Writing and publishing a book is a time-consuming, laborious and courageous process. It involves much more than writing, editing, proofreading, and uploading a manuscript. First-time authors quickly realize that there is much to learn and navigate within the publishing industry. To teach us more about just what it takes to publish a book, we’re joined by book publisher, Jenn T. Grace of Publish Your Purpose.
Jenn is an award-winning author, nationally recognized speaker, and savvy publishing strategist. She founded Publish Your Purpose, an acclaimed hybrid publishing company that gives first-time authors the secrets to getting their books written, finding an eager audience, and marking their place in the publishing world.
“Make sure that your purpose is what everything is centered around because there are so many points in the process where it’s very easy to give up.” – Jenn T. Grace
Key points in Jenn’s story that are highlighted in this episode:
How having an “I can figure this out” attitude and taking advantage of strategic opportunities led her from corporate work to book publishing
How to bring the most value to the world by having a clear why and a clear purpose in your work
Understanding key questions and goals for authors when deciding how to publish their work and what publishing direction they should take
Like a lot of us, Jenn started in the corporate world right out of college, working for an insurance company. But within a month of working there, she experienced homophobia in the workplace, and that led her to start a consulting company to help other companies market to the LGBTQ community in a sincere and authentic way and ultimately writing four books on LGBTQ marketing and communication.
From her experience in publishing her own books, a series of events and a bombardment of “How did you do this?” led her to create a course to teach authors how to get their books published, and eventually to start her own publishing company.
Jenn is currently actively involved with the HAYVN community and as a fan of the programming around sustainability, she admires the measures HAYVN has taken to achieve its level of sustainability and receive certified B Corp status (just as she has)! .
