June 17, 2024 • 18 mins
In this episode of the United States of Small Business podcast, host John Quick sits down with Georgia Lininger, the innovative founder of Salus Publishing LLC. Georgia shares the inspiration behind starting her unique publishing house, dedicated to diverse voices and sustainability. She takes us through the challenges she faced in establishing Salus Publishing and the perseverance required to bring her vision to life.
We also explore why printing books on recycled or tree-free paper is a core value for Georgia and Salus Publishing. Additionally, Georgia offers invaluable advice for aspiring authors looking to publish their first book. Join us for an enlightening conversation about the intersection of passion, eco-friendly practices, and the future of the publishing industry.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Welcome to the United States of Small Business, a podcast where
the essence of American entrepreneurship is celebrated
in every episode, with host JohnQuick at the helm.
Join us as we embark on a journey through the heart of the
nation, uncovering the inspiringstories of small business owners
from coast to coast. Experience the vibrant energy of
(00:20):
bustling cities and the serene beauty of Small Towns Hall while
discovering how individuals are turning their entrepreneurial
dreams into reality, even against the greatest odds.
Each episode brings you face to face with the dreamers,
creators, and doors who form theeconomic backbone of our
country, all sharing their spirit of innovation and
(00:40):
resilience. Whether you are in the early
stages of sowing the seeds for your own business, scaling new
heights in your current venture,or simply captivated by tales of
grit and triumph, you are in theright place.
TuneIn on platforms like Spotify, YouTube, Apple
Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Pandora and beyond.
(01:01):
For deeper insights and to connect with the heart and soul
of America's Main Streets, visitUnited States of
smallbusiness.com. Subscribe to United States of
Small Business with host John Quick now and be inspired by the
powerful stories of entrepreneurship, community, and
the unwavering pursuit of the American Dream.
(01:22):
Begin your journey of inspiration with us today.
Welcome to the United States, a small business podcast.
I'm your host, John Quick. Today we're joined by Georgia
Langinger, founder of Sayless Publishing Company with 20 years
of experience in the publishing industry.
Georgia's passion for sustainability and diverse
voices LED her to create a unique publishing house that
prints 100% on recycled paper ortree free paper.
(01:47):
TuneIn today for insightful conversations about the
challenges and joys of running your own small publishing
business in today's fast changing world.
So without further ado, Georgia,welcome to the United States of
Small Business podcast. Thank you so so much for having
me, I really appreciate it. Well, this would be fun to hear
a little bit about your story and your journey and kind of the
(02:08):
paths that you've gone on. And I think it'll be really
great for folks listening in to glean on some of your insights
and lessons learned along the way.
But first, tell me about what prompted you start a publishing
company, a pretty unique business.
Tell me the story. Everybody's got one.
So for mine, I started off just loving writing and loving
literature and books and stuff like that.
(02:28):
You know, read a lot as a kid. And then I studied English
literature in university. And then I went on because I
thought I was going to be, you know, just a freelance
environmental journalist. So I got my master's degree at
the University of Oregon. And so I started, you know, in
the Galapagos Islands and then in Ireland.
And I was going to research and I was going to do all this stuff
and came home and actually became a teacher and, you know,
(02:51):
just because kind of fell in love with education at the same
time. And I wrote my first book.
And so it was when I was pregnant with my son.
And so I was, you know, so excited.
And as a new author, you know, you write the story and you
think that's the end of it. And then you realize, oh, wait,
oh, no, I actually have to get it published now.
And so the publishing and getting it published,
(03:13):
especially, you know, in today'sage is just, and it's a
complicated process where you know, anymore you got to get the
agent, you got to get, you know,the agent has to find the
publisher and then the publisher.
It's, it's a whole endeavor, which a lot of new authors don't
realize takes years potentially.And so Long story short, I had,
I went through kind of a traditional publisher for my
(03:35):
first book. My second book actually self
published through Amazon KDP. And my background in grad school
and whatnot was I did my master's thesis on the history
of paper actually. And so, yes, so when whatever
people, you know, if you want tocure for insomnia, you can, you
can read my master's thesis. It's on the, you know, different
(03:55):
kinds of paper in the paper industry.
And so in books, newspapers and magazines.
