Celebrating My Own Entrepreneurial Spirit!

what does it mean to be an entrepreneur?
by rana diorio & emma d dryden * illustrated by ken min

I am thrilled to announce the publication this week of a picture book I’ve co-authored for children ages 4-8. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE AN ENTREPRENEUR? is a story about Rae who witnesses a doggie-ice cream mishap and is inspired, in true entrepreneurial spirit, to create a solution to help get dogs clean!

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE AN ENTREPRENEUR? is a book sure to empower young kids as it encourages imagination, courage, problem-solving, resourcefulness, and thoughtfulness. Inspired in part by my experiences launching and sustaining drydenbks LLC during the past five-and-a-half years, WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE AN ENTREPRENEUR? is a book I've had the pleasure of writing and conceiving with my friend and colleague, Rana DiOrio, Founder and Chief Executive Pickle of Little Pickle Press, which is illustrated masterfully by Ken Min, and which was designed and art directed by Leslie Iorillo. We're excited, honored, and proud to be able to introduce this book and the concept of entrepreneurism to a wide audience. (It seems there’s even a Girl Scouts Entrepreneur Badge, so the timing of this is ideal! Who knew?)

The book is being published by Little Pickle Press, an impressive green-conscious small independent press. You can read all about the book here: http://www.littlepicklepress.com/product/what-does-it-mean-to-be-an-entrepreneur/ and the book is available wherever books are sold, including through Amazon, B&N.com, or at your independent bookseller. I hope people will consider posting reviews online. I hope people will consider purchasing a copy for a teacher or librarian who can share it with kids to get young people thinking about what they can do to start changing the world!

Let's all share in the entrepreneurial spirit! If we support entrepreneurs, our world will be even more diverse, interesting, and creative!

The Entrepreneurial Spirit: "Do or Don’t Do. There is No In-Between." The Inspiring Moves of Indy Publisher, Eileen Robinson

THE ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT SERIES post #6

Eileen Robinson

I've been an admirer of Eileen Robinson for many years. She established herself as a children's editorial consultant with her own company, F1rst Pages, long before editors like myself were becoming consultants, and it's been thrilling to watch her launch her own publishing company, Move Books, in response to what she saw as a dire need in the marketplace. She's following her dreams; she's doing; she's walking the talk--and I'm honored to have gotten her to take time out of her busy schedule and busy life to share her experiences, lessons, and insights with us. Welcome, Eileen!

__________

Do or Don’t Do. There is no in-between. Isn’t that what Yoda said? You either go for it or you dream. And I recognize it all starts with a dream, with a passion, an itch you can’t seem to get rid of. But at some point, you have to leap if the dream will ever become reality. Whatever your passion, you must take that first step.

I’ve been starting up things since I was a kid, but I never planned to be an entrepreneur, and though I loved to read (the New York Public library was like my second home), I never thought I would land in book publishing much less forge ahead with my own company. I was just a young, avid reader who spent summers hunched over Judy Blume’s books, secretly and defiantly, under the watchful eye of the passing librarian. At home I read Young Miss magazine, my Childcraft encyclopedia set (that I forced my brother to read with me on Saturdays), Reader’s Digest, my beloved dictionary, and later, when I joined my first book club, my closet became home to books instead of clothes. I loved magazines and pursued magazine writing, getting my first article published in Better Homes and Gardens. In college, I tried to start a magazine but little did I know the world of books was where I was meant to be, though I had no idea entrepreneurship was in my future, much less my first love, becoming an editor.

I’d like to say something savvy, that I came up with some great idea, something different, something that would change the face of publishing, but I just have a passion to make books, shape stories, be a part of the process. I want to help children see themselves in books, be changed by them, and find confidence and solace in reading, giving them an experience that might inspire them or help them inspire others. That’s it.

In the professional world, it all began at Scholastic, where I landed by accident, as an Associate Editor. I was immediately awed and inspired. Little did I know I was on the path to entrepreneurship, getting a great foundation, working alongside others in children’s publishing who loved books gave me an opportunity to learn from them, pick their brains, and absorb a bit of their happiness, passion, and madness.

So I did. So I am.  

But taking the leap to be an entrepreneur in publishing—the financial responsibility, distribution and sales, marketing and publicity, illustration and design, manufacturing, establishing the brand Move Books to sit among the publishing giants and alongside established small publishers—is another path entirely. Was I going to let my passion and drive override my fear?

