We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Alayah Dudley a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I am a Director of Hudson Dawn Publishing, an online publishing company based in Grand Rapids, MI.
I feel saying ‘I love my job’ is completely cliché, but it’s the truth! We have an amazing team with various levels of creativity and experience that I get to work with daily. Our authors are fantastic and so willing to allow HDP to help them grow! When asked to take this position, I wanted to use this opportunity to morph Hudson Dawn into a world-class company that provides authors maximum independence.
As of 2022, we’ve merged the best aspects of vanity and traditional publishing.
Like vanity publishing:
• we give more creative control to our authors.
• provide choices of how and where a book is distributed
Like traditional publishers:
• we have a team of professionals that guide an author through the process
• there is no cost to publish your book
• we will assist in getting your book out efficiently
Unlike either vanity or traditional, we provide authors specific guidance on marketing, distribution, and even minor details, like packaging. Our goal is to help our authors succeed! Hudson Dawn Publishing is truly the best of both worlds. We offer a combination of literary products and services. HDP has royalties for authors who would prefer to work on their next manuscript. However, we also have printing for authors who’d like to distribute and sell independently.
I take pride in guiding our authors individually, according to their personal goals, to help them understand what creative decisions should be made for their book to do well on the market. We provide additional services such as editing/writing manuscripts, formatting, and cover design. These services allow our authors the liberty to make innovative decisions for their books with our team of professionals guiding the way.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Endurance, Empathy, and Graphic Design.
ENDURANCE – Expanding and building a business, working with various personalities, and even the publishing process, all these aspects of my work take time. Throughout my career, I have learned the importance of not cutting corners and striving for high quality with every project. I find that harnessing this quality has provided me stability in both my personal and professional life.
EMPATHY – I’ve learned that every time we receive a manuscript, we are receiving a piece of the person who sent it. Many authors have great ideas, but they may doubt a company will take them seriously or that their story isn’t publish-worthy. My job involves putting myself in my author’s shoes and providing guidance regarding their project. When I first started, I would initially state the facts of what was wrong with their story. Over time, I’ve learned to show fellow feeling with each of my clients accordingly, while still providing constructive criticism.
GRAPHIC DESIGN – When I found myself in the publishing industry, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I utilized my graphic designing skills. Many companies, such as Hudson Dawn Publishing, use Adobe Creative Cloud and its apps to build, design, and execute several projects. Since I’m the Adobe CC veteran of our team, I’ve had the privilege of training others on how to best utilize the apps for their jobs.
If you’re looking to exercise patience and empathy or learn graphic design, here are a few ideas:
• Don’t give up or pass off a task simply because you don’t want to do it. Everything you do in your industry, view it as a teaching moment in endurance and patience.
• Your clients are your family. When you speak to your clients, explain things like you would to your best friend or closest family member.
• Learn off the clock. The best way to become efficient at something is to learn it when you’re not being paid. I spent hours learning various graphic design apps without seeing a dime. This principle applies to any industry, from graphic design to computer programming.
Alright, so before we go we want to ask you to take a moment to reflect and share what you think you would do if you somehow knew you only had a decade of life left?
There is such a thing as being too busy. While I love my job, I’ve learned the importance of declining projects if need be. I realized that every time I say “yes” to a project, that is a minimum of 30-45 days of worry, excitement, stress, and joy. Furthermore, I find that mentally at times I am at work when I should be in the present with my family.
When Hudson Dawn first launched, we didn’t require much staff, let alone a director. As time went on, more positions were needed to keep up with the demand of authors. The next thing I knew, I was promoted to director and HDP hasn’t stopped since. I’m at a point in my life where the ROI (return on investment), sacrificing my time with my loved ones, is just not worth it if the project isn’t worth it. Daily I analyze how I feel to ensure that I don’t drown myself in my work, but rather learn to enjoy it.
Contact Info:
Image Credits
Layla D.