And so Long story short, with mybooks, I always had this goal of
I, excuse me, I really wanted toprint my books on tree free
paper or one 100% recycled paper.
That was always, that was alwaysthe goal.
And with my traditional publisher, they're like, that's
(04:18):
cute. No.
And then with Amazon KDP, you know, I looked at that as being
more environmentally friendly because they're print on demand.
You know, one of the biggest things about the publishing
industry is how much waste they create, right?
All those books that aren't, that aren't sold well, they tell
them, you know, they tell us that, oh, they can be recycled,
(04:38):
they can be pulled. Well, they can be, but
frequently they're not. They're just tossed.
And so, yeah. So for my third book, I'm like,
OK, come on. Like, I, you know, I can do
this. Recycle papers.
There's got to be a publisher out there.
And I'm hopefully there are. Hopefully there are others, but
I couldn't find them. And so I started my own.
(04:58):
And so, yeah, you know, and along the way, I've met other
authors who were phenomenal. And they're going through kind
of the similar struggles of justtrying to get their work out
there. You know, they have a story to
tell. And they're, I mean, that
they're going through all of theroutes you're supposed to go
through and nothing was happening.
And so I thought, well, you knowwhat, fine with me.
And so I started, like I say, mycompany, and we have eight
(05:22):
children's books currently in print and, you know, and, and
out there and available and one book of poetry we just launched
this spring. And so yeah, it's, you know, all
of our books are 100% recycled. Our mailers, Our promo materials
are either 100% recycled or treefree.
That's pretty cool. Now, are these all your books
(05:42):
that you're publishing, or you're also publishing other
authors as well? Other authors as well, right.
So I've signed, let's see, four different authors.
And so, yeah, so in, you know, in California and Oregon and we
worked with illustrators and, you know, Canada and England and
(06:04):
just the UK in general. And I'm here in California.
So yeah, so I've, you know, I'vepublished one of my books
through Salas, but the rest are all other people 'cause I really
love working with other authors and getting their stories out
there. That's awesome.
So tell me about maybe one of the challenges that you had
while starting this company. It sounds like there's not that
(06:24):
many companies like it in terms of using recycled material to
print on. Tell me about some of those
challenges you faced. Overcame them.
So there have been multiple. So you know, First off, starting
a business when you don't have abusiness background is super fun
because you're just learning as you go.
And then I had the brilliant timing of starting my business
(06:46):
in January of 2020. So yeah, you know, having this
idea of like, all right, children's book authors, we're
gonna get into schools and, you know, you're gonna be in front
of kids and you're gonna read your books.
Oh, it's you're gonna do all these public events.
It's gonna be great. And then lockdown happened.
And so that was another like, oh, snap.
(07:07):
OK. And we rework it, right.
So I think with anyone starting a new business, you face
challenges, some of which you can predict and some of which
obviously come out of nowhere. And so it has been, it has been
a process of, you know, kind of figuring out the, the benefits
of being virtual and the challenges of being virtual and
(07:28):
learning as you go. And with recycled paper, yeah,
you know, it's, I think when yougo in as kind of as a as a
company and when I'm talking to printers and there are, there
are many, many phenomenal printers out there, right, who
have quality papers and they're fantastic.
And then when you get to go and say, OK, you can send me all of
(07:49):
your samples. And that's wonderful.
The only one I'm going to chooseis 100% recycled paper.
And so then that kind of changesthe like the, the dynamic of it
because then instead of, you know, 30 different possibilities
and weights and finishes and styles, they might have 5.
And so from those fives, you know, then you pick the best.
And I have been extremely fortunate because the printers
(08:11):
that I have worked with, Hemlockprinters, they're based, they
have an office in San Francisco,but they print in Canada.
And then Indigo Inc, they're, I'm actually back east.
Both of those have been phenomenal.
And then they do have really high quality papers that are
sustainable. So finding your supply chain can
be a challenge, but once you have it, you're good.
(08:34):
So, you know, it's been, yeah, avariety of challenges.
And of course, book publishing, you know, in these days,
corporations own many, many, many of the book publishers.
So when you're trying to be a little guy starting out and
you're trying to get distribution, you're trying to
do this, you know, it's already pre set for the for the big
companies. And so trying to kind of get in
(08:57):
is, yet again, it's a challenge,but you know, we're working on
it. That's awesome.
