Life Between Coasts S3 E6: A Calling Built On Connection

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Hi there.
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Welcome to Life Between Coasts, the podcast where we dive into our personal journeys connected through synchronicity.
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So grab your coffee, light a candle, and let's begin.
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I'm your host, Leah, and we're glad you're here.
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Today we're sitting down with Sarah.
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Welcome, Sarah.
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How are you?
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I'm great.
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Thank you so much for having me today.
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Well, thank you for joining us.
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And we are so very excited to learn all about you.
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So where do you want to take us?
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Where do you want to begin?
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Well, uh, my name's Sarah Bean.
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I am in marketing for a self-publishing book service.
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I've been in publishing for over 20 years.
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I'm a mom.
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I'm a California expat living in the Midwest.
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Okay.
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Uh, and I have um spent the last five years sort of acclimating from moving across the country into Michigan and still working professionally and and you know, running life with my two littles and my husband.
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Excellent.
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Excellent.
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Now, um, so now you've been in Michigan only for five years?
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Yes.
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Okay.
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So and did you grow up in California as well?
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I did.
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I lived there for over 40 years, both Northern California and Southern California.
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Okay.
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So you can say all around California girl.
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Okay.
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So now what was your what was your childhood like?
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What was it?
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Yeah, I grew up in Northern California, sort of outside Napa Valley.
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Um, and I would say my childhood was probably pretty standard.
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My my mom was an educator, my dad was in insurance, and he was a football coach.
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And so um both of them were big joiners.
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They were very big on participating in things, which really um inspired me.
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Okay.
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So, in so you know, marketing is is kind of a broad thing to get into, but you do so that makes sense.
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So you say joiner, um, because you have to be a go-getter to to really get into that.
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So yeah, marketing is all about building awareness around something.
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And that is definitely something that I started very young.
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I was a cheerleader.
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Okay.
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I mean, what are marketers if not cheerleaders for a product?
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Right.
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So Right.
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No, no, no.
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And how do you think that that how do you think that that helped you?
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Um, being a cheerleader, you know, looking back, you know, 40 years later.
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I mean, that's a great question.
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I mean, I think just the ability to get up in front of people and you know, sort of put yourself out there, but also in support of something.
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You're there for a goal, right?
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You're there for a purpose, you know.
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So that was always um a great part of of cheerleading, I think, was being able to support the team and get others on board with that.
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Right.
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You know.
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No, definitely.
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Now, what um what prompted the move to Michigan?
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So I married a Midwest boy.
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Okay.
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Married a Midwest boy in California.
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It's usually, yeah, it's usually a marriage thing.
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Um, usually it's you're following it, you know, going going one place.
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So you found you found a Midwest boy and um and how did you how did you meet?
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So he and I met the old-fashioned way.
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We met at a bar.
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Hey, look at that.
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That's exactly how I say.
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How did you pre-tinder, pre-tinder, pre-hinge, pre-bumble?
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Uh we met at a bar and just kind of hit it off and started dating and pretty quick.
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You know, if you've lived in LA for a long time, you're probably used to a certain type of person.
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Okay.
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Uh, and he was the exact opposite of that.
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Okay.
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So I kind of snatched him up fast as I could.
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Okay.
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Yeah.
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Okay.
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Well, very cool.
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And now what were you doing in LA at the moment?
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At that, like when you met that time.
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So at that time, I was as I was part of a global booking agency.
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So I started in the industry working with uh the company itself was music acts, but I worked on all sides.
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I worked in the literary department, I worked on the speaker department, the talent department.
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So booking actors, booking uh screenwriters, getting them connected with projects, um, speakers on the on the circuit, you know, getting them out.
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And then yeah, working with authors that were selling properties to the big five, you know, the big traditional publishers.
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So I had been at that agency for over a decade when he and I met in Los Angeles.
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And that was sort of my introduction to the entertainment industry and sort of how the business side of entertainment works.
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Okay.
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Right.
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Whether it's music, acting, directors, or speakers or authors, um, the principles are the same.
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And so I've really learned from the ground floor there.
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Right.
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Well, and yeah, and what because from a consumer perspective, you know, when they see the complete package, they don't see the nuts and bolts or the the contracts or the conversations and the negotiation.
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Absolutely.
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Yeah.
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And that can get pretty cutthroat, probably.
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Oh, absolutely.
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It's very cutthroat.
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And it's it was also a real education into what these places look for.
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Um, I got into it because I wanted to be either an actor or an author, and I wanted to understand, okay, if well, I'm gonna do this.
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I need to know how it works.
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Right.
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So I went and got an internship and then ended up getting very involved in the company and was there for over 10 years.
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Um, and what was so interesting to me is that it's not what you think is going to take off that are the things that are gonna get picked up.
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Right.
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There's a million amazing bands out there, there's a million amazing actors, million amazing authors.
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Um, there are certain things that some of these acts have to do to be noticed.
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Um, and I I like to say that it's generally it's a catch-22.
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You know, generally agents and that side of the business, they don't want you until you don't need them.
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Meaning you're an act or an author or, you know, whatever it might be.
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You're doing so well on your own that the agents and the producers and everybody come calling.
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Right.
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You know, so really they react well to self-starters, people that are building their own audience from the ground up.
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Right.
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That's what they look for.
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Uh, and that's what tends to open the door.
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Okay.
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Uh, so it's that was something that I learned very early on.
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Right.
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And yeah.
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And what so what do you what do you think?
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Is it because it's more of a a genuine approach or an authentic approach to how those agents or how you know producers or or auth um publishers is it is that how that they might view it?
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How do you think?
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I mean, I think what they're always looking for, you have to remember that if you're a talent, let's say, let's say you are a music act and you really want to start touring countrywide, you want to have the big record deals, you want to do all those things.
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Um, what all of the people that are on the business side of it are looking for is can you make money?
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Right.
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Right?
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Can you get people out to your shows?
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Can you and that's any business person, I know, because you know, when you say the business side, you know, I know business, you know, so it's very that part intrigues me like very deeply.
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It's like, how are how does that actually work?
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You know, but they're looking for who's a sure thing.
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Now, you know, there's no sure thing, but they are looking for who is that act who is going to bring in fill the seats, right?
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Right.
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And that's what they have to be able to tell the promoters that are going to book the shows.
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That's what they have to be able to tell the record companies they're going to potentially give the deals.
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Who is going to sell the album?
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Who is going to fill the seats in?
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You know, and so if you have a track record that you can do that, they're a lot more likely to look at you than they are to say, oh, that's a really talented person.
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Right.
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Well, no, because it recently, I mean, I I'm I look at all industries, especially like again from a business standpoint.
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But you know, in my news feed, there was uh there was a couple of recent, somewhat medium names of of some acts that have canceled shows because they couldn't fill the seats.
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Yeah.
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And they just said it was not fair, you know, to to go onto a tour when when there was no sales there to be attracting them.
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Absolutely.
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And you have to look at on that note specifically, you have to look at what's happening now.
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Like, right, there's a flood of entertainment that's out there on the market, right?
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Right.
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There are so many shows and they're all so expensive.
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Right.
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Right.
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They're so expensive.
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And so a lot of um, you know, just general uh concert goers now have to choose do I want to go to this show or do I want to go to that show?
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Right.
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And so it's been difficult, I I think, especially for younger artists who are trying to get out there and build that audience.
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Um shows are expensive, but there's nothing that replaces that live music feeling, you know.
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That's where artists make their money.
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Right.
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So now you said that you obviously you were in LA, you're working for this company for 10 years, um, but you went to LA because you wanted to be the actor or the star.
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Um now, what what changed?
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What you went behind scenes.
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I did.
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Yeah.
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I got behind the scenes and I got to speak behind the curtain and pretty quickly figured out, okay, that's not for me.
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Like I figured out as much as I loved, you know, performing and doing things like that, there is a whole level of self-promotion, especially as a young actor, that you have to do, right?
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And it was just it was the business was so cutthroat, as you said.
