What Should I Be | Transcript

TRANSCRIPT OF INTERVIEW

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Julia Widdop (Interviewer: 00:00:08): Hello, my name is Julia Widdop, and I'm an Interviewer with What Should I Be. If you'd like to get more information about What Should I Be, please visit our website at www.WhatShouldIBe.me. We provide complete and free access to a wide variety of interviews, spanning many different careers from all over the world. Today I'm speaking with Christine Horner from Ohio, in the United States, and she is a Publisher with The In The Garden Publishing. Why don't we start by having you, Christine, tell us a few things about what you do as a Publisher?

Christine Horner (Interviewee: 00:00:52): Hi Julia, it's great to talk to you today about that. And my Publishing Company is only a year old and, if you would've asked me a year and a half ago even would I be doing this, I would've had no idea. So, the universe led me to this and I'm quite thrilled with is, and it's been going wonderfully. As a publisher, what I do is I have chosen to work within a unique genre, which is the advancement of human consciousness. It's really important that you specify, you know, and designate exactly your area that you'd like to publish in. It's better for marketing. So, in the field of advancing consciousness, what I do then is look through for authors and, with social media, that's really easy to do. Most of the time the authors come to me. And we review their completed manuscripts and, if we like the writing style and the message that they're sharing with the world, because our primarily non-fiction at this point, then what I do, as a publisher, is we edit the manuscript, we format the manuscript for book, whether that's paperback or hardcover or eBook, and we design a cover. We design the interior, and we assign it an ISBN number, and we get it into global distribution system. And so it's ready and available through print-on-demand, which makes it possible for even the individual like myself to become a Publisher without a huge outlay. And so we get the book into circulation, and the beauty of it is that the book will never be removed from circulation as, sometimes, with the larger publishing companies. If they're producing a certain amount of volume of sales, then a lot of times they'll take that author and let that contract expire and no longer print the book. But the beauty of what I'm able to offer as a small boutique publisher and independent is that these books will never go out of print.

Julia Widdop (Interviewer: 00:03:13): That sounds interesting. And what sort of education would be required to be a publisher?

Christine Horner (Interviewee: 00:03:21): I am self-educated in every way. So, what you need to do is get out and start researching. That's the beauty of the Internet. I actually fell into it. I am a website designer by trade and also graphics designer, and again, I'm self-taught in that field as well. I've been doing that for ten years. And I ended up doing book covers - designing book covers -, which I still do, for a small independent publisher who does nautical and historical fiction. And as I saw how their print model, how they were doing business, I thought: "My goodness, you know, I'm a writer myself, and this is something that I could easily learn." So, simply what is required is for you to begin researching other small publishing companies that fit maybe the genre you're interested in, or just in general if you just want to see the various models that are out there. And from their websites you can pretty much dissect how they're doing business and a starting point. And then, you know, it's real important, of course, that you at least have a webpage or something that you can draw people to, to take the list. But even with blogging, now that is so easy to do; that you can literally create a website from a blog that looks just like a website. So, it's just amazing what's available and out there for people who can really teach themselves, and then you just want to kind of watch the business models and see how people are doing business, and you sort of learn as you, as you deal with the printer, as you deal with the writer, and that type of thing. And research contracts. Publishing contracts - that type of thing. You just kind of learn on the job, and it's very possible for anybody to become a publisher.

Julia Widdop (Interviewer: 00:05:13): And could you kind of summarize what the different publishing models are?

Christine Horner (Interviewee: 00:05:18): Sure. My model is the print-on-demand model. So, that requires that I do not have not print a certain amount of books upfront. That saves me a huge expenditure. There are fees to upload the book to the printer. Of course I pay an editor to independently edit that type of thing. So you can go print-on-demand. You can do strictly eBooks if you would like. You can facilitate and assist authors in the same way that Amazon sort of does, but they could publish through you. So, if you were an actual publishing house, you could actually do eBooks only, which is very environmentally friendly of course, and design covers them. Design the interior for them, which I taught myself how to do the eBooks as well. And you can make it a great niche on that, and then not only does the author have a beautiful book out there, but they're not on their own entirely. They're through a publisher, and that does help to be published through a publisher rather than just self-published. There's many success stories with those who are just self-published, but having the assistance of a publisher who will help guide you through the entire process rather than having to invent the wheel entirely on your own is very helpful for new authors. And then you have your traditional publishing houses, who do require that so many books are printed and they have their own in-house publicity people who will promote you. You know, they've got the big budgets already, and then do they print a certain quantity of books and expect them to be sold; and that's a very competitive business. And actually, in this technology and age, it's just not necessary to go that route anymore, as many people are discovering.

