Meet Our Amazing Night Owls Press Authors

Posted: August 5th, 2012 | Author: Genevieve DeGuzman | Filed under: Press, Publishing, in-house publication | Tags: author partners, night owls press | 1 Comment »

Turning big ideas into great books. Turning changemakers and idea mavens into authors. (Yeah, we love our jobs!) Meet some of the brilliant people we’ve partnered with and will be publishing:

Susan Chambers, Small Business, Big Change: A Microentrepreneur’s Guide to Social Responsibility

Susan Chambers is a writer, editor, and researcher passionate about empowering NGOs, nonprofits, social enterprises, and businesses alike to create positive change in the world. She has over 20 years of research experience and is the principal and creative force behind Sage Editing and Research. Susan volunteers for Oxfam and Be the Change Earth Alliance and has done some consulting for a community foundation in Vancouver, Canada that is committed to social enterprise development and community change. Susan’s editorial passion is to help social change agents empower their message through clarity, strengthen their statements with facts, and captivate their audience. A long-time advocate for social justice and sustainable development issues, she has written for Be The Change Earth Alliance, an organization focused on community engagement on environmental issues, as well as spearheaded other independent projects. In her free time, Susan enjoys yoga, dance, and cooking (she’s partial to Indian cuisine and anything that includes chocolate), and is an active member for the Be the Change Earth Alliance, What’s Your Tree Action Circle, and SPUD patrol. She presently lives in Vancouver, Canada.

About her book: Small Business, Big Change: A Microentrepreneur’s Guide to Social Responsibility is one of the first books developed just for solopreneurs and microbusiness owners on how to incorporate socially responsible (S-R) and sustainable business practices. Written specifically for the “little shop”, this indispensable book offers practical and effective approaches to implementing and tracking S-R initiatives related to: operational and management practices; business networks and communities; vendors and contractors; customers and employees; and shareholders and investors. In keeping with a “start where you are and start small” philosophy, this book offers an easy, practical approach to transforming your microenterprise. If you’ve ever felt you lacked the time, money, or resources to adopt sweeping changes, or if you think you’re too small to make a difference, Small Business, Big Change shows how you can have a real social impact with a few tweaks and changes coupled with a deep-seated belief in a better way of doing business. Learn more.

Stacy Ennis, The Editor’s Eye: A Practical Guide to Transforming Your Book from Good to Great

Stacy Ennis is a book and magazine editor, writer, book coach, and speaker. Her greatest joy is helping people achieve their book-writing dreams, and she has had the opportunity to work with a diverse group of authors in varied genres, editing several chart-toppers. After teaching writing and English language arts in the Dominican Republic and Vietnam, Stacy returned to the U.S., where she was the founding managing editor of a lifestyle magazine. She is also the former executive editor of Healthy Living Made Simple, a Sam’s Club magazine that reaches over 8 million readers. She has a bachelor’s in writing with a minor in visual art and will complete her master’s in professional writing and editing from the University of Cincinnati in 2014.

About her book: The Editor’s Eye: A Practical Guide to Transforming Your Book from Good to Great is an author’s no-nonsense guide to the book-editing process. Book coach, editor, and author Stacy Ennis walks published and would-be authors alike considering self-publishing or pursuing traditional publishing through the ins and outs of the bewildering editorial process. Brimming with examples and case studies from interviews with over 20 industry experts, editors, and authors of fiction and nonfiction works, The Editor’s Eye takes you through the editing basics, offers advice on hiring and negotiating with an editor, and explains invaluable self-editing techniques that writers can make part of their writing routine. You’ll learn how to dive deep into your work and work with professional editors who will help you push against your stylistic fences, prod the walls of your research, and test the integrity of your ideas. With a mix of mettle and magic that comes with bridging editing and writing, The Editor’s Eye pushes you to become a better writer and brings back the joy and fun to the writing process. Learn more.

Skyla King-Christison, Home Field Advantage: A Guide to Choosing Teaching Methods for Your Homeschooling Champions

Skyla-King Christison has been teaching for over 10 years. She has a bachelor’s degree in education and has given lectures to college students, taught in elementary, middle school, and special education classrooms in both Tennessee and Oregon. After all of that, she turned a sharp corner in her teaching career. Choosing not to send her own kids to school, Skyla teaches her three children their full range of studies right in their own home, using the skills that she developed in both the university and classroom setting to tailor lessons to meet the distinct needs of each of her children. When she’s not teaching or lesson planning, Skyla maintains a blog, At Home with Momma Skyla, where parents from around the world visit to read stories from her daily life and get tips for blending the roles of teacher and parent. There, she shares lesson ideas, discusses challenges unique to homeschooling, and answers questions from other parents in addition to musing about the goings on of daily life. She also teaches classes for groups of homeschooling children in her town, nestled in the Rocky Mountains of Northern Utah.

About her book: Home Field Advantage: A Guide to Choosing Teaching Methods for Your Homeschooling Champions tackles several popular and alternative educational philosophies, such as Montessori, Waldorf, Trivium, Charlotte Mason, and “unschooling”— and explores how families can adopt and adapt ideas and activities from each into their own teaching methods and curricula at home. The book includes insights from Skyla’s own experience as a homeschooler to three children, as well as interviews and research with over 15 other families. With an open mind and an enthusiastic, D-I-Y attitude, Skyla walks you through several schools of thought on teaching, and gives you a crash course on concepts that your average education major studies before receiving a teaching license. Get the education basics on the most fundamental and practical level so that you can decide for yourself what will work for your family. Learn more.

Drew Jones, The Fifth Age of Work: (Re)Designing Work for the Cloud Economy

Drew Jones is the co-founder and principal consultant at Shift, a collaborative, global group of independent consultants who conduct assessments, run workshops, provide advisory services, and conduct bespoke research for companies on management and workspace design. Drew is a behavioral scientist and has written widely on the design and re-design of work. His recent publications include: “The Anthropology of Leadership: Culture and Corporate Leadership in the American South,” in the Sage Handbook of Leadership (London: Sage Publications, 2011); “The Promise of the Cloud Workplace” in Strategy & Business (Summer 2010); I’m Outta Here: How Coworking is Making the Office Obsolete (NotanMBA Press 2009, with Todd Sundsted and Tony Bacigalupo); and The Innovation Acid Test: Growth Through Design and Differentiation (Triarchy Press, April 2008). Drew teaches Management and Organizational Behavior in the McCoy College of Business at Texas State University, in San Marcos. A veteran entrepreneur committed to practicing what he preaches, Drew is also a partner with Conjunctured Coworking, Austin’s first coworking space.

About his book: Corporate workers and freelancers have long been converging in coffee shops, coworking spaces, and hotel lobbies across the country, utilizing ubiquitous Wi-Fi networks that make ‘anytime/anywhere work’ possible. The Fifth Age of Work: (Re)Designing Work for the Cloud Economy shows larger companies and corporations how to tap into those cloud-based trends to unleash more efficient and innovative operations. Exploring the themes of worker autonomy and long-leash management, the book is a how-to guide for companies on implementing changes in the workplace to become more effective businesses. Based on Drew’s years of research on work and organizations, The Fifth Age of Work explores: overarching trends on the emerging “human cloud” and its implications for business; solutions for large companies in the areas of talent, workspace design, and organizational design; and step-by-step approaches, projects, and experiments that companies can adopt to increase openness, communication, trust, collaboration, and innovation in their operations. Learn more.

Steve Spalding, Reinvent Everything

Steve Spalding is a writer, thinker, problem-solver, and the entrepreneur’s entrepreneur. Most notably, he is the editor of the critically acclaimed blog, How To Split An Atom, covering the intersections of web technologies, small business, and culture. Steve is also the author of several other books, including All The Little Things, Really Great Stories: Soundbites For A Post-Internet Age, and You’re Doing It All Wrong. Currently, he’s the managing partner of Crossing Gaps LLC, a marketing and design firm that specializes in branding and communication strategy. In 2013, Steve will be launching a new business development services venture. Steve loves stories: telling them and helping creative people tell better ones. He has experience on all sides of the entrepreneurial totem, having been involved in building products, consulting with creatives, and listening to hosts of successful entrepreneurs tell their own stories. Steve’s work has been cited in The Los Angeles Times and in Geoff Livingstone’s marketing and new media book, Now Is Gone.

About his book: Today’s entrepreneurs have unprecedented access to technology and resources, making it easier than ever to start businesses. Unfortunately, most new businesses don’t take enough creative risks, content to clone existing successes or to piggyback on existing platforms. More complacent with building new apps than new platforms, creative individuals are wasting their talents on uncreative ventures, consuming rather than creating opportunities. Reinvent Everything, by business consultant, entrepreneur, and author Steve Spalding, argues for a reinvention—a radical reset of how we approach entrepreneurship: First, train entrepreneurs to be better innovators and problem-solvers, and then we can build better businesses. Master how to ask better questions, discover and hone your passions, put together the right team, and turn your idea into a viable business through the right product mix, price, distribution. Learn more.

Rheea Hermoso-Prudente, Rainy Days and Mom Days: Because Motherhood isn’t Always a Breeze

Rheea Hermoso-Prudente is a self-professed motherhood non-expert. She never planned on being a mom, but two wonderful daughters later, she found herself wanting to help other moms enjoy the “rain and rainbows” of motherhood. “Motherhood has never been easy for me,” admits Rheea. “I am one of the least maternal, undisciplined, self-centered people I know. But I also know I am where I am today mostly by the grace of God, who keeps me sane and has signed me up for a lifelong class in patience and self-control.” Her popular parenting blog of the same name is the inspiration for this book. Rheea is also an established freelance writer and editor, contributing articles for Entrepreneur and Smart Parenting magazines and working in their Special Publishing department. Rheea is currently the managing editor of Lucerne Luxe, a luxury watch magazine.

About her book: Rainy Days and Mom Days: Because Motherhood isn’t Always a Breeze is a collection of essays that gets you laughing and crying through the tightrope journey of motherhood. Written with warm wit and humor, this book takes a refreshing look at parenting, chronicling all stripes of mommy adventures and a broad range of practical tips and encouragement for moms. Learn to thrive in the midst of diapers, spit-up, ballet classes, and the day’s 67th reading of Green Eggs and Ham. It includes witty and funny pieces, such as: “How Many Times Can You Play Peek-a-Boo and Stay Sane?;” “The Adventures of Supercow;” “Kick the Toys Under the Couch When the Doorbell Rings and Other Home Management Tips;” and “Why I Need a Mary Poppins Bag.” Learn more.

If you’re interested in publishing with Night Owls Press, please use our Submission Form to send us a preliminary book proposal and kick off talks.

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