July 2021: Note to Meadowlark Authors
Dear <<First Name>>,
Royalty checks for the second quarter went out in last Wednesday's mail! Thinking that I would put together a quick hello-note to authors via email, the checks were mailed without personal messages.
Though I am now officially tardy (I'm guessing most of those checks have been delivered by today), I did want to give you a quick progress update.
Much love and good writing!
Tracy
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An overdue recap of 2020...
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2020 was a strange year. There's no denying that. Yet, I upgraded Tracy Million Simmons, sole proprietor of Meadowlark Books, to Meadowlark Press LLC. It was a good start.
Then we published some books; in fact, we published our most award-winningest collection of books to date. I am not going to lie, this has been a boost to my ego. But I also want to be honest with you. We submitted more books to contests in 2020 than we have before. What's that saying? If you don't play, you can't win?
Meadowlark owes Lisa Stewart a big round of applause for the nudge to explore book contests outside of the state of Kansas. Thank you, Lisa!
As a Meadowlark author, you already know that every Meadowlark book comes with its own team of helpers. Each of you has worked overtime as author and proofreader and more. Through my connections with you all, I have collected editors, cover artists, designers, proofreaders, and book creation advisors. Thank you for helping us grow the Meadowlark team.
In August, as I believe most of you know by now, I brought Meadowlark's very first dedicated contract help on board. Linzi Garcia, our Publicist, brings the sparkle to our shine, no doubt.
I got to the end of 2021 thinking I was on to something, Meadowlark was headed in a really good direction. Yet, I continued to struggle with missing pieces...
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So . . . I started 2021 by taking a course on entrepreneurship...
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I'll keep the "why" short. My google search history last year will testify to the fact that I spent more hours reading up on how to make ends meet when running a business than how to build a better book. I downloaded MBA program reading lists and checked out books from the library. I watched at least a dozen "free" business seminars by various experts who were happy to provide me with "answers" for a fee. I kept finding myself parked at the website of the Kansas Small Business Development Center, reading... I don't know... for fun?
Finally, I threw my cautions aside and committed to a three-month, "rigorous business training" course based on "feminine business culture."
And, wow. It was amazing. I finished the course believing that Meadowlark really can become something beyond a passion project. Believing, in fact, that my passion for books and the people who write them can be turned into a business that might actually sustain itself and turn a profit for its authors (and me!).
Now... there's so much work to be done!
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What has changed / is changing? And what remains the same?
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- The biggest change is that we are now focusing on the direct-sell of our titles rather than urging consumers to purchase through traditional and online bookstore channels. Though our titles will continue to be available for purchase through every channel possible, including online retailers, brick and mortar stores, and libraries, in our marketing materials, we now emphasize purchasing our titles direct from Meadowlark.
- In a related shift, we are working to take on more of a guiding role in selling the titles that we publish. Our former view of "partnering" with and/or assisting authors once the book is published has had some success, but there is much work to be done here. As an example, I set a target of selling 10 books/day by the end of 2021 (this does not include books sold to authors). Not all of our authors are feeling this, but we have seen a jump in sales!
- 2019 - Meadowlark sold an average of 2.9 books/day.
- 2020 - Meadowlark sold an average of 2 books/day.
- 2021 (to date) - Meadowlark is selling an average of 7.3 books/day.
- Meadowlark Press remains devoted to designing beautiful, make-you-want-to-read-them books. We will adhere to industry standards for book design, remaining attentive to details such as margin width, line spacing, and font. Our print books will look and feel like books (no missing book parts!) Our ebooks will "flow" cleanly as per a reader's specifications.
- Meadowlark continues to view our authors as partners in publishing. We will continue to be selective about the titles we publish, and we will continue to offer contracts primarily on a profit-share model.
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Thank you for being a Meadowlark author.
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