So there's gonna be folks listening in that maybe they
wanna, you know, write a book themselves or maybe they've done
two or three books and they, I was thinking, man, this
publishing company sounds prettycool.
They use tree free paper, recycled paper.
Tell us about the process. What does it look like for you
(09:19):
to bring on a new author? Tell us all about that kind of
process and scenario just in case, you know, there could be
the next author listening in that's going to get a hold of
you next week or today even. I would love it.
That would be absolutely fantastic.
I love it when authors reach outwith every one of my authors.
I think the biggest thing that kind of, I don't know,
determines whether I sign an author or not is basically it's
(09:42):
whether I love the story and whether, you know, it's because,
of course, you know, yet again, lots of big publishing
companies, they'll print, you know, hundreds, if not, you
know, thousands of titles. And if they're not successful on
that first year or two, well, off they go.
Whereas for me, I, you know, I told my authors from the
beginning, I'm not gonna give upon them.
(10:02):
I'm, you know, I'm, I'm, you know, I'm in it till the end.
And so I, I sign books and I sign authors that I will promote
till the end of my days. And so I want to love it.
And so, and it's just been a variety of ways, right?
Like Andy Domek, you know, phenomenal author that he is.
You know, he's got a TikTok channel where he does a bunch of
(10:23):
dad jokes and he's just, he's hilarious.
I read his first book, which wascalled Our Garden, which we are
going to sign and, you know, bring under Salas probably the
next year or two and kind of do a reprint.
And anyway, he his stuff was phenomenal.
And so I will promote Andy Domick and his, you know,
phenomenal books till you know, yeah, forever.
(10:45):
And then through him I met MarvaDiaz.
And so she has a phenomenal bookseries that it was actually
stories that she told her kids when when they were little.
And so and that was turned into books.
And they're great books and people love those books.
And then but the funniest one I would say is Sy Swan.
Sy Swan is 85 years old, and I just published his first book at
(11:09):
the beginning of this year. Psy's a frequent guest on this
YouTube channel called The Central Craftsman.
So it's basically if you want tolearn how to build a house or,
you know, build a ramp or build anything, there's this guy named
Scott Wadsworth, and he's phenomenal.
And he, yeah, like I say, has asfrequent guest as this, you
know, Psy Swan, and he's a blacksmith.
(11:29):
He has a forge in his, in his barn, in his garage and yeah,
and anvils and all of it. And so these, you know, these
videos you watch where it's just, you know, he's, he's he's
built his own cannons. And so you can launch, you know,
he won't launch his stuff and hemakes knives.
And Long story short, my husbandloved the videos.
And so I wanted to buy my husband a gift for his birthday.
(11:50):
So I contacted Psy and then we got to talking.
And then it was, he mentioned he'd written the story 40 years
ago, but he showed it to a few friends and family and they, you
know, at the time were kind of like, well, I didn't really like
it. So he shoved it in a drawer and
just forgot it there for 40 years.
And so he was talking to me. And so and I was like, well,
sigh, I'll, I'll read it for you.
(12:11):
I mean, you know, I can't hurt, right?
I'll read it. And so he sent it to me and I
absolutely loved it. And so we, I published it.
And so it's, it's phenomenal. Yeah.
It's doing really well. It's, and, you know, it's the
two Tales of Timothy Mouse and it's just, it's just a joy.
It's so I love it. So I always encourage authors,
(12:33):
you know, to reach out, always be brave, right, Because
especially Psy's a perfect example, you know, for 40 years
he gave up on his own story and you should never give up on it.
And so I will happy to read it anytime.
Yeah. And, and especially, yeah, and
especially, you know, and it's not just for me, but for any
publisher, hopefully, like a good publisher, a good editor,
(12:54):
when they read something, even if it's not a good fit for them,
they can try to point you in a, in a like the direction of
someone who is a better fit, right.
So like, you know, I, I've read stuff in, in different genres
and it might not be our jam, butI pointed them into, you know,
writers conferences or other publishers I know, or other
agents. And it's just, you know,
hopefully that kind of gets themfurther on their path.
(13:17):
That's pretty awesome. So tell me why somebody should
care about recycled paper or tree free paper and what is it?
I don't even know what tree freepaper is, so give me a rundown
on what that is and why people should care about it.