Back to Yoda, it’s Do or Don’t Do.

So I did.

And my son, now thirteen, is the reason. With stacks of books in every corner of my house, and unable to eat at the dinner table because of the piles, it dismayed me that he, at six-years-old, was a struggling reader and then became a reluctant reader as he progressed through elementary school. When he was seven, he told me picture books were no longer acceptable to take from the library. Wow. What would the educational system think of all the adults who love picture books? Later on, a teacher took a book out of his hands, telling him it wasn’t on his reading level. Though I understood there must be compliance with reading standards and expectations in the classroom, he was discouraged. What did I do? I purchased two copies of the book and read along with him. Why read along with him? Because I felt the book he wanted to read, Hunger Games, had important emotional, moral, and ethical issues that might emerge for him and I wanted to have these discussions with him. It was unimaginable to me that he—along with his friends, my nephews, and the other children I’ve met while presenting throughout the school and library system—didn’t love books as much as I did. They saw books as vehicles for information to be used in school, but not for pleasure. Of course, I also met many children who were avid readers but I worried about those who might never enjoy reading, and I wanted to contribute.

After much thought and driving my colleagues crazy, I decided to launch a publishing venture called Move Books. Why? Because I wanted to move boys to read.

So what is it to be an entrepreneur? Team, Trust, Sharing, Embracing are some words that come to mind.

Your team. Entrepreneurship is a team effort. And no business can get off the ground or survive without people who believe in what you are trying to do. Everybody counts—even your babysitter!

Trust is key. Support can come in many ways but the key is you must trust those you work with, respecting their ideas and experience.

Share information. You must share information where you can to ensure everyone is working towards the same goal.

Accept change. It’s an everyday occurrence. Embrace it.  Get used to having a plan A and plan B should things go in a different direction.

Entrepreneurship has been a daily transformation for me, and it all began after leaving Scholastic in 2003. I became an editorial consultant and created F1rstPages to help writers work on their craft and provide insight into the publishing world. About a year later, editorial consultant Harold Underdown (The Purple Crayon, and author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Publishing Children’s Books) and I began Kid’s Book Revisions which further built on the premise of helping writers hone their work through revision and understanding the market. But I felt like something was missing. I missed that feeling of shepherding a manuscript through the process to bound book. So in 2011, with colleagues, friends, and family rooting for me, I jumped in with both feet and launched Move Books!

Move Books team:
Harold Underdown,
Editorial

Our Mission: Why Focus on Boys? It’s important for me to note here that I am not saying there should be different books for girls and different books for boys, nor am I publishing the “stereotypical” boy books, but I am publishing books to get more boys to reading, and hope that through reading texts and stories they are drawn to, boys will see the value of reading in their own lives and that it can bring enjoyment as an activity. According to the National Center for Education Statistics and The National Assessment of Educational Progress, boys consistently lag behind girls in reading literacy—the latest study in 2012 showed a five point gap between nine-year-old boys and girls which increased to an eight point gap by age thirteen, and this gap remained through age seventeen. Though these gaps differ by country, they are worldwide. The great news is with contemporary authors like J.K. Rowling, Rick Riordan, and Jon Scieszka, whose Guys Read initiative has long been dedicated to giving boy readers more options, the statistics are likely to get better in the next assessments. Regardless of the statistics, teachers, librarians, and parents know this gap exists, so let’s stop calling it gender bias and contribute to becoming a more literate nation. Like most entrepreneurs, I’d like to help make a difference and hope that I do.

What are we publishing and what do we want? In 2016 we are happily continuing with the second book in The Lost Tribes Series, by C. Taylor-Butler (author of Sacred Mountain: Everest and many others)--stay tuned for a cover reveal in January! We are also excited to be considering our first historical fiction project, among other kinds of stories. We would love more submissions with humor but look forward to just reading really good books that challenge the imagination, and those that show the complexity of middle-grade relationships. If a great YA comes along, we may consider it, but right now our niche is middle-grade. These readers (age eight to twelve) are a lot of fun and more importantly, it is where boys begin to lose interest in reading. Submissions are open now until June 2016.

Entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart. Cliché but true. For everyone who supports you, there will be those who disagree with you, think your mission is fruitless, think they have all the answers, or that they know your direction better than you do. Like in writing, I believe showing is better than telling, so any of you thinking about becoming any sort of entrepreneur need to do your homework so you can feel confident about what you are doing. Listen to all comments, find the truth in them and use that to help make your business stronger.

Mistakes are part of the process. There is so much room for error and bad judgement calls. And you will probably make a lot of them, so see them as stepping stones.

Move Books team:
Virginia Pope, Design

Everyone’s job is crucial. I have always known it takes a village, but when you are the village for the most part, you become enlightened very quickly and start to wonder why you ever argued that editorial was more important than marketing—with the Head of Marketing that is—yes I was very bold! I really believed that there could be no marketing without a good book. And you also learn that you can’t do twelve passes of book layout with your designer just because you own the company. Not productive. Costs money. And everyone is unhappy.

You’ve got experience? So what!  Remember, you are reinventing yourself. I thought because I’d been at Scholastic and Harcourt that a distributor for Move Books’ titles would fall in my lap. My educational/school library background and exposure to trade certainly helped me, but it still took a lot of work and time to land a major, national distributor (with a sales force) that would get us a relationship with the bookstores and wholesalers reaching the school/library and trade markets.

Move Books team:Joe
Sita, Manufacturing

Entrepreneurship is a lifestyle change. Though working for yourself seems like a brilliant idea (and I wouldn’t change it for the world), it’s a lifestyle change for you and your family that requires discipline.

Delegate and trust in others a lot more than you ever have. It is the experience and ideas of the team that help bring an author’s vision and words to life, and that also applies to your company. Never forget, you may be the boss, but you are part of a team. And never underestimate the importance of shielding your team. Don't throw people under the bus. We grow from our mistakes and if you keep that in mind, you will cultivate a team producing ideas that are more adventurous and more creative.

Move Books team:Krista
Ehrentraut, Intern

Success must be measured in small accomplishments. Building a business takes time, especially to attain that “big picture” success. So you must enjoy and celebrate the parts that contribute to the whole, or you’ll become discouraged quickly. That goes for writing too! “Judge each day not by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you plant.”—Robert Louis Stevenson

There is a mentor in everyone. I believe you can learn something from everyone you meet. I have gathered emotional and professional support from people who have become long-time friends in publishing, and outside of publishing (no matter what business you are in, there is a common bond there). And sometimes getting out of your field opens you up to different approaches when you are stuck. I have learned from people who thought I was crazy to launch a publishing company or focus on boys and reading. Their comments either gave me confirmation or caused me to go back and rethink some things. It's all useful.

Stay Grounded. Always come back to the “why”. Why did I start this company in the first place? For my son and to instill a love of reading.

Fiction or Nonfiction? It’s all reading! As you know, I worried that my son would never enjoy books like I do. But not too long ago I realized all the books he chose were nonfiction. It was fiction he tried to steer clear of, though historical fiction seemed to capture his interest. I wanted him to be compelled to read, not because he had to…and that’s exactly what he was doing.

Entrepreneurship is like flying a kite. So do you choose “Do or Don’t Do”? There are many variables, some of which are out of your control.  Some of us contribute to make others successes. Some of us are successes ourselves. Both are great accomplishments. But is one separate from the other? Can we be both? I don’t know. But it’s worth the risk. “Opportunity dances with those who are already on the dance floor.”—singer, Jackson Browne

The Entrepreneurial Spirit: “The Game Has Changed” - Four Steps to Surviving & Succeeding On a New Playing Field

THE ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT SERIES post #4

Ellen Senisi creates media--books, apps, photos, photos, multimedia video--about real-life kids and their environments for children and parents, and for the education market.  Ellen's been a children's writer and photographer for nearly thirty years, publishing her first book, BROTHERS AND SISTERS, with Scholastic in 1993, and her most recent book in 2014, ALL IN A RAINFOREST DAY, through EdTechLens Publishing, the publishing arm of Ellen's company, EdTechLens.

Ellen's work first hit the market shortly after I began my publishing career and I've always considered Ellen's photographic book work for young readers to set the highest bar and standard.  I so admire Ellen's passion and drive to reinvent herself to meet and exceed the challenges of today's market. She is inspiring! It is my great privilege to have Ellen join us on "Our Stories, Ourselves" to share her experiences and advice for becoming a successful creative entrepreneur.

