Author: Kathryn Spurgeon

Christian writer and speaker Memory House Publishing

Ask for help when starting a new endeavor!

by Kathryn Spurgeon, posted in Memory House Publishing
2015 12 10 (1)1
Kathryn & Bonnie Lanthripe

Starting a business means getting a lot of advice. Although I’ve run companies in the past, I still need to find experts who can help me with planning and implementing. None of us know everything, especially me. In fact, I have little experience in the book publishing business. Maybe I should not admit that! I worked in the oil and gas, medical, and prison industries. Every industry has their own lingo and way to do business. I know how to handle finances, etc. and how to produce a good book, but I know little about selling books, so I have been doing a lot of researching.

What I really want to stress is that none of us should be above asking for help, especially as we undertake new endeavors. Learn. Learn. Learn. Especially in a changing world like ours. Especially in the book business.

Since beginning a new company, I’ve had coffee with many published authors, editors, and writing friends. All have offered helpful advice. Yesterday, Bonnie Lanthripe and I ate lunch at Java Dave’s, and I had my new favorite sandwich, a bacon, avocado, and cream cheese on wheat! Bonnie has a book on Amazon and is working on her second book! Look her up.

I went to SCORE, part of the U.S. Small Business Association. They offer free small business advice and I’m glad I went. Linda Parker, a SCORE mentor, guided me with questions I had not considered before, directed me to pertinent websites, and prodded me to write a long term business plan. I will meet with her again as things progress. Thank you, Linda.

If you are considering delving into some new business, I recommend you talk with SCORE. But don’t stop there, research on the internet, talk to people in your field, and attend webinars or seminars on the subjects you need.

Keep on trucking. And little by little, with God’s help, we can get this!

You are loved, kathryn

Build an awesome team!

by Kathryn Spurgeon, posted in Memory House Publishing

Team picture2When I decided to begin publishing, I knew I needed some expert assistants. I don’t know everything, so I wanted someone to assist me, someone who knew more than I did. For me, but maybe not for all companies, this was one of first things to do. Find help!

I put an ad on craigslist.com for an editorial assistant. Maybe not the best way to find help, as my sweet husband noted, but it worked. I received 45 applicants!  I read every cover letter and resume. Made a list to keep track of them. Started marking through the impossibles, like the no-writing-experience bartender and the over-experienced-in their-field phlebotomist.  Narrowed my search down to 6 people to interview and called them in.

At the interviews, I laid out my mass of material for a start-up company. One question I asked, since all my work is Christian, was if it bothered them if our publishing would be Christian. All expressed that a Christian company was good, even preferable.  I was impressed with them, with their background and especially their excitement to help build something inspiring and viable. So I hired not just one, but four people! Experienced in different areas. One quit the first week. That leaves three contract employees, and a long-time editor friend who has offered to help out.

I would like to introduce my awesome team: Bonnie Lanthripe, Amber Beaman, Gina Dabney and Clay Milford. This well-rounded team has talent/skills and experience in writing, editing, business, marketing and much more! We met just before Thanksgiving and the meeting was fun, fast-paced with ideas and brainstorming and designs and concepts bouncing around. I loved it.

May God do as He wishes with our efforts.Kathryn

Follow me as I start a publishing company

by Kathryn Spurgeon, posted in Memory House Publishing

2015 11 1 (128)

At my home office.

I woke up one morning a few weeks ago and decided to start a company. Yep, it was that quick of a decision. However, I do have some background that is supportive.

I have amassed a monumental amount of writings, most of which sits in my closet unpublished. I have a few books ready to go, among them, a historical novel, a memoir, and a book about the women in jail I counseled and what they taught me. I also have children’s books that need an illustrator. Not to mention 4,901 poems (I kept them all, good and bad ones!). Much more of my work awaits completion and/or revision. So what to do with this mass of writing?

I am a retired CPA and have owned a company before. When I retired, I took college classes in creative writing, read books on writing techniques, and went to writing conferences. Learned a lot.

Over the past twelve years, our Henderson Hills Baptist writing team collected, edited and compiled eight books. The Heart Books series include stories/poems/devotionals of what God has done through people. We published some amazing stories reflecting God’s love.

Putting all this together, it seems reasonable to begin a company. But what about funding? Doesn’t it take money to begin a company? My father passed away last year and left me a decent inheritance. I think he would be proud if he knew I was trying to put it to good use. I want to do my best to obey God each day, and follow wherever this leads.

The next step after deciding to begin a company is to come up with a name. Memory House Publishing already has a Twitter and Facebook account! I hope to show you a website soon! This has been a blast! I plan to share more with you as we go along!

You are loved,
Kathryn

What happens when you get too close to the fire?

by Kathryn Spurgeon, posted in My Thoughts

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When I went to Nicaragua last summer on a mission trip with my granddaughters, my hair was near its worst. In that overabundance of humidity, I looked like a shaggy mutt with uncontrollable locks. That’s me. Wild, crazy, wavy hair. I plan to go back to Nicaragua in January 2016 and speak. I have tried to let my hair grow out so I can pull it back from my face. Hopefully, the people will see that I’m civilized. 🙂

Last Friday, my in-laws drove up from East Texas to Oklahoma to visit us. My amazing, 91-year-old father-in-law drove the whole 7 hour trip! On Saturday we had a family, hot dog cook-out on our acreage in Guthrie. We arranged old red bricks in a big circle and lit the fire. Before it got hot, I bent forward to straighten a falling brick. Swoosh… the fire blew toward me and pushed me back. I felt hot air and heard a sizzle. I smelled the stink of burning hair. The front of my hair and the right side were frazzled like a really bad permanent (or worse). I thought the hair would fall out.

I was scheduled to speak at church the next morning to about 40 women, our Blended Blessings class. I have not taught there in several years and they asked me to speak on perseverance. I asked my mother-in-law if I should tell my “fire” story at the beginning or the end. She said, “It depends on how bad you look in the morning.”

I researched “burnt hair” on google, and found that coconut or olive oil would help. I poured a half cup of warm olive oil on my hair and worked it through. Just in case you have something this crazy happen to your hair, I had amazing results! I could comb it. (I did get a hair cut on Monday.)

Perseverance means to keep on, not give up, have patience in trials, stick it out, continue, persist, and not lose faith. So here I am with one more small example of “taking a difficult situation in stride.” Did I find joy? Well, at least my face was not burnt. It could have been much worse.

James 1:2 says “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

I shared some of my trials with the ladies: loneliness, divorce, single mom, death, illness, etc. Those ladies are wonderful and I could relate to them. My hair, though back to its craziness because I could not blow dry it, was passable. 

Trials are like that fire. Sometimes they come in a swoosh, very sudden. You might get your hair singed, or you might get hurt real bad. Other times, you might linger too long near the fire and get burnt on the backside. You can’t easily wash off the smell of smoke.

Remember that God promises to help us through the fire. He stands beside us like my husband was standing beside me when the logs burst into flame and rushed toward me. Trust God. He loves you.

You are loved,
Kathryn

My last oxygen treatment for now

by Kathryn Spurgeon, posted in My Thoughts

I spent my 40th hyperbaric oxygen treatment in silence. No movies. No music. Just two and a half hours of plain old prayer, meditation and dozing.

I never expected to get tired of movies because I’m a great fan of a good plot, but about the 30th flick in a row, Movieland became a bad sedative. Unable to sleep, I have grown adept at guessing plot endings.

Don’t get me wrong, I saw some great movies. Many of you suggested some terrific ones, from The Good Lie to Seven Pounds to Hugo. But enough is enough. Once in a while I need a break.

A few weeks ago, I meditated instead of watching a video. I was nervous at first. After all, two and a half hours is a long time to be immobile, barricaded in a small, clear cylinder with my own thoughts. But now I look forward to time alone with God. Although my thoughts wander, God is patient and brings me back to the conversation. So I’ve said it. My mind meanders. I’m unfocused. But God knows my scattered mind, and he patiently leads me to the lesson I need. Like reading Jude every day for a month, the book we studied at church. I learned a lot.

The treatments help. Cancer free for almost three years now, I do feel better. An unexpected benefit is that my chemo headaches are gone. I’m taking a break while insurance approves another twenty treatments. If that happens, I’ll reassess my list of unseen movies and look forward to a future once-a-week uninterrupted time with God.