Saturday, September 5, 2009

Self Publishing- The Most Rewarding Slavery You'll Ever Know

I whine all the time that all I can do is work at home, because of my health issues. Then I sit down and realize ALLLL the 'jobs' I do to Run that business.

I am the Designer- I must have the imagination to envision a product.

I am the Author who must write instructions so that ANYONE can understand them.

I am a Stitching Editor who must make certain that the mechanics of the pattern are intuitive and not convoluted and too complicated.

I am the Editor who must read and re-read those instructions so that ANYONE could understand them, and that the instructions flow easily.

I am the Proof Reader who must make certain that the grammar & spelling are correct.

I am the Laborer who must follow the instructions, to generate samples of the pattern and/or test the written instructions.

I am the Photographer who must ascertain the best setup to highlight the features of the finished product and/or capture instructional photographs to better illustrate complicated or detailed instructions.

I am the Creative Director who must combine the Instructions and Photographs into visually pleasing format.

I am the Formatter (typesetter) who must translate the instructions of the Creative Director into a computer language that the Printer can understand.

I am the Printer (for my booklets, but the large book I contract out to a large printing service).

I am the Marketing Director who must determine the angles, themes, of how best to promote my products, and the best venues of where to ‘advertise’ my products.

I am the Advertising Director who must take the ‘thoughts’ of the Marketing Director and generate working advertisements for the products.

I am the Webmaster who must build and maintain the site, where the Advertising and Selling is done.

I am the Networking Specialist who must spend time in chat rooms, message boards, etc to increase interest in the Web Site where the products are advertised and sold.

I am the Shipping clerk.

I am the Bookkeeper.

I am the Inventory/Warehouse Director.

I am the Negotiator who secures the Best Price for the Best services in printers, delivery, or any other service.

I am the Office Manager who must answer correspondence, purchase supplies, pay the bills.

I am the Salesman who must talk to folks about the products and website to Sell the Products.

I am the Wholesale Accounts manager.

I am a Research Specialist who must compile information to help the Designer, Editors, Author, Marketing Director, Advertising Director, Webmaster, Teacher, and Business Owner.

I am a Teacher, so that I build my consumer base.

I am a Small Business Owner, and with all this work, it is much like being a Slave to My Business... and the most rewarding thing I’ve ever attempted.

4 comments:

Carrie Au said...

AMEN !!! ARNie, I have never heard it said any better. "Word Smith" you are! :-)

Carrie

Kelly said...

I thought I had to do all those things because I was just getting started.. Not sure if I should forge ahead or RUN!!! lol.....

mlaiuppa said...

Slavery even.

Tece said...

Excellent post- even though I have designed and sold some of my patterns online, I never considered all of the factors that really determine how vast the responsibilities of the designer are! I am convinced that the best way to make money through needlework designs is to be all of those things, and definitely self-publish.