_______________

I got a phone call from a photographer friend recently. "I've got a great idea for a book!" he said. And he did. He had read up on how to put together a proposal and had made a professional-looking package. He’d sent it out to several publishers but wasn't getting any responses. He knew I had published children's photo essay books and wanted to know how to break into book publishing.

I had to tell him: the game has changed.

But you know that. So I don't intend to wonder why or whine (there's enough of that going on), but to share some of what I have learned as I changed how I play in the new game of publishing for young readers.

What is changing is not the creative process we all got into this for--people still want stories; they are hungry for information, the kind we can give them with good nonfiction; and they want images--lots of them.

What is changing is the delivery model. And--oh, yeah--the revenue model; we’ll get to that later.

It is quite telling, in this new digital age,that we writers, photographers, and illustrators are referred to as “content providers.” This term really bothered me at first, as it shows an utter lack of respect for the creative process. I eventually accepted the fact that it was just a name that was part of this new game I was reinventing myself to join.

I found myself going through four stages as I went through the reinvention process and became a "content provider": research, protecting my work, finding colleagues to collaborate with, and becoming an entrepreneur.

* Research Your Niche

Writers and artists are creative people with unique skill sets and diverse interests. A good place to start if you want to reinvent is to think hard about what you know and are passionate about, then look around online to see how others are doing similar things successfully.

In my case, my first steps involved learning new skills related to digital delivery of nonfiction content. I learned about video editing and I experimented with mixing text, photos, video, and graphics. One of my first videos (I DON'T WANT TO SAY GOODBYE) used text and images from a picture book that never got picked up for publication. It was fascinating to reproduce the concept in a whole new medium! [EDD note: See this beautiful and moving 1.38 minute video here!]

However, I realized over time that I wanted to go further than producing one-off videos. Over the last several years, I combined my new skills with my background in education to create an e-learning company called EdTechLens. The first program, recently released, teaches the life sciences portion of the K-5 science curriculum using the theme of the rainforest. And, no surprise here, self-published books will be available as supplements to the curriculum. The first one, ALL IN A RAINFOREST DAY, was published last year.

I went this route because my research found that educational technology is a growing field and that standards-aligned science curriculum is in demand. This was a no-brainer for me because I have a passion for education so I was excited about exploring new ways of learning.

All In A Rainforest Day by Ellen B. Senisi,
photographs by Thomas Marent

* Protect Your Work

At the same time, I took steps to protect my previous and new work. This is well worth doing, as you may be able to use previous work in other ways. Repurposing is done a lot in the digital world, as you will see when you do your research. Protective actions you can take include:

-- Request rights back from your publishers for out-of-print books, if you haven’t already done so.

Fall Changes & Hurray for Pre-K! are two 
of Ellen's books-turned-apps from Auryn 

-- For out-of-print books for which you already have the rights, seek out digital publishers to reprint them as e-books. I have had four titles reprinted by digital publisher, Auryn, and I know there are more opportunities out there. 

-- Check to see if publishers really registered your work for copyright in the first place; if not, register it yourself now. (It’s not uncommon for this to be forgotten.)

-- If you have new work that has not been registered for copyright, register it now. Unpublished work can be easily registered electronically. If you end up getting it published digitally, it is covered so if someone reproduces it online, you can find it and take action against them.

-- Protect your rights; find out if they are being violated and take action.  You can search text and images easily these days and, if you find violations, send a DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act)notice.

-- Scan your picture books, original slides, prints, and artwork in as high a resolution as possible to preserve them.

* Collaborate

Collaboration with other authors and/or illustrators can be an effective and beneficial way to work. If you collaborate, you can do larger-scale projects than you could do alone. If you have the right mix of people, the synergy of working together can be invigorating and creatively productive. I would not be where I am with my e-learning program, EdTechLens, without my four collaborators. Between us, the roles we have covered include writing, editing, photography, videography, music composition, photo research, content management, and curriculum development. Along the way, we've picked up marketing (including social media) and basic tech skills.

