In an effort to have a talented and qualified staff in place once my humble press begins to offer a la cart services to Indy authors, I placed an on-line ad for "Work Made for Hire" illustrators, proofreaders and editors. In the ad, I specified that I was looking for individuals who can work within the confines of a set, per page rate, allowing me the ability to offer these services at very affordable rates.
Before I could press the "enter" key to send the ad through (okay, slight exaggeration here), I began receiving applications. I took the ad down after a number of days--the response was just amazing! There are so many talented professionals out there searching for a chance to work and create.
I will spend the next few days reviewing applications to determine those individuals best suited to help me build a strong service unit that provides professional editing/proofreading services and creates captivating illustrations at a cost that doesn't harm the author's budget.
Finally, in 2003 there was a great movie released entitled, Under the Tuscan Sun. It was about a recently divorced writer who on a whim, buys a villa in Italy hoping to heal her broken heart and start a new life. I don't recall the exact quote, but the Italian gentleman who handled the sale of the villa advised her that if she wished for her hopes and dreams of family and friends to come true, she must live and work as though it were already so. He quoted something about the history of the train tracks running through the village and how the community came to be..."If you build the train tracks, the people will come."
In the end it's all about faith.
Best!
Til the next time.
