The Beats of a Heartland Publisher
The thoughts, ideas, pulses, and opinions of an indie publisher.
Anything done with passion requires what we so often call—heart and soul. Being an indie book publisher means I live, breathe, and invest my time in the creation of books. I’m told people wonder what it means to spend so much time on other people’s writing. Is it hard to work with authors? Do you make enough money to live? How does it work? What’s an ISBN? How do you find what you publish? How do you sell it? How long does it take? On and on. As with anything, the answers are both easy and complex.
To be fair, I didn’t begin with the generous heart I have now. At first, I just wanted to be a mere, super famous, NYTimes best-selling novelist instead of sitting in a chair doing Quality Assurance monitoring at a telemarketing company. As time went along, I discovered I was best propelled by writing. I am what one would might coin, a writer’s publisher. I understand both sides of the book. I’ve been a writer-in-residence in Alaska, won the Kansas Notable Book award for my work on great blue herons (The Great Blues), taught workshops on writing a novel, nature writing, press releases, and more. Participated in workshops on how to get published, and led sessions on being a publisher.
Before being a full-time publisher, I had a series of jobs ranging from tropical fish packer and house cleaner; VW mechanic and old-house restorer; and a brief run as a wild food forager. Been a substitute teacher. Office secretary, print shop worker, Quality Assurance Supervisor, and a Lead Customer Service Rep. There are many others but that’s not the point. My one constant? I decided I would not give up on writing. I am a fiercely independent solo-preneur using the literary arts to better understand how we can best live in the Midwest. It’s just that simple.
Many of the substacks I enjoy reading and subscribe to are deep and insightful forays into politics, environmental issues, ties between place and behavior, relationships, economics, and more. I am not offering that. I’m going to share, as best I can, and as often as able, what it’s like being a small press publisher for the last 33 years. (I started in my 20s and now I’m in my 60s.) I’ll try and share what I know, which oftentimes seems like “the flash of a firefly in the night.”1 The more I think I know, the less I seem to know. But I do know that for me publishing has been and is still far-reaching, it takes me places without having to travel.
Some posts will obviously be related to publishing books, to writing. Others less related to publishing at first glance but vital to how I run my particular small press. After all, I enjoy hiking, cooking, fly fishing, birds, oceans, prairies, rivers, trees, art, prairies, kayaking, gardening, and on and on ... all of which contribute, like a good marinade, to the final flavor of this one-person business. I think it will become clear: there are no clear distinctions in my life where publishing begins and ends. I think you will find the pulse of this entrepreneurial heart-filled indie Midwestern publisher interesting.
Write on!
attributed to Chief Crowfoot
I recently finished "Saved by Schindler: The Life of Celina Karp Biniaz." I thought I'd give the book a skim and call it good. (It was written by a past colleague of mine, Bill Friedricks.) To my surprise I read every page in part because the print layout was so inviting to the eye and the pictures included so captivating. Well done, Steve Semken.
Welcome Steve. You exemplify Dr Suess' "Oh The Places You Will Go." I have found OWR, the Writers Collaborative and Potluck Mondays take me to places I need to.go.