Ellen and her son Steven, one of her
EdTechLens collaborators, photographing
in the rainforest

Before making any official arrangement, it’s a good idea to work together for a time to be sure you are all on the same page regarding who does what and how much time and effort is contributed by all members of the team. I had worked with my team on other, smaller projects in the past so we already had a successful history and comfort level with each other when EdTechLens launched.

There are incredible collaboration tools available online. You and your colleagues or the consultants you hire can be anywhere in the world and communicate easily in a variety of ways. You can file share, hold meetings, message each other, or use project management software with to-do lists and discussion threads.

For example, one of our photographers lives in Switzerland and travels extensively to rainforests. He can use ftp to upload photos to our server from locations around the world. We can message him in a variety of ways for research information. We have not met in person yet (I found him on the internet because of his photographic specialty), but he has become an important part of our e-learning program. He had a need for a wider audience for his work and I had a need for his (ha ha) “content.”

* Get Entrepreneurial

You could also take the next step and become an entrepreneur. Technology has opened doors for individuals and small groups, allowing them to efficiently run businesses in ways that were not possible before. The startup movement is spreading rapidly, and there are many ways to get up to speed on the process of becoming an entrepreneur. You can find everything from startup weekends to three-month incubators where participants get opportunities to learn the tools, resources, and procedures of running a digitally-based business. In the longer-term incubators you can find collaborators, consultants, mentors, even investors. (The genre is known as SaaS for "Software as a Service," which is a software distribution model in which applications are hosted by a vendor or service provider and made available to customers over the internet.)

As previously mentioned, the revenue models are changing. Not much is available in the advance-and-royalties model on the web. Some of the most common types of payment used in the digital world include one-time payments, ad-supported websites, subscriptions, ad-supported websites, and freemium. (Freemium is when users get to use the product for free at a basic level. Once they get hooked and want to use the product’s higher-level functions, wallets are opened.)

Entrepreneurship is, in a way, like legalized gambling; but, heck, people do it all the time with the stock market. Risk can be minimized by beginning small and then moving to the next level as what you are creating gets tested and improved.

One of the biggest expenses of this new age is the tech part. Partnering with someone who can write code and shares your passion is a golden arrangement. Otherwise, you need to spend a good amount to pay someone to do this. Here’s where the risk gets bigger. This is where, once again, collaborators are an important part of the entrepreneur equation. If they share your passion, they may share your risk, as my four collaborators (who have opted to profit share) are doing. Some of our consultants, such as the photographer mentioned above, and our tech person, are willing to work with us on a deferred compensation basis. This involves being paid a certain amount upfront but deferring the remainder until the business is profitable.

Working with new types of financial arrangements, such as profit sharing or deferred compensation, is an important component of this new way to work and build a business. Depending on the level of growth your business is capable of, you may even attract investors who will give you money to build with in exchange for a percentage of equity in the company. We are exploring this option now for EdTechLens after two years of self-funding and (mostly) free labor from the collaborators.

Ellen photographing kindergarteners for one of her books

If you're a writer and/or an artist, you're creative, and you will be intrigued by the multiple ways to communicate in the new digital world. The job of authorship is not going away, it is evolving. I'm not saying all this is easy or quick, but it is exciting--and it beats being left out of the game!

Where Will You Be Five Years from Today? drydenbks celebrates its 5th anniversary!

I was given a book five years ago. A bright red book. A bold book. A wonderful book. An inspiring book. A scary book. A book that threw down a gauntlet.

where will you be five years from today?
(compendium, inc. 2009)

Where Will You Be Five Years from Today?  

I found myself inspired and challenged by the book's content, its questions, its statements: "Over the next five years, what do you really want to do? What do you really want to have? What do you really want to be? Where do you really want to go?"

Five years ago I'd just been laid off, I didn't know what was coming next, I had no idea what I really wanted or what I really wanted to be. This book seemed to be taunting me...And the not knowing was terrifying.

The not knowing became my constant companion over the next five years, and slowly turned into I'm just going to try this...turned into Let's just see what happens...turned into What if?...turned into Why not?

I launched drydenbks LLC, my children's editorial and publishing consultancy firm, five years ago this week. I can't quite fathom that five years have come and gone already. And I can't quite fathom how busy I've been and how busy I am, all in the most rewarding ways possible and all with the support and inspiration of colleagues, clients, friends, and family, for which I am sincerely grateful.