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There's a lot of industries like that.
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But oh absolutely.
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But I was having more fun seeing behind the scenes, seeing what all the different projects were and connecting the right people with the right project than I was trying to go out on auditions.
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Right.
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You know, I did it a few times.
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It was fun.
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It's always a joy to be on set, but I started to just sort of see what do I want my life to look like.
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And that wasn't it for me.
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Well, and you think, you know, the life of an actor is is you know, they're self-employed essentially.
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You know, yeah.
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Um, if they don't have a project, they're not earning money, you know.
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Absolutely.
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So it whether they're doing a voiceover or writing a book or doing or doing a uh some sort of tour, you know, publication tour or something to that effect, yeah, they're not getting paid for anything.
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So it it's a tough life.
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It's a very tough life.
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And I commend and applaud those that can do it and really put themselves into it.
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I just encourage everybody that is thinking about that kind of life to understand that they have to put the work in to make it happen.
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It doesn't happen on its own.
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Um, and I I still, you know, to this day remember some of my friends that were actors that were going out for auditions and what a grind it was.
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And you've probably heard those stories of people are like, oh, if I don't land something soon, I'm gonna quit forever, and then they land their next big thing, you know, that does happen.
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Um, I also pretty quickly found myself much more pulled to the publishing side than I was the entertainment side.
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I worked in talent, uh, you know, assisted in a major office.
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There were three agents that I was kind of their hub and I loved it.
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But then doing the publishing side, helping people get their books to big publishers.
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Right.
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That was really like that was where my my interest and my sort of spark lit up.
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And what um uh when you discovered that, what happened?
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I was very lucky.
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I had great mentors that were there at the agency that really they had um built up their own literary careers from the ground up and had done some incredible things and sort of took me under their wing.
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Okay.
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Uh and so I learned a lot about the business.
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I learned a lot about what publishers look for.
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I learned a lot about what the process looks like.
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Okay.
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It's not as glamorous as everybody thinks it is.
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No.
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It's really not.
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And so learning that gave me insight into what are the types of things that sell well, what are the types of things that they pay the big advances for?
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Right.
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And what are the things that, you know, there are authors out there that have book deals that still have to work their day job, right?
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Because it's it's disproportionate in mouth they that they earn, even if they sell a book compared to what it is if you get that big six, seven figure advance.
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Right.
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You know.
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So um, yeah, that looked like me really learning and listening and building connections.
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That was the biggest thing was getting to know people, getting to know them on a real level and being able to have conversations with them and then listen to what they said in return.
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That honestly paved the way for my career.
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It really did.
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And what what's been the the highlight thus far?
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Oh my gosh.
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I mean, there's probably a I was gonna say there's probably a ton.
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So many you know, what is what is one that's what's a standout moment for you that that just like it resonated or or maybe confirmed that you're in the right business, that you made the right decision.
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I mean, that's a great question because I've I've had a number of ups and downs in my career over the years, but I, you know, when you look back at it, and yeah, I think you can only do this when you look back, you see the stepping stones, right?
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You see the stairs.
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Um, but honestly, one of the highlights that I've had was actually just this past week.
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I was at a publishing conference, I had been asked to speak.
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I had done this talk a few times for other organizations, but this is in a big room of publishing professionals, people who I respect, people who I follow, people who I really look at their opinion.
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Right.
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And so to do that talk in front of a room of people that otherwise I'd be listening to was a whole level, it was like achievement unlocked, you know.
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Yes, really, really uh enlightening.
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And, you know, and I got great feedback afterwards, which is even better.
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Because you know, afterwards, if nobody comes up to you and it's just quiet, you're like, oh gosh, did they take my message?
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So they understand what I was saying.
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Um, but I got great feedback afterwards, which just you know, sort of reaffirms okay, I'm on the right track.
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I'm, you know, I belong in the room.
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You know, you would get that expert status.
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Absolutely.
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That's why I I've arrived.
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I'm here.
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I belong here.
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This is my peers.
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I'm not just looking up to them anymore.
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Exactly, exactly.
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And I would never label myself expert because I don't think there's always something to learn, there's always something to gain.
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But just knowing that what I had to say helped others in the rooms really, really reinforced for me that, you know, I'm doing something that I enjoy and love.
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Well, and that's a big thing.
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I mean, it's about perspective.
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And in until you see it through somebody else's eyes, you know, you could be reading the same material, you know, day job, of course, you know, it's tax office, right?
00:15:06.679 --> 00:15:11.000
And and and so I say, you know, if you look at the IRS tax code, how confusing it is.
00:15:11.159 --> 00:15:22.919
If you put 10 auditors up to, you know, the same question, they will all come back generally with the same answer, but it's going to be arrived differently because of how they interpret it, how they interpret the law.
00:15:23.079 --> 00:15:23.239
Yeah.
00:15:23.479 --> 00:15:29.319
You know, and it's just like most of it's clear, but there's when this happens, then do this.
00:15:29.399 --> 00:15:33.239
And it's like, how did you follow that, or how did you round this or not do that?
00:15:33.399 --> 00:15:35.799
And it's the same thing in in any profession.
00:15:36.119 --> 00:15:36.839
Absolutely.
00:15:37.000 --> 00:15:46.599
I think, you know, the the talk that I gave over this past week is um, you know, not to get too nerdy about it, but it was basically how to work with GEO for discoverability as an author.
00:15:46.759 --> 00:15:47.000
Right.
00:15:47.159 --> 00:15:47.479
Okay.
00:15:47.719 --> 00:15:52.199
The what I was presenting in this talk is not anything groundbreaking.
00:15:52.359 --> 00:16:06.599
I'm not presenting brand new research or anything that hasn't probably already been covered, but I was presenting it in a way that makes sense from, you know, my process, from what I've learned over the years, from how, you know, we work as a company.
00:16:06.759 --> 00:16:07.239
Right.
00:16:07.559 --> 00:16:14.279
And that perspective could make more sense to somebody than if they had heard it from somebody else.
00:16:14.439 --> 00:16:14.599
Right.
00:16:14.759 --> 00:16:14.919
Right.
00:16:15.079 --> 00:16:19.399
When you're presenting that information, how helpful is that information?
00:16:19.479 --> 00:16:22.919
And it all goes back to that end user and how they're bringing it in.
00:16:23.000 --> 00:16:23.239
Yes.
00:16:23.319 --> 00:16:31.719
You know, so to be able to present something in a new way that hopefully unlocks something for that end user, like that's a great joy for me.
00:16:31.799 --> 00:16:34.119
That's something I'm like, okay, I I did something good.
00:16:34.359 --> 00:16:34.599
Right.
00:16:34.679 --> 00:16:37.479
Because you can you can build from the back end all you want.
00:16:37.639 --> 00:16:37.799
Right.
00:16:37.959 --> 00:16:41.479
But if it's not received on the front end, then you failed.
00:16:41.639 --> 00:16:42.199
A hundred percent.
00:16:42.359 --> 00:16:58.199
And unfortunately, in the publishing world, if if you put a bunch of effort into marketing and um publishing, you know, putting the book out there and doing everything else and and pushing the author and doing book tours and everything else, and it doesn't sell, how did you misread?
00:16:58.279 --> 00:17:00.759
You know, what you can't predict what's going to sell or what's not.
00:17:01.000 --> 00:17:01.639
Something's amazing.
00:17:01.959 --> 00:17:05.559
It confuses it the the the book world definitely confuses.
00:17:05.720 --> 00:17:09.559
It's like because you you you look at the bookshelves, and I love just to peruse.
00:17:09.640 --> 00:17:26.119
Um, I I read a lot, but you know, when you're inside a bookstore and and um, but it's just various just the different rankings and and and the different genres and just how detailed and and things, it's just there's so much that's out there.
00:17:26.359 --> 00:17:26.599
Yeah.
00:17:26.759 --> 00:17:32.679
Um, I mean, is there a specific like category that you stick to in in your side of it?