OK, so that's a that's a big one.
So Long story short, paper was never meant to be made from
(13:38):
trees. Trees are an extremely
inefficient way of making paper,right?
When you look at some of the oldest books in the world, you
know, the, the papyrus scrolls, the like the vellum, you know,
Guggenheim Bibles and all that stuff, they're not made from
tree paper, right? So originally, you know,
thousands of years ago and, you know, in Asia, paper was made
(13:59):
from what's called, you know, papyrus.
And so that's part of the jute family of plants.
So not jute, excuse me, hemp family of plants.
Jute is one of the plants that are in hemp.
So hemp, of course, you know, people think of hemp and it's
like, oh, marijuana actually there's like 12 different
plants. It's not just, you know,
marijuana, there's like kenaf and bamboo and jute and all
(14:23):
these things. And it's these, these plants,
these reeds that have simultaneously very strong
fiber, but they're also very bendable and very pliable and
very moldable. So to make paper out of, you
know, hemp or like papyrus doesn't really require that many
chemicals. You don't really need that much
work to do it. And it's pretty darn like strong
(14:44):
stuff. Likewise, way back in the day,
of course, you know, in Europe, books are made from vellum, like
animal skins, right? When you think it was kind of
leather. And so yet again, that stuff
lasts for centuries because of course it's strong.
Trees actually became kind of a paper source in the just in the
quote UN quote discovery of the new world, right?
(15:06):
When, you know, Europeans showedup here to North America and
were like, Oh my gosh, they're these billions of massive trees.
Cool, what do we do with them? Oh, I know, you know, paper.
So tree fiber as a whole needs agreat deal of chemicals to break
those fibers down to really get it into that mush that you can
then flatten it out and, and tolerate diet into the white
(15:31):
paper we use today. So the problem with that is once
all those chemicals are used, they typically cannot be reused.
So then they go down our rivers,Yay.
And then all, you know, all the byproduct, right?
The pulp that's not used, the, you know, the bark, the, the
all, all of that yet again, right down, down the river.
(15:53):
And then, of course, you know, when you have that paper and,
you know, that, you know, a treemade, then most people toss it
and then it's never used again. And so then you got to go
through the whole process all over again to get that, you
know, those paper towels you really need to, you know, clean
up your house with or your toilet paper.
The fact that we still today usetoilet paper that was, you know,
(16:15):
direct from trees boggled my mind, Right.
So, yeah, I think people need tocare about it because, of
course, as we know, you know, around the planet, we are seeing
the effects of climate change. It's, it is undeniable.
And so I think whatever we can do to reduce the waste that we
are creating, we should do it. And especially, you know, when I
(16:40):
like 20 years ago, when I was ingrad school, the biggest
complaint about recycled paper was like, oh, the quality's bad.
Like it doesn't feel the same. Or, you know, it just, you can't
get that bright white, all of which are wrong.
They're just, they're just wrong.
And so, you know, recycled paper, when you when you take
that paper and when you, you know, mush it down again to make
(17:03):
new paper, you're using a small fraction of the chemicals and
that stuff gets to live on. And maybe a tree out there, it
gets to keep standing because you're using the recycled stuff
instead of cutting it down. So I, yeah.
So I think it's just, it's, it means a lot to me.
And I think hopefully it's meaning more and more to people
as well. Well, I think it's very
(17:25):
ambitious for you to have that as a goal and and it sounds like
you've been successful at it so far. 20 minutes here has gone by
and a flash. Do you have any last minute
thoughts before we head off? Tell folks where they can find
you on social media as well. So social media, we're on
Facebook and Instagram. You can always e-mail me at
salaspublishing@gmail.com. Of course, Gmail's easy.
(17:45):
We have a website, salaspublishing.com, which is
being currently revamped and we'll be up back up as soon as
possible where you can see our titles.
And yeah, we're also, of course,our titles are available on
Amazon. And so you can, you can check
out those as well. So, and if you want to see Psy,
he's on Essential Craftsman. But yeah.
Awesome. Well, I appreciate you joining
(18:05):
us today, Georgia. For folks listening in, I'll put
all the links into the podcast description.
