Mar 14 2014

Meet Deborah Emin, owner of Sullivan Street Press!

by Tammy Burke

reposted from http://glvwgwritersconference.blogspot.com/2014/03/meet-deborah-emin-owner-of-sullivan.html

Hi Deborah,

It is delightful that you will be joining us for the “Write Stuff” conference this year. May I say what a fascinating way to differentiate from other publishers by going green and focusing on saving the planet!

I recently had a conversation with colleague about your company and it’s intentions of going green. It made her pause before she admitted she must have a forest in her house and she wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Definitely something to think about. Could you tell us what originally inspired you to create Sullivan Street Press?

Deborah Emin: Thank you for giving me the opportunity to sound off about my company. This has been and continues to be a long road of many wonderful discoveries and some serious set backs which your questions help me to go over.

I began my company as a way to protect my intellectual property. All environmental focuses and “fights” are about the lessons learned along the way. Having been in publishing since 1978, I have seen all the internal publishing perspectives on what it means to be green. Unfortunately, the industry promotes and sells all we know about this important and necessary shift and does nothing to live by it. It’s as if the industry lived on a desert island with all the information needed to survive but was illiterate and couldn’t read the material.

It’s intriguing the options you offer readers…ebooks through Sullivan Street Press, Print-on-Demand copies from the Espresso Book Machine at McNally Jackson Books AND this iPad app for your Scags series. First could you tell us about this app and the “Living Book” approach? What was the inspiration? What do you like best about it? Could you tell us a little about your collaboration with the Espresso Book Machine?

Deborah Emin: As to the move to work both with MAZ Digital and the Espresso book Machine. The wonders of new technology are staring us in the face. With enough resources and support, they can offer publishers and writers the kinds of opportunities to do new things that the industry has also been slow to embrace or make the best use of.

On Demand Books, the parent company of the Espresso Book Machine, begun by Jason Epstein a long-time publishing executive, faced real uphill battles. The first battle was the cost of their machine and the rising costs of paper. This has kept their beautifully produced books and the underlying technology which seems to have failed them from being a success. So, I’m moving on from them to work with Ingrams whose larger systems and delivery mechanisms will serve me better.

MAZ Digital is another exquisitely built model that also isn’t completely attuned to books. They offer writers an opportunity to do wonderfully imaginative things to enhance their books but the company is built on magazines and advertisers. With them I began to imagine what a Living Book could be. For that I am extremely grateful. I think my concept is sound but it requires a kind of author-centric focus with the book itself generating enough revenue to support what I had envisioned. An experiment that has not failed so much as been a stream of lessons about what is possible given more extensive sales and thus a reason to pursue this type of involvement by an author. I tried to have the people at MAZ work with me to teach writers and publishers some best practices with their outstanding technological breakthroughs. These talks went nowhere. They needed to find backers, ramp up their tech side. Their talks with the executives of the Big 6 led nowhere because those people don’t live the daily lives of authors for whom this technology would be interesting. So again, great vision, great ideas that haven’t yet found their best practitioners. Had they contacted someone like Margaret Atwood, who loves this geeky side of life, they might have forged a much better working relationship. But they don’t know anything about the book world. They also didn’t want to learn. Seeing the possibilities doesn’t mean people understand what they are seeing.

According to your bio, you are not looking for genre fiction but are looking for story which “is originally told and challenges conventional, contemporary fiction’s strictures.” Could you expand on this? What are you looking for?

Deborah Emin: As to my desires as a publisher, what I look for, I discovered from my earliest days of reading the “slush pile” that that sort of trial and error publishing is pointless. The waste of time and effort that goes into that form of relationship building is useless. I read almost anything. My tastes are varied. My interests expansive. But I will not spend time with writers who pay no attention to their craft, who are uninterested in challenging the reader or making the reader uncomfortable. So, I seek out what I’m interested in rather than hoping someone can sell me an idea. Or says they know how to write something but it’s just a trite re-iteration of what others have done. I am a writer too. I know what it means to struggle with language and structures to build a story. I don’t want to fall into easy traps or waste my limited time with people who think selling books is a get-rich scheme.

Do you help your authors with marketing? Or is this something you allow each author to handle him or herself?

Deborah Emin: Marketing is a joint venture between me and the author. They sign an agreement to be involved in it. I also work with Vocus, an online marketing and public relations firm. They write our press releases, work on our newsletters, write marketing plans for our authors and the authors and I collaborate.

