The Soultown! Volume III: Issue 11 NOVEMBER 2019 | Page 7

WHAT’S REALLY GOOD? The Evolution of BaHar Publishing “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” ~ Arthur Ashe IOWA - In retrospect, these words of iconic tennis player Arthur Ashe describe the experience of establishing BaHar Publishing, the company my cousin Patricia Harris and I started in 2003. Book publication was, literally, the last thing we’d intended to attempt; yet it ended up being the first thing we did. Years ago, I’d written a novel and sent it to several mainstream publishers. As expected, I’d gotten a fair number of rejections. I wasn’t discouraged. Many writers had described receiving stacks of rejection letters before finally getting their big break. Within a year of shopping my manuscript around, I received a letter from an interested publisher who offered a contract and put my book into their production schedule. I was ecstatic, and spread my good news to family and friends, sharing my projected publication date. A few months before that date, the publisher informed me that my book had been pulled, and might be rescheduled for future publication. Of course, I was disappointed but tried to be patient. When a second projected publication date passed, I searched for another publisher. I was accepted by another company, but this time publication came at a cost I wasn’t willing or able to pay: to provide half the production costs, receive 10 percent of profits. I put my manuscript aside temporarily, wondering whether publishing was something I could learn. I looked at books, envisioning what it would take to transform written words to finished products like what I saw in bookstores and libraries: what was a good size? What fonts seemed attractive and easy to read? What made an attractive cover design? How much info should be in a cover synopsis? Nothing about the process seemed too difficult to accomplish, so I went about learning things step-by-step: editing, layout, cover design -- everything I thought it took to produce a book. For future reference, I also looked at my circle of friends and acquaintances to see who might have expertise in some of these Some of author’s, Tracie Loveless - Hill novels are published by BaHar Publishing Company. areas. I asked questions. When my cousin and I won an award for a minority business plan in 2003, BaHar Publishing was born. Our original plan had been to start a community news publication called The Talking Drum, and then work our way up to publishing books. Unfortunately, several rookie mistakes and missteps prevented The Talking Drum from ever going to print. To have something to show for the grant we’d won, we decided to publish “In Due Time”, my manuscript which had sat on the shelf for months. Since 2003, I’ve published 65-70 books of all kinds: poetry, children’s literature, adult fiction, and non-fiction. It hasn’t been “a living”, but for the most part, it has been an enjoyable journey, helping others bring their words to book form. It’s amazing what can be accomplished by simply starting where you are, using what you have, and doing what you can. Courtesy Photo I am Chaveevah Ferguson, I thank Patricia Harris and BaHar Publishing for having SOUL! , CHAVEEVAH FERGUSON What’s Really Good? _______________ Learn more about Chaveevah Ferguson at http://www.thesoultown.com/ what-s-really-good-.html Email Me: [email protected] Nov. 2019 • The Soultown International Magazine • Celebrating 2 years • Connecting Our Cultures to Our Cyber & Conscious Communities • thesoultown.com 7