And for folks that have maybe you've published a couple books
or maybe you're wanting to publish a book and want to get
your story out there, I want to encourage you to contact Georgia
again, we'll leave all the linksin the podcast description.
We hope everybody has a phenomenal rest of their week.
And until next time, I'm John Quick from the United States of
(18:27):
Small Business Podcast. Thanks, Georgia, for joining us.
Thank you so much for having me on, I really appreciate it.
Welcome to the United States of Small Business, a podcast where
the essence of American entrepreneurship is celebrated
in every episode, with host JohnQuick at the helm.
Join us as we embark on a journey through the heart of the
nation, uncovering the inspiringstories of small business owners
from coast to coast. Experience the vibrant energy of
(00:20):
bustling cities and the serene beauty of Small Towns Hall while
discovering how individuals are turning their entrepreneurial
dreams into reality, even against the greatest odds.
Each episode brings you face to face with the dreamers,
creators, and doors who form theeconomic backbone of our
country, all sharing their spirit of innovation and
(00:40):
resilience. Whether you are in the early
stages of sowing the seeds for your own business, scaling new
heights in your current venture,or simply captivated by tales of
grit and triumph, you are in theright place.
TuneIn on platforms like Spotify, YouTube, Apple
Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Pandora and beyond.
(01:01):
For deeper insights and to connect with the heart and soul
of America's Main Streets, visitUnited States of
smallbusiness.com. Subscribe to United States of
Small Business with host John Quick now and be inspired by the
powerful stories of entrepreneurship, community, and
the unwavering pursuit of the American Dream.
(01:22):
Begin your journey of inspiration with us today.
Welcome to the United States, a small business podcast.
I'm your host, John Quick. Today we're joined by Georgia
Langinger, founder of Sayless Publishing Company with 20 years
of experience in the publishing industry.
Georgia's passion for sustainability and diverse
voices LED her to create a unique publishing house that
prints 100% on recycled paper ortree free paper.
(01:47):
TuneIn today for insightful conversations about the
challenges and joys of running your own small publishing
business in today's fast changing world.
So without further ado, Georgia,welcome to the United States of
Small Business podcast. Thank you so so much for having
me, I really appreciate it. Well, this would be fun to hear
a little bit about your story and your journey and kind of the
(02:08):
paths that you've gone on. And I think it'll be really
great for folks listening in to glean on some of your insights
and lessons learned along the way.
But first, tell me about what prompted you start a publishing
company, a pretty unique business.
Tell me the story. Everybody's got one.
So for mine, I started off just loving writing and loving
literature and books and stuff like that.
(02:28):
You know, read a lot as a kid. And then I studied English
literature in university. And then I went on because I
thought I was going to be, you know, just a freelance
environmental journalist. So I got my master's degree at
the University of Oregon. And so I started, you know, in
the Galapagos Islands and then in Ireland.
And I was going to research and I was going to do all this stuff
and came home and actually became a teacher and, you know,
(02:51):
just because kind of fell in love with education at the same
time. And I wrote my first book.
And so it was when I was pregnant with my son.
And so I was, you know, so excited.
And as a new author, you know, you write the story and you
think that's the end of it. And then you realize, oh, wait,
oh, no, I actually have to get it published now.
And so the publishing and getting it published,
(03:13):
especially, you know, in today'sage is just, and it's a
complicated process where you know, anymore you got to get the
agent, you got to get, you know,the agent has to find the
publisher and then the publisher.
It's, it's a whole endeavor, which a lot of new authors don't
realize takes years potentially.And so Long story short, I had,
I went through kind of a traditional publisher for my
(03:35):
first book. My second book actually self
published through Amazon KDP. And my background in grad school
and whatnot was I did my master's thesis on the history
of paper actually. And so, yes, so when whatever
people, you know, if you want tocure for insomnia, you can, you
can read my master's thesis. It's on the, you know, different
(03:55):
kinds of paper in the paper industry.
And so in books, newspapers and magazines.
And so Long story short, with mybooks, I always had this goal of
I, excuse me, I really wanted toprint my books on tree free
paper or one 100% recycled paper.
That was always, that was alwaysthe goal.
And with my traditional publisher, they're like, that's
(04:18):
cute. No.
And then with Amazon KDP, you know, I looked at that as being
more environmentally friendly because they're print on demand.
