July 2, 2024 • 10 mins
The Rebeca Books authors got together for their inaugural gathering, and what an amazing experience it was for all involved. In the end, the best possible outcome presented itself.
Learn more at https://www.rebecabooks.com
Learn how to support the great work of The Retta Collective at https://rettacollective.org.
Learn more at https://www.rebecabooks.com
Learn how to support the great work of The Retta Collective at https://rettacollective.org.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
>> Rebeca (00:12):
Welcome to the 10th chapter of Raising
Rebeca, the birth of a publishing
house. This is the audio story of me,
Rebeca Seitz, building a traditional,
royalty paying publishing house from the ground up,
told to you as it unfolds.
When last I checked in with you, we were days away from the
inaugural gathering of Rebeca Book's authors.
(00:34):
That happened on June 5 at
champions for learning, who were very kind in allowing
us to use their space. If you're wanting to find a group
that is achieving serious, lasting impact in
people's lives via the public education system,
go to championsforelearning.org
dot. Now, you might
remember that I was a little nervous about gathering that much
(00:56):
power and ability into one room. As I
said on the previous episode, the women of Rebeca books are
each stunning and incredible in their own
Right. They are present,
inquisitive and insightful,
brave and welcoming,
knowledgeable and yet curious.
(01:16):
They are each walking billboards for the
spectacular magic that happens when a
woman comes into her own.
I got to the venue about an hour before the event was
set to begin, which, of course, means
that it ended up starting without me. Let
me explain.
>> Announcer (01:39):
You're listening to Raising Rebeca, the
birth of a publishing house on the one C story network.
One C is made possible in part by the support of the
following sponsor.
>> Rebeca (02:00):
If you are insane enough to say yes
to a big idea and then start walking out its
fruition, I can make you a promise.
The people that are on page one will
not be the ones in the final chapter. I
mean, a few may stick with you through the entire crazy journey,
but in my experience of founding multiple
(02:20):
enterprises over the past 20 years, I found
that, like in my personal Life, professional
relationships have their seasons. This is
an expected part of the process.
In my early years, I would lose sleep trying
to figure out if I'd done something wrong or not done something
needed. If someone left the story before
(02:41):
the final chapter, I took it
personally as a slight against my
ability to build and manage a team,
to consistently inspire and lead.
Now, I know that certain pages of a
story, well, they're allotted to certain people,
and I'm able to keep my hands a little more loosely on the
(03:01):
unfolding manuscript. Do you know what I mean? I've
learned how to make sure that the
people who are working with me know I am
always open to communication, and
I respect their right and
responsibility to make decisions for
where and how they spend their time,
talents, and resources. So long as
(03:24):
I'm doing that, there's a peace that, accompanies
whatever happens. This approach often
lets relationships evolve and continue
rather than end with any single incarnation
of them. That's a byproduct that
I place a significant amount of value on.
I enjoy and appreciate
(03:44):
longevity of relationship, and I
mourn the severing of it, even when
parting is necessary. I
say all that to say back in chapter
eight of this podcast, you listened in on a
conversation between Crystal Caney and
me. Crystal was serving as
the first executive director of the nonprofit
(04:07):
Reta Collective, which is wholly separate
from my company. Some of the work that
happens here at one c, though, including the work of Rebeca
Books, crosses over with Rettas mission
of elevating the voices of women, minorities,
and rural community members in the multimedia
landscape. That makes sense,
given that I'm the founding president of Retta collective.
(04:30):
I did help name it after my great great aunt, Rhetta
Moultrie, who taught me how to serve people
and live as a story person.
Well, on May 31,
five days before the gathering of Rebeca Book's
authors, Crystal unexpectedly
resigned her position. The reasons
(04:51):
for that are, hers to tell. I
will say here that starting up a nonprofit is
very hard work. I
know I've done it myself in the past,
and it was more difficult than I'd envisioned going into
it, harder than I think I could have
known, having never done it before.
(05:11):
So there I was, five days before the
Rebeca books women gathered and four days before the
first one's plane arrived in town,
suddenly needing to handle the exit of the Retta collective
executive director. As its
founding president, I'd been donating and
managing all the website design, URL
management, email system management, office contract,
(05:34):
graphic design, and collateral creation, and
helping introduce the concept to key relationships.
For the ED to then run with
now, access to everything
had to be altered. People had to be
informed online and print collateral had to be
edited. It was a lot of work, and
absolutely zero time had been budgeted
(05:56):
for it. There were legal questions,
too, and the attorney on the Rhetta collective board happened to
be tied up in court that day. And the following days
after the resignation, he ended up being able
to call me ten minutes before the start of
the Rebeca books author gathering.
Ten minutes, friend. Ten
minutes. Now, if you've worked in
(06:18):
broadcasting, as I have many, many moons ago, then
you know that ten minutes is an eternity.
You can rewrite an entire broadcast segment twice
in ten minutes if you have to. So,
stepping out of the room that was filling up with writers, I took the
call as quickly as possible. The attorney
and I ran through what I'd already done, what remained to
(06:39):
be done and how it needed to be handled. Behind
me, on the other side of the wall, I could hear laughter and
conversation begin to flow amongst the writers.
