Entrepreneur Interview

Entrepreneur Interview

Have you ever wondered what is it like to run a business with a partner? Today we're going to have an insider's view into the behind the scenes activities of running a literary promotion company run by McKensie Stewart and Amy Shannon - Genesis Literary Promotions. Under this umbrella name for the business, these two manage many different activities - including their Writer's Blog, Amy's Bookshelf Reviews, 2 different podcasts, and a myriad of writer's promotional services.

Today we are in for a discussion about what it is like to run a company like this, advice for authors, and more. 

Q: First of all - running a business is so much more than the services and passions involved... it is about time management, keeping good records, knowing how to manage a schedule and how to work well with others. We'll talk about all that soon but I'm very curious about the co-owning relationship that you two have developed. Co-owning a business is as close to a marriage as one can get - so why don't we start by having you tell us a little about each other. 

Amy: Well, McKensie and I met several years ago, when it was suggested that she send her book to me for a review (I own and operate Amy’s Bookshelf Reviews). We hit it off immediately when we had our first conversation, so much that she offered me a monthly guest spot on her (former) radio show, The Writer’s Edge. We became good friends, and always had a lot of ideas on what we should do together, what type of business or what we could do to expand and share our knowledge and experience with other authors. It took a lot of planning, and then we finally started our first podcast, The After Show with McKensie Stewart & Amy Shannon. That was the start of our partnership, and we keep track of all our ideas, and sometimes, eventually, they come to fruition. A few months back, I thought about creating a new business for not just blog tours, but promotions as well. I have contacts as a participant in blog tours, and now, if they can’t take on a client for whatever reason, they send them to me. 

Once I got the planning done and was ready to “go live,” I asked McKensie to join in, and Genesis Literary Promotions was “born.” We created a package that offered Genesis’ clients to also be on the podcast (now we have two to keep up with demand). There are parts of the packages that she focuses on, and some that I do. We put several of our projects under one umbrella, the two of us doing things together, such as the podcasts, and promotions, are under that umbrella. We are working toward other projects as well. Since I can’t be an author anymore, I want to keep my efforts on teaching and helping authors, by sharing experiences or just promoting them. We work with each other’s strengths, so McKensie does our marketing, and business planning, as well as communication with the guests on our podcasts. I promote, review, and do the accounting and bookkeeping of both businesses, and I also do most of the social media sharing, and exit communication with guests and clients.  We also both have our own projects, as McKensie is a publicist, and I also do true crime video reviews, book reviews, and am an editor. McKensie can speak to her projects.

McKensie: We work very well together, and even when we have separate projects, we discuss them with each other. I’m now also a publicist, and if Amy makes contact with a potential client, she refers them to me, and if I have client that has needs that Amy can take care of, I let her know what the client needs. Each project is separated, but also can be combined.

Q: So let's talk about the time management - How do each of you manage the work you do but still find a balance somehow, so that you don't reach burn out, or put too much pressure on the "other half"? 

Amy: I have a bit more time on my hand, now that I’m not writing books. I plan out my day according to what I need to do and the importance of what needs to be done. If something needs to be done by one of us, and for whatever reason, we can’t get to it, the other one may pick it up, or we’ll reschedule. Since we are in charge, we can easily work at our pace, but also meet the needs of our clients. We have several conversations a month, not including our video chats, or discussions on our podcasts. Many times, it’s just sending an email for information or forwarding emails where one was not cc’d and needs to know what’s going on.

McKensie: It is not easy juggling my other work, and adding more projects, but we make it work. It helps that we have each other, and can assist each other. 

Q: Now for the organization... tell us about the steps that needed to be made in order to start this business together. 

Amy: We first, really just knew we wanted to do something more than just work on The Writer’s Edge Show. We started keeping ideas on a google Doc, so we could collaborate. It took several months of planning, and then researching and learning the platforms out there, and what we wanted to do. We talked a lot and did a lot of collaboration. This was very time consuming, but we used our notes and what we wanted to do, and figured out exactly which platform, and then where we wanted to do it, and had to also figure out costs and the management of our cash flow and disbursement. We are both transparent with our projects, even the ones that we aren’t involved with.

McKensie: I agree with Amy, organization is the key, and we figure out what we need to do what we do, and then, we do it, keeping track so we both can access the same files.