I like the idea of offering more out-of-print books. How many are currently made available through Sullivan Street Press? And what gave you the idea to offer this?

Deborah Emin: The OP business side has died. Too long a story to tell here but the lessons learned were fascinating and gave me even more insights into how the state of publishing currently came to be in such dire straits.

I think it’s wonderful that you have a page on your website that offers links to more information about ebooks, e-readers and devices and how to use them. In your opinion, how much has the ebook market grown?

Deborah Emin: I have been at war with Amazon from the start. They are a predatory corporation. But we had to sell our e-books solely from our site in order to maintain our relationship to our readers. The times for us are changing. Readers of e-books, while seemingly growing, aren’t adept at using their devices and uninterested in learning their capabilities. I spend too much time providing customer service and that has meant I needed to find a way to shift our focus from selling e-books to educating about e-books. Just this week we launched a new part of our site, the E-Book Blog. This is exciting and forward thinking. It allows us to open up talks about the how and why of e-books without spending time trying to sell them from our site as well. Soon, and you heard it here first, all e-commerce will be gone from our site and we’ll focus our marketing in many different ways.

What do you envision in the future for Sullivan Street Press?

Deborah Emin: As to the future of SSP, it is a similar question seeking answers your conference attendees need to also ask: Why am I doing this very difficult work that must keep me at the forefront of what is possible? If I am not interested in the huge changes occurring in the publishing world, have I chosen wisely to spend my time pursuing a published author track? How much of a commitment am I willing to make once I have mastered the craft to really enter into a community that will value my work because I am willing to speak for it with them in ways that explore our common interests?

And last question, what pieces of advise would you share with our conferees?

Deborah Emin: This may seem like a huge assignment with no guarantees of financial success. But the fact is, success may not always be measured in dollars and cents. Sometimes there are many, many other and more meaningful ways to know you are hitting your marks, are in tune with your own self. That satisfaction is unbelievably exciting and rare in this world of commerce.

I hope these answers help those coming to the conference. They have certainly given me a pleasure to share.

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Deborah Emin is the sole owner and employee of Sullivan Street Press. I began Sullivan Street Press in order to change the publishing paradigm but soon discovered that the business model for this industry also reflected the larger, global problems of environmental degradation. That the printed book was part of the problem and was adding to the load this planet could not sustain. I, therefore, switched to an e-book only model, with all titles sold exclusively on the company’s website. My novel, Scags at 7 was the first title I sold and as of 2014, we will have 5 more authors working to help solve what I consider to be the major problem facing us–saving our planet and having an open heart to be able to do that work. What I look for: In nonfiction, all titles focus on the ways in which we can actively help the planet to survive. Using the Eating Vegan in Vegas title as the cornerstone of this project, I am now searching for titles in local, sustainable food production, water preservation, urban gardens. And other ways in which we can sustainably exist. Titles on urban growth and development based on our new green needs are also welcome. In other words, a kind of how-to book for the preservation of life. In fiction, I am always looking for a strong central character, preferably female, whose story is originally told and challenges conventional, contemporary fiction’s strictures. Titles that are out of print are also considered. I do not seek genre fiction of any kind.
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Tammy Burke, GLVWG member, 2011 conference chair and past president, has published around 400 newspaper and regional magazine articles. She has interviewed state and local government officials, business and community leaders, everyday folk and celebrities, in addition to helping write scripts for over a dozen television commercials and writing various business communications. Currently, she is in the revision stage for her first YA fantasy adventure book, the first in an intended series. When not writing, she works in the social service field and is a fencing marshal in the Society of Creative Anachronism (SCA).

Mar 10 2014

Meet Sunbury Press’ Owner Lawrence Knorr!

by Tammy Burke

Reposted from http://glvwgwritersconference.blogspot.com/2014/03/meet-sunbury-press-owner-lawrence-knorr.html

How delightful having you back at the “Write Stuff” conference again! And wow! Is it coming up fast. Anything new and exciting you can share regarding you and/or the Sunbury Press?

Lawrence Knorr: Yes! It is an honor to be asked back. It is hard to believe two years have passed since the last time! Sunbury Press just completed its best year ever from a sales perspective. We continue to grow and succeed in a very tough, competitive environment. We are celebrating our tenth year in business in 2014 — but I can tell you it feels like 100 years! We’ve transformed ourselves twice in that span — caterpillar, cocoon, butterfly — what’s next? Most recently, we have seen ebooks peak, their growth rate slowing, while independent bookstore sales have picked up. While our Amazon business has continued to grow, other channels are growing faster. We have dubbed 2014 our “Year of Collaboration” focusing on ways our 120+ authors can experience better results by helping each other and by working together in teams. So far, there has been a lot of positive energy. We also opened, February 1, our first company bookstore in Mechanicsburg, PA, where our headquarters is located. Our goal was to provide a storefront for all of our books — and a venue for our authors to meet the public. We really want to be an important part of the local community for our local and regional authors — and provide another option to our more far flung partners. It’s a great place to meet prospective authors and to talk about books with the general public.