00:17:32.839 --> 00:17:37.159
Or is there do you take in all all types of authors?
00:17:37.399 --> 00:17:37.559
Yeah.
00:17:37.639 --> 00:17:43.480
So how do you do the screening, I should say, you know, it's a to know which way you want to take something?
00:17:43.799 --> 00:17:50.679
So the company that I work with, book launchers, we're um full service self-publishing, but we focus solely on adult nonfiction.
00:17:50.839 --> 00:17:51.079
Okay.
00:17:51.240 --> 00:17:56.200
So we work with nonfiction authors who want to get their book out there and they want to self-publish specifically.
00:17:56.440 --> 00:17:56.599
Okay.
00:17:56.759 --> 00:18:03.000
So very different from what I was doing at the beginning of my career, but the beginning of my career really fed how I work with authors now.
00:18:03.240 --> 00:18:03.559
Right.
00:18:03.720 --> 00:18:08.519
Um, you know, and I I like to say that it's everything except for cookbooks, textbooks, and art books, right?
00:18:08.679 --> 00:18:10.039
We're doing all the others.
00:18:10.119 --> 00:18:19.879
So whether it's memoir, business, personal finance, real estate, a lot of health and wellness, self-help, um, parenting, relationships.
00:18:19.960 --> 00:18:21.399
I mean, kind of across the board.
00:18:22.119 --> 00:18:32.279
And we usually work with an author based on have they thought about their book in a way that is gonna further a business, a goal, a mission?
00:18:32.440 --> 00:18:35.879
You know, somebody says, I just want to launch a book because I just want it out there.
00:18:36.039 --> 00:18:39.879
Well, that's a guaranteed way to plummet to the bottom of the Amazon sales.
00:18:39.960 --> 00:18:40.200
Right.
00:18:40.359 --> 00:18:40.599
Right.
00:18:41.000 --> 00:18:46.759
And so being able to look at an author's entire ecosystem, what have they built around the book?
00:18:46.919 --> 00:18:48.440
What else are they trying to do?
00:18:48.599 --> 00:18:56.039
Whether it's getting on stages or launching courses or doing all of the other pieces, those are the people that we love to work with.
00:18:56.279 --> 00:19:01.319
And again, it goes back to that idea of, you know, what I was talking about earlier about agents.
00:19:01.720 --> 00:19:03.720
They want to know that you can make money.
00:19:03.960 --> 00:19:10.440
Well, I hate to burst the bubble for anybody out there, but book sales are not going to be your best course to money.
00:19:10.839 --> 00:19:12.679
Uh, at least not in the nonfiction space.
00:19:12.839 --> 00:19:14.519
Fiction is a whole different animal.
00:19:14.679 --> 00:19:17.159
Uh, I'm an avid fiction reader, right?
00:19:17.319 --> 00:19:21.480
And in those cases, you're looking for what we call the whale readers, right?
00:19:21.639 --> 00:19:24.279
People who read a ton very fast.
00:19:24.440 --> 00:19:26.119
They they can read in volume.
00:19:26.440 --> 00:19:27.799
Nonfiction is very different.
00:19:28.039 --> 00:19:31.879
Nonfiction is problem and solution focused.
00:19:32.279 --> 00:19:37.079
People pick up books based on whether or not they think that you can help them solve a problem.
00:19:37.639 --> 00:19:50.119
So going back to messaging and what makes sense and the confusing part about it, really, when you're marketing a nonfiction book, it has to be does this solve a problem for that end reader?
00:19:50.279 --> 00:19:50.440
Right.
00:19:50.599 --> 00:19:55.399
And can they see themselves right in that copy, in that cover, in the title, in the book description?
00:19:55.559 --> 00:20:00.359
And if they can't, they're gonna skip over that book and go to somebody else's.
00:20:00.519 --> 00:20:00.759
Right.
00:20:01.000 --> 00:20:08.679
So that's a lot of what we work with our authors on is how to refine that message, uh, you know, set themselves up so they are the solution to a problem.
00:20:08.839 --> 00:20:11.559
And those are the the types of authors we love to work with.
00:20:11.799 --> 00:20:12.039
Right.
00:20:12.200 --> 00:20:12.519
Okay.
00:20:12.759 --> 00:20:14.679
Um, and that makes that makes sense.
00:20:14.839 --> 00:20:22.279
Um, because I think that there's a good population of people out there that are looking for direction in some way.
00:20:22.599 --> 00:20:23.000
Absolutely.
00:20:23.240 --> 00:20:29.240
And it's like they're always seeking, instead of looking inward where they should be, unfortunately.
00:20:29.480 --> 00:20:34.599
I think that there's this this massive population that that just wants to be told what to do or how to do it.
00:20:34.839 --> 00:20:38.039
And and those are that's that's the solution to the problem.
00:20:38.279 --> 00:20:42.200
I don't feel this or I need this, and and let me go here.
00:20:42.440 --> 00:20:49.399
And that's good for book sales, um, bad for some inward thinking, but you know, that's a different that's a different topic.
00:20:49.559 --> 00:20:53.240
But yeah, it's just but it's I I get that part.
00:20:53.399 --> 00:21:20.200
Um but it and how do you find, you know, like authors, you know, how do you find when you're when you're going down that road, um how do you like identify one that could potentially you is are they just typically one-off books or do you looking for series people, or are you looking at you know, do you look at uh you have a meeting with somebody and say, Oh, you're a little bit eccentric.
00:21:20.279 --> 00:21:24.599
I don't know if this you know, do you're interviewing the author to make sure they're gonna be just as easy to work with?
00:21:24.679 --> 00:21:26.599
Because they're because I always say that.
00:21:26.679 --> 00:21:40.599
I mean, when when you're a service person and you're providing a service, you have to interview the person that's also hiring you besides if you're not compatible, you're just gonna be pulling your hair out and setting yourself up for a miserable experience.
00:21:40.919 --> 00:21:44.759
So it's like how is all of those, how are all of those pieces coming together for you?
00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:46.679
Yeah, I mean, it's a great question.
00:21:46.919 --> 00:21:51.399
So for our company specifically, for book launchers, we have a vetting process.
00:21:51.559 --> 00:21:57.000
People kind of reach out, hey, I'm interested in working with you, and we kind of look through certain number of things.
00:21:57.159 --> 00:22:02.599
And it's not how big is their audience or you know, do they have a perfect book idea?
00:22:02.839 --> 00:22:03.319
Right.
00:22:03.639 --> 00:22:07.319
What we want to understand is are they gonna think the right way about the book?
00:22:07.399 --> 00:22:10.599
And are our services actually what they're looking for?
00:22:10.839 --> 00:22:11.079
Right.
00:22:11.240 --> 00:22:16.919
Because a lot of times you'll get an author that comes in and is just like, I've got the book, the book is done.
00:22:17.000 --> 00:22:19.480
I just need someone who's gonna get me on the Today show.
00:22:19.799 --> 00:22:20.039
Right.
00:22:20.119 --> 00:22:20.919
And that's not us.
00:22:21.240 --> 00:22:24.839
That's you know, that there are publicists that are out there that will do that.
00:22:25.079 --> 00:22:27.639
Um Um, you know, it it happens.
00:22:27.879 --> 00:22:35.000
Um, I also get a lot of people that come in and are just like, hey, everyone has always told me I should write my life story down.
00:22:35.159 --> 00:22:36.919
And then you kind of have to pull out of them.
00:22:37.159 --> 00:22:38.679
Well, tell me your life story.
00:22:39.319 --> 00:22:40.839
Yeah, let's try not to be that.
00:22:41.079 --> 00:22:44.679
Well, no, to not tell me your life story, but like what's the key point of why you need to be able to do that.
00:22:45.240 --> 00:22:47.000
Your life story is gonna help others, right?
00:22:47.079 --> 00:22:53.399
You know, and and my conversation I've probably had, I don't know, over 500 times in my life.
00:22:53.799 --> 00:22:55.480
I want to write a memoir to help people.
