In 1995, Ja-lene met Sally Dennison, co-founder of Council Oak Books (Tulsa, Oklahoma, publisher of memoirs, Oklahoma history, Native American studies, metaphysical, spiritual, and self-help titles).
Sally saw something in her. She said if Ja-lene had managed restaurants, she could surely handle publishing! She invited her to “Get in the trenches of publishing” and come to work for Council Oak Books and Ja-lene accepted the challenge.
In The Journey of the Visionary Writer, Ja-lene writes,
I thought I would spy, and by being on the inside, I could learn the elusive secrets to publishing. That was a dream! I left my post as general manager with a comfortable salary and went into the trenches of publishing with a whopping starting pay of $10 per hour in 1995. I felt guilty because I got paid to read, which was fantastic!
With time, I excelled at Council Oak because the apprentice-style format I had been trained with to become a general manager was accidentally employed. Master each position, and then you can manage others as they perform those duties. I was free to work in each position that interested me and was successful.
This undereducated woman had an innate gift for business, words, and publishing. From office manager to sales manager to art director to managing editor to associate publisher, I quickly mastered each position at Council Oak, rose in rank, and learned to see how all the publishing pieces fit together. Paulette Millichap said I was among the smartest women she had ever met when she promoted me to associate publisher. At that time, our ideas were merged at an amazing level of unification. As Associate Publisher, I led Council Oak to a 150% sales increase, and under my management, we had our first-ever profitable year.
The books featured on this page will give you a glimpse into Ja-lene’s experience.
Three Milestone Council Oak Projects
①
Cleoria’s Kitchens
First book published by Council Oak in 1985
I did not participate in the publishing of this groundbreaking cookbook. It was the first of its kind, a hybrid cookbook memoir developed by Council Oak founders Paulette Millichap and Sally Dennison.
My role came later when she oversaw the book redesign and did the production management for the second edition.
②
Twilight of the Clockwork God
First book acquired then published by Ja-lene
I picked this treasure of interviews with Rupert Sheldrake, Stanislav Grof, Deepak Chopra, and other great minds out of a pile of random submissions and pitched it to the publisher. As a result, I contacted the author, John David Ebert, to give him the great news that Council Oak wished to publish his book! As a novice writer, I had received a stack of rejection letters, but here, granting the dream of being published to a fellow writer was incredibly surreal.
③
Secrets From the Lost Bible
First book concept developed by Ja-lene
After the success of Dead Sea Scrolls: The Untold Story, I envisioned a follow-up book, assigned an author (Kenneth Hanson) to write it, and then published the work.
The book has opened doors for Kenneth, who is now a featured expert on many television shows, including Ancient Aliens on the Discovery Channel, Mysteries at the Castle on the Travel Channel, and Banned from the Bible II on the History Channel.
Featured Council Oak Projects
Under Ja-lene’s guidance, the number of books published by Council Oak grew from 50 to 350 books in print. Listing all of those titles would be inefficient. Instead, she has chosen to share a few of her favorite project involvement highlights and her role in publishing these treasures. If you’d like to purchase any of these books, search for the title and author on Amazon.
“I want to thank the source of the magic—whatever it might be called—and also Council Oak’s associate publisher, Ja-lene Clark, for actually putting a schedule to the project, keeping all of us on it, and for her insights and hunches that always make for a better book.”
—Brenda Kinsel, featured author on Oprah
Toltec Prophecies of Don Miguel Ruiz
Project Involvement
- Co-developed book concept
- Compiled extracts from previously published work (Beyond Fear) into a new manuscript
- Art direction
- Production management, printed in Canada
- Created marketing materials for sales reps
- Negotiated subsidiary rights (calendar and book-of-the-month club sales)
Conversations with Cat, Horse and Dog
Project Involvement
- Acquired three titles from Beyond Words Publishing
- Created new concept in a gift book format and transitioned these books from a black and white paperback version to a full-color gift book filled with images
- Acquired rights to the artwork, including negotiating a contract with photographer Tony Stromberg
- Hired freelance graphic designers
- Art direction
- Production management (printed in Canada)
- Created marketing materials for sales reps
- Negotiate subsidiary rights (Book-of-the-Month sales)
Projects with Oprah Author Brenda Kinsel
Project Involvement
- Acquired publishing rights to two previously published books from Wild Cat Canyon Press
- Developed and produced two additional books with the author
- Art direction
- Production management (printed in Canada)
- Hired and managed publicist
- Negotiated subsidiary rights (calendar sales)
- Negotiated foreign rights
Hogs on 66
Project Involvement
- Developed concept for a combination cookbook and guide to Route 66 embellished by photos of Harley’s
- Acquired rights to the historic catalog of Harley photographs dating back to the 1920s from Myers-Duran Harley
- Assigned two authors and negotiated contracts
- Hired freelance graphic designers
- Art direction
- Production management (printed in Canada)
- Created marketing materials for sales reps
- Negotiate subsidiary rights (Book-of-the-Month and calendar sales)
In the Presence of High Beings
Project Involvement
- Acquired title from Beyond Words Publishing
- Created an expansion of previously published work to publish a new edition
- For research and to better understand the work, I traveled to Hawaii to meet the author and swim her wild dolphin friends
- Hired freelance graphic designers
- Art direction
- Production management (printed in the USA)
- Created marketing materials for sales reps
- Hired and managed publicist
Survivor Contestant Scout Cloud Lee
Project Involvement
- Art direction of the second edition of The Circle Is Sacred after the author appeared on the CBS show Survivor
- Created the concept of a new book, Sworn to Fun, to be published quickly and released while the author appeared on television
- Ghostwriting of the new book
- Hired freelance graphic designers
- Art direction
- Production management (printed in the USA)
- Created marketing materials for sales reps
Seed of Knowledge Stone of Plenty
Project Involvement
- For research, I traveled to ancient sites in New York to experience the author’s premise that ancient peoples constructed temples, mounds, and megaliths to increase the fertility of crops
- Negotiated royalty contract with the author
- Hired freelance graphic designers
- Art direction
- Production management (printed in the USA)
- Created marketing materials for sales reps
- Hired publicist
Let It Be Easy
Project Involvement
- Created the concept for a new book to be written by the father of the firewalking movement, Tolly Burkan
- Negotiated author contract
- Hired freelance graphic designers
- Art direction
- Production management (printed in the USA)
- Created marketing materials for sales reps
- Hired and managed publicist
Note: Tolly republished this book in 2017 on the CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
Native New Yorkers
Project Involvement
- Created a plan for the revised edition
- Art direction
- Production management (printed in USA)
- Created marketing materials for sales reps
- Hired and managed publicist
- Negotiated foreign rights
Links to Additional Project Portfolios
Book Development • Alison L. James • Melissa Harris • Council Oak Books • Graphic Design • Website Projects
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