Publish Boldly, Create Freely

Speaker 1: hi I'm Melanie bar welcome to the she builted experience with Melanie you're here because you want to experience the life and business that you crave join me as I talk to women who have successfully built it a career and business that they love we dive into the topic of how they built it and talk about everything from Having the courage to make career leaps to the details of how to lead effectively create successful teams Implement strategies for growth and Infuse Tech innovation magic happens when we focus on the part of ourselves and our business that brings us joy so let's dive in Rosanne Chang is the co-founder of Evergreen authors an online school teaching authors The Business of Being a writer she is the author of five books and prior to Evergreen authors was a former marketing director at an indie Publishing House thank you for joining us Rosanne you have a passion for helping authors create author platforms and Market their books and get them into the hands of readers I can't wait to chat about all of that but before we do share with us more about who you are your early career and your why behind writing your books and becoming an author every creative person has a way of getting to a place where they are making a living off of their creative work I'm certainly no exception to that I've always been a writer and a teacher I organically fell into a writing and Publishing career that put me at this place where I have this very unique Vantage Point as both a teacher an author someone who works in publishing and now who mentors authors and works as a ghost writer so there's never a straight line when we're talking about creative work and I've always find that the people who are the most successful are the ones that are the most flexible on the journey I was teaching high school English always had these book ideas in my head but never had time to write them and then I had my first child in 2010 and I remember think thinking if I am going to publish a book now is the time to do it I was home with her I wasn't sleeping the whole bit about being a brand new mom and I felt like I needed this creative Outlet otherwise I was going to lose my mind I had this idea for a book about a school that takes corporate funding over federal dollars and what that would mean for the school system and for the students and and it got me thinking about what money could buy and what money doesn't buy and educ and I just started writing this book that I would want to teach I loved writing it so much that I wrote another one I had another child by that point because of the way my personal life was shaking out it didn't make sense for me to go back into the classroom I worked for an indie Publishing House in Minneapolis as their marketing director for a four years worked with hundreds of authors and got to know their stories submitted to us but also the stories around what marketing meant to them what success meant to them my role as a marketing director with authors was very similar to my role in teaching I had to meet my students uh where they were so I would have two people sitting at my desk wanting to talk about marketing a very similar book but if one was a single mom working two jobs and the other was a retired wealthy person with time on their hands their marketing plans were going to look really different and that was okay I learned so much from these authors about what success really looks like and it goes far beyond selling books and making royalties off of your book there's so much more involved to being a fulfilled creative person isn't it so interesting how everyone's why is different at times when we have a baby or we do something where we have to stop and think about what it is we want it takes us in such interesting directions yes cuz before we can be so busy doing our daily life that we don't really stop and think about what we truly want absolutely and the the truth is when when your children come into the world every priority that you thought you had totally shifts into where it belongs which is your children right but at the same time as much as the mom I I really value being the best mom I can possibly be to my kids I also think that being the best mom that I can be also means showing them the example of living a creative life and not giving up this very important part of myself just because I am a mom in fact they can they can coincide yeah and when you love work and you love what you do because you know I supported myself in La since I was 19 and I learned to have jobs and do things that I loved and when you love it after having the twins I found myself sitting in the nursery much like you said thinking if I don't do something a creative Outlet or something where I feel fulfilled like you said you're going to lose your mind so I I love your career path that's taken so many different turns from teaching to writing and Publishing yourself and the marketing side I have a business development background when you Market a book it seems different you have to learn the platform and as a new author or even an established one what is an author platform and what are your suggestions for creating one yeah you know we talk about this a lot at Evergreen authors because people throw around the term author platform all the time but nobody really talks about what that means people think a platform is a Facebook page or a speaking career or ad campaign and those can certainly be part of an author platform but really an author platform is two things combined it's who you are not just your list of credentials but also are you introverted or extroverted are you willing to be on social media or you kind of antisocial media all of these things about you like what's your willingness to put forth the work and then who you can reach organically we're all about starting with your organic Circle I'm not just talking friends and family those are the people who are going to love and support you no matter what but really the people that you are writing two and four you start with them and then you work your way out I have seen an author platform look a million different ways for different writers and it really doesn't matter the genre it doesn't matter if it's your first or 20th book the platform is what you are willing to put forth to get your book out there because there are millions of books out there and thousands get published every single day you need to figure out a way to put your book out there in a way that's going to make sense to you that's not going to feel like a horrible chore for you and that's actually going to bring you Joy