00:22:55.720 --> 00:22:56.679
We'll help them do what?
00:22:56.839 --> 00:22:58.200
We'll help them be inspired.
00:22:58.599 --> 00:23:00.279
Inspired to do what?
00:23:00.440 --> 00:23:04.599
There's always a you know, sort of a a point A and point B.
00:23:05.159 --> 00:23:07.960
And a lot of times people haven't thought that through.
00:23:08.200 --> 00:23:08.519
Right.
00:23:08.759 --> 00:23:18.039
And so what we try to look for when we're working with clients is are they going to try and make this book the best possible?
00:23:18.200 --> 00:23:18.519
Yeah.
00:23:18.679 --> 00:23:19.000
Right.
00:23:19.159 --> 00:23:21.720
Like we have people that are just like, yeah, I just want the book.
00:23:21.799 --> 00:23:23.000
I'm just gonna slap my name on it.
00:23:23.079 --> 00:23:23.960
I don't care.
00:23:24.359 --> 00:23:26.359
That's also not what we're looking for.
00:23:26.519 --> 00:23:31.639
We're looking for people that actually want to work on the book and have a book that they're gonna be proud of, right?
00:23:31.799 --> 00:23:37.480
Have a book that they want to get out of market, envision themselves as an author brand.
00:23:37.960 --> 00:23:40.279
Um, you know, and it's been a long time.
00:23:40.599 --> 00:23:41.240
And that's coming.
00:23:41.480 --> 00:23:57.480
You know, you said that very first, you know, when you working for you said the other global agency, but when you first went to LA and and but you and how if you were on the front end and how much you have to, because it is a brand, you have to push yourself, you have to be number one, always constantly putting your face out there.
00:23:57.720 --> 00:23:58.119
Absolutely.
00:23:58.279 --> 00:24:00.759
And so the same thing uh it comes down to what you're talking about.
00:24:00.839 --> 00:24:08.519
It it's a brand that you're building, whether you are the brand or your your book is the brand or the concept is the brand, you are developing that.
00:24:08.599 --> 00:24:13.240
And so it it's a it's a big thing, and it's not just just writing.
00:24:13.480 --> 00:24:14.679
It is, it's a huge thing.
00:24:14.839 --> 00:24:18.039
You have to think there are some four million books that are published a year, right?
00:24:18.359 --> 00:24:21.559
I think there's closer to six million that exists exists on Amazon.
00:24:21.799 --> 00:24:22.039
Wow.
00:24:22.200 --> 00:24:25.079
Well, and Amazon admit has made it really easy, I think.
00:24:25.319 --> 00:24:28.599
Yeah, Amazon has has lowered the barrier to get a book out there.
00:24:29.079 --> 00:24:32.919
Um, but you know, just putting your book on Amazon, that's not a marketing plan.
00:24:33.079 --> 00:24:38.440
No, you know, there are people out there that think that that it is, but just putting your book out there isn't a marketing plan.
00:24:38.599 --> 00:24:51.079
So I think one of the things that does set an author apart now is the brand, because consumers are inundated with messaging now.
00:24:51.319 --> 00:25:01.720
We get it on our phones, we get it on our TVs, we get it everywhere we go that we're constantly being bombarded by just ideas and look at this, look at this, look at this.
00:25:01.879 --> 00:25:02.359
Right.
00:25:02.599 --> 00:25:09.480
And one book being out without a brand that is driving that book behind it doesn't do well.
00:25:09.639 --> 00:25:10.759
It doesn't go anywhere.
00:25:11.319 --> 00:25:13.799
Um, people have to find things to connect to.
00:25:14.359 --> 00:25:18.440
They have to be able to see themselves and reading that book, see how it can help them.
00:25:18.599 --> 00:25:20.759
They have to see who is the person behind it.
00:25:20.919 --> 00:25:22.440
Can I actually trust this?
00:25:22.679 --> 00:25:34.759
Because now with the flood of AI books on the market, a lot of consumers are being duped into buying things that they that has no one behind it, that is just AI that someone put up very quickly.
00:25:35.319 --> 00:25:40.119
And so the trust factor is so low now.
00:25:40.440 --> 00:25:48.039
And so being an author brand and putting yourself out there helps embolden that trust, gives you a little bit of a standpoint, right?
00:25:48.200 --> 00:25:53.399
Um, which again leads to ideally sales, leads to people coming into your ecosystem, you know.
00:25:53.480 --> 00:25:55.799
So it's it's quite the process.
00:25:55.879 --> 00:26:04.759
It's changed quite a bit in the last 15 to 20 years from what was possible when uh Amazon KDP, which is originally was Create Space.
00:26:04.839 --> 00:26:21.159
When Create Space first started, right, it was just meant to be a gateway for self-publishing, but now it's KDP and it's it's its own entity and it's it's such a big thing, but people have to uh really, really put in a lot of time and effort that they didn't have to before.
00:26:21.399 --> 00:26:21.879
Mm-hmm.
00:26:21.960 --> 00:26:22.119
Yeah.
00:26:22.279 --> 00:26:27.319
No, and I think well, right, because you do uh you know, the the internet was always a level playing field.
00:26:27.399 --> 00:26:27.639
Right.
00:26:27.799 --> 00:26:29.639
And and still is in a lot of ways.
00:26:29.799 --> 00:26:34.200
You know, you can put up a website, you can get a 1-800 number, and you're basically a corporation.
00:26:34.440 --> 00:26:34.599
Right.
00:26:34.839 --> 00:26:39.559
That's you can make yourself look that big in a very quick uh short amount of time.
00:26:39.799 --> 00:26:40.200
Right.
00:26:40.440 --> 00:26:47.639
Um, but in order to then stand out beyond that sea of level playing field.
00:26:47.799 --> 00:26:48.039
Right.
00:26:48.200 --> 00:26:50.200
Um, that's where that's the brand.
00:26:50.359 --> 00:26:50.839
That's everything.
00:26:51.159 --> 00:26:54.119
And that's that's what you do with the book launchers then.
00:26:54.359 --> 00:26:57.399
Yeah, we help authors kind of build that authority behind it.
00:26:57.480 --> 00:27:00.119
How do they have the um how are they visible?
00:27:00.279 --> 00:27:03.639
How do they have the credibility behind them, their expertise?
00:27:03.799 --> 00:27:08.839
Um, are they being recommended by others, you know, whether it's media or book awards or what have you?
00:27:09.000 --> 00:27:12.519
And then are they using those opportunities to continue to grow?
00:27:12.759 --> 00:27:13.000
Right.
00:27:13.159 --> 00:27:21.480
Um, how do you turn that into more media or invitations to to be on stages or to partner with others?
00:27:21.720 --> 00:27:28.440
All of those other things have to come first, the trust and then being visible and building the credibility, all of that has to come first.
00:27:28.599 --> 00:27:28.839
Right.
00:27:28.919 --> 00:27:37.799
Um, and so that's what we help a lot of authors do, which is start with that positioning, identify the things that are in their background that set them apart, their differentiators.
00:27:38.279 --> 00:27:55.559
Um, identify what that problem is that they're solving, and then develop a book that is going to not only serve as a cornerstone, but really be the ability to reach more people than you could if you were just say doing one-on-one coaching or something.
00:27:55.799 --> 00:27:56.359
Right, right.
00:27:56.839 --> 00:27:58.679
Now, have you have you written anything?
00:27:59.000 --> 00:28:00.279
I haven't written a book yet.
00:28:00.440 --> 00:28:01.399
No, I have not.
00:28:01.639 --> 00:28:02.919
I have I am not yet yet.
00:28:03.079 --> 00:28:06.599
Yes, I have a butt worth over 800 authors in my lifetime.
00:28:06.759 --> 00:28:06.839
Okay.
00:28:07.159 --> 00:28:08.759
Probably more than that at this point.
00:28:08.919 --> 00:28:13.879
I have bookshelves and bookshelves of all of my clients' books, but I have not yet written a book.