Based on your webpage, I understand the your company holds a “Continue the Enlightenment” mentality from the 18th century and the “Age of Reason.” Could you expand more what that means to you and to the Sunbury Press?

Lawrence Knorr: “Continue the Enlightenment” is a motto that represents our mission statement. Simply put, we are a publisher of diverse categories, but we are always seeking to bring new perspectives and voices to the marketplace. The Enlightenment was about a new order of things — not unlike what is happening in publishing today. The old order governed by a strong center of control is being challenged by more democratic ideals. This is what the independent publishing movement is all about — whether doing it yourself or with an independent publisher. We are experiencing an era of rapid democratization of the publishing industry. If only Hugh Fox had lived a little longer! I’ll never forget the day he called me – Hugh Fox – one of the founders of the Pushcart Prize. He revealed he was dying of cancer and offered me the opportunity to publish his remaining works. He said Sunbury Press was exactly the kind of publisher he was looking for. I was very grateful for his offer, and encouraged him to spread the dozen or so works around to other presses, keeping two of them for ourselves. Hugh liked the motto, and we think it is very appropriate at this time.

What was the motivation to start the Sunbury Press? What makes it different than other publishing companies?

Lawrence Knorr: I started the company in 2004 because I wanted to publish some family histories. I didn’t want to pay someone else to do it, so I embarked on figuring out how. While this was only ten years ago, it was when vanity presses were a cottage industry and print on demand and ebooks were in their infancy. I just wanted to sell some books at cost to family members. But, I really enjoyed it and realized I could publish other books — not just my own. Two hundred and twenty titles and one hundred and twenty authors later, we have really grown thanks to our business model and our philosophy. We are different for several reasons:

1) We are very tech-savvy. My wife and I both have long careers in IT and understand the Age of Content and the importance of search engines, ecommerce and mobile commerce.
2) We do NOT charge for services. Many publishers are experimenting with vanity, hybrid or subsidy models. We refuse to go in this direction, instead making our money by selling books.
3) We have editors working for us as employees of our company. We take quality very seriously.
4) My wife and I are also photographers and digital artists, able to design book covers, marketing materials, graphic designs, web content, etc.
5) We are “generalist opportunists” — working in a broad number of categories. We understand the advantages of breadth and scale to the economic sustainability of an enterprise.
6) We love what we do. I really enjoy working with authors to bring their work to the marketplace. It tickles the soul.

I was wondering…Is there anything in particular you are looking for in an author and his or her manuscript?

Lawrence Knorr: Quality Manuscript + Motivated Author + Publisher = Success

We are always looking for high quality manuscripts — in a variety of fiction and nonfiction categories. Quality is more than just well-written / grammatically correct. Quality is about fresh ideas, new found truths and entertainment. We like material that brings value to our readers.

We like to gauge an author’s motivations. Gone are the days of sitting at a typewriter, mailing a box of paper to a publisher and then waiting by the door for the checks to arrive. Authors need to be involved in their success. While we provide editing, design, formatting, ebook creation, printing, distribution, marketing, etc., we do best when authors are out and about advocating their work and promoting themselves. We are an ideal option for authors whose work is good enough not to have to pay to publish — who want to be writers and not start their own publishing businesses. Most writers are not business savvy. We bring the business expertise to the mix.

Anything you’d like to see more of? Anything you’d like to see less of?

Lawrence Knorr: Thankfully, the vampire craze has past. There’s probably a metaphor somewhere in that regarding the publishing industry! We are always looking for more history and historical fiction — more clever YA and more entertaining police procedurals and mysteries. We like good literary fiction too! We’ve had a lot of inquiries about poetry — something we rarely publish.

Do you work with authors to help them increase sales? Or do you allow them to do that for themselves?

Lawrence Knorr: We generate our revenue exclusively from selling books. So, we are ALWAYS looking for ways to sell more books — whether a new channel to open, a new retailer to call upon, a new country to access, or an author’s activities. As I stated in the opening, we have dubbed 2014 the “Year of Collaboration” and are seeking new ways to collectively leverage our scale. There are opportunities for Sunbury Press authors to go beyond our activities and their individual efforts — to work together within a category or region.