Julia Widdop (Interviewer: 00:07:20): Okay. And are there other models that we haven't discussed here?

Christine Horner (Interviewee: 00:07:25): Probably, but I really didn't get passed those.

Julia Widdop (Interviewer: 00:07:31): Okay. What about audio books? Do you do audio?

Christine Horner (Interviewee: 00:07:36): Audio books are something that I would like to get into. I'm checking out; doing my own research with Sounds True to see what they're doing to see if I can actually work with them - what their business model is. So, that is something that In The Garden Publishing is researching as we speak, and myself, I'm a trained voiceover artist, so technically I could voiceover books, or the author. It's wonderful when the author themselves can voiceover books, and book that with a local studio to get that done. But you know, that's entire new area and process that I have to research and learn how to do myself, but it's something that we're interested in.

Julia Widdop (Interviewer: 00:08:18): And what is it that you love most about what you do?

Christine Horner (Interviewee: 00:08:23): As a writer, I understand the process that the writer goes through as they literally birth this concept - this idea - in their mind. And particularly in fiction that's a lot of fun because, literally, in the same way that a reader, as they're reading a book, they say, "Oh, I can't wait until tomorrow to find out what happens," when they can pick up the book again, it's the same way with writing. Sometimes characters - you'll have a direction in mind for that character, and the next thing you know, the next time you sit down to write it's as if that character has a mind of its own and goes off in a different direction. So, I understand the birthing process that writers go through and the creative process. And it's so thrilling to be on that and to actually have the book come together; to see a cover developed for the book. It's just so exciting to create a beautiful book and hopefully a message buried within there somewhere, more than just entertainment. So, that's really important to In The Garden Publishing that these books do provide more than just entertainment; that there would be a core message in there.

Julia Widdop (Interviewer: 00:09:39): And what do you like least about what you do?

Christine Horner (Interviewee: 00:09:45): I would say that I have to wear every hat in the publishing business for the most part at this point. There are not enough hours in the day. So, because I'm a fairly new publisher, I still have to maintain income generating business - you know, do a day job - so I can do the publishing business for now. We're very excited that we were profitable in our very first year, but of course it's not the type of profit to maintain a family or grossly expand a publish company, and do both at the same time. So, I guess the most frustrating thing is that there aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done that I'd like to get done. My goal is to publish like two books a month, and we're just not able. My editor and I aren't able to get up to that speed quite yet, although things are going wonderfully. I certainly have no complaints when you compare yourself to other companies who are struggling just to, you know, get a book out. So, I'm very excited about everything that's happening.

Julia Widdop (Interviewer: 00:10:49): Yes, and I know that most businesses take about three years to become profitable. So, you're ahead of the curve.

Christine Horner (Interviewee: 00:10:58): Sort of. Yeah, if I don't count labor. And I have to put a little qualifier in there. That's if I don't count all those weekends and all those midnight hours working, where I didn't pay myself technically. So, yeah, there's a little asterisk in that claim that we're profitable first year, but still, I'm very pleased to not be in the hole.

Julia Widdop (Interviewer: 00:11:21): Yes. And if you could've done anything differently or additionally from when you first got started working towards what you're doing now in your career, what might you have changed, done more of, or less off?

Christine Horner (Interviewee: 00:11:38): In this career particularly, or just the span of my working career?

Julia Widdop (Interviewer: 00:11:46): The span of your working career, because I think young people kind of need to know how did you get to where you are now and what would you do differently if you were starting. If you could give advice to someone thinking about this career as a young person.

Christine Horner (Interviewee: 00:12:06): Oh, well, my career path was one through the corporate world, and then out on my own. I became self-employed many years ago. I can't say that I would do anything different. Of course I wish I would've discovered publishing years ago, but the path that brought me here through publishing and writing, I have to tell you that every skill that I acquired from my previous lives, if you want to call it - previous careers -, from being in the financial sector of the corporate world to being a small business consultant, to everything creative that I've done, everything was the culmination of all the skills that I have to do this career now. So, I can't say that I regret or would change anything, even my education path. My education path is one of self-education. I've always had a stack of books by the bed, where I'm in a state of learning always. And more than anything, more than even worrying about having a college degree before you tackle any career that you're interested in, just get into it, and keep that stack of books going by the bed and keep learning and keep learning. And if you need to go take university classes, go do it, but just get into it. So that's the main thing that I would encourage people. Even if it's on the ground level, just start doing it. And then find out what you need to do to progress.

Julia Widdop (Interviewer: 00:13:50): So, what is the highest level of education you received?

Christine Horner (Interviewee: 00:13:56): Formal education, I just have miscellaneous college classes.

Julia Widdop (Interviewer: 00:14:00): Okay.

Christine Horner (Interviewee: 00:14:01): Yeah. But I would say primarily - I mean if I were to add up, and I've read so many books on business, on advancing consciousness, on science, on physics, I would probably say I nearly have a couple of degrees just because I have always been in a state of learning.

Julia Widdop (Interviewer: 00:14:23): So, always being in a state of learning is something you'd recommend, it sounds like.

Christine Horner (Interviewee: 00:14:28): Oh, definitely, just always. And in fact, that's the key to staying young. It doesn't matter if you're forty-five, sixty-five. Just always remain in the state of learning. Like I was just teaching myself how to play piano a couple of years ago, and just practicing drawing. It doesn't matter. Just enjoy life to the fullest.

Julia Widdop (Interviewer: 00:14:51): And at what point in your life did you realize that this was what you wanted to do?

Christine Horner (Interviewee: 00:14:58): I started writing -- well, I got compliments on my writing way back in high school, and I've always kept it in the back of my mind, but following the corporate world, once you get into there, usually any personal notions go by the wayside, which is exactly, Julia, why I got out of the corporate world; so that I could entertain my creative side. So, with the creative writing, then I really hit my stride a few years ago when I was writing screenplays and I'd gone out to LA for a few years. And I've always adored books. I have had bookcases upon bookcases of books in my house until recently, when I just moved around so much it just wasn't practical that I no longer keep bookcases of books. And we have such a wonderful library. So, I have always adored books. Whether in the state of learning, whether reading, whether writing, I just adore books. And so that's always been in the back of my mind. And how I actually fell into the publishing business just actually was on accident. It was truly orchestrated by the universe. So, have no fear. Whatever you love and whatever burns in the back of your mind that you think you can't do or that you've always wanted to do, or you think you don't have time to do, let it burn there in the back of your mind because the universe will create that opportunity for you.

Julia Widdop (Interviewer: 00:16:27): Tell us more about how this was orchestrated by the universe. That sounds fascinating.

Christine Horner (Interviewee: 00:16:34): Well, like I told you, I was website designing and doing graphics design, and a friend of mine, who was a writer, who is also an engineer, it turns out that his little small publisher - the owner passed away, believe it or not -, and so he had been friends with the owner and the owner's wife of this small publishing company. And it turns out that this writer was miserable in his engineering job, and he just wanted to retire and write full time. And so, it just worked out that he ended up taking all of his management skills into publishing and he became the CEO for the publishing company without even having knowledge of the publishing business, but being able to lead. So, we happened to have a conversation and he was saying he did this, and I said, "Oh, you must be thrilled," because, see, that's exactly what happened to him. He had burned for this, you know, to be able to write and work within the writing field for decades. And it came to pass for him. And so, he happened to mention to me that needing a cover designer and I said, "Well, let me try one." And it turned out I was really good at it. And from there, he would ask me on a sub-contract basis to go ahead and maybe upload metadata to iTunes, and Sony, and to the various Amazon and that type of thing. And so, from there, I basically learned how their publishing company worked, and then I thought: "My gosh, I can do this." And moreover, people will come to me wanting to publish their books. And so many times, if you're in sales or something, you have to struggle to make sales, but the wonderful thing about being a publisher is people come to you and they want you to publish things. And it's wonderful that people are seeking you out just as much you are seeking them.