You know, one of the biggest things about the publishing
industry is how much waste they create, right?
All those books that aren't, that aren't sold well, they tell
them, you know, they tell us that, oh, they can be recycled,
(04:38):
they can be pulled. Well, they can be, but
frequently they're not. They're just tossed.
And so, yeah. So for my third book, I'm like,
OK, come on. Like, I, you know, I can do
this. Recycle papers.
There's got to be a publisher out there.
And I'm hopefully there are. Hopefully there are others, but
I couldn't find them. And so I started my own.
(04:58):
And so, yeah, you know, and along the way, I've met other
authors who were phenomenal. And they're going through kind
of the similar struggles of justtrying to get their work out
there. You know, they have a story to
tell. And they're, I mean, that
they're going through all of theroutes you're supposed to go
through and nothing was happening.
And so I thought, well, you knowwhat, fine with me.
And so I started, like I say, mycompany, and we have eight
(05:22):
children's books currently in print and, you know, and, and
out there and available and one book of poetry we just launched
this spring. And so yeah, it's, you know, all
of our books are 100% recycled. Our mailers, Our promo materials
are either 100% recycled or treefree.
That's pretty cool. Now, are these all your books
(05:42):
that you're publishing, or you're also publishing other
authors as well? Other authors as well, right.
So I've signed, let's see, four different authors.
And so, yeah, so in, you know, in California and Oregon and we
worked with illustrators and, you know, Canada and England and
(06:04):
just the UK in general. And I'm here in California.
So yeah, so I've, you know, I'vepublished one of my books
through Salas, but the rest are all other people 'cause I really
love working with other authors and getting their stories out
there. That's awesome.
So tell me about maybe one of the challenges that you had
while starting this company. It sounds like there's not that
(06:24):
many companies like it in terms of using recycled material to
print on. Tell me about some of those
challenges you faced. Overcame them.
So there have been multiple. So you know, First off, starting
a business when you don't have abusiness background is super fun
because you're just learning as you go.
And then I had the brilliant timing of starting my business
(06:46):
in January of 2020. So yeah, you know, having this
idea of like, all right, children's book authors, we're
gonna get into schools and, you know, you're gonna be in front
of kids and you're gonna read your books.
Oh, it's you're gonna do all these public events.
It's gonna be great. And then lockdown happened.
And so that was another like, oh, snap.
(07:07):
OK. And we rework it, right.
So I think with anyone starting a new business, you face
challenges, some of which you can predict and some of which
obviously come out of nowhere. And so it has been, it has been
a process of, you know, kind of figuring out the, the benefits
of being virtual and the challenges of being virtual and
(07:28):
learning as you go. And with recycled paper, yeah,
you know, it's, I think when yougo in as kind of as a as a
company and when I'm talking to printers and there are, there
are many, many phenomenal printers out there, right, who
have quality papers and they're fantastic.
And then when you get to go and say, OK, you can send me all of
(07:49):
your samples. And that's wonderful.
The only one I'm going to chooseis 100% recycled paper.
And so then that kind of changesthe like the, the dynamic of it
because then instead of, you know, 30 different possibilities
and weights and finishes and styles, they might have 5.
And so from those fives, you know, then you pick the best.
And I have been extremely fortunate because the printers
(08:11):
that I have worked with, Hemlockprinters, they're based, they
have an office in San Francisco,but they print in Canada.
And then Indigo Inc, they're, I'm actually back east.
Both of those have been phenomenal.
And then they do have really high quality papers that are
sustainable. So finding your supply chain can
be a challenge, but once you have it, you're good.
(08:34):
So, you know, it's been, yeah, avariety of challenges.
And of course, book publishing, you know, in these days,
corporations own many, many, many of the book publishers.
So when you're trying to be a little guy starting out and
you're trying to get distribution, you're trying to
do this, you know, it's already pre set for the for the big
companies. And so trying to kind of get in
(08:57):
is, yet again, it's a challenge,but you know, we're working on
it. That's awesome.
So there's gonna be folks listening in that maybe they
wanna, you know, write a book themselves or maybe they've done
two or three books and they, I was thinking, man, this
publishing company sounds prettycool.
They use tree free paper, recycled paper.
