Plain and
simple I don't like rejection.
I have no shortage
of friends, school was a breeze, husband-finding was neither long nor arduous
though the three-year engagement was. Long, that is, not arduous.
I generally achieve
what I aim for. My determination could be credited to training in management,
or maybe the innate manager was determined to be trained. Whatever it is, I'm a
business woman. And I apply business principles to my life, be it for profit or
not.
My gifting comes from the Lord, and I honoured that with over 15 years fully
devoted to His work. He blessed, I invested in the Kingdom, and flourished.
Many wonder
why I self-published my latest book, Remarkably
Ordinary. After all, I occupy a coveted spot in the ranks of the
traditionally published. Would I jeopardize future contracts and my
relationship with my publisher? Would traditionally published authors wrinkle
their noses at me?
Unequivocally,
I reply "No" to the 'jeopardizing' question, and "I don't give a
penny" to the 'nose-wrinkling' one (but I'll give a shiny one to whomever purchase books).
Publishing
is an occupation, and publishers are businessmen. I am an entrepreneurial female
with self-published books who was able to broker deals with an entrepreneurial male. A few years ago I successfully
negotiated hoards of contracts for an employer in an area where professionals
feared to tread. I was the mouthpiece, and the Holy Spirit lent me words that
arrested colleagues, impressed bosses, and persuaded the parties to embrace
change with their signature. The Holy Spirit is still with me and I use His
partnership to represent myself.
Because rejection
has not played a dominant role in my life, as I get older, I'll be danged (this
was a swear word when I was growing up) if I'd throw myself in rejection's
pathway. I refuse to be labelled a reject or to hunt for a decade for someone
to publish my book or to accumulate cabinets of refusal letters. I can't
imagine why I'd want to erode my confidence through those means.
I ask
myself, "Should I place hope in a company (publisher) when I could become
that company?"
I queried a
few publishers while I was writing
Little
Copper Pennies. If any had responded favourably at that time, I'd have gone through, but I
had a plan for the manuscript the minute it was complete. (Both "Penny" books were picked up after by a traditional publisher).
I researched the publishing industry, examining it through the
lens of the 70-30 principle. If I assessed a success rate of 70%, I'd go ahead. I
knew enough to start - writing, pricing, communicating, promoting, marketing,
accounting, budgeting, packaging, shipping. Controllable and uncontrollable
barriers. Scoping. Timing. Milestones. Adding value. Removing waste. Saying no.
Keeping focused. Obtaining legal advice. I learned as I went along, and I keep
learning every day.
Economics
underscore that if operating variable costs are covered, business is viable. I
heeded both variable and fixed costs. The textbooks ask, Is marketing making
what you can sell or selling what you can make? Despite finding success at both,
I subscribe to the latter.
The book
market is a competitive one, but more critically, it's an elastic one, i.e. highly
responsive to price.
I set my own prices in the range I'd pay for a book. I'm an ebook gal, and my favourite digits next
to 0.00 are 99 (¢), but I'll consider a dollar or two higher. Since few books
are as urgent as Diet Pepsi, I can wait for a deal or a freebie. (Unlike my
Kindle, my cupboard supports the Just-In-Time system, thereby rendering the
demand for DP inelastic). Seriously, though, I find the ability to control
price one of the most attractive aspects of self-publishing.
All my books
have yielded 100% returns and more, although
Remarkably Ordinary did it in days. I'll be stupid if I disregarded the
most strategic business decision I've made in my writing career.
(An excerpt from "Insights
into Being Successful Right Where You Are" coming later in 2014).
Susan Harris newest book Remarkably Ordinary - 20 Reflections on Living Intentionally Right
Where You Are is available at your favourite Amazon site.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JICVCQM
http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00JICVCQM
Susan Harris is a former teacher in Management of Business.
Her credentials include a B.Sc. in Management Studies, post-graduate diploma in
Education, Diploma in Writing, Diploma in Human Resources and Industrial
Relations, Certificate in Theology. She holds membership with the Canadian
Council of Human Resources Association and notable writing groups in Canada. She is the author of four books - Remarkably Ordinary, Golden Apples in Silver
Settings (White Lily Press), Little
Copper Pennies and Little Copper
Pennies for Kids (Borealis Press). She was born on the tropical island of
Trinidad but now lives on the prairies with her husband, daughter and the
gregarious cats.
Find Susan at:
http://susanharris.ca
https://www.facebook.com/SusanHarrisCanadianAuthor
https://twitter.com/SusanHarris20