Today we’d like to introduce you to JeVon McCormick.
Hi JeVon, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, you could tell our readers some of your backstories.
When I started my first job, cleaning toilets and bussing tables at a restaurant called Po Folks, the last thing I ever expected was that I would be the President and CEO of a Publishing company. I didn’t go to college; I have a GED. Everything I have today came from watching, listening, asking questions, and trying to learn as quickly as possible to take advantage of any opportunity that came my way. I worked through the payday loans and mortgage industry and eventually landed in software at Headspring. I was hired as the lowest-paid person in the company and became President in two and a half years. I wanted to write my life story so my kids would know where they came from, and I came across a local Austin company called Scribe Media, which helps authors write and publish their books. I published my first book in 2016, the same year I became Scribe’s CEO. Over the past eight years, Scribe Media has earned Best Place to Work in Texas, Best Company Culture in the US, and Best CEO in Austin. I was named Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young in 2022.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been smooth?
I’m sure every successful CEO would say they had some struggles along the way, and I’m no different! Coming from a background where I experienced poverty, abuse, and homelessness as a child and adolescent, I didn’t have the benefit of the typical “professional playbook” most of my peers in the business world seemed to be fluent in. When I finally worked my way up to the corporate world, I thought I’d made it. Then I quickly discovered I was ultimately out of my element. I remember asking someone at my first office job where “Conference Room 401k” was. You can imagine the looks and the laughs. The work and learning I put in to “fit in” surpassed that of my coworkers. I’m not complaining; that work and learning put me where I am today.
I’ve always said I got where I am because I asked questions. Despite often being the obvious “other” in the room, I worked hard to learn everything I hadn’t had a front-row seat to in my early years. And even in succeeding, I navigated some seriously tough times. I worked in the mortgage industry in 2008 and saw how devastated that business was. When the virus disruption hit in 2020, I was reminded of having to do layoffs back in 2008 and vowed to the people of Scribe that we would get through those uncertain times together–and that not a single person would be laid off. We kept that promise, but it was my career’s most stressful and difficult time. Even now, with the economy taking such a hit, it’s still stressful. By surrounding myself with people far smarter than myself and continuing to listen, learn, and ask questions at every opportunity, I’m doing everything I can to provide for our Crew and our Authors.
Thanks for sharing that. So, you could tell us a bit more about your business.
At Scribe Media, we have a Culture Bible that everyone who works with us agrees to live by. We choose to do everything the right way, even the small things. One of my favorite values in our culture is Excellence. We define Excellence by the phrase “Impeccable Attention to Detail,” and that’s the experience we create for our authors. Most of our authors are first-timers and put their stories, knowledge, and names into the world for public consumption. As an author myself, I know exactly how nerve-wracking this can be, and I know what an emotional journey writing a book is. We don’t just focus on helping our authors create the best book possible; we put a massive amount of time and thought into the details of their experience–so that they feel safe, secure, and excited the whole way through, from idea to book launch.
We’re known for many things–our Culture, our value of “Doing Right by People,” and the incredible quality of the books we help create and publish–but the thing I’m proudest of is something that’s not immediately visible from the outside. And that’s how many repeat authors we have. Hundreds of our authors have chosen to return to us to create and publish books 2, 3, 4, and even 5–we have one author working on 7 books with us now! Once you publish with Scribe, you’re part of an unparalleled creative work and brand-building ecosystem. We know our authors, we have incredible relationships with them, and we’ve helped them achieve incredible success in their creative and professional lives over the years. Nearly half of our incoming business comes from referrals, which says everything.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some changes you expect to see over the next five to ten years?
Publishing is an industry in the middle of a massive renaissance. Partly this has been made possible by opportunities in digital publishing–the barrier to entry to publishing a book was effectively reduced to zero, so in the 2010s, we saw an influx of self-published authors and ebook producers flooding the market. At first, there was a stigma around this, but that went away pretty quickly when authors with large audiences realized they could retain all the rights and profits from their books. In the past five years, we’ve seen some huge names independently publish and hit the Wall Street Journal and New York Times bestseller lists. At Scribe, we work between self-publishing and traditional publishing–Professional Publishing. We help professionals and legacy authors create an author brand and a book at an even higher level of quality–both in writing and design than most books you’d pull off the shelf at Barnes & Noble. Typically, our authors publish a book as part of a long-term, cohesive business and brand roadmap. And every day, our author strategists get calls from authors who have previously published traditionally and maybe didn’t love the deal they got. They’re looking to have more control and keep all the royalties instead of getting a small slice.
That’s the biggest change I’ve seen in the past five years; authors, artists, creators, and professionals want to own their creative work and knowledge and not have to trade the rights to their stories to share it with the world. I see this continuing to completely re-map the media industry in the next decade. It used to be that someone had to “choose you” for your story to be heard. Now everyone has that chance. We’re seeing an explosion in diverse voices, stories, knowledge, and opinions. Scribe Media’s mission statement is “Unlocking the world’s wisdom,” and it’s a mission that drives everything we do. I’m proud that we’ve been a big part of this shift toward a more open media landscape, and I’m looking forward to seeing more authors share their wisdom in the decades to come.
Contact Info:
- Website: Scribemedia.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jevonmccormick
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jevonmccormickscribe
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jevonmccormick/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/jevon_mccormick
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/JeVonMcCormickScribe
- Other: https://jevonmccormick.com/
