Kim Staflund Of Polished Publishing Group: “The way we currently run our traditional publishing industry is destroying our environment; Things have to change, Now”
The way we currently run our traditional publishing industry is destroying our environment. The way many of today’s independent authors are selling books, using primarily online giants like Amazon, threatens our local economies. There are real and dangerous implications to continuing this way for much longer. What I learned in 2020/2021 can turn things around and get us all moving in the right direction while helping us to sell more books both locally and internationally. There are important things we can do to improve our environment and economies right now, every one of us, while still enjoying individual success. It is crucial to our planet’s overall health that we all take this very seriously. Things have to change. Now.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Kim Staflund. Kim is a publisher, bestselling author, printer, and TESOL-certified sales coach for authors with over 25 years experience in the North American English book publishing industry.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive into the main focus of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?
I was born and raised on the prairies in Canada and moved to Calgary, Alberta, near the majestic Rocky Mountains around 24 years ago. I’ve been here ever since. Calgary is strikingly similar to Denver, Colorado, from the beautiful scenery to the dry climate and urban economies. I’ve often thought of moving to Denver where I can still benefit from the same amenities of my current location (e.g., all four seasons, breathtaking landscapes, alpine activities, bustling city life) while enjoying a less punishing winter climate.
From a very young age, writing was my favourite pastime. It started with poetry in elementary school and changed to short stories and novellas about teenage romance when I was in high school. That has evolved to writing non-fiction business books in my adult years to complement my own publishing business.
My first real job, straight out of college, was an absolute dream for me — at first, anyway. I landed a position in the accounts receivable/fulfillment department of a small literary publishing company and worked there for three years, determined to learn everything I could about this industry that I love. It was my first taste of the business side of things. It was an eye-opening experience, as I discussed in detail in my first full-length business book from 2013 titled How to Publish a Book in Canada … and Sell Enough Copies to Make a Profit!.
The experience of working with that small press led me to leave the publishing world, for a time, and move into an advertising sales role with a daily newspaper chain where I learned the necessary core business skills that are lacking within Canada’s publishing sector. Things have evolved from there, and I’ve found that every position I’ve held since then — whether it’s been in publishing, advertising, or printing — has given me yet another piece of the puzzle on what it truly takes to succeed as an author. Supply Chain 20/20 contains my most in-depth analysis to date.
Can you describe how you aim to make a significant social impact with your book?
2020 was a year that turned our world upside down. It literally stopped me in my tracks in terms of the strategies I had been researching and practicing on how to improve one’s book sales, and it made me rethink everything. It’s interesting to me how life’s greatest challenges force us to look deep down inside and find that strength to make necessary changes. That is what 2020 did for me; and, in hindsight, I’m grateful for all the lessons I learned. I never would have found the solutions I found without first facing the many problems I faced that year.
The way we currently run our traditional publishing industry is destroying our environment. The way many of today’s independent authors are selling books, using primarily online giants like Amazon, threatens our local economies. There are real and dangerous implications to continuing this way for much longer. What I learned in 2020/2021 can turn things around and get us all moving in the right direction while helping us to sell more books both locally and internationally. There are important things we can do to improve our environment and economies right now, every one of us, while still enjoying individual success. It is crucial to our planet’s overall health that we all take this very seriously. Things have to change. Now.
Can you share with us the most interesting story that you shared in your book?
At a time when we were all locked down, and only “essential businesses” were allowed to continue running, it was socially unacceptable for me to try to sell anything to anyone … which is a daunting prospect when you work in sales for a printing company. One of the first shocks I experienced while trying to navigate this new world was a telephone call I had with a prospect in Banff, Alberta.
This gentleman told me, “Everyone is talking about how Alberta needs to diversify and stop focusing so much on oil and gas, which is true. But nobody in Banff realized the importance of diversification for us — of becoming more than just a tourism town — until the day came when we had to lay off 85 percent of our workforce.”
One town. Eighty-five percent of its workforce closed overnight on government orders. Sobering. What an absolute shock that conversation was to my system. I’ll never forget that feeling.
What was the “aha moment” or series of events that made you decide to bring your message to the greater world? Can you share a story about that?