Julia Widdop (Interviewer: 00:18:36): And was this person - did he function like a mentor for you, or was he unhappy when you started your own publishing company?

Christine Horner (Interviewee: 00:18:45): Oh, no. I mean oh no, he was not unhappy at all. Number one, because I still designed his covers for him. So, as long as I'm designing covers for him, he's really happy. But our genres are completely unrelated, so it's not like we're competition or that I could take any of his clients or any of that nonsense. And that actually happened. He had a few editors that had been with the company for a while when he took over, and they actually took off, when he took over, and took a few authors and started their own publishing companies; and that was a problem. But since he's in historical and nautical fiction and I'm in world enlightenment and the advancement of human consciousness, which they're absolutely unrelated, that he's just happy for me.

Julia Widdop (Interviewer: 00:19:39): That's great. So, would you advise young people to try and get internships? What sort of a position could a young person get with a publishing company?

Christine Horner (Interviewee: 00:19:54): Absolutely. Internships is a wonderful way to get started. Also going to college, taking college courses, or if you are interested in writing as well, because generally, if you're interested in publishing, you're going to be somewhat of a writer yourself. I think there has to be some affinity there. So, you might check and see what's going on in your community. Check your Life Section of the Sunday paper and look in the Books Section and see what community events are going on. If there are any publishers that are holding, or authors that are holding, book signings and that type of thing, just start to work yourself into the community locally there too. See what's happening. And then, of course, go online and look for opportunities, even with some of the larger publishing companies. They may have something posted - their internships and that type of thing - where you can get it.

Julia Widdop (Interviewer: 00:20:51): And in your previous work, which previous position would you say was most helpful in the work you're doing now?

Christine Horner (Interviewee: 00:21:04): That would be my ten years that I spent in the banking sector. I was a branch manager for a finance company, and then I worked at a few credit unions; was a loan officer - that type of thing. So it really helped me become acquainted with - well, as a branch manager, you've got your fiscal responsibilities, so it's real important that you keep up your administrative duties as you go and not be one of those folks, if you start a new business, where at the end of the year you're struggling because you didn't maintain a spreadsheet on your company's income and expenses. So, that was really helpful. So I would advise, if you are interested in starting your own publishing company, you do have to track royalties and do that type of thing, at least get some basic help with how to prepare a spreadsheet. And my spreadsheet is really simple. And how to do simple formulas so that you can track, from day one, every expense that goes out of the office and every expense that comes in, because you do have to track your royalties for your authors and, if they request an audit, you have to be prepared to provide them the information that they're looking for. But if you're a good publisher, you know, that's not really going to be an issue.

Julia Widdop (Interviewer: 00:22:24): Yeah, but I think, yeah, you make a good point there, because, as a publisher, you're not only involved in the creative aspects.

Christine Horner (Interviewee: 00:22:37): That's right. You have all of your administrative duties. You have authors to take care of, and you have the royalties that need to be taken care of too. So, you have a produciary responsibility to your authors and to the company, and so that's real important. Literally every book and every penny has to be tracked.

Julia Widdop (Interviewer: 00:23:01): And what do you mean taking care of the author?

