Today we’d like to introduce you to Steve Sanders.
Steve, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
What a long, strange trip it has been! I have always been a performer and writer. I transformed that into a forty-year career as an attorney but always kept my hand in writing poetry and acting on the stage and in the courtroom. When my father died, I inherited his bead loom and started making beaded jewelry. I started a small jewelry business, eventually becoming “Blackbead’s Treasure Chest” and selling at local shows, flea markets, and renaissance festivals. I wrote a poem in 2000, “The Buffalo Soldier,” and this led to an independently published book. From there, my poetry career grew, and I wound up performing poetry in a one man show at Renaissance and pirate events. Someone asked if I could show them how to navigate the murky waters of publishing and, after they decided to give up, they asked me if I would publish the book for them. “Blackbead Books” was born. I started a pirate poetry troupe, the Seadog Slam that performs still today, and one of the members was a sound engineer. We played around with recording poets and producing poetry CDs and “Seadog Studios” became a reality. Today, I am retired, but still playing at being a poet, publisher, performer, and audio and video producer. My latest endeavor is narrating books for Audible. I have one book of my own and four books by other authors to my credit. To give you an idea of what I am doing now, I just returned from selling jewelry at a belly dance festival, am preparing to perform at “A Night of Horror Poetry,” and will finish out the year vending and performing at the longest running Steampunk festival in Texas, Steampunk November.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Absolutely not. I spent six years trying to find an agent or publisher and finally gave up and started independently publishing my work. I have run into people that have cheated me and tried to take advantage of me but I learned a great many lessons from those experiences. Many of the events I work at are outdoor events and I have lost tents to wind and rain and merchandise to the elements. I have had people try to tell me how to run my business and watched them fall to the wayside as I kept plodding forward. Luckily, I have never had to do it all on my own, my beloved Meldoy is my partner in all of this, or rely solely on the income from these activities, so I have never given up.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I decided a long time ago that I define success in my business differently from so many others – they want to make as much money as they can. I am a “micro-retailer.” I define success as having a loyal and satisfied customer base that are excited to see me at whatever events I choose to attend. I make custom beaded jewelry that people love and acquire vintage pieces that I rework or repair so that they have a new life with a new owner. I base my prices on what I have had to shell out to put the work on my shelves. So, what sets me apart as a jewelry seller is that you are going to get something that is very unique at a price that you can afford. Plus, you get to buy it from a pirate who guarantees that it wasn’t stole . . . “from anyone you know!” It’s a gimmick but everyone seems to love it. As long as pirates are popular, ol’Blackbead will be in business!
As a poet, I am really a storyteller. I’ve tried to write modern poetry, and I have had some success, but what people have responded to in my work are the “tales of the sea and adventure.” Also, I have always thought I was a better performer than a poet and my audiences seem to like what I do.
As a published, I take great joy in helping others get their work in front of the public. I don’t make a lot of money from my publishing but I have received a lot of satisfaction from seeing my poets signing their autographs to books they never thought they would be able to produce.
Finally, as a producer, I have had the fortune to record some of the greatest local poets in the DFW area. Unfortunately, some of them have passed on; but I provide a way for them to live on and people have often thanked me for the recordings/videos I have done featuring some of these poets.
What’s next?
I have to admit, I am slowing down a little. This year, I can count on my fingers the number of events that I attended or sponsored. For instance, I am a registered narrator for Audible but I am not planning on doing more than a book a month in the coming year. I will still do at least a show a month from February to November (I promised my beloved a long time ago that I would take January and December off!) No big changes but I am learning to say “no.”
Pricing:
- I’m cheap but I follow the rule of The Joker – “Once you’ve done something long enough, you don’t do it for free.”
- I am a standard publishing house – but I charge based on book sales, not on production costs.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://seadogstew.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blackbeads_tc/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BlackbeadsTreasureChest/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheAdventurePoetryChannel
