Taking Care of Business
Monday, August 31, 2009 at 9:03PM Taking Care of Business
In 1992, as with many things, LeRue Press started with a dream. I would sit in my living room and create organization charts outlining how the company would eventually look. Because our family loves books--whether it’s reading books, collecting books, writing books or publishing books--this was a natural progression. On the artistic side, we have several family members that have a good sense for art and photography. Combine that energy and talent and “Publishing from the Heart” was born in late 1999. Yes, it took almost eight years for the dream to become a reality and we had no idea how many things would happen in-between.
It was exciting when my sister and business partner, Lenore Halfide and I co-founded Publishing from the Heart (now LeRue Press). The goal was to use our family and its talents to support and promote other authors and artists. With the advent of the internet, we had a great opportunity to “get the word out.” The word got out….and we were deluged with manuscripts. We were self-funded and had to find the right one to get started. We edited and helped a self-published author to produce a Y2K book. He was quite visionary and did get his book published prior to the click-over of the year 2000. We also had a great submission for a children’s book. That story will have to be told at another time.
In 2006, we took stock of our company and realized we needed to refocus and rebrand ourselves. We wanted to maintain the same principles and ideas from the original company, so we put on our thinking caps. Our answer became clear as we reached to our origins. In 1971, Leonard, our Dad, was forced to retire early due to physical limitations. He had worked 12 hours a day for many years, so retirement did not come easily. He needed to do something constructive, interesting and income producing. He told mom (Ruby) he didn’t have anything he could. But mom, being who she is, said, “You don’t know what you can do until you try!” Dad bought a Chandler & Price Letterpress and supplied the local community with always needed printed napkins, match books, and business cards (remember, this was 1971 before personal computers were in every household). What did he call the company? LeRue Enterprises. “Le” for Leonard and “Rue” for mom, Ruby. At that point, we knew what to do. Problem solved! We had our new company name LeRue Press, LLC (www.leruepress.com), directly from our family history. In keeping with that history, we added a printing division (LRP Printing) for authors who prefer self-publishing as an option and for businesses that need business cards (in Dad’s tradition), forms, or graphic design.
Today, LeRue Press is in an evolutionary phase. We carry collectible books and newspapers at our Reno store, in addition to our new titles. Our first children’s book was released in March of 2008 (Pick Me, Pick Me by Elizabeth Horton and local Reno illustrator Sean Kinsley; I told you there was another story). The LeRue Review Magazine has been in circulation for a year. The response to our book, music and movie reviews has been positive and encouraging. In August, 2009 we added a Spanish publication, El Espejo (The Mirror) that will provide even more opportunities for businesses to advertise and bands to be seen by a larger audience.
More family members have joined the ranks as partners (Kathy Szudajski and Tanisha Chacon) to help us handle our growth both in the printing and publishing businesses. We have books in different phases of the publishing process and many submissions in the cue. Karlyn Simone, a 17 year-old Damonte High student, wrote Inked In at 15 years old! Imagine the discipline that required. Her novel will be released this year. It’s full of romance, vampires and, of course, LOVE! Sean Kinsley, the illustrator for Pick Me, Pick Me, just finished his first novel, “Wicked Tides”. This fantasy novel is a real page turner you don’t want to miss. Benjamin Arnold first self-published Fractals of Past and had LRP print it for him. We read it and thought it was so good, we started our chapbook series with Ben’s Fractals of Past first on the list. Another local author, DC Paull will be releasing her second novel, Bad Hair Day with LeRue Press. This is a sequel to her first novel, Go Girl Friday. You can pick up a copy at LRP Printing. For any 60s fans, Astrella Celeste, Donovan’s (of Mellow Yellow fame) daughter will be releasing a book with us soon.
We still love what we do and our dreams are finally becoming a reality.
Watch us go!
Janice Hermsen and Lenore Halfide, Managing Partners
