Today we’d like to introduce you to Kimberly Martin.
Kimberly, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started working for myself in my 20’s. I have always been independent and working for someone else was not my thing! I started out by building website communities and selling ad space on them. One of these communities was a poetry website called Poetry Pages. It became fairly popular with thousands of members. One year they came to me and said they wanted to publish a poetry book consisting of the poetry from members and would I consider doing that. I agreed and we started looking into our options for publishing a book. This was over 10 years ago and it was a lot harder to self-publish a book at the time. EBooks had not even yet been introduced yet!
We ended up using a vanity press publisher and it turned into a nightmare. We were not happy with the results and we felt like we had been scammed. I knew there must be a better way and I started researching the world of self-publishing. I then gathered up what I had learned and created a website, self-pub.net.
The poets decided they wanted to continue putting out volumes of poetry, so the next time we published, I took on the task of publishing it ourselves using the methods I had learned. We continued publishing poetry books each year, and my self-pub.net website started to grow.
Eventually, people started asking for my help designing their books, and I started offering book layout and cover design services. Once eBooks started taking off, I also taught myself how to create eBooks and offered that as well.
Soon, helping authors self-publish became the only thing my business did.
I worked on my own out of my house for many years, until the time came where I was booked about 6-months in advance and started to lose clients due to my long turnaround times. I decided it was time to grow, rented a small, one-room office in the basement of an office complex, and hired my first employee. Less than a year later, I moved into a 4-room office and hired another employee. Two years later I bought a 1600 square foot office and continued to grow and expand the business.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has not been a smooth road! I had a rough childhood, ran away from home when I was 15, and have been on my own ever since. It was a struggle to find my way in the world, and I was not taught the skills needed to run my own business to the degree that I am. Everything has been self-taught and I have made mistakes along the way.
I grew the business a little too fast and hired employees when I felt overwhelmed with the workload, but the finances did not support the extra payroll. Having to let go of an employee was extremely difficult for me.
In the beginning, there were not many companies that offered the services I did, and new clients found me. Now, we have many competitors, and I am learning how to market my business and reach out to potential clients instead of waiting for them to find me.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Jera Publishing story. Tell us more about the business.
At Jera Publishing, we help authors fulfill their dream of becoming a published author. We specialize in taking an author through all stages of the self-publishing process, from editing, coaching, interior design, cover design, eBook conversion, and getting it listed on places like Amazon and other retailers. In addition, I hold local classes on all stages of self-publishing. We take pride in the quality of our work, and our close working relationships with our clients. We are not a large corporation, so authors feel at home in our office and trust us with the task of bringing their book to life. Getting the printed copy of the book, they have often spent years on, can be an emotional experience for our authors. I keep tissues in my office for a reason!
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I have been very lucky with opportunities coming at just the right time in my business. I also feel lucky that I have found such a great team. They have been with me for over five years and I credit much of our success on their loyalty and dedication.
In my personal story, I feel like I have been very lucky in certain situations. Whenever I feel like things are about to fall apart around me and I don’t see a way out, some strange bit of good luck happens my way and everything comes back together.
Pricing:
- Self-Publishing Package (Novel) – $850
- Self-Publishing Package (Nonfiction) – $1050
- Self-Publishing Package (Children’s Illustrated) – $425
- Self-Publishing Package (Cookbook) – $1300
- Coaching Package (5 sessions) – $350
Contact Info:
- Address: 875 Old Roswell Rd E200
Roswell, GA 30076 - Website: http://www.self-pub.net
- Phone: 770-642-6400
- Email: mail@jerapublishing.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jerapub/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/jerapub
- Other: https://www.meetup.com/jerapub/
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
