 | | | Andrew Benzie with some of the books he's published. Photos Sophie Braccini | | | | | | Orinda recently saw the addition of two new communication ventures at different ends of the media spectrum: Jack Jorgensen, a 15-year-old Miramonte High School sophomore, launched Elite Bulletin, an online classified ad service centered in Lamorinda; and Andrew Benzie started his publishing company, Andrew Benzie Books, which takes books from manuscript to finished product utilizing 'on-demand' printing and book publishing software - two generations, different media, aiming at supporting local endeavors.
Benzie wants to put an end to the stigma of self-publishing. When looking at a book published under the 'ABB' label, nothing differentiates the self-published work from any other book distributed by the larger, more traditional publishing companies.
"My original business is graphic design and creation of collateral marketing material," says Benzie. "When my father retired, he decided to write a murder mystery and with my tools and experience I helped him self-publish it."
When a client comes to Benzie with a manuscript, he digitizes it into the right format, creates the design for the book - the interior, the cover and back - gives it an ISBN number, and electronically publishes it on Amazon as an e-book. For printed copies, Benzie sends all the ready material to CreateSpace, a subsidiary of Amazon that prints on demand for a few dollars a copy.
"People can immediately put their book on Amazon and CreateSpace will print by the copy as it is ordered; it is not necessary anymore to get a thousand copies printed," he says.
Benzie, who is also a professional musician, compares what is happening to books nowadays to what happened to music with MP3s in the '90s. "Anyone can get published now," he says, "this is very liberating."
So far Benzie has published six books from local authors. "Maracaibo Oil Brat," a biography by Moraga resident McClurg Berman, "Amber Dust," a mystery and love story by Lafayette author J.L. Plummer, "Contract Year," a baseball and romance novel by Moraga former mayor Bee Hylinski, and other biographies and non-fiction books by East Bay authors.
"I can also help authors with their marketing, creating a website, bookmarks ... and defining a promotion strategy. This new process is very exciting and many talented authors are going to be able to get noticed." You can find books published by Benzie at Orinda Books in the local author corner.
Jorgensen started the community site Elite Bulletin to provide local job connections for Orinda residents. The Miramonte sophomore comes from a family of entrepreneurs - his stepmother is the president of the Orinda Chamber of Commerce - so when he was looking for a job, his first inclination was to create one himself. "I was always interested in the business world," he says. "I read a lot about Jeff Bezos, about start-ups, and these people just fired me up." The idea came to him to create a site that would help other teens find jobs, and adults find the babysitters, house sitters, gardeners or other service providers they might need.
Jorgensen brainstormed business ideas with his extended family and reached out for advice from the brother of Miramonte's associate principle, who started the website Notice.com. Jorgensen also conducted a lot of research on his own, finding ways to save money in the process.
"Originally I was going to file my fictitious business name online for $200, but I found out that by going to Martinez and doing it in person it costs only $35," he says. He opened a personal bank account with Mechanics Bank, where he saved all of his birthday and Christmas money, to self-fund his business; a business account would have required him to be an adult.
Jorgensen created the first version of Elite Bulletin with help of an online website builder; he is teaching himself html to improve his second version.
On Elitebulletin.com people of all ages can list their skills for free. The categories include music teachers, housekeepers, yard workers, drivers, event helpers, and volunteers. People looking for help can browse the profiles available or post a job offer themselves. The site includes lists of local restaurants and shops with direct links to their sites. It also offers the opportunity for businesses to advertise.
Jorgensen spends about 20 hours a week working on the site; it is a real passion. He knows that his big challenge is to drive traffic to his site. "I had some postcards printed that I distributed to all the local businesses," he says. "I also spend a lot of time on social media sites such as Next Door." Jorgensen plans to add more services such as things for sale and to expand the site geographically.
For information about Elite Bulletin, visit www.elitebulletin.com. More information about Andrew Benzie Books, visit www.andrewbenzie.com or call (925) 253-7790.
Lamorinda Weekly business articles are intended to inform the community about local business activities, not to endorse a particular company, product or service.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA