My plan has always been to self-publish my book. To do that, I needed a publishing company, or, rather, all the advice told me I did, and decided to follow it. The infamous they said that it looked better if, instead of making yourself the publisher, to create and form a company that you publish it under. Look more professional, and for all the reader knows, it’s a small print press in Colorado. Well, it is, with one author, me. I named it Century Plant Publishing. I want to say it was a struggle, but I figured it out pretty quick and never regretted it.
And The Winner Was…
What’s in a name? Quite a bit these days. Companies spend money trying to position themselves with a clever name. Not me. I went with my gut. Just so you know, a Century Plant is a real thing, a cactus in fact. It sits close to the ground, not looking like much, growing leaves on the surface, then, in the back half of its life, a shoot climbes up, thirty feet up in the air, and blooms. Then, of course, it dies, but it’s most beautiful toward the end of it’s life, with flowers that bloom red and then shift into yellow. Appropriate for a late bloomer like me, right?
However, the idea came from, of all things, a teen movie called Camp. It features a very young Anna Kendrick if you’re into her. The film takes place at a drama camp for teens where a famous but burnt out Broadway songwriter comes to teach. The kids find a bunch of his unused songs and they inspire him to use them to create the summer finale. The name comes from one of the songs, call, surprise, Century Plant. Specifically, the chorus spoke to me:
‘Hey? Do you want to come out and play the game. It’s never too late’
Playing The Game
What can I say? It resonated, and I created my company because I’m playing the game! That game involved figuring out a marketing plan, opening a business bank account, figuring out my structure and, after deciding on an LLC, registering it with the state and paying the yearly fee to maintain it. I know, we all want to just focus on writing the damn book. That’s hard enough, pushing through the grey days, putting words together day after day and pruning them again with revision. Now I have to, gasp, sell it? Yes, yes you do and that involves a game plan. You know the saying, a dream without a plan is just a wish. You’re putting far too much work into this thing for it to stay a wish. You need a plan.
The Start Of A Plan
How do I do that? Got me. I’m figuring that out myself. If you came to this for deep advice, sorry. I’m walking on the path myself and find myself a bit lost. However, I recently read something, that if you keep walking forward, eventually, you’ll find one. It’s when you walk in circles that you never get anywhere (yes, I know that a spiral is a circle and you can get make progress using that, but it’s a great metaphor, so just go with it).
What’s next? I’m going to post here weekly and repurpose them on other sites. I haven’t been doing that, but I guess it’s time to use Facebook for my benefit since I agreed to go back on it and all. All the advice I’ve seen, and I’ve look at a few things, stress two things, consistency and content. More posts is better, but I’m one person, and one post a week is my limit. So, I guess I’ll see you on Facebook, if you’re part of a group I belong to. Or I’ll see you here.
Part of journey is a promise of transparency. I don’t always have the answers. I do have my journey. And I have a name. Welcome to Century Plant