African American / Nonfiction
Date Published: 08-30-2025
I’m the COO of a company, right? I spend my entire day in the business world, managing people, negotiating deals, and seeing firsthand what success looks like—and what a disaster it can be.
What I saw constantly, both in my office and out in the wider world, were men who had all the trappings of success—the titles, the money, the perfect Instagram life—but were utterly empty, brittle, and frankly, miserable underneath. They were excellent performers, but terrible human beings. They were sacrificing their integrity, their family, and their health on the altar of a false, polished image.
I called them 'Plastic Men,' because they were all surface, designed to look great but incapable of taking any real stress or showing any authentic emotion.
My drive, then, was to write a correction. I felt a moral obligation to start a conversation and give men a framework to move past that fragile, fake exterior and reconnect with something of substance. I wrote it because I was tired of seeing good men destroy themselves trying to achieve a plastic ideal, and I knew I had to offer a path back to being real."
What do you hope readers will learn by reading this book?
I hope they learn the most brutally honest, difficult lesson of all: That the biggest enemy in their lives is their own ego’s need to look good.
This isn’t a self-help book that tells you how to get a raise or talk to a woman. This is a punch in the gut designed to make you stop managing your image and start managing your integrity.
I hope the reader learns to recognize the 'Plastic Man' in the mirror. I want them to see how their obsession with status, how their inability to admit weakness, and how their avoidance of difficult, real conversations is actively killing their soul, their relationships, and their long-term peace.
Specifically, I hope they learn two things:
That 'Strength' is Admitting Need: True power comes from admitting you need help, admitting you were wrong, and admitting you are vulnerable—the things the 'Plastic Man' can never do.
That Sacrifice is Non-Negotiable: To build a life of substance—a 'Real Man's' life—you have to sacrifice the easy comforts and the popular approval you currently chase.
If a reader closes this book and feels profoundly uncomfortable with the life they are currently leading, then I have done my job."
Did you do much research when planning this book?
"Oh, yeah. A ton. And not just the kind of research you do sitting behind a desk.
For a nonfiction book like Real Men vs. Plastic Men, the foundation had to be solid. I didn't want to just write a bunch of my own opinions; I needed to prove my points. I approached the research in two very distinct ways:
1. The Academic Deep Dive
I dug into psychology, sociology, and business literature. I spent months studying behavioral economics—the data on why people make decisions against their own long-term best interest. I read up on the history of masculine identity in Western culture to understand where this 'Plastic Man' ideal actually came from. This gave the book the intellectual rigor it needed.
2. The Observational, Real-World Data
This was the most crucial part. My best research was done simply by observing and talking to people. Because of my role as COO, I'm privy to a lot of real, unvarnished conversations about power, money, and personal failure.
I spent years essentially interviewing successful men—and those who thought they were successful—watching the differences in how they handled stress, failure, and family. The material for the chapters on vulnerability and emotional isolation came straight from noticing the cracks in the polished armor of guys I worked with every day.
So, yes, a massive amount of planning and research went into it. The book is really a collection of my own observations, vetted through academic work, and then presented as a field guide for self-correction."
Did you have any main people who helped you in the process of this book or influenced you to write it?
"Absolutely, this book wouldn't exist without two main sources of influence: one for the craft and one for the content. First, on the nuts-and-bolts of publishing and writing, I have to shout out my small press partner, Darrell King. Working alongside him for so long, watching him and observing his process, I've picked up quite a few 'tricks of the trade,' as you put it.
While his focus is generally on fiction—the novels that KJ Publications is known for—the underlying principles of clarity, pacing, and engaging a reader are universal. He taught me a lot about shaping raw ideas into something a reader can actually connect with, which was vital for translating my nonfiction argument into a compelling book.
Influence on Content: The 'Plastic Men'
The main inspiration, however, came from a lifetime of frustrating and often disappointing experiences with 'plastic men.'
Because I consider myself a 'real man'—a guy who values integrity, accountability, and depth over outward status—I’ve always had a sensitive filter for the opposite. I've watched countless men, both professionally and personally, choose the comfortable lie over the difficult truth. They were the walking case studies. Every chapter, every major argument in the book, is inspired by a real-life situation where I witnessed that fragile facade cracking.
So, I had the technical guidance from Darrell and the constant, real-world inspiration from those experiences, which fueled the need to finally write this correction."
How long did this book take you to write from initial thought to hitting publish?
From the initial, scattered thought to actually seeing Real Men vs. Plastic Men hit the digital shelves? That was almost exactly a four-year journey, which is probably longer than some people would expect for a work of nonfiction. It wasn't a solid four years of writing, though. It broke down roughly like this:
Year 1: The 'Incubation' and Observation Phase (Initial Thought): This was mostly mental research. I spent this year just collecting material—making notes during frustrating meetings, documenting conversations on the deck, and seeing how the 'Plastic Man' archetype played out in the news. This was about defining the problem.
Year 2: The Core Argument and Outline: This is when I started the academic deep dive. I spent this year outlining, structuring the arguments, and deciding what had to be in the book and what was distracting. Since I'm running KJ Publications, I could only block out focused writing time, so this phase was slow and methodical.
Year 3: Drafting and Writing: This was the heaviest lift. Getting the first full draft done while juggling my COO responsibilities meant a lot of very early mornings and late nights. I had to be brutal with my schedule.
Year 4: Editing, Polishing, and Production (Hitting Publish): Once the draft was done, this phase involved heavy revision based on that 'I don't care' feedback, professional editing, cover design, and finally, managing the entire production process within KJ Publications.
So, while the writing itself took about a year, the full commitment—from realizing the problem needed a book to seeing it published—was a consistent, intense four-year chunk of my life."
Do you have plans to write more about this topic or new topics?
"The short answer is: Yes, absolutely. I'm not stopping with Real Men vs. Plastic Men.
I wrote this book because I felt a desperate need to define a problem and sound the alarm. But defining the problem is only step one. The response to the book has made it clear that there's a real hunger for the next steps. Right now, my immediate plan is to delve deeper into the practical application of the 'Real Man' framework. If Real Men vs. Plastic Men was the diagnosis, the next book needs to be the prescription. I’m already gathering material for a follow-up that will focus heavily on tangible skills: Longer term, yes, I have other topics brewing, though they always circle back to the core themes of authenticity and accountability. Since I spend my day immersed in the inner workings of a publishing house, I'm constantly observing how people define and chase success, and that’s an endless source of ideas.
But for now, the focus is on consolidating the success of this first book and giving the readers who bought into the premise a concrete path forward. I need to make sure I deliver on the promises implied by the first one before venturing too far off into new territory."
Mr. Jones is entrepreneur with well over 33 years in the U.S. government and knows how to operate a successful business. He has had experience as well in the entertainment field. During the late 1970s' and much of the early 80s' Mr. Jones affectionately known to his many friends and loved ones as 'June' or 'Jonesie' collaborated on various singles by several local DC area recording artists and has mentored underground rap star "D Young". A phenomenal businessman who loves people and live talk radio Elbert Jones Jr. is a great access to KJ Publications,Inc..
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