because when you do that you create this long game of an actual writer career as opposed to a lip of sales and a story about that one time you wrote a book it can be so overwhelming to think about selling anything and wanting to sell it to the masses just start with one start with focusing on one your ideal reader how you say focus on the things that bring you Joy because there are some platforms that we love and there are some platforms where we think uh I you know feel like I have to do this but I don't really want to yep oh we talk about that all the time I can't tell you how many times we've done a presentation and and people have said I feel free after you're telling me this I I don't have to be on Instagram if I don't want to be no you don't you don't have to blog if you don't want to you don't have to do a newsletter if you don't want to but if you do if that seems like something that's oh that kind of Lights a fire in me like yes it's work but it's creative work and it's fun for me then that is the platform that you should choose of course there's marketing aspects to it right you want to make sure that your readers are actually using that platform I have found that again simple is best right chances are if you're already writing to a certain group of people that means that you're relating to them in some way I assume the platforms you like are going to tend to be the ones that they're on as well so don't make things too difficult for yourself start with one or two things and then do those things well don't over complicate it what are your thoughts today on self-publishing versus having a publisher and how can an author get their books into physical stores independent and local bookstores there's a store called pages in Manhattan Beach that I love and support and the big ones Barnes & Noble Target and other online platforms those are complicated questions so how do I feel about self-publishing versus traditional publishing versus hybrid publishing the way I feel is actually quite simple you need to choose the path that it aligns with your goals so a lot of times authors will approach self-publishing because they've been rejected by a traditional publisher and they're just sort of giving up and just fine I'm just GNA slap my book up on Amazon I feel like going into any creative Endeavor with that attitude is setting yourself up for failure so you know if you have a goal of being famous let's just be honest right if your goal is to be famous and to be sitting with Oprah in Santa Barbara on her couch talking about your book you're going to need an agent and you're going to need a big publishing name behind your book and you're going to have to work real hard to get that so if that's the goal if that is your path do it and do it well if you're open to different ways if maybe it's okay if you're not on Oprah's couch and maybe you just focus on other avenues that are more attainable then maybe a self-publishing or hybrid publishing an indie publishing house would be more beneficial for you um there's pros and cons for both a lot of those Pros revolve around money and upfront costs but we live in this amazing day and age where no matter how you want to get your work out there you can do it you don't have to spend $100,000 with the fanciest publisher in town you also don't have to do things so cheaply if you put the time into it and again we talk about this a lot but just being very honest with what your goals are the publishing path will reveal itself to you instead of you chasing it how does an author get books into physical stores and other online platforms after choosing their path and it's interesting because I listen to a lot of different podcasts but Gary ve mentioned recently don't discount self-publishing because for the longest time we had this idea that we could only be successful if we had a publisher but it's so interesting how technology and there is respect for that complete respect for that but it's so interesting how technology and the landscape is changing the way we take in our content yeah I love Gary ve too so here's the deal I think that the stigma around self-publishing it has started to fade and I I shouldn't say started it has been fading for quite a while we work with so many authors who come to us with books that they have traditionally published that they wish they had self-published so they could retain the rights and figure out how to do some more um marketing have some more flexibility around marketing and to keep more of the profits from their sales I mean this is this is where the money gets a little bit complicated because like if you if you do have a traditional publisher backing you and and fronting the cost of your book that is fantastic they are in the business of making money for themselves though so your contract will reflect that and we've worked with so many authors who just they want some flexibility when it comes to putting their themselves out there and growing their author platform but they are bound by a contract with a publisher and that is always really quite heartbreaking to us at the same time I'm I I wouldn't say you should definitely self-publish and never traditionally publish and I would never say the opposite either it really is a very personal path but it's also one that you should embrace once you choose it go all in and enjoy it you and I met because I learned about you and your company on a podcast and I decided to reach out one of my favorite things to do when I want to learn something new is to search in podcasts and just start listening until I find something that resonates and Jessica rhods and Margie Feld Hune the founders of interview connections who have both been guests recently on my podcast would agree pod guesting is such a valuable resource for getting your message and product to listeners what advice would you give someone who wants to pitch themselves as a speaker I love this and this is actually going to be similar advice to the question that you asked which is how to get your book into bookstores there's no difference between pitching yourself as a speaker a podcaster pitching your book to be displayed in a bookstore pitching your um platform in some way it all boils down to authentic person personal connection that is how it's done we talk about this with authors all the time if you take your book to Barnes & Noble and you say I have this really great book and my goal is to make you know $1,000 a month and Book Sales from it Barnes & Noble is going to be like well we don't care about your goals Barnes & Noble is there for their goals and it's going to be the same at with your local