Most authors don’t realize there is an amazing learning curve in the publishing world.  Authors often believe that the hardest part of their job is writing a book and finding a publisher.  Although those are surmountable tasks, getting a book to the publisher is only just the beginning.  Beyond the original need to write, organize and submit book proposals to various audiences (publishers, agents, and book designers to name a few) there is also extensive marketing to be done once the book is published.  Most authors don’t know that publishers do little or no marketing for the authors they publish.

At the She Speaks speakers’ and writers’ conference held in North Carolina in July 2009, one of the most frequently asked questions by potential authors was, “Who does the publicity for my book after it is published, the publisher or the agent?”  Many were surprised to hear that neither publisher nor agent provide publicity; instead, publicity is a task that falls squarely on shoulders of all but the most successful authors.  At the end of one breakout session a participant questioned an agent who had been the presenter.  “What if,” she asked, “all I want to do is write?  I don’t want to market, to do publicity, to network.  I just want to write.”  The agent’s response: “I don’t care.  I will only sign authors who want to work, to sell themselves, to sell their work.  If that isn’t you, you have no business writing.”

Those are harsh words for an author to hear.  That gap between writing a best seller and having a best selling book is where I come in.  I complete the tasks that people who “only want to write” could never see themselves doing.

The management of small business runs in my blood. My entire life, I’ve been surrounded by successful entrepreneurs working hard to bring their dreams to life. Landscaping, exterior signs, construction, excavating, interior design, real estate, retail…any of those could have been a perfect fit for me, as they were for the members of my family. But they weren’t. In watching all of these successful businesses grow, I realized that each and every one of them faced a dilemma. At some point in each company’s life, there was a crossroads of sorts; to grow and expand, or to maintain and stay manageable. I became fascinated with the process and the decisions business owners have to make when they come to this crossroads: Grow or maintain. Growth for business owners often means more paper work, more marketing, more client follow up - the very tasks many successful entrepreneurs dread. Yet maintaining status quo often results in stagnation, boredom and the death of the entrepreneurial spirit. It was in the middle of this crossroads that I found the place for my entrepreneurial heart.

Managing your day-to-day tasks is what I do best.