Tell us about the process. What does it look like for you
(09:19):
to bring on a new author? Tell us all about that kind of
process and scenario just in case, you know, there could be
the next author listening in that's going to get a hold of
you next week or today even. I would love it.
That would be absolutely fantastic.
I love it when authors reach outwith every one of my authors.
I think the biggest thing that kind of, I don't know,
determines whether I sign an author or not is basically it's
(09:42):
whether I love the story and whether, you know, it's because,
of course, you know, yet again, lots of big publishing
companies, they'll print, you know, hundreds, if not, you
know, thousands of titles. And if they're not successful on
that first year or two, well, off they go.
Whereas for me, I, you know, I told my authors from the
beginning, I'm not gonna give upon them.
(10:02):
I'm, you know, I'm, I'm, you know, I'm in it till the end.
And so I, I sign books and I sign authors that I will promote
till the end of my days. And so I want to love it.
And so, and it's just been a variety of ways, right?
Like Andy Domek, you know, phenomenal author that he is.
You know, he's got a TikTok channel where he does a bunch of
(10:23):
dad jokes and he's just, he's hilarious.
I read his first book, which wascalled Our Garden, which we are
going to sign and, you know, bring under Salas probably the
next year or two and kind of do a reprint.
And anyway, he his stuff was phenomenal.
And so I will promote Andy Domick and his, you know,
phenomenal books till you know, yeah, forever.
(10:45):
And then through him I met MarvaDiaz.
And so she has a phenomenal bookseries that it was actually
stories that she told her kids when when they were little.
And so and that was turned into books.
And they're great books and people love those books.
And then but the funniest one I would say is Sy Swan.
Sy Swan is 85 years old, and I just published his first book at
(11:09):
the beginning of this year. Psy's a frequent guest on this
YouTube channel called The Central Craftsman.
So it's basically if you want tolearn how to build a house or,
you know, build a ramp or build anything, there's this guy named
Scott Wadsworth, and he's phenomenal.
And he, yeah, like I say, has asfrequent guest as this, you
know, Psy Swan, and he's a blacksmith.
(11:29):
He has a forge in his, in his barn, in his garage and yeah,
and anvils and all of it. And so these, you know, these
videos you watch where it's just, you know, he's, he's he's
built his own cannons. And so you can launch, you know,
he won't launch his stuff and hemakes knives.
And Long story short, my husbandloved the videos.
And so I wanted to buy my husband a gift for his birthday.
(11:50):
So I contacted Psy and then we got to talking.
And then it was, he mentioned he'd written the story 40 years
ago, but he showed it to a few friends and family and they, you
know, at the time were kind of like, well, I didn't really like
it. So he shoved it in a drawer and
just forgot it there for 40 years.
And so he was talking to me. And so and I was like, well,
sigh, I'll, I'll read it for you.
(12:11):
I mean, you know, I can't hurt, right?
I'll read it. And so he sent it to me and I
absolutely loved it. And so we, I published it.
And so it's, it's phenomenal. Yeah.
It's doing really well. It's, and, you know, it's the
two Tales of Timothy Mouse and it's just, it's just a joy.
It's so I love it. So I always encourage authors,
(12:33):
you know, to reach out, always be brave, right, Because
especially Psy's a perfect example, you know, for 40 years
he gave up on his own story and you should never give up on it.
And so I will happy to read it anytime.
Yeah. And, and especially, yeah, and
especially, you know, and it's not just for me, but for any
publisher, hopefully, like a good publisher, a good editor,
(12:54):
when they read something, even if it's not a good fit for them,
they can try to point you in a, in a like the direction of
someone who is a better fit, right.
So like, you know, I, I've read stuff in, in different genres
and it might not be our jam, butI pointed them into, you know,
writers conferences or other publishers I know, or other
agents. And it's just, you know,
hopefully that kind of gets themfurther on their path.
(13:17):
That's pretty awesome. So tell me why somebody should
care about recycled paper or tree free paper and what is it?
I don't even know what tree freepaper is, so give me a rundown
on what that is and why people should care about it.
OK, so that's a that's a big one.
So Long story short, paper was never meant to be made from
(13:38):
trees. Trees are an extremely
inefficient way of making paper,right?