I'm thrilled to have found some answers to those daunting, taunting questions that bright red book posed five years ago. So what does this mean? This means, of course, that I need to read the book all over again! Where will I be five years from today? I don't know. Five years ago I set off on a journey into an unknown, the not knowing my traveling companion. The not knowing that has now turned into...What's next?


In honor of drydenbks' five year anniversary, I've been interviewed by the talented author, Joanna Marple on her blog, "Miss Marple's Musings." Responding to Joanna's thoughtful questions made me realize the power and truth behind one of the statements in Where Will You Be Five Years from Today?: "If you don't have a dream, how can you have a dream come true?"  Please read that interview here.

The Entrepreneurial Spirit: "Dare Greatly!” The Road from Reformed Lawyer, Investment Banker, and Mother of Three to Author and Publisher

THE ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT SERIES post #3

Little Pickle Press

Rana DiOrio has written her way through life--as a student, lawyer, investment banker, private equity investor, and now as an award-winning author and publisher of children's media. In 2009 Rana founded San Francisco-based Little Pickle Press, a 21st century publisher of high quality, high impact media for children. I have long admired Little Pickle Press's commitment to offer content to readers across all media in a manner that takes advantage of the latest technological innovation to foster multi-modal, enriched learning experiences. It's my pleasure to have Rana DiOrio share her inspiring story and herself on "our stories, ourselves" today.

_______________

[Rana DiOrio:] I am a life-long learner with a growth mindset. I aspire to grow and change for the better and make a difference in the world. Lofty aspirations, I realize, but it is with great humility that I tell you my story.

When people discover that I was a corporate securities lawyer then a technology investment banker during the height of the Tech Boom in Silicon Valley, they inevitably ask—why in the world did you start a children’s media company!?

While I was pregnant with my third child, my son, The Great Recession commenced, and it became increasingly difficult to be in finance. My husband at the time encouraged me to take some time away from the workforce, so I did. During that hiatus I wrote two children’s picture book manuscripts—What Does It Mean To Be Global? and What Does It Mean To Be Green?. 














Initially, I read them to my daughters. Then, I vetted them with industry professionals and received universally positive feedback. I did extensive research on how best to get them published. What I discovered was that the publishing industry was in the midst of a 21st Century upgrade. I wanted to print in the Americas on recycled paper with soy inks and without dust jackets (that children often rip off). How could I publish a book about being green pursuant to an age-old process that was not environmentally-friendly? I discovered that there were no publishing companies that would do this. My research also revealed that the publishing industry was just waking up to the digital age. Since my focus as a lawyer and an investment banker was software, I recognized the opportunity. I wanted to found a company that was on the vanguard of this exciting change and one that was congruent with my values. I founded Little Pickle Press in early 2009, initially to publish my titles in an environmentally-friendly manner and soon thereafter to publish the titles of other authors, including the award-winning Coleen Paratore and NYT bestselling Shawn Achor.

The second question I am asked all the time is why did you found a company with a social mission? Two factors motivated me. First, I was a new mother. I wanted to walk my talk. I wanted my children to see that they could make a difference in the world, and I could lead by example. Also, as a mother who read a great deal to my children, I noticed that there was a need for content that catalyzed meaningful conversations between children and their grown-ups—about being global, green, present, safe, kind, the best person you can be, about the power of a smile, about the importance of embracing differences, and so on. Further, my whole professional career to that point had been fueled by excess, materialism, bravado, and hubris. I was changing, and these attributes no longer appealed to me. What did appeal to me was living my life with higher consciousness. I wanted to work on my own “stuff” and to become a better person. I wanted to be kind, gentle, mindful, respectful, and grateful.

I found like-minded entrepreneurs in the B Corporation community. These leaders use the power of business to effect positive change. So, from inception, Little Pickle Press was, and continues to be, a certified B Corporation. Little Pickle Press has earned Best For The World honors for three years in a row and Best For Workers honors for the past two years.

