Radiah: What inspired you to create your own publishing companies?
Julia: First, my father taught school in the day and was an entrepreneur at night. I saw the power of entrepreneurship and owning my business up close and personal. Secondly, I admit it and very transparent about having control issues. Long before the popular phrase of ‘owning your own table rather than begging for a seat at someone else’ table became popular I knew I wanted to own, control and be the visionary of my own company.
Radiah: How do you balance running your own publishing company and writing your own books?
Julia: Discipline and a passion for what I write. I know plenty of publishers who do not write for themselves but just publish other people. The writing bug bit me and bit me hard. Additionally, I enjoy teaching from my own books. It allows me to interject my own voice on a subject as well as leave my own legacy on the subject matter for the next generation. Believe you me, I don’t write as much as I would like to but I get it in. Any small window of opportunity, I am writing 95% of the time. My clients come first but remember I was the publishing company’s first client, so I have to remember that and get my books out as well.
Radiah: Tell us about the Royston Book Fairs and what inspired you to create it.
Julia: I spent 30 years of my career as a librarian in medical, law and corporate libraries prior to coming to school libraries so books have really been my life. As a school librarian, my school district had a standing contract with a certain huge book fair and I supported it but the brown and black children had very little representation on the covers of the books so they focused on the games or toys in the book fair. Once I started publishing children’s books and writing them myself, I promised myself that even if I only had 10 titles, I would start a book fair even if it looked like David vs. Goliath. I was going to do it just so that children could purchase books that represented and had the main character that looked like them. That is my why.
Radiah: Tell us about your latest books.
Julia: Because I write in multiple genres, I am normally publishing and releasing multiple books. Right now I have two children’s books, “The Book Bear” which encourages children to read all types/genres of books and “Where are Granny and Grandpa” which pays tribute to all of the grandparents that we lost during COVID. I have also released, “Live Your Best Life” which accompanies my Internet Radio Show but also encourages people to live the abundant life right now on this earth. Up next is “Business in the Digital, Online and Virtual Space” which gives entrepreneurs solutions and ideas about how to run and profit from their business in the virtual space rather than the brick and mortar settings.
Julia: Where can readers find out more about you and your books?
Readers can find me on social media, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIN and TikTok, Julia A. Royston and my website, www.juliaroyston.net and my online stores of www.roystonroyalbookstore.com or www.juliaroystonstore.com
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