The two above-mentioned industries were not the only ones forced to diversify. We all needed to make changes in order to survive 2020. As frightening and uncertain as this was, I was fortunate to work with a group of people who stayed focused on what was possible rather than dwelling on our respective fears of the unknown. By doing so, not only did we keep our printing business afloat — we actually developed two new business verticals that have grown so much, we’ve now increased our staff and upgraded our equipment to keep up with demand. That was a huge “aha moment” for me that inspired me to write Supply Chain 20/20.
Through this experience, I learned firsthand about the true value of the Local Multiplier Effect (LME) which is a hidden feature in our economies that helps to create more jobs and prosperity within local communities. Did you know that, for every $10 you spend at a local brick-and-mortar bookstore, roughly $13 is generated within your local economy. In other words, the money you just spent locally multiplied in your own community. By contrast, spend that same $10 with a national chain outlet, and you’ll see only $5 in regional output. Spend it on a global ecommerce site, and the regional output will be only $1 … and that’s if they use a local delivery driver to courier your book to you. That’s a huge impact over time when you’re talking in terms of millions of dollars per year.
The fact is, if your local community is suffering, you’ll never thrive in the long run. If any one link is broken, the whole supply chain suffers. That’s all we’ve heard about for the past two years: global supply chain issues in every industry. We can fix this within our cherished book supply chain with a few crucial changes to the way we do business, and I talk about exactly how this can be done in Supply Chain 20/20. Authors and booksellers can have the same success as I saw with our printing company by implementing similar local strategies.
Without sharing specific names, can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was impacted or helped by your cause?
I am eternally grateful to everyone I work with at the print shop in all the different departments: the owners, sales, marketing, production, and creative teams. We all met together and brainstormed on a regular basis. We also shared ideas and concepts with our local clientele to figure out how we could all help each other. What an amazing lesson in business for me. I am so grateful for this experience; I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Are there three things the community/society/politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
- We need to ban returnability in the book publishing industry immediately. It is destroying our environment and has been doing so for almost a century. Our time is up. This detrimental business practice has to stop for the sake of our planet, never mind our jobs.
- We need regional/federal regulations in place that will radically transform the industrial distribution model by helping bring a unique print-on-demand supply chain — the Espresso Book Machine (EBM) — directly into our local brick-and-mortar bookstores and libraries. Help these local businesses to not only survive but thrive in this new world, and we’ll see our individual authors thrive along with them. We’ll see whole communities thrive everywhere.
- Independent authors need to start using this new supply chain, in conjunction with their online strategies, so they can support their local economies while still selling their books worldwide. Every individual has a part to play in supporting the collective good.
How do you define “Leadership”? Can you explain what you mean or give an example?
Leadership is doing the right thing for the collective good.
Capitalism has gotten an increasingly bad rap over the last few decades. This is mainly because of a governance principle known as shareholder primacy that was adopted by corporate North America in the 1980s and is still used by many of our corporate publishers to this day. People tend to confuse these terms as synonymous, but I would argue that shareholder primacy and capitalism are two totally different things. The former is nothing more than an expression of greed by a few at the top while the latter is an economic system that promotes profitability for all.
When I refer to capitalism in Supply Chain 20/20, I’m talking about stakeholder capitalism which is designed to benefit everyone and is the true essence of a free market economy. You might call it capitalism with a conscience, and it is at the core of the new book supply chain being proposed in my book.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“In the times of rapid change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.” ~Eric Hoffer
This quote has never been truer than it is now. 2020 has forced change upon us all whether we are ready for it or not. Unfortunately, even though book publishers, booksellers, librarians, and authors alike encounter similar frustrations and challenges with the way we currently operate, no one has been willing to take the first step toward making these necessary changes. But we all need to be open to learning new ways of doing business, and I hope people will read my book with an open mind and consider the possibilities of the strategies I am recommending.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
I would say there are a few people, not only one person, that I would like to have a private breakfast or lunch with: Mark Dawson, James Patterson, Joanna Penn, and Phillip B. Goldfine. These people are not only successful artistic creators in their own rights; they are pioneers in the way they are running their businesses. I’d also love to share a meal and conversation with the leadership team at On Demand Books who created the EBM.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
I can be contacted directly through my company website at https://polishedpublishinggroup.com/ or my LinkedIn page at https://ca.linkedin.com/in/kimstaflund. I would love to hear your readers’ thoughts on my new book Supply Chain 20/20 and the game plan being proposed within on how to improve our environmental and economic business practices.
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!
Kim Staflund Of Polished Publishing Group: “The way we currently run our traditional publishing… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.