Continuing our series of interviews with new and established authors, this is an edited excerpt from an interview with Heidi Yi. Heidi is the author of “Pro Make Up by Heidi,” which will teach you how to get the best out of your skin through diet, exercise and lifestyle, as well as show you simple, great looks for everyday makeup.
Heidi is also an award-winning makeup artist, specializing in wedding makeup, and has her own company in Sydney, Australia. Heidi has combined her book with a range of makeup products, which maximises her business opportunities through marketing them both.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your new book “Pro Make Up by Heidi”
I started as a makeup artist and beauty therapist a few years ago, and I just got bit tired of doing the same thing.
I’m not very good at writing, but I just wanted to put into words and to educate people so they can do their own makeup, and to teach them how to look after and present themselves.
And there was a demand for my book—a lot of people were asking—that there’s no Australian makeup book out there. It’s all American, and all profession, coffee table books. My book is a how to—so it’s a how to look after your skin, how to do wedding makeup, photographic makeup. It’s very exciting and anyone can do it. It’s a simple, step-by-step instruction book with illustrations, demonstrations and photos.
Did you do everything yourself—the editing, typesetting, etc.?
No, because my area of expertise is purely in makeup, and that’s the skill and the knowledge that I have. So, what I did was I wrote everything about makeup in plain English. I didn’t know how to put it into proper sentences or chapters, so I gave it into the hands of a copyrighter and editor.
So the editor had a look and proofread. Then a copy writer re arranged the words and sentences so it reads easier and sound professional. And the design was done by a graphic designer and photographs were taken by a professional photographer. So I outsourced a lot of the work. All I did was just the manuscript.
How many copies did you print?
I was very lucky because, see, I had a business plan, and the plan was where am I going to sell this book. And I thought I’ll get a distributor, because he’ll go to all the bookshops. So initially I was thinking, my printer said, “Why don’t you start with 100 copies and see how it goes?”
But I wanted to think big, because I’ve got big dreams and goals. One hundred isn’t good for me. It’s not enough. I know I’m taking risks, but I’m a risk-taker, so I rang—looked up in yellow pages—and I rang a distributor, and they said no.
And I rang a second distributor and I won him over, because there’s no makeup book out there like what I was writing, and my distributor was so happy that he had found me, he ordered 1,000 copies initially, and then 400 copies the second time. So I ended up printing two-and-a-half thousand copies to begin with.
So while he’s selling, distributing it to bookshops, I started selling online.
For anyone who doesn’t know, can you explain what distribution means?
He acts as an agent—so a distributor, they have a big company and they’ve got sales reps that go around. They have good contact with the bookshops.
So instead of me going around shop-to-shop asking if they’re interested in my book, what he does is he contacts all the bookshops, including bookshops in airports as well as newsagents, pharmacies and department stores.
So I have a higher chance of using him than me going around, doing all the work. Because they don’t know me.
Have you done your own promotion or have you used a publicist?
I had marketing people, you know, PR. I’d write press releases, articles, editorials—but the majority of the time, I write it and the media releases it—you know, they edit it, sort of reword it, and then I submit it to like newspaper people, or TV or magazines.
And yes, I have been very successful at doing that. It’s not what you know but who you know in the industry, so I’ve written my story. I’ve written my press release and media release, got published in various beauty and health and beauty magazines, available in newsagents.
But sometimes it’s better to do it yourself then get someone else to do it, because they don’t know your book or the content as much as you do.
You’re going to be doing some book signings. Why did you decide to do that?
The majority of the books in bookshops are on consignment. And three people suffer if the book doesn’t get sold. It’s the bookshop owner, the distributor and the author, which is myself. Three of us won’t get paid.
So, we need to get the books off the shelf, and to do that, I need to go in and do book signing events so people will come to me and they’ll get to know me. And I need to self-promote myself by doing book launches. Get people together and have a catering, so people come in for networking and nibbles and drinks, and a bit of fun/work. So it’s social—sort of half social/work gathering, but still make some sales.
You have a successful makeup business. Is the book aimed at promoting your business or is it a venture all on its own?
Well, in my company, I’ve got two products, which is my book, “Pro Make Up by Heidi,” and mineral makeup, the Heidi Yi Mineral Makeup. How that came about was, while I was writing my book, I needed some photos of makeup products.
So I approached a few makeup companies and asked if they want to participate in my book. They were wanting compensation, because I asked them what I would get in return for promoting their company in my book, in the event that my book sells well, they will get sales out of that, you know, their product.
So I thought Well, that’s very greedy because I’m promoting them for nothing, so I thought I might as well come up with my own product. So I did a lot of research and coming from makeup and beauty background, and I have a lot of education and training, I’ve decided to come up with my own brand.
So now I’ve got book, photos of the products in my book, so when my book sells, people will be able to see my products and purchase it online as well.
So, I sort of up sell and cross-sell and cross-promote.
What did you learn throughout this process?
That before writing a book, I should have done more research what self-publishing is about. Now I know the whole process because I went through ups and downs and made lots of mistakes and lost lots of money along the way.
And lots of tears, and hard work and long hours and exhaustion. So, maybe I should do a course, or ask someone, or read a book on how to self-publish. Or talk to people who’ve been there and done that. Instead of jumping in.
You said that it was difficult and hard work—but is it worth it?
Oh! Absolutely! Because for me, I love challenge, I like going through difficult—I know there were so many times I wanted to just call it quits, and there were so many times where I had sleepless nights because I lost money due to a bad business decision. Had gone with the wrong people or you know, something went wrong.
But, hey, everyone makes mistakes in business and in personal life, and you learn from that. So I’ve learned a valuable lesson, and now I’m very excited because I ended up finishing the book, and it’s been distributed over 300 retailers Australia-wide, and I’m very happy of my achievement.
And because of persistence and patience, perseverance, I just kept going. I’m not a quitter. When I start something, I finish it, and I’m a doer person, so, yes, I’ll do it all over again, but I wouldn’t go the way that I did. I’ll go a different way.
Download the full transcript here – right click and Save Target As PDF_Transcript_Heidi_Yi_Nov_2008
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