We recently connected with Julia A Royston and have shared our conversation below.

JULIA, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

I am an entrepreneur because my parents were bi-vocational. My dad was a teacher during the day and an entrepreneur at night. My mom ran the business during the day time while we were all at school. At night, we all worked the business together as a family. My parents taught me and showed me ‘work ethic.’ Work very hard and then play hard too. My dad’s motto was, ‘if human beings are designed to do it, then you can do it too.’ BUT ‘be willing to work for it. No one is giving you anything.’ I am a hard worker and my husband saw that I work too much so I learned the working lesson from my parents honestly and wholeheartedly. I don’t really know any other way than to work for it. I learn from others. I have paid for coaching, mentorship, courses and workshops galore. But in the end, I have to implement and execute. Correct mistakes, pick myself up and get back up again. That’s what my parents did right.

JULIA, 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?

My first love and gift is music. I sang my first solo in church at 8 years old. I played flute and piccolo in the marching band through college. My second love is books and I have loved them before I could read. My mother read to us every night before we went to bed. We went to the public library religiously especially when my father was working toward his master’s degree so he could write papers with a quiet house without three talking daughters. My career is librarianship and hold two masters degree in the discipline. I have worked in private, school, medical, law, corporate and university libraries for more than 30 years. In 2007, I compiled my first book of poetry. It is the only book of poetry that I have written. Fast forward, I have written more than 140 books in all of the major genres. In 2008, I established my first business BK Royston Publishing which is a brand that is Faith-based and Family Friend www.bkroystonpublishing.com. In 2009, I published my first author besides myself. To date, there are more than 350 authors that I have published or coached to publish their books. In 2015, the second publishing company, Royal Media and Publishing is the brand for the books that do not align with the other company’s brand mission and audience. In 2020, the Book Business Boss Consulting was established to assist authors take their books to the next level as well assist self-published authors with their book business needs. Our motto is, “Helping you get your message to the masses and turn your words into wealth.” For more information regarding Julia Royston and all of my websites and online stores, visit www.juliaakroyston.com.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I have two primary goals that drive my creativity. I love what I do and creating what I create. I have come to the conclusion that I am a creative and love the entire, paintaking and incredible process. Additionally, I want to see as much representation and different voices in the literary market as possible.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

The biggest pivot was of course, during the COVID pandemic. If you didn’t pivot, you either no longer in existence, minimal in impact or struggling as an entity relying on life support. The thriving businesses pivoted then and will continue to pivot quickly in the future. My pivot was not to change brands, products that I sold or move from my businesses core mission and goals but our pivot was a relational pivot. Before I could sell something or pitch anything, we had to check on everyone, provide support and encouragement. We had a reputation already but it was now time for more compassion, determining their interest, support them in their goals of writing and publishing in a free webinar style first, rather than pushing a product for them to buy. We lost 7 contracts in one day and gained 17 more by the summer of 2020. By redirecting our focus, marketing style, 2020 became our highest revenue year at that point and has increased every year since then. I sell differently. It works for me and I am going to keep going in this style and methodology.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bkroystonpublishing.com
• Instagram: @bkroystonpublishing
• Facebook: @juliaaroyston
• Linkedin: @juliaaroyston
• Twitter: @juliaakroyston
• Youtube: @bkroystonpublishing
• Other: Threads @juliaaroyston | TikTok @juliaaroyston

Image Credits

Image credits: Brian Royston, Jonathan Snorten Photography