Christine Horner (Interviewee: 00:23:06): Well, the author - it's a relationship. You really are, and that's what I stress with my authors; is that we're in a partnership. We're not here like maybe some of the larger companies. You know, we're here to see if you can make us some money and, if so, we'll keep you. If not, we'll let you go. I don't operate that way at all. It's a partnership. So, you're sharing something with the world and I'm helping you to prepare it as a pack essentially and get it out into the market. So, you want your authors to be comfortable, to have full understanding of the process. To make sure they understand, you know, you have a publishing agreement, so how royalties are paid, what expenses are covered, what expenses are not covered, you know? Like I make it clear that right now we don't have an advertising budget, but we do utilize social media. And while they're going through the publishing process that they're comfortable, and after the book publishes you want to touch base with them and keep in touch. Whether or not they're one of your top-selling authors or not, just let them know: "Hey, you're valued, and we care about you, and we want you to remain with us." You know, it depends on your agreement with the author, but in any case, you just want that nice healthy relationship.

Julia Widdop (Interviewer: 00:24:29): And tell us more about the marketing process of being a publisher. What does that involve?

Christine Horner (Interviewee: 00:24:37): Real important to, of course, number one, have a website and to create an online bookstore. And of course, you may not need to do that till toward the end of your first year when you have enough books - at least four books - to get started to create an online bookstore, but this is where you take advantage of your social media to introduce your authors; to introduce their books. And on Facebook. And Twitter - you know, I don't find Twitter so helpful, but certainly on Facebook. And through that, you're going to create an online catalog. You want to build a mailing list. So, you want people to come to your website and subscribe so that you can let them know every time a new book comes out. Those types of things. And also, you want to establish a relationship with a nice well-known distributor for your particular genre. So, if you're in nautical fiction, let's say, you want to look for a distributor who's going to cater to that genre, and also the same with my niche and category of books. It's real important that you have someone who's actually out there trying to get your books in the bookstores. And more so than just online with Amazon and Barnes and Noble, which that's automatic.

Julia Widdop (Interviewer: 00:26:14): Okay. And so, Facebook sounds like it's a biggie. What about Google Plus?

Christine Horner (Interviewee: 00:26:21): I haven't really gotten involved with Google Plus primarily because I don't have time to do that as well, on top of everything else. Good Reads. So, you want to get in with like Shelfari, Good Reads - the different online hubs or social area gathering places, where people get together and talk about books that are being read. So, those are more important. I really don't have any experience with Google Plus. I just don't have the time.

Julia Widdop (Interviewer: 00:26:59): Okay. Can you describe a typical day in your life so we can gain a better understanding of what it's like to walk in your shoes, doing what you do?

Christine Horner (Interviewee: 00:27:10): Sure. Well, the beauty, Julia, of being self-employed is my day generally runs from 6AM to midnight, and working from home, that means I can redistribute it or put it in any order that I want. So it just depends. Sometimes I'm up at 7AM and I may be working on a book that is the one that is going to come out that month, or I may have, you know, errands to run or that type of thing. But my typical day is juggling all the responsibilities. I may take one day and say, "Okay, today I'm going to be formatting this book. Only today, and that's all that I'm going to do," and then I might take another day, especially at the end of the month. Now, royalties - some people pay them out quarterly, some every six months, and some monthly, but you still have to do monthly accounting because you receive reports every month from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and from your printer on the accounting of what's been sold. So, toward the end of the month, I'm typically receiving those reports and then compiling everything into spreadsheets so that the beginning - the first week - of the month, I am then preparing statements for the authors to send those out to them, because I do send them monthly statements. So, that's what I'm sort of doing at the end of the month. Right now, in fact. And usually, then you juggle just whatever other responsibilities come up. Maybe you've got a cover that you're designing. Maybe you've got three books that month to review to see if you're going to publish them or not. Some days you're multitasking quite a bit, and other times it just sort of flows - what has to be done toward the time in the month. So, if you have a deadline for a book that is at the end of the month, you're really scrambling to meet that deadline.

Julia Widdop (Interviewer: 00:29:16): Okay. So your typical day varies a lot.

Christine Horner (Interviewee: 00:29:21): Yeah, it does. It actually varies according to what time of the month it is. And then, of course, I have my other responsibilities, which is my income generating. I still do website design and graphic design. So, I have to squeeze those in and I may be on a deadline there. So, literally, it's really hard for me to tell you that this is my typical day, because every day is completely different; and it's sort of geared on the time of the month that it is and my own personal goals that I setup for In The Garden Publishing.