00:28:13.960 --> 00:28:14.200
Yes.
00:28:14.519 --> 00:28:19.960
But well, maybe you can write uh a book about your experience of of helping to publish other books.
00:28:20.200 --> 00:28:20.519
Possibly.
00:28:20.759 --> 00:28:26.279
You know, that might be something that would be your memoir, of course, you know, about how how now how did you get into this business?
00:28:26.599 --> 00:28:27.960
How did I get into publishing?
00:28:28.519 --> 00:28:30.679
Um, I mean, it really was starting at that agency.
00:28:30.919 --> 00:28:42.839
It was just way back because you wanted to go there, and so it was just, you know, but but but was it it was just it was just the agency, but it wasn't, you know, you didn't graduate high school and say that I'm gonna go into book publishing.
00:28:43.079 --> 00:28:47.079
No, no, that wasn't, you know, you wanted you graduated and said I'm gonna be a star.
00:28:47.240 --> 00:28:50.679
I was, you know, I it that's that's really what it comes down to.
00:28:50.839 --> 00:28:58.599
Now you're a star um in in other people's lives because you're you're what helps them and you're you know over 800 authors now.
00:28:58.759 --> 00:29:00.119
So that's amazing.
00:29:00.359 --> 00:29:05.319
Um but it it's just like that's that's a big impact being able to to say that.
00:29:05.559 --> 00:29:12.679
Yeah, I think, you know, when I first moved to Los Angeles right out of college, I didn't really have, you know, a plan other than I was gonna get in the entertainment industry.
00:29:12.839 --> 00:29:14.119
I didn't know what that was gonna look like.
00:29:14.279 --> 00:29:15.480
Acting did appeal to me.
00:29:15.559 --> 00:29:18.839
I did extra work, I worked with a lot, you know, I did auditions, things like that.
00:29:19.079 --> 00:29:26.519
But um when I started, after I spent a few years in LA, I started to look at or what are the things that I care about the most?
00:29:26.679 --> 00:29:26.839
Right.
00:29:27.000 --> 00:29:29.319
And it was always either TV, film, or books.
00:29:29.399 --> 00:29:29.480
Right.
00:29:29.720 --> 00:29:31.960
Books, I had been an avid reader since youth.
00:29:32.119 --> 00:29:33.639
I would devour books every year.
00:29:33.720 --> 00:29:41.559
And so I was like, well, I think I really and I had an English to read uh degree and a creative writing degree and had done short stories and a lot of writing myself.
00:29:41.879 --> 00:29:48.279
So I kind of when I started at the agency as an intern, it really was, I want to understand the background of it.
00:29:49.240 --> 00:29:52.759
And as an intern, you know, I had the opportunity.
00:29:52.839 --> 00:29:54.279
I could have gone the music way.
00:29:54.440 --> 00:30:02.839
I I did the acting and or I guess what it's really called as literary and talent department when you're working with actors and screenwriters and directors.
00:30:03.079 --> 00:30:11.399
Um, but it was the literary department that covered books that just really called out to me the most.
00:30:11.799 --> 00:30:13.000
I loved the team there.
00:30:13.159 --> 00:30:14.359
I loved what I was learning.
00:30:14.519 --> 00:30:17.799
I got to see, you know, on the ground floor how these things happen.
00:30:17.960 --> 00:30:19.720
And it just got bigger and bigger from there.
00:30:19.799 --> 00:30:37.240
So after I worked at the agency, I went on to work with a New York Times bestselling author, helped him develop his book, helped him with um some of his startup and the things that he was doing, and got to see what the life of someone who is a New York Times bestselling author who's a very in-demand speaker, what that life looked like.
00:30:37.399 --> 00:30:37.639
Right.
00:30:37.879 --> 00:30:39.240
It was a tough life, you know.
00:30:39.399 --> 00:30:39.799
Oh, yeah.
00:30:39.960 --> 00:30:40.679
Credit to him.
00:30:40.759 --> 00:30:43.639
I mean, he was on the road 250 days out of the year.
00:30:43.799 --> 00:30:47.159
I was sort of his hub where I was managing all of the pieces.
00:30:47.399 --> 00:30:47.879
That's a lot.
00:30:48.039 --> 00:30:48.759
It's a lot.
00:30:48.919 --> 00:30:55.559
Um, and so when the opportunity to start working in self-publishing came up, it came at a perfect time.
00:30:55.960 --> 00:30:59.000
It came at a time when I was ready to transition out of that other role.
00:30:59.159 --> 00:31:01.079
I was ready for a life change.
00:31:01.480 --> 00:31:08.759
And through sort of a random bump-in with an old friend, I was putting on a path to work with book launchers.
00:31:08.839 --> 00:31:12.359
And honestly, it was the best thing that has happened to me because I I love this job.
00:31:12.440 --> 00:31:14.119
I've been with them for over eight years.
00:31:14.440 --> 00:31:16.679
It's an incredible organization.
00:31:17.000 --> 00:31:21.079
Um, and yeah, it just became a great fit.
00:31:21.319 --> 00:31:24.599
And you were able to, so no, eight years there, five years here.
00:31:24.679 --> 00:31:28.279
So you were able to, you know, work anywhere, it sounds like with what you're doing.
00:31:28.519 --> 00:31:35.159
So the fact that you were able to kind of like unroot yourself from my California and move to Michigan.
00:31:35.319 --> 00:31:43.799
Yeah, it's very Michigan's not a bad state, but it's definitely we've uh, you know, you have what 330 days of beautiful weather and uh we have, you know.
00:31:44.200 --> 00:31:48.359
I'm still getting used to temperatures below 40 in May.
00:31:49.000 --> 00:31:51.480
Like, I mean, we're still a little bitter about that.
00:31:51.799 --> 00:31:53.720
Yeah, that's that part of it.
00:31:53.799 --> 00:31:59.079
Uh this year, this spring has been just a terrible, just very icy cold.
00:31:59.240 --> 00:32:00.679
It's full spring, man.
00:32:00.759 --> 00:32:01.319
It'll get you.
00:32:01.480 --> 00:32:02.119
It'll get you.
00:32:02.279 --> 00:32:07.480
But the first few years that I lived here, yeah, it would snow, you know, May 5th, May 10th.
00:32:07.559 --> 00:32:07.879
Yeah.
00:32:08.039 --> 00:32:12.440
And you know, my gr my father-in-law, God bless him, would always just be like, oh, it's just a little flurry.
00:32:12.759 --> 00:32:13.319
It'll go away.
00:32:13.720 --> 00:32:16.279
Yes, it'll go away, but it is still here now.
00:32:16.599 --> 00:32:17.079
It is.
00:32:17.319 --> 00:32:22.200
But it the summers are always great, but it's you know, it it is a good, you know, but it it it is different.
00:32:22.359 --> 00:32:31.639
I mean, you you pluck yourself out of LA, which mind me, uh I'm not Ben, but I mean I know big cities, you say just being that that that feeling of being in the city, right?
00:32:31.799 --> 00:32:41.960
Um, but you pluck yourself out of a big city and you bring yourself to Michigan, which I mean, even Detroit being a big city still isn't really a big city at the end of the day.
00:32:42.039 --> 00:32:46.440
It just it doesn't have all of what you feel like when you're in New York or Chicago and things like that.
00:32:46.679 --> 00:32:48.359
Yeah, it's got a different vibe for sure.
00:32:48.919 --> 00:32:55.559
And in LA, I think there's a certain um language that's spoken because so many people are in the entertainment industry, right?
00:32:55.720 --> 00:32:58.039
So many people are trying to do a lot of different things.
00:32:58.200 --> 00:33:00.519
LA is a very self-starter city, right?
00:33:00.759 --> 00:33:02.679
It is very, very self-starter.
00:33:02.839 --> 00:33:06.200
Um, what I always loved about LA as well is it's very come as you are.