I understand you have authored eight books on regional history. Could you tell us more about them? What were their inspiration.

Lawrence Knorr: Where did I ever find the time? My early books: “The Descendants of Hans Peter Knorr,” “The Relations of Milton Snavely Hershey,” “The Relations of Isaac F Stiehly,” “General John Fulton Reynolds,” “The Relations of Dwight D Eisenhower” and “The Hackman Story” were family history / genealogy focused. I wanted to write about my relations — a very deep and rich history linked to important people and events in Pennsylvania and the nation. While researching at the Lancaster County Historical Society, I also stumbled upon the journal and letters of my great uncle David Bear Hackman, describing his adventure to California for the Gold Rush. I edited and contextualized this treasure into the book “A Pennsylvania Mennonite and the California Gold Rush.” My more recent works have been collaborations: “Keystone Tombstones Civil War” with Joe Farrell and Joe Farley — about famous people buried in Pennsylvania who played a part in the Civil War and “There is Something About Rough and Ready” about the village in the heart of the Mahantongo Valley at the center of that region’s Pennsylvania Dutch culture. I have several other projects under way for release in the coming years: “The Visiting Physician of Red Cross” – about the career of Dr. Reuben Muth of Red Cross, PA (I have his collection of visiting doctor records from 1850 to 1890), “Palmetto Tombstones” — about famous people buried in South Carolina, “Scheib of Shibe Park” — a biography of the former Philadelphia A’s pitcher — and youngest American Leaguer ever — Carl Scheib of Gratz, PA.

Being born and raised in the Susquehanna Valley myself I was wondering if you’ve done anything regarding Sunbury, particularly the Hotel Edison or Lewisburg?

Lawrence Knorr: We borrowed the name Sunbury from the town in Pennsylvania because it was near the Mahantongo Valley — and I liked the name. But, that’s about as far as it goes. We have yet to publish anything about Sunbury, the town in Pennsylvania or nearby Lewisburg. However, our book “Digging Dusky Diamonds” by John Lindermuth is about Shamokin, PA and the nearby coal regions. Our best-selling “Prohibition’s Prince” is about the famous moonshiner Prince Farrington from Williamsport, PA. Our “Keystone Tombstones” series spans the entire state and often touches on historical figures from the Susquehanna Valley.

Do you have favorite time period and place regarding history?

Lawrence Knorr: I teach Comparative Economic and Political Systems at Wilson College once a year. I really enjoy teaching this class because it allows me to span economic history from classical times to present. My favorite time periods / places are the Roman Empire in the first few centuries AD and 19th and early 20th century America. I am intrigued by our industrialization in the early 1800s — and the entrepreneurship and personal responsibility that was present. Most of the people living today would feel very insecure without their comforts, insurances and government safety nets. I long for that time when individual hard work and creativity could amount to something tangible — and when we relied on ourselves, our families, our religious institutions and our communities.

What did you like best about holding the office of president for MidAtlantic Book Publishers Association (MBPA)?

Lawrence Knorr: I was honored to be elected the President of MBPA for one year. I met a lot of great people, including my predecessor Mary Shafer. My goal was to make sure our organization survived the struggles it was going through and could become sustainable. The new team that formed was very motivated to do so, and they continue on without me. Unfortunately, the demands of my growing business prevent me from volunteering at this time.

Your digital photography is quite beautiful. I particularly enjoy your vibrant use of color. How long have you been practicing this art and I’m curious…how many book covers have you designed?

Lawrence Knorr: Thank you! I’ve been a photographer since I was 12 years old. I began showing my work in 2006, after a local gallery liked my attempts at “Photo Impressionism.” I was one of the pioneer artists who was trying to make photographs look like paintings. My work has been shown around the country and has won awards — and is in collections and even a museum or two. While I have not been as active at showing my work, I have designed over 100 book covers over the last three years. My wife says they are getting better! I really enjoy doing it, and most of the authors are very pleased with the results.

What are your thoughts on selling internationally? Do you find that foreign bookstores cater to the same reading choices as here in our area?

Lawrence Knorr: We sell our books in at least a dozen other countries — UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Japan, Australia, India, Mexico, Canada, Brazil, Taiwan … even Lebanon! We’re developing expertise in foreign rights as well as foreign distribution. We have found the rest of the world lags the US in eBook adoption — and still have a very strong book retailers. We’ve had the most success in the UK, for obvious reasons – but have also broken through where our titles touch on target markets.