Julia Widdop (Interviewer: 00:29:56): And do you arrange book signings or book events - that kind of thing - for your authors?

Christine Horner (Interviewee: 00:30:03): Not so much. And the reason why is my authors are all over the world. And that's the other beauty of the Internet; is I have authors in Canada. Let's see. Here, in the US. Over in Slovenia. In the UK. And one coming onboard from New Zealand. So, that aspect, we really can't help them. We, you know, provide them a little bit of marketing material if they would like to set those events up. Let's say they're setting up a book signing with a store and the store has some requirements that they need the publisher to meet by shipping out some books or something, we'll certainly work with the author on that, but unfortunately we're not in a position to have a public relations employee dedicated to doing that type of thing for authors yet.

Julia Widdop (Interviewer: 00:31:00): Okay. I'd like to ask you to take us through the story of your life relating to how you got to where you are today. I'm especially interested in how you got started, who might have helped you. Basically a detailed description of the road you traveled, and any obstacles you encountered and you overcome them?

Christine Horner (Interviewee: 00:31:26): Okay. Right after high school, it just was not an option for me to go to college, so I immediately went to work for a finance company. And I started at the very bottom. I was just a secretary cashier for one of the finance companies. And essentially, I worked my way up to branch manager based on experience. So, they were hiring a lot of young kids directly out of college, but I had five years experience by the time I was put on the management track. So, I was able to very successfully move up into the management program. My first recommendation is always, if you can go to school, go to school. I don't want you to think that I would ever discourage anyone from getting their education. If you can do it, do it. I think, more importantly, the message is always be in school, whether it's a formal education or not, and you're going to be just fine. So, I started out in the financial world, in that capacity, and did that for eleven years. And then I had two children and I decided to stay home for a little while, and of course I quickly decided: "Well, what can I do from home and make money?" And that's when I fell into website design. When I was actually going to launch an online store of Southwestern gifts, we met someone who was going to design the website for us and get that going for us. At the time, when the Internet was pretty much in its infancy still and websites were still boxes that you just added content to, and then, from him, I decided: "Well, gee, I can learn how to website design," and so I began looking online and I got some software. And I literally just began looking at websites and seeing how they were constructed, and taught myself how to do it. So, again, I started from ground zero and just started very simply. And the key here is to continually be researching what's available out there that you can learn from. So, I would find gorgeous websites and say: "Oh, I want to make one that looks kind of like that. How do I do it?" And so I would break it down and I taught myself how to do it. And I did that for a number of years, and then I got into the community. So, if you're in a community, you've got to let people know that you offer this service. So there's always social networking within the community. Business networking. They have the Chamber of Commerce meetings. They have business networking meetings. Lunches where you can give a minute commercial about your business and that type of thing. So, that's really important to go out into the community and share what you're doing with other small businesses. And then, of course, you get referrals and you refer business to them and they refer business to you. So, those skills are very helpful; that you remain engaged on a local level.

So, I guess the biggest challenge that I had to face is unexpected change in my life that changed either the location of where I've lived or I just found a career direction that I was going in just wasn't leading anywhere, so I had to make an adjustment. And that's just life, you know? Everyone. If anyone - and I have to tell young people. If anyone thinks that they're going to just find one career and stay in it the rest of their lives, I sincerely doubt it. Now, there are some people who are born to be doctors. They know it. They're going to be a doctor, or an accountant, or a fire fighter, and that's what they do all their life and that's the beauty of it. That's wonderful. There's nothing wrong with that. But for most of us, it's an evolution. Most of us don't even know, for sure, what we want to do, or we don't even know what is possible to do. So, it's a process and it's an evolution, so you just keep going. And that's why it's so important to stay engaged and in the education process. Books, books, book. I just adore books and all the things that you can learn from books. And so, just keep going and don't be alarmed if you change careers five times and your parents say, "What are you doing?" Just keep going. Stay out of debt is the biggest obstacle because, once you're in debt, then you're kind of locked into what you're doing because you've got to pay off that debt. So, by all means, stay out of debt, keep learning, and so what if you change careers ten times. I probably changed careers ten times. I did a bunch of little side ventures that really didn't pan out, and that was mainly because my heart really wasn't into it. But sometimes you don't know until you get into something. "Eh, that's okay, but I rather - here's this over here," so don't be alarmed when these things happen. Just go. Go for it. Do what makes you happy.