00:33:06.839 --> 00:33:19.000
Um, you know, it's bring who you are to the table and and work your self, you know, right keep your drive going and you're gonna, you know, you'll you'll see things happen.
00:33:19.240 --> 00:33:31.399
Um, I think the nice thing that has happened since, you know, 2020, um, which was, you know, right about when we were leaving, was is that that idea of remote work really took off.
00:33:31.559 --> 00:33:33.639
Now I had been doing it for years already.
00:33:33.799 --> 00:33:36.519
Our company has been 100% remote since the beginning.
00:33:36.839 --> 00:33:43.000
So I was very lucky in the sense that I was able to pick up from Los Angeles, move across the country without missing a beat.
00:33:43.799 --> 00:33:51.240
Um, but I still miss, you know, being able to be plugged in a little bit to what's happening, right?
00:33:51.480 --> 00:33:53.240
Getting to know the individuals there.
00:33:53.319 --> 00:33:55.559
But now it just it just looks a little bit differently.
00:33:56.039 --> 00:33:59.960
And I think part of it is just being open to whatever that experience is gonna bring your way.
00:34:00.119 --> 00:34:02.119
I've made amazing connections here.
00:34:02.359 --> 00:34:13.079
I've met a lot of people that um are either related to what I'm working on or are somehow um, you know, doing cool and interesting and innovative things on their own, you know.
00:34:13.240 --> 00:34:13.400
Right.
00:34:13.800 --> 00:34:21.960
And you know, it's funny because I'm not discounting the state by any means, um, but there's a lot of really good things that come out of Michigan.
00:34:22.039 --> 00:34:22.360
Yeah.
00:34:22.599 --> 00:34:27.000
Um, but there's, you know, it I sometimes I think we're underestimated.
00:34:27.079 --> 00:34:28.840
Um in a lot of ways.
00:34:28.920 --> 00:34:30.920
You know, it's always, oh, well, they're the auto industry.
00:34:31.000 --> 00:34:31.960
It's just the big three.
00:34:32.119 --> 00:34:37.480
But there is a little bit, there's the tech hubs, and there's there's a lot of things that are brewing here.
00:34:37.559 --> 00:34:37.799
Yeah.
00:34:37.880 --> 00:34:44.279
Um, and not just in a beer, you know, and it's just it's it's it's a very interesting dynamic.
00:34:44.519 --> 00:34:55.239
And our our biggest problem was keeping young people in the state because everybody went to California or Washington or Boston or Chicago, you know, nobody stayed.
00:34:55.400 --> 00:34:58.679
So it's, I think that might start to be change, you know.
00:34:58.759 --> 00:35:02.440
I just I think people are looking for a little bit more elbow room, maybe.
00:35:02.679 --> 00:35:11.079
I think that because of what we've seen happen in the last five years, people are looking for that opportunity to slow down a little.
00:35:11.719 --> 00:35:15.880
I think they're looking for the ability to be in a community.
00:35:16.039 --> 00:35:16.279
Yeah.
00:35:16.440 --> 00:35:22.920
You know, um, it's interesting because I talked to my friends back in LA and a lot of them say, oh, well, it's changed quite a bit.
00:35:23.000 --> 00:35:24.199
It's not the same as it was.
00:35:24.279 --> 00:35:29.079
Now, I don't know if that means that it's changed because we've changed and we're all in our 40s with kids now.
00:35:29.480 --> 00:35:29.639
Right.
00:35:29.880 --> 00:35:30.679
Compared to what we were.
00:35:31.079 --> 00:35:32.840
Your mindset's a little bit different, right?
00:35:33.159 --> 00:35:35.000
Yeah, you know, maybe that's why it's changed.
00:35:35.239 --> 00:35:40.519
Less likely, less out there to impress and we've changed too.
00:35:40.679 --> 00:35:41.000
Right.
00:35:41.400 --> 00:35:49.880
Um, I think what I like to see around Michigan is I think you're right, there's a lot of different industries here besides just the auto industry.
00:35:50.039 --> 00:35:54.199
There's a booming tech industry, you know, being in and around the Ann Arbor area.
00:35:54.279 --> 00:35:56.119
There's a big medical community here.
00:35:57.799 --> 00:35:58.360
Excuse me.
00:35:58.519 --> 00:36:07.960
And I think um I think what we're starting to find is that the younger generations are also looking for something very different than say we were at their age.
00:36:08.599 --> 00:36:11.719
I think the Gen Z goals are very different.
00:36:12.039 --> 00:36:15.159
There's much more of a work-life balance and they want more life than work.
00:36:15.480 --> 00:36:18.440
Um they want the high salaries and more life.
00:36:18.599 --> 00:36:32.599
And and I I think, you know, being in that that 40s, you know, it's just that um I think a lot of it is put your nose to the grindstone, just do the job, get it done, earn living, live your life, just go, go, go.
00:36:32.679 --> 00:36:41.320
Yeah, there's no time for anything else, you know, pay the bills, and then you can live, you know, because that's kind of it it it's a weird blend between the two generations, you know.
00:36:41.880 --> 00:36:52.679
Really, and it's uh it's it's hard, but you know, we do well, but it's just we're we're very focused on work and getting our responsibilities done first.
00:36:52.920 --> 00:37:08.679
And I think that there is a lesson that came from the older generations, you know, like my parents and and my husband's parents' age, where you got a job and you stayed at that job regardless of how they treated you, regardless of over 30 years.
00:37:09.000 --> 00:37:10.119
For 30 years.
00:37:10.759 --> 00:37:14.440
And now the shit now there's just so much more opportunity.
00:37:14.519 --> 00:37:14.679
Right.
00:37:15.000 --> 00:37:19.159
The creator economy and the gig economy really boomed in the last 15 years.
00:37:19.480 --> 00:37:23.719
And so people aren't faced with the choice that they have to stay where they used to be.
00:37:23.960 --> 00:37:24.199
Right.
00:37:24.599 --> 00:37:39.239
But now the flip side is that you've got these younger generations who are skipping jobs every other year and not not really building up any kind of you know, savings or any kind of you know, experience.
00:37:39.400 --> 00:37:42.119
They just balance from spot to spot.
00:37:42.360 --> 00:37:46.279
So it's I think we've I think Gen I was a nice happy medium between the.
00:37:46.440 --> 00:37:58.440
It is well, because it uh because from an employer standpoint, you know, uh the the unquanta or non-quantifiable aspect is the human knowledge.
00:37:58.599 --> 00:38:04.759
And if somebody's only there for a year and a half or two years, right, um, they're losing that knowledge to somebody else.
00:38:04.840 --> 00:38:08.759
So they're not getting that 30-year base of, oh, hey, Marge, what was that?
00:38:08.920 --> 00:38:21.000
You know, I'm sorry I'm using an older name, but that's you know, it was kind of like there was always that person in the corner that knew everything about everybody and every client and all the bosses from the beginning, you know.
00:38:21.320 --> 00:38:29.400
And it's just, you know, so it's just that's the knowledge that I think that those companies miss out on because of the way that generation does operate.
00:38:29.639 --> 00:38:31.159
I think that's a hundred percent true.
00:38:31.320 --> 00:38:35.480
I think that unless you have integrated yourself into a company.
00:38:35.559 --> 00:38:52.440
Now, I'm not saying you should do this with every job, but if it's a job where it's an environment that you like and it's people that you can see yourself working with, integrating yourself and being there for long periods of time is gonna give you so much background knowledge, so much info that nobody else has.
00:38:52.759 --> 00:38:55.320
No, it's it what's that that reverse osmosis?
00:38:55.400 --> 00:39:01.639
You know, you're you need to absorb the knowledge and the the everything from everybody around you.
00:39:01.960 --> 00:39:03.400
And then just in the principle.
00:39:03.639 --> 00:39:06.360
Well, it it's no, it no, you're fine, but it's the sum of five.
00:39:06.440 --> 00:39:07.320
I always go back to that.
