's just, that's just how life is you live and you learn, you know, experiences they happen after the fact, you know,  

[00:12:24] DexsidePart3: Unfortunately, that's the physics of it. Yeah. It does happen after, you know, you know, last I heard some German companies trying to work on that, so, but yeah. You know, but it is what it is. 

[00:12:36] JKeonte Part3: I got them. I got them to get me this. And immediately when I saw it, I was, I was satisfied. I was like, this is what, this is what I wanted.  

[00:12:47] DexsidePart3: Oh, that's what's  

[00:12:47] JKeonte Part3: that's what I.  

[00:12:49] DexsidePart3: Yeah. Cool. Cool. Cool. So while you were out, you know, on the independent markets, were you talking to some of the other authors? Are they giving you tips or, you know, [00:13:00] best practices? Nope,  

[00:13:01] JKeonte Part3: no,  

[00:13:02] DexsidePart3: they do. They see you as competition? I mean, we can all eat.  

[00:13:07] JKeonte Part3: like, uh, I didn't, I didn't know any, um, my uncle sent me a few. Authors. And it was just like, I really didn't want to talk to him. 

[00:13:24] I don't know. 

[00:13:24] it was, is this. And maybe I should have, because like the, the road of being a self published author and, having the backing of a publication company is. Lightyears from one another, you know, you got marketing. It's like everything costs like everything costs. So however you're, you're marketing, you're going through, just ads either you're. 

[00:13:55] You're doing ads from Google ads from, um, [00:14:00] Uh, Amazon ads from Barnes and noble, just ads, ads, ads, ads, and everything cost per click. And you have to pay for words.  

[00:14:13] DexsidePart3: Oh, yeah. I know marketing keywords.  

[00:14:16] JKeonte Part3: And then the key words and those words, some, some are cheap, some are expensive. So, you know, just, but having that backing from, publication, company is different from doing it yourself. 

[00:14:31] You know, you, you got to get out there and you got to grind  

[00:14:35] DexsidePart3: Yes. The also leveraged their other, their other authors, so if they, if they have an email list of people that like true crime fiction or something like that, true crime or whatever they know to go back to those same people and say, Hey, this is our, our latest offering where you don't, you may not have that leverage. 

[00:14:55] You know, you may need to go door to door. You know, [00:15:00] someone like vacuums, you know, like that's the level of hustle that independent, but the, the other half of it is it's, it's your.  

[00:15:08] JKeonte Part3: everything is yours.  

[00:15:09] DexsidePart3: Everything's yours, bruh.  

[00:15:11] JKeonte Part3: Everything is yours. And, it's just doing it during it that way. I mean like the, the cuts, like selling, selling the book online, the cuts are So, like, and then even when I'm, when I'm talking to people and they say, oh, is it on Amazon? Like, you can definitely go buy it on Amazon, but you can get it from. 

[00:15:33] Like, give you a signed copy because they're, they're taking theirs off rip and it's just like the money that you paying online. I ain't re I didn't receive in half of that. So it's just like, it's a catch 22,  

[00:15:47] DexsidePart3: well Bezos does have to get to Mars. So, you know, so  

[00:15:51] JKeonte Part3: right,  

[00:15:52] DexsidePart3: that's how that works.  

[00:15:53] JKeonte Part3: exactly. So  

[00:15:55] DexsidePart3: Rocket fuel. Ain't gonna pay for itself. Uh, 

[00:15:58] JKeonte Part3: exact not, not, [00:16:00] not if they use them, what's coming from Russia.  

[00:16:02] DexsidePart3: Yeah, I guess not that's another podcast, but yeah, man. So let's, let's, let's go through this one more time. So you write your book, you go to editing company to, get your artwork and done and sort of, fine tune your book and everything. Then you get out into the independent markets and you don't meet any authors, but now are you that author that people can meet. 

[00:16:28] Okay. And maybe get some advice from, 

[00:16:31] JKeonte Part3: Yes. So anytime. Anytime. I see somebody and they, they approach me and they're like, Hey, do you have any pointers? You haven't. Yes. I, I can tell you, I can tell you what you need to do. Like, you, you can order a lot of author copies and just send them out. I send them out. Yeah. 

[00:16:53] You're giving away. You're giving away some free books, but the, the feedback, The [00:17:00] reviews that you're going to receive. 

[00:17:01] There's a lot of, there's a lot of ways to get noticed and that's one of that's one of the ways, also just, Media mail. That's a big thing. 

[00:17:15] DexsidePart3: Media mail. 

[00:17:17] JKeonte Part3: Yes.  

[00:17:18] DexsidePart3: Okay. Tell us about that. Tell us about that. 

[00:17:20] JKeonte Part3: So media mail, you can send. Any form of media in the mail for like low costs. Like, when I send, when I send out books, I package the price of the book, plus a couple of dollars for shipping and it's, it's inexpensive to do it That, way. 

[00:17:44] And if you are, you're getting a lot of, People requesting your books, then there you go. Medium.  

[00:17:54] DexsidePart3: that that sounds like a plan to me, man. That sounds like a plan. Are you, are [00:18:00] you trying to do any sort of, like other podcasts? Are you listening to the other or not listening, but are you speaking with other podcasts? Are you interviewing with them? Have you found a list of people to reach out to. 

[00:18:14] JKeonte Part3: hi, I haven't reached. Too. I've had people reach out to. 