The call lasted 17
minutes, so I entered the room
seven minutes after our start time, and
what I found made me stop
(06:59):
and just stare. The
women of Rebeca books, previously
unknown to each other, were
talking, laughing, gesturing,
and already finding points of connection.
I just stood there, staring,
drinking in the energy of the
moment which pulsed with Life,
(07:22):
vitality, camaraderie,
freedom, and possibility.
I didn't really want to interrupt it,
but one of the women saw me and she said, oh, there she
is. So I needed to start our time together, and
I did so in what for me is true fashion. With
an apology. I briefly explained that
(07:44):
the ed of Reta had resigned and I'd been waiting on that call
from the attorney on the board, and I had to take
it. I thanked them for their grace, and then I
launched into the program.
We went over the contract. Each woman introduced
herself and her project, and when each one
(08:04):
was done, can I tell you the coolest thing that happened
to as a woman would finish her summary of her
project immediately. The others chimed in with
their admiration and excitement for how that book
will serve people well. They affirmed each
other as writers, as professionals, as
women taking up space in this world.
(08:25):
When I tell you, it felt like the best therapy
session that I've ever been to, I'm not exaggerating.
Nobody said out loud, okay, we're a group
and we're going to be here for each other. They
just did it. They
started supporting each other with words, with
energy and deed from before I
(08:45):
ever entered the room, seven minutes late. And they kept
it going the entire time we were there.
Actually, they've kept it going in our group chat ever
since. Maybe you've been a
part of this kind of a group before, but I have
nothing. It's magical,
restorative,
(09:05):
energizing. I mean, each
of these women came into my life, and I did choose them to
be an inaugural Rebeca Books author. Yes, my
friendship with each of them has been those things, individually
magical and restorative and energizing. But when you put
those kinds of individual souls in a room together,
it takes the experience to entirely new
(09:26):
heights, because
collectively creating and
experiencing magic, restoration and
energy is next level.
By the end of the day, I could tell we were all beginning to need a
break from words and new experiences.
As I packed up my materials, took pictures with the
women, and said my goodbyes,
(09:49):
one of them came up to me
hey, can we talk about what exactly Rhetta
collective needs in an executive director? She
asked. And you'll be meeting that wise
woman in chapter eleven. For
now. I'm Rebeca Seitz. Thank you
for joining me on this journey.
>> Announcer (10:08):
You've been listening to Raising Rebeca,
the birth of a publishing house from the one C story
Network. Subscribe to the show wherever you get your
podcasts and learn more at, the
Rebeccabooks.com. that's R-E-B-E-C-A
books.com.
>> Singer (10:37):
The one 1C Story Network
for the love of stories.
Welcome to the 10th chapter of Raising
Rebeca, the birth of a publishing
house. This is the audio story of me,
Rebeca Seitz, building a traditional,
royalty paying publishing house from the ground up,
told to you as it unfolds.
When last I checked in with you, we were days away from the
inaugural gathering of Rebeca Book's authors.
(00:34):
That happened on June 5 at
champions for learning, who were very kind in allowing
us to use their space. If you're wanting to find a group
that is achieving serious, lasting impact in
people's lives via the public education system,
go to championsforelearning.org
dot. Now, you might
remember that I was a little nervous about gathering that much
(00:56):
power and ability into one room. As I
said on the previous episode, the women of Rebeca books are
each stunning and incredible in their own
Right. They are present,
inquisitive and insightful,
brave and welcoming,
knowledgeable and yet curious.
(01:16):
They are each walking billboards for the
spectacular magic that happens when a
woman comes into her own.
I got to the venue about an hour before the event was
set to begin, which, of course, means
that it ended up starting without me. Let
me explain.
>> Announcer (01:39):
You're listening to Raising Rebeca, the
birth of a publishing house on the one C story network.
One C is made possible in part by the support of the
following sponsor.
>> Rebeca (02:00):
If you are insane enough to say yes
to a big idea and then start walking out its
fruition, I can make you a promise.
The people that are on page one will
not be the ones in the final chapter. I
mean, a few may stick with you through the entire crazy journey,
but in my experience of founding multiple
(02:20):
enterprises over the past 20 years, I found
that, like in my personal Life, professional
relationships have their seasons. This is
an expected part of the process.
In my early years, I would lose sleep trying
to figure out if I'd done something wrong or not done something
needed. If someone left the story before
(02:41):
the final chapter, I took it
personally as a slight against my
ability to build and manage a team,
to consistently inspire and lead.
Now, I know that certain pages of a
story, well, they're allotted to certain people,
and I'm able to keep my hands a little more loosely on the
(03:01):
unfolding manuscript. Do you know what I mean? I've
learned how to make sure that the
people who are working with me know I am
always open to communication, and
I respect their right and
responsibility to make decisions for
where and how they spend their time,
talents, and resources. So long as
(03:24):
I'm doing that, there's a peace that, accompanies
whatever happens. This approach often
lets relationships evolve and continue
rather than end with any single incarnation
of them. That's a byproduct that
I place a significant amount of value on.
