I had the privilege of interviewing Melanny Henson, the founder and owner of Red Orchid Publishing, founded in December 2013. The publishing company itself is a hybrid publisher of new age contemporary literature, poetry and nonfiction. They specialize in all expressions of the spirit, including spiritual discovery and journeys, hauntings, angels, meditation, religion and honest reflections of the spirit through literary art.
Red Orchid specialize in publishing quality works, not just a select few. One must be accepted through their submission process. First, Red Orchid reads through your manuscript, they decide if it is ready for publication, then offer edit suggestions. If the manuscript is in need of extensive editing, they offer their services. However, many of their authors do not pay for any of Red Orchids services. Basically, if the manuscript is in good shape, then there is no fee. Red Orchid will work with their authors not only on editing but also marketability.
Henson started her company because she herself struggled as an author with the infinite vortex that is the publishing world. “I started Red Orchid because I was frustrated with the publishing market and the difficulties writers faced in getting their work to an audience. I wanted to create a community for writers and a new platform to access their products,” said Henson.
However Henson’s company had a rough start, and she had to get creative and inventive when it came to starting this company. “I was actually unemployed when I started Red Orchid so I had the huge task of finding investors and getting my ship out of the harbor. It takes a lot of money to give a business a decent chance at life. My company was a premature baby born at 16 weeks and barely surviving on life support. Still not dead. Perhaps not discharged to go home yet, though.” Often times starting something new is the hardest part of any worthwhile journey.
There are many good things about Henson’s career, such as her relationships with writers. “The best part is the relationships I've developed with some excellent writers and the traveling. I once left for Texas with a couple weeks planning and spent three days building contacts and doing readings for people. I have fantastic memories from all my adventures. It's a dream come true," said Henson.
But, there are also many challenges as well, especially when is comes to money, “The worst part is when I can't make someone rich and famous no matter how badly I want to. And when I need to pay for things but, have to wait for more funds,” said Henson.
Even with funding as Henson’s main struggle, she still remains optimistic and opportunistic. Henson believes the publishing world is reinventing itself and people should get involved, “If you want to start your own publishing business, I think you should. The market is shifting and there is room for upstarts and new life. Focus your efforts on innovative ways to meet your consumers. With technology, there are all kinds of paths you can analyze and use to your advantage.” Henson wants writers, authors, and entrepreneurs to succeed at everything they do.
The take away from this interview would have to be, even though starting your own publishing company can be hard it can lead to a great many things including networking, funding and travel.