Julia Widdop (Interviewer: 00:37:05): Could you tell us a little more about those little side trips, as you did?

Christine Horner (Interviewee: 00:37:11): Oh, let's see. I did some real estate investing for a while. I had a C-corporation. And we took some homes that were in foreclosure and rehabbed them and resold them, but you know, I really didn't like having to deal with people who were losing their home. It just wasn't a happy thing. You want to be happy in what you're doing. So, I did that. Let's see. I kind of tried to buy and sell cars. Just stuff that involved sales that, you know, really doesn't satisfy my creative side. So, I tried to do basically moneymaking ventures that, in the end, they're not very happy things and they don't satisfy your creativity and tap into your creative genius. So, those things that you're doing just to do them that don't tap into your creative genius, you'll notice that they just kind of fall away because you're not really happy and the universe isn't really happy.

Julia Widdop (Interviewer: 00:38:17): Okay. And what made you choose the field of consciousness? You must have had some experiences that pushed you to want that genre.

Christine Horner (Interviewee: 00:38:28): Oh yes, of course. As they say that pleasure puts you to sleep and pain wakes you up. So, it was through my own personal suffering just through a lot of difficult times. Going through a divorce and my daughter was diagnosed with cancer, and just my life completely fell apart, which I told you in a different story. And just making me question everything. And as I questioned everything, I just saw the ridiculousness in human behavior and my behavior, and even some of my beliefs. You know, beliefs that are no longer serving us. So, I just decided this is ridiculous. And I went to come up with Cher, and you know, we all have our inner guru. Let's all tap into our inner guru by going within and discover our inner genius. So, every one of us - every one of you out there - has an inner genius that is just dying to be tapped into.

Julia Widdop (Interviewer: 00:39:33): Okay. And in hindsight now, looking back on your life, were there any early indications such as things you were interested in as a child or maybe things you were good at when you were very young and so forth that could've been nurtured or developed further at the time to help you even more with what you're doing now and the path that you're on?

Christine Horner (Interviewee: 00:39:58): Sure. You know, as I mentioned earlier, I was noticed for my writing ability fairly young. Also I have, you know, other talents. Drawing, art, and singing, and that type of thing. So, it's the things that you love to do or that you fantasize about doing when you're little - say you fantasize about growing up and being a writer or you fantasize about being a singer - those are the soul lines in your heart that, if you're lucky, your parents encourage rather than discourage in favor of, perhaps, you doing something practical in the corporate world. So, by all means, nurture those silly little fantasies that you have. Now, don't live in fantasy world. I did that for a little bit. That doesn't really help either. So, if you're going to fantasize about becoming a singer, you either get out there and start singing because you want to, or put the fantasy to bed. And so, you don't want to live in fantasy world, but instead do those things that you really can get out there and do.

Julia Widdop (Interviewer: 00:41:13): Okay. That sounds like good advice. Do you have any final comments, thoughts, suggestions to anyone who might be considering following in your footsteps and pursuing publishing as a career?

Christine Horner (Interviewee: 00:41:32): Yes. I would say, back to what I've already mentioned, do the research and look at the various models that are being offered out there right now, and see which ones interest you or look if you also want to be a writer, because the real neat thing about being a publisher is you could publish your own stuff.

Julia Widdop (Interviewer: 00:41:59): You don't have to worry about finding a publisher.

Christine Horner (Interviewee: 00:42:01): That's right. No rejection slips in the mail. So, if you're a writer as well, then, you know, certainly do the research and check out your favorite authors. See what they're doing, how they're promoting their books, what their niches are, and see where you might fit in. And as a writer and as a publisher, it's important to establish a niche. Who is your market? Who are you writing for? And stay somewhat focused in there. Of course, if we're a fiction writer, we may have all kinds of wild books in mind, but if you notice, the really well known authors tend to have a particular style and audience that they're writing for. So, basically, even as a publisher, it's important to know who is your audience so that you can market to that audience.