I enjoy and appreciate
(03:44):
longevity of relationship, and I
mourn the severing of it, even when
parting is necessary. I
say all that to say back in chapter
eight of this podcast, you listened in on a
conversation between Crystal Caney and
me. Crystal was serving as
the first executive director of the nonprofit
(04:07):
Reta Collective, which is wholly separate
from my company. Some of the work that
happens here at one c, though, including the work of Rebeca
Books, crosses over with Rettas mission
of elevating the voices of women, minorities,
and rural community members in the multimedia
landscape. That makes sense,
given that I'm the founding president of Retta collective.
(04:30):
I did help name it after my great great aunt, Rhetta
Moultrie, who taught me how to serve people
and live as a story person.
Well, on May 31,
five days before the gathering of Rebeca Book's
authors, Crystal unexpectedly
resigned her position. The reasons
(04:51):
for that are, hers to tell. I
will say here that starting up a nonprofit is
very hard work. I
know I've done it myself in the past,
and it was more difficult than I'd envisioned going into
it, harder than I think I could have
known, having never done it before.
(05:11):
So there I was, five days before the
Rebeca books women gathered and four days before the
first one's plane arrived in town,
suddenly needing to handle the exit of the Retta collective
executive director. As its
founding president, I'd been donating and
managing all the website design, URL
management, email system management, office contract,
(05:34):
graphic design, and collateral creation, and
helping introduce the concept to key relationships.
For the ED to then run with
now, access to everything
had to be altered. People had to be
informed online and print collateral had to be
edited. It was a lot of work, and
absolutely zero time had been budgeted
(05:56):
for it. There were legal questions,
too, and the attorney on the Rhetta collective board happened to
be tied up in court that day. And the following days
after the resignation, he ended up being able
to call me ten minutes before the start of
the Rebeca books author gathering.
Ten minutes, friend. Ten
minutes. Now, if you've worked in
(06:18):
broadcasting, as I have many, many moons ago, then
you know that ten minutes is an eternity.
You can rewrite an entire broadcast segment twice
in ten minutes if you have to. So,
stepping out of the room that was filling up with writers, I took the
call as quickly as possible. The attorney
and I ran through what I'd already done, what remained to
(06:39):
be done and how it needed to be handled. Behind
me, on the other side of the wall, I could hear laughter and
conversation begin to flow amongst the writers.
The call lasted 17
minutes, so I entered the room
seven minutes after our start time, and
what I found made me stop
(06:59):
and just stare. The
women of Rebeca books, previously
unknown to each other, were
talking, laughing, gesturing,
and already finding points of connection.
I just stood there, staring,
drinking in the energy of the
moment which pulsed with Life,
(07:22):
vitality, camaraderie,
freedom, and possibility.
I didn't really want to interrupt it,
but one of the women saw me and she said, oh, there she
is. So I needed to start our time together, and
I did so in what for me is true fashion. With
an apology. I briefly explained that
(07:44):
the ed of Reta had resigned and I'd been waiting on that call
from the attorney on the board, and I had to take
it. I thanked them for their grace, and then I
launched into the program.
We went over the contract. Each woman introduced
herself and her project, and when each one
(08:04):
was done, can I tell you the coolest thing that happened
to as a woman would finish her summary of her
project immediately. The others chimed in with
their admiration and excitement for how that book
will serve people well. They affirmed each
other as writers, as professionals, as
women taking up space in this world.
(08:25):
When I tell you, it felt like the best therapy
session that I've ever been to, I'm not exaggerating.
Nobody said out loud, okay, we're a group
and we're going to be here for each other. They
just did it. They
started supporting each other with words, with
energy and deed from before I
(08:45):
ever entered the room, seven minutes late. And they kept
it going the entire time we were there.
Actually, they've kept it going in our group chat ever
since. Maybe you've been a
part of this kind of a group before, but I have
nothing. It's magical,
restorative,
(09:05):
energizing. I mean, each
of these women came into my life, and I did choose them to
be an inaugural Rebeca Books author. Yes, my
friendship with each of them has been those things, individually
magical and restorative and energizing. But when you put
those kinds of individual souls in a room together,
it takes the experience to entirely new
(09:26):
heights, because
collectively creating and
experiencing magic, restoration and
energy is next level.
By the end of the day, I could tell we were all beginning to need a
break from words and new experiences.
As I packed up my materials, took pictures with the
women, and said my goodbyes,
(09:49):
one of them came up to me
hey, can we talk about what exactly Rhetta
collective needs in an executive director? She
asked. And you'll be meeting that wise
woman in chapter eleven. For
now. I'm Rebeca Seitz. Thank you
for joining me on this journey.
>> Announcer (10:08):
You've been listening to Raising Rebeca,
the birth of a publishing house from the one C story
Network. Subscribe to the show wherever you get your
podcasts and learn more at, the
Rebeccabooks.com. that's R-E-B-E-C-A
books.com.
>> Singer (10:37):
The one 1C Story Network
for the love of stories.
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