00:39:07.400 --> 00:39:19.400
It's you know, because even if you're in different groups, whether it's your social group or your your work group or whatever, um, your success is dependent upon the average of who you associate with most.
00:39:19.559 --> 00:39:33.239
So if if you're out, you know, slacking with the the employees that aren't necessarily doing, you know, the make look productive but not actually produce anything, you know, right, then you're not gonna be successful in your career.
00:39:33.400 --> 00:39:41.639
But if you're part of those that are, you know, that are trying to be successful to try to advance themselves in that, you know, you're you're going to be better.
00:39:41.880 --> 00:39:54.519
And you know, and that what is what opens the doors to when you start with one company and then you work with best-selling authors and then gives you other opportunities to work with other companies and work from home and raise your kids and and all of that.
00:39:54.679 --> 00:39:56.199
So, so what's next then?
00:39:56.360 --> 00:39:59.480
So what's you know, what's the next step for for you?
00:39:59.639 --> 00:40:01.320
What's you know career-wise?
00:40:01.400 --> 00:40:01.639
Yeah.
00:40:01.799 --> 00:40:01.960
Yeah.
00:40:02.119 --> 00:40:06.039
I mean, it sounds like you've got you've checked a lot of boxes, but yeah, yeah.
00:40:06.279 --> 00:40:09.559
So other than adding your book to the shelf, what would be next?
00:40:09.880 --> 00:40:13.880
I, you know, I think um the biggest thing that I love working on.
00:40:13.960 --> 00:40:17.000
So book launchers, we've rolled out new products in this year.
00:40:17.079 --> 00:40:20.360
And so I've stepped into a new role that I'm learning from the ground up.
00:40:20.519 --> 00:40:20.759
Okay.
00:40:20.920 --> 00:40:34.360
You know, so I've stepped into a role as head of partnerships where I get to go and meet other organizations who potentially want to partner with book launchers, whether it's to offer a service or to be an affiliate or what have you.
00:40:34.519 --> 00:40:44.599
And this is not a job that I would have ever sort of envisioned for myself, but it's one that plays in naturally to what I love to do, which is to meet people and talk to them and learn.
00:40:44.920 --> 00:40:51.880
And so I get to go and just sit down and have dinner with, you know, people from different companies and learn about them.
00:40:51.960 --> 00:41:00.759
And then I think the best part about it is just getting to understand other people's personalities and then being able to envision here are some ways that we can work together.
00:41:00.840 --> 00:41:02.119
Here's why it'd be good for you.
00:41:02.279 --> 00:41:03.719
Here's how I know I can help you.
00:41:03.880 --> 00:41:04.199
Yes.
00:41:04.360 --> 00:41:09.079
Um, that is that is something that I really, really enjoy doing.
00:41:09.400 --> 00:41:14.840
And uh, you know, I talked to my daughter, my daughter's eight, uh, and we we we're big on instincts.
00:41:15.000 --> 00:41:15.880
What's your instinct?
00:41:16.119 --> 00:41:18.199
Her instinct is always to help people.
00:41:18.360 --> 00:41:19.799
That's always been her instinct.
00:41:19.960 --> 00:41:20.199
Okay.
00:41:20.360 --> 00:41:26.199
Uh, and so when I was trying to explain my job to her a couple of days ago, I was kind of explaining what I do on my work trips.
00:41:26.279 --> 00:41:28.840
And she was like, Mom, your instinct is to help people too.
00:41:29.000 --> 00:41:32.119
And I didn't really think about it that way, but I think it it's kind of true.
00:41:32.199 --> 00:41:34.199
Like I just naturally play into this new role.
00:41:34.279 --> 00:41:36.759
So I'm sort of developing that within our company.
00:41:36.840 --> 00:41:38.440
It's a new position within the company.
00:41:38.519 --> 00:41:40.599
So there's a lot of challenges that go with it.
00:41:40.840 --> 00:41:47.559
But I'm lucky to work for a small company that's agile enough and and we're able to be flexible and make things work.
00:41:47.719 --> 00:41:47.960
Right.
00:41:48.119 --> 00:41:50.440
Um, so you know, we have certain goals and things.
00:41:50.519 --> 00:41:53.079
I'm not gonna bore you with all the milestones that are coming up.
00:41:53.400 --> 00:42:07.559
No, but well, yeah, yeah, it sounds intriguing though, because I mean it's you're a natural salesperson, you can tell that, you know, just though just the the the smile and the energy that that beams, the light that beams off of you, you can tell.
00:42:07.719 --> 00:42:10.039
Um, and and that's that's an amazing thing.
00:42:10.199 --> 00:42:19.559
But just then with your the expertise, not maybe not classify yourself as an expert, but having the expertise behind you of from both perspectives.
00:42:19.719 --> 00:42:23.719
So you've seen it from the self-publishing side, but you've also seen it from a global publisher side.
00:42:23.880 --> 00:42:24.039
Yeah.
00:42:24.199 --> 00:42:31.000
And you've seen it from the you know, top blind, you know, top billers and things, because that part like has always confused me.
00:42:31.079 --> 00:42:37.159
Like you always see like New York Times bestseller and stuff on on books, and you're like, well, how do they rank or how do they qualify?
00:42:37.239 --> 00:42:40.599
Because it's like a book hasn't even been out and how they're already on this list.
00:42:40.679 --> 00:42:42.199
It's like gosh, I'll get into that.
00:42:42.679 --> 00:42:44.440
Yeah, I mean, it just it makes no sense.
00:42:44.599 --> 00:42:49.719
So that's where that's where I'm like, okay, so I I don't know how like rankings and and all of that fun stuff work.
00:42:49.960 --> 00:42:56.360
But you are, but you're piecing together, you're taking what you know and what you know how to do, and you're bridging the gap.
00:42:56.599 --> 00:43:10.279
Um and and and because there are those companies, there are those people that are out there that have no idea how they they have the want um and they have the drive, um, but they don't have how any idea how to connect all of those points.
00:43:10.599 --> 00:43:20.119
Yeah, I mean, I think because I've been with this company for eight years, I'm able to step into this role in a way to actually make it work for what we have the ability to do.
00:43:20.279 --> 00:43:34.199
Now, if I were to jump to another company in the same type of role, I can't guarantee the same kind of results because I'd have to learn that company and understand exactly what's behind it and what their goals are and and and what they can and can't do.
00:43:34.599 --> 00:43:40.840
Because I've been with my company for eight years, I know exactly what's gonna put the production team through a hassle.
00:43:40.920 --> 00:43:44.440
I know exactly what's beg for a bad partnership.
00:43:44.679 --> 00:43:46.519
But that also means I know the good ones.
00:43:46.679 --> 00:43:49.559
I know the ones that are gonna be like, yes, here are all the ways that we can help you.
00:43:49.639 --> 00:43:51.079
And I can spot it right away.
00:43:51.159 --> 00:43:51.320
Right.
00:43:51.480 --> 00:43:59.880
And that only comes with experience and history and working through all the iterations of this company um throughout the years.
00:44:00.119 --> 00:44:00.360
Yes.
00:44:00.519 --> 00:44:14.920
So um, I can't guarantee that I would take the same job at a different company, but for here it's great because I am able to bring my my past experience and my in-depth knowledge of how we work to ensure that we have the best case scenario.
00:44:15.239 --> 00:44:15.719
Brilliant.
00:44:15.880 --> 00:44:16.119
Yeah.
00:44:16.279 --> 00:44:17.159
Oh, I love it.
00:44:17.320 --> 00:44:19.559
I love well, and your daughter's spot on.
00:44:19.719 --> 00:44:22.599
Uh I think I uh you know, I'd have I'm going to agree with her.
00:44:22.679 --> 00:44:25.320
I don't know her, but I'm going to agree with her that that your goal is.
00:44:25.719 --> 00:44:26.279
To help people.
00:44:26.440 --> 00:44:28.759
I think that that is that is the absolute truth.
00:44:29.000 --> 00:44:35.480
I mean, I really love what I love about self-publishing compared to traditional publishing is that you know you remove the gatekeepers.
