We recently connected with Carol Killman Rosenberg of The Book Couple and have shared our conversation below.

Carol, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

The Book Couple assists traditional publishers and independent authors with editorial services and book production. Truly, every single project we work on is meaningful to us because each represents the ideas, knowledge, and stories in someone’s mind—and isn’t that the meaning of life: to experience the world and share those unique experiences with others?

Watching a book take shape from the thoughts in someone’s head onto a printed page and ultimately into a book that others can experience is the miracle of the printed word. We get to be part of the miracle every day, and in that we find purpose, meaning, and fulfillment.

Carol, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

As an editorial specialist with The Book Couple, I provide authors and publishers with editing services, including developmental editing, line editing, creative editing, copy editing, project management, and more. We often joke that I’m the “front cover” of the operation, and my husband, Gary (a book production specialist), is the “back cover.” He handles the design and layout of the books and assists with the technical aspects of publishing independently and/or interfacing with printers.

With our traditional-publishing backgrounds, we take pride in our work and business relationships, providing clients with a personal and professional experience. We always come away richer when we are given the opportunity to see the world through our clients’ eyes.

We’ve been in publishing since the nineties, long before self-publishing became so popular, and we uphold the standards of the book-publishing process in this ever-changing industry.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

The Book Couple, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, is entirely word of mouth. While we’ve spoken at seminars and have a social-media presence, we have never actually formally advertised our services. We simply do our best work. Satisfied clients refer us to their friends, family, and business associates, and we have never had a dull moment in the past decade. We consider ourselves incredibly fortunate to have such a vast and varied client base. We attribute our success to knowing our industry and putting forth our best efforts, while offering our clients friendly, personal, and professional services.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Prior to my book publishing career, I was a legal secretary for a New York law firm that also operated a real estate management company. My strong work ethic along with my organizational and writing skills came in super handy, but after many years on the job, I just wasn’t finding meaning, purpose, or fulfillment. Sure, it was a great salary, but isn’t life supposed to be about more than that?

I thought so, and I quit my job to write the Great American Novel. I lived off my savings for a few months, and then buckets of blood, sweat, and tears later (and a so-so manuscript), I applied for a job as an editorial assistant at a small but successful publisher in New York.

I started from the ground floor and learned my craft from the best in the business. I wasn’t earning half of what I’d been earning as a legal secretary, but that couldn’t compare to the value I gained by putting in the time and effort to be and do my best—for myself and for the authors I was working with. The rest is history.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thebookcouple.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheBookCouple