I’m at a lot of conferences, seminars, and workshops. I conduct a lot of interviews. I rarely mention most of that stuff on my blog because I’m not sure any of those kind of “updates” are very “helpful” for my readers, who are primarily writers and entrepreneurs. How exciting or interesting or informative is it for them to hear that I was at a book expo in NY or attended workshops in Anaheim? Not very.
But sometimes when I converse with other industry professionals, I feel that the dialogue sometimes hold value, such as the recent interview I had with Jairus Reddy of Hobbes End Publishers. For what it’s worth, here’s the transcript of that recent interview below:
JR: I am here today with Brent Sampson, CEO of Outskirts Press and author of Sell Your Book on Amazon and Self-Publishing Simplified. Hey Brent. Tell us a little about yourself, your company and your books.
Brent: I’m a writer and I have been ever since I was six, clanking out stories on an old Remington typewriter speckled in White-Out. In 2002 I founded Outskirts Press with the purpose of publishing my own books but quickly discovered how fulfilling it was to help other writers overcome the same publishing and marketing obstacles I was encountering. We incorporated in 2003 and it’s been an exhilarating ride ever since!
JR: How many titles has Outskirts Press published?
Brent: This number grows on a daily basis, but if you look at Amazon right now, today, we have 7,735 titles listed.
JR: Why should an author choose Outskirts Press over other publishers?
Brent: It depends upon your goals. If your goal is to become an award-winning author with an award-winning book, Outskirts Press is your best choice. We offer the most economic packages and helpful pre-production, production, and post-publication options. Our authors use their books to further establish their expertise in their professional fields, attract the attention of traditional literary agents and publishers, or leave their legacy. Of course our authors keep all their rights, and one of the main benefits is that Outskirts Press authors also keep 100% of the profits of the book, too.
JR: Give us a little hint of what a typical day in your office is like. Most people don’t understand what publishers actually do on a day-to-day basis and the time these tasks take.
Brent: You’re right, publishing a high-quality book takes some time and effort. Unfortunately, some self-service publishing firms out there have given authors the misconception that writers can self-publish their book without any assistance. While they can, that doesn’t necessarily mean they should. The majority of the books being pushed out by those do-it-yourself places are supporting the stigma that self-published books are bad, ugly, and unprofessional. The fact is that in almost all cases, a professionally published book needs the support and service of professionals who publish many books and can call upon that expertise.
JR: How do you manage the time to run a company and write? I have written a couple short stories for The Endlands anthology, but they only took 3 hours each to write. It must be completely different when you are working on a project where you are the primary author and trying to maintain your business routine.
Brent: Fortunately, it’s not just me at Outskirts Press. We have an army of consultants, editors, illustrators, cover designers, interior book designers, production supervisors, and project managers. Our Operations Officer oversees the production, our Financial Officer oversees all the accounting and royalty departments, and our Vice President runs things from day to day. Even so, you’re right, as Outskirts Press has gotten bigger and more complicated, the time I have to devote to writing has decreased substantially. It’s a constant struggle to find time. Writers NEED to write, and I’m no exception.
… interview to be continued tomorrow…
President of Outskirts Press 