00:44:35.880 --> 00:44:44.759
Now that doesn't mean that your j your book is automatically going to work just because you self-publish it, but it means that you have the opportunity to turn it into a good book.
00:44:45.239 --> 00:44:52.679
There are so many examples of fantastic self-published books that have actually outsold traditionally published books that are out there.
00:44:52.840 --> 00:44:56.440
There are books that are so successful being self-published.
00:44:57.079 --> 00:45:09.960
And so my job is I get to work with people on how to do that who where along the line they've probably thought either themselves, had limiting beliefs themselves, or somebody else has told them you can't do this.
00:45:10.199 --> 00:45:10.440
Right.
00:45:11.159 --> 00:45:15.639
And so my job is to be able to say, yes, you can, and you still have to do the work.
00:45:15.880 --> 00:45:16.119
Right.
00:45:16.279 --> 00:45:18.199
But here's how you absolutely do it.
00:45:18.279 --> 00:45:18.440
Yeah.
00:45:18.519 --> 00:45:20.119
But here's the work you need to do.
00:45:20.360 --> 00:45:22.360
Here's how you put it all into place.
00:45:22.840 --> 00:45:24.519
You have to still go and do it.
00:45:24.599 --> 00:45:28.039
And that's that's the the definition of self-publishing.
00:45:28.279 --> 00:45:28.599
Yes.
00:45:28.679 --> 00:45:29.000
Yeah.
00:45:29.480 --> 00:45:50.599
No, but it and once you know, I think and I think that that's just uh that's inspiring to to somebody that that's out there that's thinking about doing a a self-published um book, um, is because there are a lot of people that have the drive that have the help that they want to offer but don't know how to deliver it.
00:45:50.679 --> 00:45:51.079
Yeah.
00:45:51.400 --> 00:45:55.639
And um they're the first place that they go is Amazon, you know.
00:45:55.880 --> 00:46:01.639
Oh, and and it it's it it's not human driven necessarily.
00:46:01.880 --> 00:46:02.039
No.
00:46:02.360 --> 00:46:04.679
Um it's the way that it's set up.
00:46:05.000 --> 00:46:10.039
So I think the best thing to do is to find um is to find people like you.
00:46:10.199 --> 00:46:15.159
And now how now book launchers is so it's booklaunchers.com is how they would find you.
00:46:15.400 --> 00:46:16.039
Yeah, absolutely.
00:46:16.279 --> 00:46:20.360
Booklaunchers.com, or we have a YouTube channel, booklaunchers.tv.
00:46:20.519 --> 00:46:20.759
Okay.
00:46:21.000 --> 00:46:24.039
Where we have hundreds of videos on self-publishing.
00:46:24.199 --> 00:46:24.920
Oh, fantastic.
00:46:25.079 --> 00:46:27.000
Um great education there.
00:46:27.159 --> 00:46:32.199
Uh, we also have a school um community called the Nonfiction Author Lab, which is completely free.
00:46:32.360 --> 00:46:32.440
Okay.
00:46:33.559 --> 00:46:33.799
Okay.
00:46:33.960 --> 00:46:36.599
And they can go and they can get that community support.
00:46:36.759 --> 00:46:37.079
Okay.
00:46:37.320 --> 00:46:41.960
Hey, I, you know, I need to crowdsource my cover, or oh, I ran into this problem with Amazon today.
00:46:42.039 --> 00:46:43.159
How have other people solved it?
00:46:43.400 --> 00:46:43.559
Right.
00:46:43.719 --> 00:46:48.599
Um, and so that community has been a great admission to to our our fabulous.
00:46:48.840 --> 00:46:50.039
Well, we'll make sure we link to everything.
00:46:50.199 --> 00:46:50.840
Yeah, they're cool.
00:46:51.000 --> 00:46:55.079
Um, that's um we're going to have a resource page and everything on that.
00:46:55.400 --> 00:47:02.519
Um, and of course, you know, one of the the final questions that we always like to end our show with is Sarah, what is your personal anthem?
00:47:02.840 --> 00:47:17.559
Um, and as I've always explained it, it could be a song that's meant for the season, it could be your lifetime, it could be, you know, for when uh when you just need to be amped up, you know, whether you go in for an interview or or when you're speaking to an author for the or standing up in front of your peers and giving a speech.
00:47:17.960 --> 00:47:20.920
What's the song that you would turn on uh to do that for you?
00:47:21.159 --> 00:47:34.279
I the only one that I can think of at the moment, and I'm sure there's dozens out there, there's a lot out there that I love, but um the one that just kind of gets down into my heart is Hanging by a Moment by Life House.
00:47:34.519 --> 00:47:35.400
Oh, I love that song.
00:47:35.639 --> 00:47:35.960
Okay.
00:47:36.119 --> 00:47:39.079
So the song is what, almost 30 years old at this point.
00:47:39.559 --> 00:47:45.159
But every time I hear it, something about that downbeat just gets to me.
00:47:45.480 --> 00:47:57.880
And it takes me right back to being, you know, a 19-year-old driving my car long road trip by myself for the first time, just jamming in my car, feeling totally free and open with it.
00:47:57.960 --> 00:48:01.320
And so yeah, I don't know why it's that song.
00:48:01.400 --> 00:48:02.119
It just always is.
00:48:02.279 --> 00:48:09.559
I hear it everywhere, but there's all it's also that the message behind that song is you know, we all exist in the moments.
00:48:09.719 --> 00:48:09.960
Yes.
00:48:10.119 --> 00:48:13.239
We that's where we make our connections, that's where we make our memories.
00:48:13.719 --> 00:48:22.679
Um, our life is a collection of moments, and identifying those ones that keep you going is, you know, is just something that I think about all the time.
00:48:22.840 --> 00:48:26.039
And so hanging by a moment by Life House just, I don't know, it speaks to me.
00:48:26.119 --> 00:48:27.480
I don't know, I love it.
00:48:27.639 --> 00:48:28.119
I love that.
00:48:28.199 --> 00:48:28.759
No, I do.
00:48:28.840 --> 00:48:29.239
But you know what?
00:48:29.400 --> 00:48:35.400
And it's so funny because I listened to my channel on my um my music thing or whatever.
00:48:35.559 --> 00:48:40.599
Um and uh I put on the year that I graduated, you know, in 1997.
00:48:40.679 --> 00:48:43.719
And so I put that in, um, so it just brings me all the music from that era.
00:48:44.039 --> 00:48:45.000
That's why you're doing like, yeah.
00:48:45.159 --> 00:48:55.239
So I'm like, we have some pretty good music, you know, and and it's like we need to play more of it, you know, because there's some really good jams that were on there.
00:48:55.719 --> 00:48:57.799
So many good songs that came out of that era.
00:48:58.119 --> 00:49:00.039
I mean, I can listen to that one.
00:49:04.360 --> 00:49:04.840
Okay, yeah.
00:49:04.920 --> 00:49:05.799
I remember all of them.
00:49:06.039 --> 00:49:06.279
Oh, yeah.
00:49:06.519 --> 00:49:07.079
Right in the sequence.
00:49:07.400 --> 00:49:08.360
Oh, totally, totally.
00:49:08.519 --> 00:49:09.480
So I'm right there with you.
00:49:09.559 --> 00:49:11.239
So good bangers from that time.
00:49:12.119 --> 00:49:12.519
Definitely.
00:49:12.679 --> 00:49:15.079
So thank you so much for joining us today.
00:49:15.320 --> 00:49:19.400
And thank you for joining us on this week's episode of Life Between Coasts.
00:49:19.480 --> 00:49:23.799
Please remember to like, share, and subscribe to grow our community of listeners.
00:49:23.960 --> 00:49:26.360
And we'd like to thank Sarah again for joining us.
00:49:26.440 --> 00:49:27.960
And we hope you have a great week.
00:49:28.039 --> 00:49:30.199
And until then, bye-bye.