Indie bookstore so you want to go into the that relationship and say I have this book here's how it can help you and here's how we can create a mutually beneficial partnership here not just a I'm using you for your platform kind of thing that's how I approach podcasting and speaking in general we do speaking events all the time at Evergreen authors with different Publishers we're constantly well now on Zoom we used to be in person as much as we could right and we would we would never go to these writers groups or these speaking bureaus and say Here's a list of all the great things about us they get pitched to from great people all the time what they want to hear is why is it going to be beneficial to me to have you as a guest on my podcast or feature your book in my bookstore or whatever and I think that so many authors so many speakers miss out on that very golden opportunity to create like a lasting partnership with my background in business development it's how can you help the client and how can you make their life better MH and I think about this as I'm writing content too it's like how can I better someone who comes across the page right so you're so right with that approach yeah exactly and we think that creative work is somehow different like it's special it's it's so personal at the end of the day unless you're writing in a journal just for yourself if you want your book to get in front of other people you need to think of this as a business and it doesn't have to be in this horrible I'm selling my soul kind of way but just from that perspective perspective of I'm creating relationships here I'm in this for the long game so how help me help you so true at she built it we believe in experiencing the life and business that you crave what is your favorite thing about being an author and running the business that you do today my kids so I miss teaching all the time but I also know that teaching is one of the most inflexible jobs in the world you're on a a bell schedule and the the myth of having Summers off is hilarious ious to a high school English teacher and as much as I loved it and do love it and miss it my priority is my kids and so when I have a writing career what I do now is is so flexible so I can write when I have the time but if my kids need me I don't have to and and I just think there's no price tag that I could put on that flexibility right now my kids are 9 and 11 right now so they are at this wonderful fun age where they're just figuring out who they are and they need me I don't want to miss it I understand that my mom taught kindergarten for 29 years and so just when I talk to her about our kids you know she says I didn't have iPads when we needed a break during school I had to figure out how to entertain 25 kindergarteners and I have 8-year-old Twins and the questions that are coming home about figuring out who they are it really is an important time so that's great it's great that you can be there for them and that you found a career that's fulfilling for you and that you are that role model to them truly I can't tell you how proud it makes me when my daughter can talk to her teachers and say my mom wrote this book or my mom's a writer you you don't put a price tag on it it's really pretty great that's great I ask this question at the end of every episode because I believe finding joy in what we do is so important in our everyday lives magic happens when we focus on the part of ourselves and our business that brings us joy is one tip that you can leave with us today about how you find and live your joy oh I love this question so much it makes me realize one thing that we didn't touch on which is sometimes when you get into a creative career if you do something you love you have the danger of burning out on it I have worried about that sometimes I I do Moonlight as a ghost writer as well so I've written books for other people and I I really love that work but a lot of times I do notice that my own creativity suffers as a result of that it can be a little draining as a creative person as Stephen King says you have to really prioritize being a great reader for me obviously as a writer i' I've always loved books I've always loved reading and I don't look at reading as something that I just do if I can fit it in it is a really important part of my day I'll read some fiction but I love reading books in any sort of genre that I know is going to help me in my business and continually learning because I think that's what really Sparks creativity in the first place obviously taking the time and taking the breaks is all great but really prioritize reading books it's never time that's wasted we shouldn't look at creativity I think some people might say this about journaling or writing poetry or something like that it it shouldn't be something that we do just when we can fit it in it should be a really important part of our day that we prioritize and show our kids that we prioritize our cre creativity is important even if we don't sell it it it doesn't matter if you sell it or not just prioritize it so you're living a fulfilled life and it's all the more important I think for women because we just tend to hold up more than half the sky and the the expectations on us are so enormous and so it's all the more reason to just be very protective of that and be mindful of when that burnout is coming because we all know when it's coming we can feel it when you listen to it and okay time to just shut it down then then you have to do it so true this has been such a fun conversation I feel like I could keep asking you question after question I love the path of your career and the business that you're building is helping so many people it's so wonderful so congrats to you thank you I have an amazing partner so I couldn't do it without my Josie Robinson she's truly amazing so I am very forunate yes and that's great and we have talked it's great that your collaboration works so well yes absolutely we're we're just beyond fortunate we just work really well together and that is everything well I encourage listeners to reach out and chat with you if they have questions about being an author or author platforms and can you tell our listeners how and where they can find you you can find me at Evergreen author.com have all sorts of freebies and downloads and I wrote a book called The Evergreen author which uh really just encapsulates everything I know about how to create a really great author platform and be a career writer so start at Evergreen au.com if you are new to Sheil it we'd love for you to join us 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