There were so many obstacles on my path to scale Little Pickle Press:

• Lots of folks told me I would not be successful; the margins in publishing are so narrow, and I was electing a sustainable process that was more expensive.
• Entities characterized me as a self-publisher, back when that was a derogatory class of citizenship in publishing, and excluded me even though I was publishing numerous other authors quite successfully.
• Getting distribution was very hard when we had fewer than ten titles. There are many more options available now, but in the early days of Little Pickle Press, there were not many options for a company with fewer than ten titles, and no reputable distributor wanted to take a chance on a fledgling publisher.
• There was the challenge of scaling without sufficient capital to grow.
• There was the challenge of building the company with part-time help whose attention and loyalties were constantly divided.
• Not having enough hours in the day to complete all that I needed to, professionally and personally (as a single mother), not getting enough sleep as the consequence, and having my needs subjugated below so many others’ that I barely recognized what they were.

They say that if a company makes it through the first 1,000 days it has a much higher probability of success in the wake of that auspicious milestone. We persevered, and now we are on the threshold of thriving.

We made some mistakes along the way—the kind of mistakes that helped us to learn, and learn quickly! It took me a while to shake my Wall Street mentality when it came to expenses and as with many growth-stage companies, we spent too much money in the early days. We gave a lavish launch party for our first title, for example. Fortunately for our investors, it was my money we spent. Before we raised our first round of capital last year, we had reigned in expenses to all extents possible. We learned to be very judicious about our expenditures. Less really can be more. It was a hard but valuable lesson to learn.

Another mistake we made was printing too many first editions. To take advantage of economies of scale and to get our unit price down, we used to print 7,500 to 10,000 copies of each title. Harboring inventory is very expensive. We didn’t know it then, but we know now that the most successful businesses have just-in-time inventory. We are experimenting with POD (print on demand) solutions. The carbon footprint of a book printed on recycled paper with soy inks in the States yet stored in a warehouse for over a year before it is sold is greater than the carbon footprint of a book printed by Lightning Source moments after being ordered and shipped directly to the bookseller or reader. That was a hard fact to wrap my mind around, but it has really changed the way we view our supply chain and has impacted our project selection too.

Another question I am asked frequently is what advice do I have for someone who wants to start a company?

• Go for it and then experiment, because nothing ventured, nothing gained. As Brené Brown would say, “dare greatly”—that is, make yourself vulnerable and charge ahead.
• Be persistent and undeterred.
• Embrace change, as it is the only constant in life.
• Listen more than you talk because we have two ears and one mouth and we ought to use these gifts in that proportion.
• Choose to be happy because happiness breeds success, not the other way around.
• Have an attitude of gratitude because life is too short to live any other way.

_______________

Rana DiOrio sits on the Executive Committee of the Independent Book Publishers Association as well as the National Board of Advisors of Vanderbilt Law School. Two of her articles have become go-to resources for aspring entrepreneurs: The Top 10 Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make  and Keys to Managing a Virtual Publishing Company.  

Find Rana and Little Pickle Press on Twitter: @ranadiorio  *  @LPP_Media *  @Relish_Media

The Entrepreneurial Spirit: "There's Always Lots Going On!" A (Busy!) Day in the Life of Georgia McBride

THE ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT SERIES post #2

www.georgiamcbride.com

I'm a big fan of small presses. And it excites me to see some terrific small indie presses gaining stronger footholds in the current marketplace. Some of the small presses going strong right now fall under the editorial and business guidance of Georgia McBride who is growing her Georgia McBride Media Group by leaps and bounds. How is she doing this, and how is she faring in the current climate of publishing change and flux? I wanted to find out, and am so pleased I could grab Georgia between projects (and while she was at her son's football practice) to interview her about her business and her thoughts on succeeding with new publishing models. Please join me in welcoming Georgia McBride to "our stories, ourselves."

[edd] You are a writer, so what prompted you to make the leap to becoming a publisher?

[gmcb] I started as a blogger and writer in 2008. I stopped blogging and reviewing books because I wanted to focus on my writing and I hated being in the position of having to sometimes give negative reviews to my fellow writers.  After founding #yalitchat on Twitter, I began connecting writers with agents and editors with writers and manuscripts. I was asked to vet submissions for agents and editors as well as help publishers market their YA books.

When Sourcebooks wanted to launch a teen imprint, they asked me to help source and vet submissions as well as promote the launch of Teen Fire. An early and very vocal supporter of New Adult, St. Martin's press asked me to help launch a New Adult line and recommend content and writers. After having a successful freelance editing business, I decided I wanted to do more to bring good stories to market. Thus, Month9Books was born!