When you look at some of the oldest books in the world, you
know, the, the papyrus scrolls, the like the vellum, you know,
Guggenheim Bibles and all that stuff, they're not made from
tree paper, right? So originally, you know,
thousands of years ago and, you know, in Asia, paper was made
(13:59):
from what's called, you know, papyrus.
And so that's part of the jute family of plants.
So not jute, excuse me, hemp family of plants.
Jute is one of the plants that are in hemp.
So hemp, of course, you know, people think of hemp and it's
like, oh, marijuana actually there's like 12 different
plants. It's not just, you know,
marijuana, there's like kenaf and bamboo and jute and all
(14:23):
these things. And it's these, these plants,
these reeds that have simultaneously very strong
fiber, but they're also very bendable and very pliable and
very moldable. So to make paper out of, you
know, hemp or like papyrus doesn't really require that many
chemicals. You don't really need that much
work to do it. And it's pretty darn like strong
(14:44):
stuff. Likewise, way back in the day,
of course, you know, in Europe, books are made from vellum, like
animal skins, right? When you think it was kind of
leather. And so yet again, that stuff
lasts for centuries because of course it's strong.
Trees actually became kind of a paper source in the just in the
quote UN quote discovery of the new world, right?
(15:06):
When, you know, Europeans showedup here to North America and
were like, Oh my gosh, they're these billions of massive trees.
Cool, what do we do with them? Oh, I know, you know, paper.
So tree fiber as a whole needs agreat deal of chemicals to break
those fibers down to really get it into that mush that you can
then flatten it out and, and tolerate diet into the white
(15:31):
paper we use today. So the problem with that is once
all those chemicals are used, they typically cannot be reused.
So then they go down our rivers,Yay.
And then all, you know, all the byproduct, right?
The pulp that's not used, the, you know, the bark, the, the
all, all of that yet again, right down, down the river.
(15:53):
And then, of course, you know, when you have that paper and,
you know, that, you know, a treemade, then most people toss it
and then it's never used again. And so then you got to go
through the whole process all over again to get that, you
know, those paper towels you really need to, you know, clean
up your house with or your toilet paper.
The fact that we still today usetoilet paper that was, you know,
(16:15):
direct from trees boggled my mind, Right.
So, yeah, I think people need tocare about it because, of
course, as we know, you know, around the planet, we are seeing
the effects of climate change. It's, it is undeniable.
And so I think whatever we can do to reduce the waste that we
are creating, we should do it. And especially, you know, when I
(16:40):
like 20 years ago, when I was ingrad school, the biggest
complaint about recycled paper was like, oh, the quality's bad.
Like it doesn't feel the same. Or, you know, it just, you can't
get that bright white, all of which are wrong.
They're just, they're just wrong.
And so, you know, recycled paper, when you when you take
that paper and when you, you know, mush it down again to make
(17:03):
new paper, you're using a small fraction of the chemicals and
that stuff gets to live on. And maybe a tree out there, it
gets to keep standing because you're using the recycled stuff
instead of cutting it down. So I, yeah.
So I think it's just, it's, it means a lot to me.
And I think hopefully it's meaning more and more to people
as well. Well, I think it's very
(17:25):
ambitious for you to have that as a goal and and it sounds like
you've been successful at it so far. 20 minutes here has gone by
and a flash. Do you have any last minute
thoughts before we head off? Tell folks where they can find
you on social media as well. So social media, we're on
Facebook and Instagram. You can always e-mail me at
salaspublishing@gmail.com. Of course, Gmail's easy.
(17:45):
We have a website, salaspublishing.com, which is
being currently revamped and we'll be up back up as soon as
possible where you can see our titles.
And yeah, we're also, of course,our titles are available on
Amazon. And so you can, you can check
out those as well. So, and if you want to see Psy,
he's on Essential Craftsman. But yeah.
Awesome. Well, I appreciate you joining
(18:05):
us today, Georgia. For folks listening in, I'll put
all the links into the podcast description.
And for folks that have maybe you've published a couple books
or maybe you're wanting to publish a book and want to get
your story out there, I want to encourage you to contact Georgia
again, we'll leave all the linksin the podcast description.
We hope everybody has a phenomenal rest of their week.
And until next time, I'm John Quick from the United States of
(18:27):
Small Business Podcast. Thanks, Georgia, for joining us.
Thank you so much for having me on, I really appreciate it.
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