Julia Widdop (Interviewer: 00:42:59): And do you go to any conventions or those types of things?

Christine Horner (Interviewee: 00:43:05): I'd like to. It's not in the budget right now. And I don't know that it would necessarily -- you know, you might make some contacts there that would be helpful. Make some friends; that type of thing. I don't know that it's absolutely necessary because of the Internet. You know, I have published authors. Authors that I've published from around the world, so we've not had to get together once. It would certainly be fun to, but it's not absolutely necessary. But certainly, if you can do it, you know, do it.

Julia Widdop (Interviewer: 00:43:39): Yeah. This is a little off track, but could you tell us a little more about your screenwriting experience and the time you spent in California doing that?

Christine Horner (Interviewee: 00:43:50): Yes. I wrote my first screenplay and I actually hired a screenplay analyst to review it and edit it - help me with it. This was after, of course, reading a book on how to write screenplays. So, I wrote my first screenplay. It had potential. So, what I did - they have out, in LA, every year, you know, a few of the screenwriting magazines, which I don't remember their name now. They put on Pitch Fest, and so you can go out there with your screenplay and you get -- so, basically it's like speed dating. You get to sit down with producers of various production companies. Like I sat down with Brad Pitt's production company. Kevin Costner's production company. And you get a pitch to their junior executives, because they always send out the low guys on the totem pole out there. You get to pitch. You have thirty seconds to pitch your screenplay. And if they give you a nod, then you get to either email over a synopsis, leave a synopsis, or they'll let you actually leave the screenplay with them after you sign a disclosure statement. So, you have these pitch fests and you get to sit with all these, and so, hopefully, you leave that day, after visiting with maybe fifteen different companies, you've had some interest. And so, by the third screenplay, I was really getting this screenwriting down. In fact, I still think my third screenplay was brilliant, but it was set in the seventies over in Vietnam and stuff, and so it's really niche category. So, it takes, on average, ten years for a screenplay to actually get produced. Even Dances with Wolves sat under Kevin Costner's telephone book for years I think before he finally - a couple of years before he finally - read it and said, "Oh my God, I want to do this." Then my daughter was diagnosed with cancer, and so the writing career had to come to an end. But by the third screenplay, I would say either you better be pretty darn close or you better get some formal training if you're not quite getting it. But the screenplay writing is a lot of fun. Absolutely. And to go out to LA and to stay in a hotel and meet all these other writers and sort of compare yourself; you know, your story to their story, and their screenplay. It's a lot of fun, and it's high energy, and it's definitely a lot of fun.

Julia Widdop (Interviewer: 00:46:38): Okay. And so, you've lived in Ohio your whole life?

Christine Horner (Interviewee: 00:46:43): No. I'm back here for a few years, and I lived in Tucson and Albuquerque for fifteen years. And I lived up in Seattle for a little bit. And then I'm back here, in Ohio, just for a few more years until my daughter graduates high school, and then I really hope to become a world traveler. And that's the other thing. The beauty of having your own publishing company and being a writer is you can take the laptop anywhere in the world.

Julia Widdop (Interviewer: 00:47:13): And still keep doing your job.

Christine Horner (Interviewee: 00:47:16): Yeah.

Julia Widdop (Interviewer: 00:46:19): Well, that sounds like it's perfect for you.

Christine Horner (Interviewee: 00:47:22): It is. Thank you.

Julia Widdop (Interviewer: 00:47:26): Okay. Well, is there anything else I haven't thought to ask you that you'd like to mention?

Christine Horner (Interviewee: 00:47:34): No, I think we just hit on my favorite point, which is I can take laptop and world travel.

Julia Widdop (Interviewer: 00:47:42): Okay. Well, thank you for being with us today, Christine.

Christine Horner (Interviewee: 00:47:46): Thank you so much, Julia. Take care.

Julia Widdop (Interviewer: 00:47:49): Bye.