[edd] What an inspiring--and brave!--journey on which to embark! Tell us about the scope of your business today.

[gmcb] I am founder of Georgia McBride Media Group, which is home to Month9Books, Swoon Romance, and Tantrum Books.  I also develop content for film and TV. When I have time, I also write speculative fiction! On Wednesday nights I host #yalitchat on Twitter. And to top it off, I've got two kids, a husband, three dogs, and a parrot! My parents live with us, so there's always lots going on.

[edd] That's putting it mildly! Dare I ask you to give us a glimpse into your typical work day?
[gmcb] Well, let's take today. Today I finalized four contracts, negotiated an audio deal, approved audio talent for another deal, discussed progress of a network pitch with a producer, negotiated two contracts, had a conference call with an author who lives in Finland and her agent about the development of her second book, acquired two books, ordered books for several contest winners and authors awaiting their free author copies, reviewed eighteen royalty statements, talked (phone or email) to seven different agents, exchanged emails with eleven authors (spoke to two via phone), confirmed booth space for BookCon 2015, and inquired about booth space for ALA Midwinter. I think that's it. Well, I also did this interview.  

[edd] I'm exhausted and inspired at the same time! That sounds like a lot for a "small" press. I know you're active with new acquisitions. How's that going?

[gmcb] Right now I have twenty-six active contracts in negotiation at various stages across all three imprints. I am in the process of negotiating two audio deals and one foreign deal. We send deal announcements to Publishers Marketplace and Publishers Weekly. According to Publishers Marketplace, I've completed over 100 publishing deals on behalf of three imprints in the past twenty-four months!                                             

[edd] We mustn't underestimate "small" and it sure seems to me small equals nimble in your case. Tell us about your lists.  
[gmcb] GMMG imprints publish debut authors as well asUSA Today and NY Timesbestselling author Diane Alberts; Bram Stoker Award-nominated authors, Janice Gable Bashman and Charles Day; Amazon US #1 Erotica author Kenya Wright; Amazon #1 Fantasy and Paranormal Romance author Melissa Petreshock; Amazon #1 Children's Fantasy author Nicole Conway; Amazon UK #1 Teen Mythology and Legends author Jen McConnel; and renowned YA authors such as Jackie Morse Kessler, Michelle Zink, and Cindy Pon.  

[edd] You must work with a great team of editors and designers. How does a small press attract editorial talent? 
[gmcb] Success and visibility are attracting talent. Every time I participate in a trade event, or when one of our authors does a signing or has a best selling book, we attract potential talent.
        
[edd] You work with unagented as well as agented authors. It's great that agents are including you in their submissions; this tells me they're taking your imprints seriously.
[gmcb] We accept unagented submissions via Facebook! And lots of agencies are showing us their work, such as Writers House,  ICM, Paradigm, Curtis Brown, and more.

[edd] Discoverability is the key these days among all publishers large and small. How do you get your titles into bookstores and other channels? 

[gmcb] We work with Susan Schulman Agency for subsidiary rights, and IPG (Independent Publishers Group), and INScribe Digital for distribution. Additionally, GMMG titles have been sold internationally in Australia and the UK. We're represented at the Bologna and London Book Fairs and we have a presence at BEA, Romantic Times Book Lovers Convention, Dragon Con, and other trade and consumer events. We license audio rights to four audio companies and we've been licensing film and TV options and rights. I'll be a panelist at Digital Book World Conference & Expo next year. We're getting the word out about our books every way we can--and we're keeping  in contact with all the major publishing media outlets (PW, Huffington Post, Writers Digest, Suspense Magazine, YA Mag, and many more) to keep them apprised of what we're up to at GMMG.

[edd] Such constant hard work is necessary in a competitive marketplace.  As an entre-preneur with your own business, it's clear you have no choice but to wear many hats. What advice do you have for someone who might want to start a small press?

[gmcb] Align yourself with good partners for distribution. Get a good attorney and a good accountant. Don't cut corners. Research. A great resource is IBPA (Independent Book Publishers Association). Have fun!

[edd] It's clear you love your work, Georgia!

[gmcb] I love being a publisher. Everything I've done before now has led me to this outcome. Few things are more satisfying for me professionally than sharing an amazing story with readers. I'm a lucky girl.