I want to thank you for taking time out for this interview, Lawrence. We look forward to seeing you soon!

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Lawrence Knorr has been involved with book publishing for fourteen years. His company, Sunbury Press, Inc., headquartered in Mechanicsburg, PA, is a publisher of trade paperback and digital books featuring established and emerging authors in many fiction and nonfiction categories. Sunbury’s books are printed in the USA and sold through leading booksellers worldwide. Sunbury currently has over 120 authors and 200 titles under management.

Lawrence has taught business and project management courses for ten years, and is the author of eight books. He is also an award-winning digital artist, and has designed dozens of book covers . Lawrence is the former President of the MidAtlantic Book Publishers Association (MBPA)
Most interested in U.S. & World history and other nonfiction (sports,
professional, hobbies) — also historical fiction, mystery/thriller.

Will consider YA fiction, contemporary and historical romance, horror (no
vampires), literary fiction.

Not looking for children’s picture books and poetry at this time.
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Tammy Burke, GLVWG member, 2011 conference chair and past president, has published around 400 newspaper and regional magazine articles. She has interviewed state and local government officials, business and community leaders, everyday folk and celebrities, in addition to helping write scripts for over a dozen television commercials and writing various business communications. Currently, she is in the revision stage for her first YA fantasy adventure book, the first in an intended series. When not writing, she works in the social service field and is a fencing marshal in the Society of Creative Anachronism (SCA).

Feb 25 2014

Meet Mary Shafer the Indie Navigator, Indie Publisher, Award-Winning Author, and More!

by Tammy Burke

reposted fromhttp://glvwgwritersconference.blogspot.com

Hi Mary,

Can I just say wow! How impressive the number of “hats you’ve worn!” From award-winning author to marketing consultant to indie publisher and professional speaker (and illustrator, freelance graphic designer, art director, etc.) …everything in the publishing industry from what I understand except distribution. I’m so glad you are taking part in this year’s conference!

Mary Shafer: Wow, thank you! I think in another point of view, the only thing impressive about my background is apparent. ADD. Truth is, I’m a true Gemini and I get bored very easily. Also always afraid of missing out on something if I don’t learn and try everything that catches my interest. Up till now, that has always kind of hurt me in a world where specialization is most rewarded, at least financially. But with the weird turn the publishing industry has taken in the past decade, having this diverse skill set has actually helped, and that’s one reason I launched Indie Navigator — because I remember what it feels like to be in that place where you know what you want to do, but have no idea where to start or how to get there.

I would imagine those taking your pre-conference workshop Indie Publishing Intensive better bring a notebook so they can capture all this excellent information you have listed. I was wondering if we could get a bit of a teaser on some of the things you’re covering?

Mary Shafer: Sure. Actually, I do encourage those who learn better by writing things down (as I do) to take notes. But for others, it’s not necessary. I always prepare very thorough handouts for each of my presentations, as well as making my Powerpoint decks available as PDF downloads for all attendees. I just post the download URL at the bottom of each slide so people can copy that down and that’s about all they really need, because I put any handouts, examples, etc. in the same folder they access for the slide deck download.

That said, here’s a bit of what they can look forward to in my Indie Publishing Intensive, which I’m really excited about. I’ve presented all the elements before, but never all together in one time and place. So this will truly be intensive — I’m thinking of it as more of an Indie Publishing Bootcamp, with the exception that we’re not actually going to go through any hands-on workshops. It’s just going to be an insane amount of real-world information — not hype or vaguely disguised wishfulness — shared in a four-hour afternoon. But I guarantee that anyone who’s been on the fence about whether or not to become an indie publisher won’t feel that way when it’s over. They will know what to truly expect as an indie/self-publisher, and will either feel energized and excited by the challenge, or will save themselves a lot of time, effort, money and heartache by resolving to seek a traditional publishing deal because they realize they’re just not cut out to be a publisher themselves.

What I’m going to cover includes content from several of my more popular narrated slide presentations. I’ve broken out the process into three steps: Possibilities, Publishing and Promotion.

