On the Outskirts of the Publishing Industry | Interview with Book Company
This is an interview with Kathryn Wyckoff.
Tal: First, why don’t you introduce yourself!
Kathryn: Hi, I’m Kathryn! I’m 33 and have been running Blissfully Bookish Company since 2017 and an avid reader since childhood. I’m a recent new mom, my daughter was born in October, and I’m very excited to be entering a new chapter of my life and introduce the world of reading to a little one, and also show her what a successful businesswoman can be!
T: What book got you into reading?
K: My mom always read me a ton of books and instilled a love of reading from the beginning. Some of my earliest memories are trips to the library where I had free reign to pick out a ton of books. I continued reading when I got older and had a huge love of fantasy stories in particular. It’s hard to pick just one book, but one that sticks out to me is Tithe by Holly Black. I was 11 when it came out, and I remember staying up with a flashlight reading under my comforter.
T: Why did you decide to start a literary company?
K: I’ve always been a “fandom” person and wanted that represented in merchandise I have and wear. Historically, the only books that get merchandise are big intellectual properties and usually in conjunction with movies or TV shows. And at that level, in my opinion, the merchandise usually lacks creativity. The stuff you’d find in stores like Hot Topic are usually just made with official logo fonts, character faces, etc., and aren’t my taste. There’s also a ton of fantastic books that will never make it to that level of popularity, but are still very deserving of merchandise and hype, so I wanted to create merchandise that I wanted to wear of my favorite stories, and my professional and educational background made me confident I could come up with some cool stuff!
T: What is your thought process in designing/creating products? Do you read the book and get inspiration from it or is it unique for every product?
K: Absolutely. It starts with reading the book as it influences everything about my process. What colors I choose, illustration style, fonts I use. I mark everything that has a description I might need later on, a quote I like, a general “vibe” so I can reference later. The process is made a lot easier if it's a book I’ve fallen in love with, and I tend to only create designs and products that I want—and hope that other people feel the same! Which has mostly worked out so far.
T: How did you feel the first time seeing your work worn by people and knowing that your designs are brought to life and reach people’s minds and hearts?
K: It was honestly one of the coolest feelings ever. My first real book event that I saw people wearing my stuff was the Sarah J. Maas event for Kingdom of Ash in Houston. I had people coming up to me asking for pictures with me, which I was so honored! To get to meet people that have liked my stuff enough to spend their hard-earned money on it is not something I take lightly. It was super validating that I was on the right track with my business and designs. Another time that sticks out in my mind was going to a local Ren Faire and seeing someone wearing a shirt of mine. It’s one thing to see people wearing my designs to a book event, but to just randomly see it in the complete wild was on another level!
T: Did that feeling change now that you have built up your company and branched out into special collections (e.g., charms, pins, hair clips, etc.), and if so, how?
K: No, honestly it hasn’t! Putting yourself out there daily by submitting a piece of yourself via the creative process for public critique is an intimidating thing to do. I put a piece of myself in everything I design, and I’d be lying to say I haven’t had some hard days when a product doesn’t sell well or I receive negative feedback, so to meet fans of my products or people I connect with online is a serotonin boost and makes me feel like a million bucks! Every interaction matters to me, truly.
T: What are some daily tasks that you have while overseeing your company? How do you interact with other people to make these pieces come to life (authors, production, distribution, etc)?
K: Every day looks a bit different! I thankfully have my husband who works for me full time and handles a TON of administrative duties, as well as fulfillment and logistics so I can focus on more creative tasks. We do most everything in-house, so it’s a rotating schedule of reading, planning, designing, marketing, fulfillment, communications with manufactures/authors and their teams/customers, and then analyzing analytics for the next project.
T: What is your current read, your favorite read, and one book you think everyone should read?
K: Currently I’m reading A Holly Jolly Ever After by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone. It’s the second in their Christmas series and is a spicy rom-com. I really enjoyed the first book last holiday season, so I was excited to pick this one up. My number one recommendation of an underrated series is The Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix! I love this series so much that I named my daughter after the main character of the second book, Lirael. It’s a classic fantasy book that’s a little bit dark and very unique.
T: Do you have any last comments about your role in the literary industry we didn’t go over or any pieces of advice for people wanting to create their own company?
K: Thanks so much for asking me to do this interview! I’m always honored when people ask me to share my experiences.
I would definitely encourage anyone that’s wanting to start in this industry to figure out what they can do to make their products unique and stand out. Their own little niche within the niche. You’ll have a lot more success in the long run by creating your own style and brand than looking at existing products by established brands and just tweaking their designs a bit, which tends to happen a lot. Also, whether it’s in the bookish industry or not—my best advice is to pursue something you’re passionate about! It will make the job a lot more enjoyable, and even on hard days you won't want to give up.