Q: Your responses have been wonderfully informative so far and I really appreciate learning so much about you and Genesis Promotions. From my own perspective of running a business, and you briefly touched on this earlier, there is the task of promotions, marketing and advertising - which take a surprising amount of planning and time. What can you share with us about this aspect of running your business?

Amy: Currently, we use blogs (I have a writing blog, and Genesis has its own blog Olympus Book Blog), social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and sometimes LinkedIn). I also use email campaigns, and my connections to authors, publicists, editors, publishers and similar literary professionals to gain audiences. McKensie also does a lot of the research to find things that haven’t yet been discovered and learning a lot by attending webinars or writing virtual conferences, and then shares the information. But I’ll let McKensie tell you more.

McKensie: I have been taking courses on my own time for filmmaking, and screenplay writing, which is my passion, but also doing research on what I need to do for clients, including virtual conferences or even virtual networking.

Q: You bring up a good point - that as business owners and PR specialists, there is always something new to learn, some fresh aspect, a new tool or technique that could be applied in some way to the business. All of that takes time too! I appreciate too that you mentioned the importance of collaborating and networking with others earlier. In what ways have the two of you managed the networking or collaborating with each other when it comes to the various aspects in running a business?

Amy: I live in upstate New York, where McKensie is in South Carolina, and we’ve only met on video, the phone, and during the radio show or podcasts. We do make appointments with each other, so we know we both are free. (McKensie has an important day job). Not all of our conversations are about business, but usually ideas we have, that we may have to save for later, but any time we think we need to change or upgrade one of our projects (businesses), we have a discussion. Our communication between the two of us is the most important business tool we have. 

McKensie: Our years of experience together complements each other, and so does what we have learned along the way. If Amy finds out some information or a tool that we could use, she shares it, and vice versa.

Genesis Literary Promotions

Q: Every business has to determine what makes them unique, why people should want to work with them... So ...what is it about your service that you feel sets you apart from others out there in sphere? 

Amy: Genesis Literary Promotions is not just about blog tours. We offers customized packages to meet the needs and budget of our clients. One option is to be a guest on one of our podcasts (The After Show with McKensie Stewart & Amy Shannon or After The After Show). 

McKensie: I agree with Amy.

Q: What is the process re: choosing who you are going to take on as a client? 

Amy: With each of our business packages or services, there are policies and procedures, not just for us to stay organized, but also for the clients. After the initial contact, when they tell us about their book, what package they want, and tentative dates, we then send an email giving them information based on their request, and an author agreement contract. They must read it and sign it. All the information, including the price, taxes and billing fees are in the contract. 

Usually, when communicating with the client, either via phone, text, or email, you can tell the professionalism of the client, and we have to be professional as well, and stay organized. We also check the information the author gave us, to validate its accuracy.

McKensie: I agree with Amy. We vet all of our clients.

Q: What are some 'tools of the trade' you recommend every author have for their marketing plan?

Amy: I prefer using spreadsheets for organizing everything, so I use Excel (and a lot of its features work very well for my needs), and I keep a copy of it on Google Spreadsheets, so it can also be updated by McKensie. When I need to plan for marketing, I type it out in Notepad, before putting it in any official document that we have. I use Notepad a lot because it doesn’t have formatting that screws up the text. I also use other online tools, for not only planning but scheduling, such as buffer.com and later.com.

Q: What makes for a successful blog tour? 

Amy: A successful blog tour is not just about posting about the author’s book on different blogs (we have blogs that are guaranteed, and we continue to search for other bloggers that will participate). After the blog is posted, the best tool is for others to share on social media. So, even if we only have a few blogs in mind, the sharing and retweeting gives more visibility for the author. We also recommend that the author and their followers share as well. 

Q : In running your business and serving the clients - have you discovered certain tricks that help prevent you from straying from your goal(s)? 

Amy: If I stay on task, I don’t stray. I have templates I created as a baseline for planning depending on the package. I also have a checklist, and a template for a client folder, with documents needed for the client. When I get a client, I copy the default client folder, and name it after the client, and then I already have the information I need in the folder. 

McKensie: We keep track of every client, and even those we don’t end up helping. It gives us more insight into what does and doesn’t work for us.

Q: How do you help each other manage bad days - those days we all have when something or everything goes wrong and we feel weighed down or crushed by it? 

Amy & McKensie: When we have a bad day or just need to vent, we pick up the phone and call each other, and then vent. She helps me keep focus, especially when I’m feeling defeated. I try to do the same for her, but I always leave the conversation feeling better. 

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