Possibilities will explore in detail what to expect if you decide to take the traditional publishing route and, alternatively, if you decide to self-publish. This is the amalgamation of these presentations I currently give to writing and indie publishing groups:

I Finally Finished My Book…Now What? – Options for modern authors
21st Century Books: What Is A Publisher, and Should I Become One? – Telling it like it is; the good, the bad and the ugly

Publishing will outline the very real considerations of what it means to actually be a publisher: setting up your business structure; choosing whether to publish only your own work or that of others, as well; apps and other technology that can help you manage day-to-day operations; sourcing vendors, etc. It encompasses some of the content of my presentation.

Digility: Digital Agility in Publishing – bit technical, laying out important considerations for someone building a modern publishing house from scratch

Promotion offers guidance in the nitty-gritty of publicizing and marketing your publication products and authors – arguably as important as offering a quality product in potential for success. It includes content from these presentations I often give at writer’s conferences:

Getting Published Ain’t For Sissies – Marketing for Nonfiction Authors: Finding your niche, building your author’s platform, effectively employing guerilla promotion tactics, creating a killer press kit, mastering modern technology to serve as your 24/7 personal publicity agent, and anticipating, identifying and leveraging trends.
Takin’ It to the Tweeps: Twitter for Authors and Independent Publishers
Your Book’s Website: Separate or Connected – Explores the advantages and disadvantages of single author/book sites and separate sites for each title inside a whole publishing web presence strategy
Online Newsrooms: What You Need and How To Build It – A step-by-step tutorial on this most important yet often neglected element of any successful author and publisher website

As you can see, it’s truly an exhaustive amount of material, but that’s what an intensive is about. Attendees may leave feeling a bit overwhelmed, but they will no longer face the dizzying confusion of wondering what they should be paying attention to and what lies ahead of them depending on the route they choose. Plus, they’ll be able to refer back to my handouts and slide downloads again and again. I tried hard to formulate a way to share the hard-won knowledge I wish I’d had when I faced the need to become an indie publisher. I don’t want anyone to have to struggle that way.

One the things you mentioned in your bio is that you share what you know so other authors and indie publishers don’t have to learn the hard way too. (And thank you for that, by the way) I am curious…what do you typically find as the top three most common mistakes?

Mary Shafer: Among authors and would-be authors seeking publishing deals, the top three mistakes I see are:

Failing to invest themselves and perhaps a bit of money in making their manuscript as polished and fully edited as possible before turning it in to the publisher or publishing it themselves. (I consider this a cardinal sin, frankly. There’s no excuse for turning in or publishing shoddy work other than laziness or lack of caring, both of which reflect not just on that author but on all authors and indie publishers.)
Failing to build a promotional platform for themselves as an author “brand” before ever approaching a publisher.
Not understanding the publishing process, resulting in their having unrealistic expectations of the experience.

For indie publishers, I think the top three errors I see would be:

The same as #3 above: lacking an understanding of what to realistically expect from being a publisher because they don’t really comprehend the entirety of what’s entailed in present-day book publishing. Far too many would-be publishers are still stuck in the last century when it comes to grasping how drastically this industry has changed in the past 10-20 years.
Overestimating their own knowledge, skill sets and capacity to get the work done. There are few fields in which it’s so critical to know what you can do well on your own, and what parts of each project you’d be better off delegating to someone with the right mix of skill and experience.
Underestimating the start-up costs in money, time and energy it takes to become a truly successful publisher.

I’m certainly not pointing any fingers—I’m as guilty as the next person in not having really known what I was doing when I first got started as an indie publisher almost 10 years ago. But I have a rather unique background that provided me with the exact mix of diverse skills that allowed me to survive all my dumb decisions.

It is both fascinating and inspiring to hear tales of the “blissfully unaware” overcoming the odds — like the success you had marketing your first book when, at the time, it wasn’t expected to earn out. What did you do that perhaps others haven’t or didn’t do?

Mary Shafer: In addition to the relatively unusual skill set I just referenced, I’m also lucky to be a quick study. When I’m in focused mode, I can take in a great deal of information at once, process it quickly and almost immediately integrate it into current projects and apply it in place of less-than-effective activities I would previously have used to get a job done. Not unsurprisingly, this typifies why indie publishers are able to be successful in today’s ever-evolving book industry: we’re small, and so much more agile. Our lack of overhead and the structural inflexibility that plagues larger organizations allows us to adapt quickly to the rapid changes that have characterized book publishing for decades now. Other advantages I had were that I am a proactive seeker of new information, and I have the courage of my convictions. If I know I am capable of doing something, I just don’t listen to the naysayers.

