Meet Jasmine Owens | Children’s Book Author & Publisher

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jasmine Owens and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jasmine, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
Throughout the 4 years that I was preparing to develop and publish my children’s book, Girls Can Dream, I had to learn a lot on my own by researching information and trial-and-error. The big question was, “How do I even get my book into the hands of children and families?” I quickly realized that there are two routes, traditional publishing and self-publishing. I sent my manuscript to a couple of publishers, but after realizing that many of the large publishers require a talent agent to even get in front of a large publisher, I decided to self-publish my book. With that, I discovered a wealth of resources for self-publishing, including services to print the book and distribute through various online retail stores. As a self-publisher, you usually don’t have access to all of the resources (e.g., a team and large budget) of a large publisher, which can sometimes impact the quality of the final product. With every aspect of my book, I wanted it to have the same look and feel of a traditional publishing company, which is why I formed an LLC and a publishing company for my book called, Roshon Press. I invested in a logo designer to brand it and now every copy of, Girls Can Dream, has my publishing brand to go along. Having my own publishing company gives me the freedom, intellectual and creative control over the success of my book and creates opportunities for me to expand beyond authorship, something that I’m not sure would come as easily by working through another entity.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Perseverance has been one of the biggest lessons that has helped me accomplish my goal of publishing a children’s book. The journey has not been easy because putting my goals on hold for 10 years made me doubt my ability to get it done. I overcame the challenge of limiting myself by taking one small step at a time. Once I found my inspiration in my daughter, it reaffirmed my need to write for little girls like her. So it started by simply writing things on paper just to get the ideas out of my head. I was amazed by how naturally my thoughts started to flow to make my book come together. With that, came a drive and excitement to finish writing and then start combining the words with images. It has been a lesson in listening to my heart and doing what feels right without overthinking every detail. Every step that I took began to trigger another step and before I knew it, I had created a whole book with the help of some amazing black women along the way! I hope that other creatives who want to develop books feel empowered to tell their stories and also recognize that their is an ongoing need for diverse voices in literature.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I was drawn to the culture in Atlanta, which is why I decided to make it my home. There are so many places that I have yet to visit, but some of the places that come to mind include Ponce City Market, because it’s a one stop shop for food, shopping, and entertainment in a very unique atmosphere. The food options are endless, so it really would depend on ones preference for cuisine. Some of the local businesses that I’ve enjoyed include La Fonda Latina, Little Cuba, Paschal’s, Bistro Niko, and more. I would also recommend some of the local attractions, like the High Museum of Art, MLK Jr. birth home, North Georgia wineries, and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to dedicate my shoutout to IngramSpark, a platform that makes it possible for self-published authors to print and distribute books worldwide.

Website: girlscandream.org

Instagram: girlscandreambook

Facebook: Girls Can Dream