Member Spotlight: Gena Cox

Why is writing important to you and why do you think it’s an important medium for the world? Writing is important to me because it is the only tool I can use to communicate at scale with the corporate leaders who are my ideal readers. My subject matter is not easy; my readers can absorb it with maximum privacy. Just them, my words, and their brains and hearts! What other tool allows for educating an audience and simultaneously evoking deep emotions?!

What are your tried and tested remedies to cure writer’s block? The only technique I can recommend is setting aside a fixed time for writing and sitting with the pen and keyboard, while shutting out other distractions. For me, it’s about the writing habit.

What is your favorite time to write? I love to write early in the morning when it’s quieter and no one else or thing had interrupted my flow.

What’s the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received and would like to impart to other writers? My writing coach said repeatedly, “a book is not about something; a book is for someone!” Following that advice helps me keep my reader at the center of every writing choice I make.

What excites you most about being a writer in today’s age? I am excited that more voices are being heard; that finally, publishers are looking for diverse authors. It’s an honor to be part of this generation of Black authors who are writing about experiences that have not previously been shared outside our inner circle of loved ones and friends.

Gena Cox’s Leading Inclusion: Drive Change Your Employees Can See and Feel is out now with Page Two.