Episode 2: Talking Author’s Own
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Danikka: Hey there, welcome to the Snailed It Podcast with Danikka and Erin, brought to you by Authors Own Publishing.
Erin: Hi everyone, welcome back to the Snailed It Podcast with Danikka and Erin. Today we are talking about Authors Own.
Danikka: This is episode two officially of the Snailed It Podcast, even though we've recorded a few episodes in the background. This will be the second one you'll be hearing. And yeah, you will know about Authors Own and probably have a few questions. So we thought we'd record an episode and Erin can fire away a few questions at me and I can answer them as best I can.
Erin: Okay, so first question. Why did you want to start Authors Own in the first place? What was the thought behind it?
Danikka: I guess like I've always been fascinated by publishing and publishing houses. I know that sounds weird. Most people, when they go into publishing, they are fascinated by being an author and then they're looking for ways to work in the publishing industry while they want to be an author.
It was kind of the other way around for me. I was always fascinated by the process of the books and just wanted to be a part of that. Yeah, I enjoyed writing, but it was more the actual books part that was fascinating.
And so yeah, when I started editing, having some kind of hybrid publishing or something like that was always kind of in the back of my mind. But then yeah, the longer I've worked with indie authors and kind of learnt more about how the publishing industry worked, the more this kind of idea of a publishing service, I suppose you could call it for indie authors, has kind of solidified in my mind. And then over the last 12 months, I've worked with authors who have been kind of really badly burnt by different, I guess, ways that you can get published in the publishing industry that really take advantage of new authors and don't treat them well, steal their rights, steal their money, just basically just rip them off.
And it made me just really want to create a better way, a more collaborative way, a more human focused way, I suppose. Something that kind of brings us back to authors and readers coming back together in the same place, I suppose. And taking all of that smoke and mirrors, that like mystery out of the publishing process, out of it makes it really clear what's there and what's happening and how we make it happen.
And yeah, because I don't know, it's just so hard to learn how to publish. I feel like lots of people are out there trying to make it clearer, but then lots of people are out there trying to make it harder as well.
Erin: And it's pretty daunting when you're just sort of starting, like any avenue feels pretty daunting.
Danikka: And I guess that's kind of what I wanted. Like when I initially started to create something, it wasn't Authors Own, it was like a course for authors just to kind of learn about publishing. I think the first kind of thing I called it, I never released it, but it was like build your author platform.
And it was about just teaching authors about how important it is to build a community of readers and other authors, no matter how you were planning to publish. Kind of just touching on how you can do that. Like that was my first initial kind of idea. And then it's just kind of grown and grown into Authors Own Publishing the longer I've been in the industry. And then this is kind of like the culmination of it. So yeah, I think that answers the question.
Erin: Yeah. So for those who don't know, what exactly is a hybrid publisher?
Danikka: So a hybrid publisher is kind of like where traditional publishing meets indie publishing and kind of comes in the middle. So a hybrid publisher is kind of like an umbrella term for a place where traditional publishing and indie publishing do meet.
So like indie publishing is like an independent publisher. Like if you're an author independently publishing, it's kind of assumed that you're putting all of your money forward to publish your book, you're paying for all the services. And trad publishing, traditional publishing, is usually assumed that the publisher is putting the money forward to publish the book.
Hybrid publishing is usually a blend of the two where maybe the author might put some money forward. Maybe there might be some revenue sharing or something, or the hybrid publisher might put some money forward. There'll be some sort of contractual negotiation around that.
And it will be individual to whatever the publishing organisation is. So you will need to read the contract because there's no one size fits all. It's very much like whatever they decide to do.
So I wouldn't call this initial first phase of how we're doing Authors Own, I wouldn't call it hybrid publishing. I would still call it self-publishing because we're not putting any financial money forward towards your book. It is still that you're self-publishing your book.
We're just providing a place for you to find all of the services. So most of the time what happens when you're self-publishing is you have to go and find all of those services yourself. You have to find your editor, you have to find or editors because there's multiple levels of editing.
You have to find your cover designer, your internal formatting. If you are getting help with publicity or marketing, anything like that, depending on what your budget is, you can spend as much or as little as you want when you're self-publishing because that's one of the bonuses of self-publishing is you get to control that. But yeah, you have to do all of the mental work, all the mental decision making in all of that.
You'll go find all of those people, decide who you want and kind of sift through all of everything, whether they're good applications, bad applications. Like find the people and make all of that happen. So basically what we are providing is a place where you don't have to go sift through everything.
We've found people who in my time, well, me specifically, I've found the people through my time working in the industry over the last few years. I've found amazing people who I believe do really good work and I've brought them all together and in one place, Authors Own and we provide the service. So you don't have to go looking for good people.
I found them, they're all here. I vouch for them and yeah, we provide the service. Already that one big mental load, that one big scary part of self-publishing is gone.
And then on top of that, we don't just provide those services. I provide education about how to self-publish. We provide the support.
We answer all your questions along the way. We are here to bounce ideas off, create that collaborative, supported feeling that a lot of people associate with traditional publishing or hybrid publishing. You have that kind of one person, which usually people romanticize that relationship that you have an author and editor have.
That's kind of something that I've always tried to recreate with my editing clients and that I want to continue, you know, Authors Own clients to have with their editors. There's me and Kate Schumacher is going to be an editor with Authors Own Publishing. I want to continue to have those kinds of relationships develop between editors and clients.
As we continue on, that you always feel really supported and like you've got people on your team. But all of the people who work at Authors Own are really passionate about books and creativity. So it will feel like that.
You'll always feel like we're on your team. Even though you're self-publishing, you are 100% owning your book and your right and you are paying us to be there. It won't ever feel like that.
You're paying for the service, but you'll also get a lot that you're not paying for as well.
Erin: Yeah, good one. So where is it currently? Like where are we at?
Danikka: So where we're at at the moment is as this podcast is coming out, we've got some people who I had contact with when I knew that the packages were coming together. We've got beta clients who are testing the packages coming through.
So they're getting covers made by our cover designers. I'm doing edits with them. All of that stuff is kind of happening in the background and then their books will be released later in the year underneath the Authors Own banner.
So they'll be self-publishing, but they'll get our stamp of quality saying that our team worked on their books. And also Erin's books and Kate's books have also got the Authors Own stamp on them because we've been writing together and talking about this stuff for a long time. So you guys have been along for the ride.
So that's kind of where we're at at the moment. And then probably June or July 2024, is when the Authors Own base package, the first package that we're going to kind of release publicly will be available for people to sign on and purchase ready to kind of start working on. That's when that will be available.
So that's where we're at. We do have plans for other packages and other add-ons to be available in 2025, but we're just kind of taking things slowly because this is the first time that really I've seen anything like what we're doing being done. And I've talked to, I've had our packages and our contracts put together by lawyers and by a really good experienced lawyer here in Australia.
And like he said, he's been in the industry for 37 years and he hasn't seen anyone doing what I'm doing, which is encouraging and scary. So yeah, I'm taking it slowly so that we don't screw anything up or screw anyone over basically because I want to make sure it's all above board. And yeah, I don't want to be associated with any vanity press kind of label or some kind of scam.
I want everyone to know that what we're doing is really above board and high quality and really lifts authors up and opportunities that they might not have otherwise.
Erin: Being small, like you want to be able to give every author that kind of one-on-one relationship as well, I suppose.
Danikka: Yeah, I don't want to grow too quickly and then I don't want to like over-promise and under-deliver. I want to make sure that when you sign on, you get exactly what we tell you. So yeah, I guess basically just to wrap up as like a definition on what's happening with Authors Own, you could basically just say like as this podcast is being released and as you're kind of watching the Instagram grow and that kind of thing, we're very much in like a soft launch phase one, just taking things as they come phase and we're just really excited.
So we just want to make sure that what we're doing is going to work and just trying to change how publishing works so that, you know, as AI comes on the scene and changes things as, you know, self-publishing does change the face of how the traditional publishing market works as we're seeing live as things change. There needs to be options for people that allow readers to know that books are going to stay good quality, that authors are going to continue to make money from their books and not have their rights stolen out from underneath them. All of those things, we want to continue to just have ground roots kind of efforts to have those things happen.
And yeah, we just really appreciate any support that both readers and authors can kind of gather behind us and shout from the rooftops about it. And yeah, just thank you for listening and thank you for coming along for the journey.
Erin: Tune in next time.
Danikka: Yeah.
Erin: All right, well, we'll see you all next time. If you've got any questions, comments, let us know.
Danikka: Yeah. As always, I'm always open for copy chat. If you have any further questions, that link will be in the description and it's also in the bio on the Authors Own Instagram.
Erin: Yeah.
Danikka: Bye.
Erin: Bye.
Danikka: Thank you for listening to the Snailed It Podcast with Danikka and Erin, brought to you by Authors Own Publishing, the home of indie publishing. Don't forget to subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts and follow us on Instagram at Authors Own Publishing. Music brought to you by Mikel with more details in the show notes.
Episode Description
Today on the Snailed It Podcast, we learn more about Authors Own Publishing! Come along on a deep dive about what we’re planning on bringing to the world of Indie Publishing.
If you’d like to contact Danikka to chat more about how Authors Own Publishing can help you achieve your publishing dreams, reach out through Instagram and book a coffee chat!
Brought to you by: Authors Own Publishing, Danikka Taylor, and Erin Thomson.
Danikka’s Details:
Website: www.authorsownpublishing.com
Instagram: @danikkataylor or @authorsownpublishing
Erin’s Details:
Website: www.erinthomsonauthor.com
Instagram: @authorerinthomson
Intro & Outro Music by Mikel & GameChops. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily reflect the views of Authors Own Publishing. Thanks for Listening!
