Why Beware the Timid Life

In medieval times, people with the same skills banded together in guilds. They had their own shops – as local silversmiths and harness makers and woodworkers – but they banded together into associations called guilds.

Beware The Timid Life™ publishing is part of the guild movement in book making. While corporate publishing continues to produce wonderful books and novels, big companies aren’t as nimble as the small shops, or start-ups, that are the hallmark of our technical age.

I began this guild to publish the non-fiction companion to my novel. I tiptoed into ebooks originally and the creative possibilities won me over.

Publishing technology changes almost daily, and innovation will come from small shops.Beware The Timid Life’s first product, Such Were My Temptations, is a book but it’s also a museum exhibit of sorts, a salon of sorts – it takes advantage of new technology to invent an experience of the first American sexual revolution 200 years ago. We had fun, for example, hiring a wonderful young actor, Jennifer Waterhouse, to bring alive what ‘bawdy’ meant at the time. See her recite a risqué poem from 1763 in short video embedded in the book. You can also see it on our YouTube channel.

The new small publishing companies go beyond self publishing to combine the talents of masters, journeymen and apprentices. These days, instead of meeting in guild halls, we meet on Skype. I have built this company with a phone and strong Internet connection from my quiet studio in Salt Lake City. I’ve depended on master cinematographer Peter Pilafian, new-media specialists Rich Fahle and Ron Martinez, designer Liz Brown, a host of fellow writers and editors, plus newcomer interns to create this first book.

Webinars and Coaching Services

Where once the purpose of guilds was to guard the secrets of their trade, today growth comes from sharing secrets more than guarding them. My intention with Beware The Timid Life™ is to offer help to others following their creative inspirations.

I take on a few clients per year, and specialize in helping people complete what they start. Contact us also if you’d like news of our upcoming webinars.