Meet Braxton Cosby

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Braxton Cosby. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Braxton below.

Hi Braxton, thanks for sharing your insights with our community today. Part of your success, no doubt, is due to your work ethic and so we’d love if you could open up about where you got your work ethic from?

I’d say I definitely got my work ethic from my mother, Sharon. Being in a single-parent household and being raised by both my grandmother (Francis) and my mother, I had a backseat perspective to a lot of hard work. My grandmother and mother both worked full jobs from 9 to 5 and it was important for me to hold up my end of the bargain for them, by doing my best in school and any extracurricular activities. “Attention to detail” was the constant that they always preached, and it was not remiss. I always envision myself finishing every job I start, and being very meticulous in all of the details that make the work stand out. They never really forced me to do anything, but they were always there to encourage me every step of the way in any task I took on. I will be eternally grateful for those two strong women in my life who really drove me to the best version of myself.
Also, my wife Shontel is my right hand. She is always so supportive and backs me in all my endeavors. I can lean on her at any time and feel totally secure that she will only impart criticism that is geared at making me better as a professional and a human being. We trust one another whole-heartedly and I know she has my best interests in mind. In this world, I feel that everyone needs that backbone that will fight with you in the trenches and hold you up at your most challenging times.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

Currently, I am busy with various projects for our small press company Cosby Media Productions, Incorporated. We are also very busy with the day-to-day tasks such as running promotions and managing social media posts and interacting with our readers and fans. As of late, we continue to rev up production and managing of new projects for our comic imprint, Starchild Comics. Personally, I am working on finishing up three projects which I’m keeping very near and dear to my heart. One is a Comic Book graphic novel and a children’s book. There’ll be more to talk about in the upcoming months, but right now just know that I am working with some talented people in the industry who are going to make these stories amazing and I cannot wait to introduce them to the world. Also, since 2014, as a company, I am proud to say that Cosby Media Productions has helped our authors win multiple awards, gain recognition in the world of literature, and publish some of my favorite stories to date. We have successfully published over 30 authors with 60 titles in e-book, audiobook, and paperback formats. Since Starchild Comics launched, we have also published over eight comic books that continue to advance the stories of these wonderful authors that have been created in the novels. We consider ourselves at this point to be a hybrid, small press company, that tells our stories in both novel and comic book formats. This gives us a particular identity in the world of literature and publishing, which gives our fans and readers the option to choose how they would like to be entertained. Where we see ourselves going in the future is continuing to provide fantastic content that now crosses over into the next level of entertainment, with possible movie and television adaptations. But right now, we are staying committed to what has been our strength and that has been making fantastic stories, in the platforms of written and visual media. I think that this is why we’ve been so successful, and as of late, we’ve finally broken that glass ceiling, earning over 5 distinctive awards for entertainment and publishing. We are truly proud of our stories and the authors that write them.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Looking back, I would say that for me, there are three qualities or skills that I feel are vital in one’s approach to being successful. One quality is perseverance. You’re not gonna get anywhere in life if you just give up after the first failure. I once heard somebody say that you learn more with failure than you do with success, and I heartily believe that that is true. The second quality I have and continue to develop is one of a creative mind. I am so blessed that God has given me the gift of vision. It is something that has helped me through my professional and personal life concerning the creation of ideas and philosophies while working with patients in my job as a clinician/physical therapist/coach, and with creating these wonderful stories that I’ve been able to tell since  2011. Since then, I’ve been fortunate to write one trilogy, and a five-book superhero series in partnership with four other amazing authors, which has been an absolute lifelong dream of mine. To see my own characters in their costumes with their own idiosyncrasies, flaws, and strengths, go through an entire 4 Stage story arc, and end in an epic battle against this wonderful supervillain named Stratus in Infinity 7: War of Gods, was just a true dream come true. Lastly, I would say the final skill you have to have is navigating people. You cannot get very far in this business without people skills. Being able to approach people and talk about the books and the stories I’ve created as an author, also professionally working with patients and athletes as a physical therapist and track coach, is no easy undertaking. Over the years I cannot begin to tell you how many rooms or homes I’ve sat in, gyms I’ve worked in, panels and conventions that I’ve presented at, and customers I’ve spoken to as an author. I don’t mince words when I tell you it is vital to make a connection with them to successfully articulate my ideas and views, find a connection to understand author and patient’s goals to obtain the best outcomes. Not to mention persuading potential customers that my story is the next thing they should be reading. I see these as skills and traits to improve on daily, over and over again, and hopefully instill that in my children so that they can be successful as well. My main philosophy has been to be an eternal learner. And whatever I can do to pass on any wisdom I can glean from life experiences to the next generation, starting with my kids first, of course, is exactly what I’d like to do. Self-discovery and accountability are things that are sorely missed right now and more and more of us need to kind of look inside ourselves first, address our own needs, cure that mortal wound as we say in the writing business, and then figure out where we can be better to give back to the world through our healing.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

As a company, we are always looking to develop new partnerships, between big and small names in the world of publishing. And entertainment. Since our inception, we have never had open submissions for stories. Everything we have done has been in-house and word-of-mouth. And we’ve been grateful for that because we feel as if we want to partner with authors to make them a success. It’s not about just picking up your book and putting it out, but it’s about developing your skills as a writer and creating books and works that have a look and feel of the “Big 5” in the industry. Therefore, we recruit talent based on similar qualities that we are looking for in developing our own stories. As far as Starchild Comics, we have parted with some of the best and the brightest in the visual arts community. All of our book covers are just amazing works of graphical art that capture the attention of customers all the time, and our comic books are on the level that we feel is commensurate with other top-rated comic book publishers around the globe. We want to stand next to the other with the “big wigs” and established companies of Comic Book productions. Our artists and authors are visionaries, and it is our job to ensure that their ideas and concepts have the particular look and feel of what they conceptualize when that comic is completed. So yes, we are always looking to add to our stable of talent and we look forward to any of those partnerships that can help to take us all to the next level.

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