Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to June Herman and Julie Dubray. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi ladies, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear the story of how you went from this being just an idea to making it into something real.

It all started when Julie called me and said, “I’ve got a business idea for us. Can you meet me at 4:30 on Thursday afternoon?”

And, just like that what would become Skip to My Lou, LLC and our bestselling book Goodnight St. Louis, was born.

The next few weeks and months of 2012 were very quietly spent setting up our business and researching and writing our book.

The self-published book business has come a long way since 2012. At that time self-published titles were regarded as lesser. Not released by well-known or even local publishing houses, self-published books were often printed on lower quality paper, cheaply bound, and amateurishly illustrated. We didn’t know it at the time, but disdain for self-published titles became a hurdle to starting our business, and one that, while on the proverbial back burner, certainly guided many of our next steps to writing and producing Goodnight St. Louis.

The book business is also incredibly competitive. Shelf space is at a premium, and without big name publishers behind them, local titles are constantly jockeying with each other for positions in bookstore windows and on retailers’ shelves. We would have to make certain that our title was not only well-regarded, but worthy of eye-level placement.

Our first step was reconnaissance. Did our book already exist? There was no shortage of locally published books about the St. Louis region’s history, founders, and features, but nothing like what we were envisioning. We believed we had a simple yet saleable idea, but also quickly realized that we would have to remain quiet, or risk being beaten to market by larger organizations with extensive professional teams ready for their next project. After several weeks combing the internet, local book shops, big box stores, and best-sellers listings we were confident our idea was on target. Our book would be a brand-new and stand-out offering in an otherwise saturated local market.

We identified our target audience; everyone. Many books written for local readers were produced to appeal to children or adults. At that time, few if any blurred the lines between mature and young readers, nor did they appeal to tourists and other visitors. Books about the Gateway Arch for example either provided a wealth of dry engineering details or were written to capture the attention of a very young audience. Our idea was to bring everyone together to learn more about the city.

That, of course, included illustrations. Again, children’s books consisted of softer, more juvenile images, while adult-centered titles featured photographs and maps, but few if any illustrations. Our concept was to present the city and its attractions in a manner that everyone could identify, but in a colorful, whimsical, and approachable way. As a result, we spent several weeks researching local artists and illustrators, ultimately selecting a very talented local mural painter who captured our ideas in vivid and refined detail while ensuring that a multi-generational audience would appreciate the depth of her work and the city it represented.

In the meantime, we also had to figure out how to get our book to market and if we did truly want to wade into self-publishing. During the weeks spent combing through existing titles, we made note of publishers, both local and national. Many books had a “sameness” to them. We envisioned a much different work and after meeting with a few local houses, realized we would not have creative control over Goodnight St. Louis if we signed with them. With their stables of writers, illustrators, lay-out and design teams, marketers, and publicists, we knew they would not agree to our concept, nor to the sales and marketing efforts we were envisioning. In short, we were not giving up control of our idea just to make it faster or easier to get to market.

The self-publishing world is vast, confusing, and a little tricky to navigate. An explosion in the industry, self-publishing is now considered “artisanal publishing,” since authors are by-passing traditional larger houses for the less expensive Print on Demand (POD) format, available through Amazon, Printful, or SPOD, for example. With no money down, authors are only required to pay the cost of the book and the shipping after consumers place their orders. Of course, that seems appealing until further investigation reveals little creative control over how the final product will look, the type of paper used, and the poor-quality binding. Oh, right, and the money. Authors make very little money this way.

Clearly POD was out. We needed to find an organization that would work with us on the lay-out and design to our exact specifications, as well as print our title consistent with the high-quality expected from a known publisher. Within a few weeks we found a Canadian company that was perfect for us. They had worked with quite a few well-known individuals who required books with exacting standards but wanted to be considered self-published.

Within a couple of weeks, we had the book’s galley proof and were able to make the necessary revisions to fully perfect it. Six months later, Goodnight St. Louis arrived and the sales and marketing process got into full swing.

We were incredibly pleased with the result, and it turned out, so were the potential retailers we had contacted in advance. We sold out of our initial printing of 4,000+ copies within about 6 weeks and ordered 7,000 additional copies. To date we’ve sold in excess of 60,000 copies of Goodnight St. Louis books  via our retail partners and online through our website www.goodnightstlouis.com.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

After many years staying at home with children, volunteering, and fund-raising; we decided that it was time to wade back into the working world. We knew we wanted to work as a team but just had to determine which project we were best suited for. We finally realized that the St. Louis region itself was our biggest inspiration.

What set us apart the most from other authors who write about the region, is our books’ inclusivity. We write our books and produce related merchandise with an eye toward young and old, St. Louis natives and visitors. We want those who don’t know much or anything about the region to come away with a greater understanding of just how special the city is; as much as we want those who live and work here to appreciate what a gem of a city they live in.

We think readers are definitely getting our message. Goodnight St. Louis will be celebrating a decade on the market in August 2023. The book is still a regular on the St. Louis Post-Disptach’s Best Sellers’ Listing in the Children/Young Adults category, and has has been sent to all 50 states and multiple countries by St. Louisans and those who no longer call the region home.

Goodnight St. Louis has also been used in multiple pre-school curricula across the region in an effort to teach very young students about their city and its rich history.

We are truly honored that our book has made such an impact on St. Louis and has meshed so beautifully into the fabric of the region.

Can you share one of your favorite marketing or sales stories?

Goodnight St. Louis is a hyper-local book. In other words, our audience consists of those who live or have lived in the region, as well as those who have or may visit. The book doesn’t really have mass market appeal. That being said, our audience is still sizeable. Obviously, traditional local book shops would be interested in carrying our book, as well as most of the city’s major attractions’ gift shops. What we did not want to do was to offer the book to large retailers. So, no Barnes & Noble or Costco, for example. While we knew that those types of outlets would certainly introduce Goodnight St. Louis to a massive potential audience, we felt strongly that our book be more of a local offering. We wanted local merchants to enjoy the sales revenue rather than big box outlets, which have little to do with the region beyond hiring local workers.

One of our favorite placements was a long-standing, independent butcher shop. The small store has a few shelves dedicated to local items like spices, pickles, and now books. Goodnight St. Louis has sold so successfully there that the shopkeeper told us she has been inundated with requests by local authors for shelf space.

What’s been the best source of new clients for you?

Our best sources of clients is really word of mouth. We sell our books and related merchandise via our website and of course, through local retailers. New attractions and shops come online pretty regularly and so many St. Louisans are familiar with us. New shops are generally interested in carrying not only our initial book, but also subsequent books and related merchandise like note cards, ornaments, and koozies.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.goodnightstlouis.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Goodnightstlouis

Image Credits
Leigh Harris