“We can’t change the whole world, but we can make our little corner slightly better, and that is what we are doing.” Meaghan Hurn

Publishing a book is considered to be one of the most significant steps towards becoming an author. This journey is not such a glamorous affair and entails long periods of hard work that require continuous collaboration from both the author and the publisher. Most writers sometimes end up frustrated with the process, but it doesn’t have to be so. This is according to our guest today, Meaghan Hurn, who believes that authors can be able to publish their books without going through all the frustrations that come with the process if only they know and understand their options in publishing.

Meaghan Hurn is the Founder and CEO of Hurn Publications, an Independent Publishing House that’s both collaborative with its authors and innovative in how it approaches the process of bringing books to life. Meaghan is big on giving back to the writing community outside of those who publish with Hurn Publications, and you’ll find on their website that they host Indie/Self-Pub Authors to help get the word out about their book. Meaghan supports the ProLiteracy Campaign to help adults learn to read and work their way out of poverty, and proceeds of the Hurn Publications online sales are donated to the program.

Hurn Publications operates with the belief that authors should be able to make a living at writing and selling books and has a hands-on approach in the pre and post-publication process with its authors. It’s actively trying to change the way the industry operates positively and sustainably. Hurn Publications has published works for HBO and has received awards and nominations from Writer’s Digest, Cohan, NY Times, and Publisher’s Weekly to start.

Additionally, Meaghan supports SoldiersAngels.org and has helped send over 50,000 packages to deployed military members during 2020 and continues to do so. In 2019 and into 2020, Hurn Publications developed the Princess Like Me and Prince Like Me Campaigns, a new approach to printing children’s books that allows all children from every ethnic background to find themselves the hero of the story.

In today’s episode, my guest will discuss the publishing options available to authors and why they should be making space for themselves to ask questions and understand the contracts they are given before committing to publishers.

Listen in!

Social Media:

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Website: www.hurnpublications.com

We work hard for others [4:05]
We take a traditional approach as Indie publisher and we make it as collaborative as possible. [4:09]
The collaborative part is that I know every single one of my authors and they know me. [4:28]
They are part of this journey, and we never take it from them but we do it with them. [4:31]
If they have an idea, we bring it in because we are humans and not robots and therefore there is no way for us to know every single answer. [4:56]
Our authors come up with really cool things because who better know their book than the person who wrote it. [5:06]
We work really hard to make sure our contracts are author-friendly. [6:42]
One of the tips I have for leaders is to make space for themselves and authors should do that for themselves as well. [7:06]
Authors do have more choices but I don’t think they know it [7:53]
There is a lot you can do and don’t have to take the contract that you have been given [8:06]
When you come across more traditional offers, that advance, is more like a loan because your book has to pay that money back. [11:13]
I am hoping that more publishers will try and make it fairer. [11:46]
Our royalty rates are higher and they start out almost at their maximum. [12:02]
Most authors don’t know that they can negotiate or don’t have the confidence to take up that space for themselves and ask for more so we go ahead and do that for them. [12:10]
I have never met a business that can do it with just one person. [13:43]
It always seems that it is an overnight success but it isn’t. It is years of work. [14:30]
Commercial Break [15:50]
I had to learn that while I don’t think I am intimidating, other people can think I am, so I have to give them the power to take up space for themselves. [17:00]
I let them know that they are not required to be right all the time. [17:11]
What we have had to deal with in 2020 is constant learning and being okay with change. This is hard for a lot of people sometimes more personal than it is in business. [19:07]
Schedule your day for when your brain is on fire. [24:06]

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