~Interviewed by Lake and Dunne~



Kathy (Katlyn) Smith
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BookEnds Press & Renaissance Printing


Nann: Hello, Kat, from both of us. I met you last year at DragonCon, but I didn't get to ask you some key questions. The first thing I'm curious about has to do with women in the printing industry, which seems to be run by an abundance of men. Working in this field, has being a woman been to your advantage or disadvantage?
Kat: Hi Nann, Lori. I think printing as an industry has always been looked upon as a male-dominated field. As our society has grown and expanded, though, women have become more prevalent in the field of printing and publishing. With the explosion of Gay and Lesbian publishing in the last few years, many female authors have a desire to work with someone who respects, understands, and appreciates the genre and their work. It has been to our advantage to assist these authors, because we truly understand and appreciate the art of lesbian--and gay--writing and the markets through which these authors can gain the most exposure.

Nann: How many years have you been in the business, and what sort of printing jobs make up the majority of your company's work?
Kat: We have been in business for over 30 years. What started as a small family-owned print shop has grown over time to a 100% employee-owned and operated, full-service printing and publishing company. We currently have five locations from which to serve our many customers and offer a wide variety of products and services. In our Renaissance Printing division we can print anything from business cards and letterhead to full color magazines and books.

Lori:  Renaissance is the division that has done so much work for me. I've been very happy with all the "goodies" you've provided, Kat. I especially think the postcards have been useful for contacting brick-and-mortar stores and reviewers. But now you've branched out into publishing.
Kat: Right. BookEnds Press is our new publishing division where we focus on assisting authors who wish to independently publish their manuscripts. An author's investment in publishing their work doesn't start when they sign a contract with a publisher--it begins from the moment the first word is typed onto a blank page. BookEnds Press was founded on the philosophy authors shouldn't have to surrender their manuscripts and the rights to that work to have it published. We don't hold our authors to long-term contracts, rather we hold the publication rights to the manuscript for only as long as the authors want to continue publishing their books with us.

Nann: I've had experience with small press publishing and with editing for larger houses, but this sounds different. Is it?

Kat: Our services differ somewhat from the mainstream publishing houses in that the author has full access and control over their publication, from editing to distribution. Authors submit their formatted and edited files to us, and BookEnds Press completes the publishing process for them, including registering their publication with the Library of Congress and listing the ISBN within Bowker's Books In Print, a database which provides access to the listings included to booksellers and libraries worldwide.

We also offer authors a simple means of distributing their published work without having to warehouse hundreds of books. It's as easy as the author faxing in an order, and BookEnds Press does all the shipping to any location in the world. And without being tied into long-term contracts, authors can end their publishing relationship at any time. We make independent publishing simple, giving the authors more time to write and devote their efforts to the creative process.

Nann: Since you're an author yourself, has knowledge of the printing industry helped you, and if so, in what ways?
Kat: It certainly has helped. BookEnds Press is fortunate to have several published authors working in our organization. We not only understand the process of writing, but also understand how to get manuscripts through the publishing process. With this knowledge and experience, we can help authors independently publish their work with little or no frustration. Many times we can have a book through the publishing process in less than four weeks. When you compare that to the six to twelve months that conventional publishers take to publish a book, that is a big time savings. We get authors' work produced and out into the marketplace so they can begin generating immediate sales.

Lori: You've done a lot of printing for me, Kat: full color postcards of my covers, excellent bookmarks, and 12"x18" posters. Are there other items you recommend? Tell us a little bit about the kinds of printing that you think can benefit all small press authors.
Kat: Along with the postcards, bookmarks, self-adhesive bookplates, and posters, BookEnds Press offers specialty 'give away' items like refrigerator magnets and pens as well as other income-generating items such as coffee mugs and mouse pads. BookEnds Press also offers companion items: notepads, letterhead, etc. to help our authors present their work to businesses and retailers. We can come up with just about any printed product you can think of to promote your work.

Lori: What else would you like readers to know about?

Kat: Anyone in the world of publishing realizes that in order to sell your work, you have to get the word out to the retailers and organizations that buy and sell books. BookEnds Press can help authors do that by offering a unique service that most publishers don't offer - marketing campaigns for direct mailing of promotional announcements, letters, and postcards to bookstores and retailers. This process usually occurs during the publishing process, so by the time the book is released, the word is already out to the author's prospective buyers.

We are currently offering a marketing and promotional package valued at $100.00 to all new authors on their first order of 100 books or more. This package includes 50 bookmarks, 100 postcards and 2 posters. We offer this as a complimentary promotional package to assist our authors in marketing their new publication and begin seeing income from their publication from day one.


Nann: This sounds very exciting. You're providing a much-needed service, Kat. All of us small press authors need to work more on promoting our books, but we don't always know where to turn to get the necessary promotional material.
Kat:Yes, this is exactly what we have discovered. The only thing we can't do is write your book for you, but we sure can help with everything else.

Lori: How do people reach you?

Kat: Anyone can write me for more information at: Kathy@BookEndsPress.com. People can also peruse the webpages for BookEnds Press at: http://www.bookendspress.com/index.htm or check out the printing information provided at Renaissance Printing: http://www.renaissance-printing.com.


Nann: Thank you for your information and good advice. We appreciate all the work you've done to make it easier for authors, both new and experienced.
Kat: You're welcome. I love this business, and I particularly love helping authors. It's fun, and it's fulfilling. You two have a great day!


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