In the case of my first book, though, I must admit that I wasn’t up against that — I simply didn’t know the prevailing conventional wisdom was (and still is) that first-time authors are pretty much expected to fail. This isn’t nastiness on anyone’s part, it’s simply an acknowledgment of how much work it is to create, publish and market a book. Happily, there are many first-time authors not just succeeding, but doing so at a level unprecedented before the rise of digital technology. My entire reason for doing the presentations I do is to dispel that myth. Yes, odds are against the first-time author, but that’s mostly because the majority of them are woefully ignorant, unprepared, arrogant, lazy or all of the above. Anyone who doesn’t fit that stereotype in fact has a good chance of succeeding not only with their first book, but also in the long term!

You mentioned a new “Wild West” of publishing. I like that term. Could you tell us some of the opportunity that’s available?

Mary Shafer: I call it that because, just as on America’s frontier in the mid-1800s through the turn of the 20th century, the industry is without most of the “laws” that governed it for centuries. There are no longer any hard-and-fast gatekeepers and exclusionary forces that served for so long to keep people out of publishing. The Internet has largely democratized access with a still-proliferating array of publication/distribution platforms, marketing and promotion services and tools, and apps to handle almost any business operations function. Provided people are willing to self-police against inadvisable business practices, poor production values and bad customer service, there’s no reason they can’t create and sell books very successfully to an international audience of repeat buyers.

Is it easy to determine if someone should consider self or indie publishing?

Mary Shafer: If it were, GLVWG would not have had to hire me to give this intensive. 🙂

I understand being in a Category 3 storm as a child along with having two tornadoes (yikes!) pass by either side of your house during the early 1990s left you with a bit of a weather obsession. How much do you think these experiences led you to the writing and publishing of your award-winning “Devastation on the Delaware: Stories and Images of the Deadly Flood of 1955?” Also, I’m curious, what does a Skywarn Weather Spotter do?

Mary Shafer: Just to be clear, I was not in the main circulation of Hurricane Alma as a child, only in the outer bands — so I never experienced true Cat 3 storm conditions. But what I did was certainly bad enough to have made a lifelong impression. And yes, I do absolutely believe these brushes with Nature’s most violent forces played a large part in forming my weather obsession. SkyWarn is a program of the National Weather Service that trains volunteers from age 14-100 to recognize conditions amendable to severe weather and to use established criteria to spot and report actual severe weather conditions to local NWS offices. This is far easier and more immediate to do today, with smartphones that allow us to call in our observations or to report via a mobile Internet interface. You can learn more at SkyWarn.org.

I understand there is a story behind how “Word Forge Books” came into existence. Could you tell us a little bit about when, and maybe more importantly, how you decided to create it?

Mary Shafer: I had begun writing my book under contract with a new indie publisher in Doylestown in 2003, with guidance from a trusted colleague and friend who was, at the time, affiliated with the non-profit organization. Two years later, as I was in the final revisions of the manuscript, I was informed that the publisher had been forced to go out of business, leaving me with no publisher and no rights to my own work, since I’d already been paid a partial advance. Two wonderful friends/business clients of mine who supported my project graciously donated the $2,500 for me to buy back my rights, for which I’ll be eternally grateful. However, by that time it was far too late to find another publisher if I were to make my goal of publishing in time for the mid-August, 2005, anniversary of the flood, which I was going to use as the publicity “hook” on which to hang the launch of the book. Realizing that I had most of the experience and know-how I needed to get the book published, I decided that rather than throw away the three years I’d invested in the project, I’d just publish it myself. And so Word Forge Books was born. I named it as a division of The Word Forge, my freelance copywriting and marketing consultancy business.

It’s worth noting that in 2005, Facebook was just being born, most folks didn’t yet even have a website or know what a blog was, many weren’t yet even fluent on email, and Amazon.com was just getting on its feet. There was no Kobo, Smashwords, GoodReads or any of the other online tools that now make getting a book into the hands of readers such a relatively easy process. As has happened more than once in my career, my needs were ahead of the market, so I plowed ahead using the tools I had at hand. I try not to think now of all the money I poured into that pioneering effort and just try to be happy for my colleagues who won’t have to go through that now, when they try to do the same.

Less than a year ago, you started “The Indie Navigator” so you could focus on the consulting work on publishing…presumably one of your favorite parts. Could you tell us about that deciding moment and what you envision for its future?