[00:18:20] me, to do a podcast. I've done a couple. And 

[00:18:28] outside of that, I it's just like, I, I guess I got to show a little more initiative on that. But you know, I take them as they come,  

[00:18:37] DexsidePart3: well, well, which interviewer was the best and why was it me 

[00:18:46] JKeonte Part3: I would say, um,  

[00:18:50] DexsidePart3: bruh? You don't have to butter my muffin, man. I was just, I was just joking. You don't have,  

[00:18:55] JKeonte Part3: I thoroughly enjoy, I thoroughly enjoy doing the [00:19:00] interviews. I think this interview was more, What word am I looking for?  

[00:19:06] DexsidePart3: Cathartic. that we haven't used that earlier in the podcast, but  

[00:19:11] JKeonte Part3: you, it w it's more personable.  

[00:19:15] DexsidePart3: Yeah.  

[00:19:16] JKeonte Part3: So like  

[00:19:17] DexsidePart3: things organic. Yeah. You  

[00:19:20] JKeonte Part3: there, I'll give you that it's more organic.  

[00:19:22] DexsidePart3: Okay. I'll take organic. You know what I'm saying? Oh, yeah. I'll definitely do that. You know, that's, that's what I really want to do here with this is I want to inspire people. I want to, you know, take your voice and amplify it out to people so they know what you're doing, man. 

[00:19:36] So they didn't know who to go to for advice. So if they're at that, that, that mental health place, they got someone to reach out to. Can you name that organization one more time? I want the people to hear from me. 

[00:19:50] JKeonte Part3: Thewas.co it's the wellness against suicide? The private foundation that I created in my dad's [00:20:00] name. It's the Warney Ray Smith Jr foundation. I'm currently trying to, you know, take that to the moon. That's that's another that's another beast is, and then it was like handling both of these at the same time, you know, it's just  

[00:20:21] DexsidePart3: Oh, yeah. 

[00:20:23] JKeonte Part3: so I dedicated the book to my dad. 

[00:20:25] I wrote him a letter in the back of the book. Really? Just it's a, it's really an emotional letter. Um, I just wrote out everything. I felt like it just. Everything that I had gathered, uh, with the whole situation that happened. Uh, I was, I went out there to Colorado and the investigator, uh, because I was angry to myself. 

[00:20:52] I ain't no way in hell that he did that. And it just, it [00:21:00] came to be. What it was so, um, creating that foundation was really at the same time of me publishing my book. And it's, it's almost a year, uh, may I published it in may, so Yeah. 

[00:21:21] just, just driving with that.  

[00:21:26] DexsidePart3: Oh right  

[00:21:27] JKeonte Part3: why, that's why it's, it's almost like one in the same, you know? Like for me. 

[00:21:34] it's, it's hard to talk about one without talking about the other,  

[00:21:38] DexsidePart3: Yeah. Yeah,  

[00:21:40] JKeonte Part3: at the same.  

[00:21:42] DexsidePart3: yeah, yeah. I completely understand. I completely understand that. Well, you know, I want to definitely thank you for sharing all that with me and everyone that's listening and, but let's, let's, let's get what I want to ask you. This. You know, it took you what, 15 years to [00:22:00] write that book. 

[00:22:01] Do I got to wait another 15 years for another one to come out? Or what, what do we got going on, man? You got some in the future. 

[00:22:08] JKeonte Part3: Yeah, I have a, I have a few books that I'm working on now. The closest one to being done is, uh, it's called washed, it's it's about a carwash, but the word is interchangeable, about just like different ways that the word is used. How society brainwashes us into going down a particular path and how it also uses us to launder like different things that they're doing.  

[00:22:50] DexsidePart3: Oh, okay. Okay. So I get the first signed copies of what I'm hearing. 

[00:22:54] JKeonte Part3: Hey, it's done. You get a copy.  

[00:22:58] DexsidePart3: That's what's up. That's [00:23:00] what's up tell people where they can find your book, and we're not going to give the Amazon link in the notes. We're going to give the link directly to you because I want, I want everything to go to the author and to reward all of his hard work. So go ahead and, and let us know where we can get a copy of the book from you signed mad. 

[00:23:19] JKeonte Part3: Okay. You can hit me up on Instagram. Darkheart_ Jkeonte. Just send me a message@darkheart_jkiante or thewas.co@yahoo.com. Send me an email and I'll send you a copy. Just go from.  

[00:23:42] DexsidePart3: Okay. I'm also going to keep a copy of the information in the show notes. So everybody follow us. And, if you're on iTunes, go ahead and rate and review. Just want to give a big thanks out to everybody. I definitely want to give a big thanks out to you for sharing so much, man. 

[00:23:57] I'm getting chills thinking about all [00:24:00] that. It's, uh, it was a lot, man, you know, Everything that you have to carry around and, and get through and going out and helping other people. You know, I really I'm really looking out for your journey, bro. I'm really, really seeing what you're doing. And man, if you, if you listen closely, you'll always hear me clapping. For you. 

[00:24:19] All right. 

[00:24:20] JKeonte Part3: I appreciate that. I thank you for having me on.  

[00:24:24] DexsidePart3: All right. Thanks man. All right, so everybody listening out there, you can find us on Spotify, apple, or wherever you listen. Go ahead. And in the show notes, you will find the, our website, um, in the black, uh, podcast on Instagram, uh, comment on the show on the Facebook page. Um, and if you want to get on the show, just hit me up. 

[00:24:47] Have a great day. Y'all.