Mary Shafer: It wasn’t any earth-shaking thing, really. I just finally realized that the majority of my new consulting clients in 2011-12 were authors and indie publishers, and that it would be far easier for me to brand myself that way. After all, one must take one’s own advice, no? So I found my market niche and am now working on building the Indie Navigator brand among those professionals. As for the future, I’m trying more to envision simply success, without too much detail around what that means. I’m learning, albeit slowly, that even though creative visualization (my way of manifesting what I want from my life) usually works best when it’s very detailed, sometimes those details can be limiting when they’re taking place in an industry changing as rapidly as publishing is. SO I’m just remaining open to following the needs of my market right now. I don’t need to lead the market — that’s an expensive and exhausting place to be, I’ve discovered. I’m happy simply helping people not make the same mistakes I did, and hopefully making their publishing experiences as rewarding and enjoyable as possible.

Last question, with as many “hats on your head” do you still have time to write? And if yes, what are you currently working on?

Mary Shafer: Sadly, I don’t have much time to write anymore, and that’s one thing with which I struggle these days. Still, I have had some success the last two years using NaNoWriMo as the disciplined framework upon which to work up to nearly 26,000 words on my novel-in-progress, “Lonely Cottage Road.” It’s a Civil War-era historical romance with a slight paranormal twist, whose theme is the importance of honoring the creative urge. How’s that for vague? It’s my first novel, and I’m looking forward to having more time to work on it as I consolidate some of my other obligations in the near future. I’ve recently finished some rather large volunteer commitments that had become tremendously time- and energy-consuming, and I’m also re-tooling how I make my living to produce more income in less time. We’ll see how that goes.

Meanwhile, as I do all that, I’m also laying the groundwork for a novel series called “The Storm Diaries.” It features the adventures of forensic meteorologist Stephanie “Stormy” McLeod, her special needs dog Oogie, and her best pal, metal detectorist T.J. Tanner in solving cold-case mysteries around severe weather events. This series will allow me to combine my three great passions — severe weather, treasure hunting and animal rescue — into what I hope will be a long-running novel series that will allow me to make a living while writing off as a business expense my research trips to the National Severe Storms Laboratory and the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, and my own storm chasing tours. You can learn more at StormDiaries.com, and follow me on Twitter at @stormdiaries, where I often live-tweet severe weather events all over the US. You might wonder why I’m doing all that so long before the first novel even comes out. I’m taking my own advice and building my author platform ahead of time so that when it’s time for the book to come out, not only will I have a ready-made market to promote to, I’ll even be able to fund the first printing with pre-orders!

Thank you again, Mary, for taking the time for this interview! I look forward to seeing you at the conference.

Mary Shafer: Tammy, thank YOU for the good questions and your willingness to write up the interview. I hope I’ve been helpful and not too overwhelming. Also looking forward to meeting you at The Write Stuff!

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Mary Shafer. The Indie Navigator, is an award-winning author, indie publisher, marketing consultant and professional speaker. She shares what she learned the hard way with other authors and indie publishers, so they don’t have to make the same mistakes.

Entering book publishing in 1990 as an art director, Mary developed experience in most facets of the industry, including editing and marketing. By 1993, her first book was published by a mid-sized indie publisher. As a first-time author, her book wasn’t even expected to earn out. Blissfully unaware the odds were stacked against her, she used what she knew about marketing to tirelessly promote her book. It eventually went into three printings, selling 15,000 hardcover and earning her some attractive royalties. Her second hardcover came out in 1995, and her first self-published book sold out its entire first run of 2,500 copies in 42 days. Now in its second, updated edition and sixth printing, it has sold more than 6,000 print copies to date and is about to come out as an eBook.

In 2013, she launched The Indie Navigator brand to allow her to concentrate her consulting work on the market she knows best, publishing. She doesn’t want other authors to have to make all the painful mistakes she’s made, but believes that despite all the upheaval, this is the most exciting time to be a small, independent publisher and self-published author. In addition to her consulting work, she presents at writers conferences, to writers groups, publishing organizations and online to help authors and small publishers recognize the great potential for success in the new “wild west” of publishing brought on by technological innovation and the resulting changes in the marketplace.

Mary brings her knowledge and experience to every project she works on with her Indie Navigator clients (IndieNavigator.com).

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Tammy Burke, GLVWG member, 2011 conference chair and past president, has published around 400 newspaper and regional magazine articles. She has interviewed state and local government officials, business and community leaders, everyday folk and celebrities, in addition to helping write scripts for over a dozen television commercials and writing various business communications. Currently, she is in the revision stage for her first YA fantasy adventure book, the first in an intended series. When not writing, she works in the social service field and is a fencing marshal in the Society of Creative Anachronism (SCA).