Printing manager and project manager Jun Mark began working at Tellwell in 2020, and authors looking to order books in bulk will likely cross paths with him. He is a patient, kind, calm, and hard-working team member. Get to know Jun Mark and his love of cats, and read the touching story of his recent reunion with his biological mother.
Tell us about yourself.
I am a fur-parent of 19 cats and recently built a cat house to ensure their wellbeing, and to earn their recognition of me as a truly responsible human. I love nature and like to travel to the countryside. I’ve been in the publishing industry since 2015 and really enjoy working with authors.
What do you enjoy most about your role?
I enjoy having a great degree of control and freedom within my job and department. I work full-time across three departments and the management trusts me to produce high-quality work and results. I get to be creative at work and it’s something that I intend to maintain, which keeps me engaged and excited, but at the same time I love that my job enables me to love and enjoy my other passions in life.
What does a typical week look like for you at Tellwell?
During a typical work week, one of my important tasks is checking in on the print jobs and looking into the progress on various book projects.
I like to meet with the team first thing on Mondays to share our good news, discuss our priorities for the week, address print-job matters in real-time, and to share knowledge and resources with team members. Keeping myself informed on the global-market status and the supply-chain situation is also part of my typical work week to ensure the business operates efficiently.
Since we work at home, we meet daily via video call, which gives us the opportunity to check in with each other on the progress of our projects. Part of the aspects of the printing business that I manage is to maintain our positive relationship with our print partners in Canada, the USA, the UK, Australia, and China.
I meet with the leadership team in the middle of the week to discuss our goals and priorities and troubleshoot any concerns that our departments may have. This is a perfect opportunity to coordinate with other program leaders.
Part of my workload is also dedicated to managing book projects as a project manager.
What is it important for authors to know when ordering their books in bulk?
We are capable of printing small and large print runs, and our offset print partners will always be available for us to fulfill bulk print orders and provide us with premium-quality printing, paper, and binding. Importantly, authors must be aware and should take advantage of our print cost, as it decreases as the quantity increases. However, as the quantity increases, the fulfillment timeline becomes longer for printing, shipping, and delivery.
At what point should authors order books in bulk versus using print-on-demand?
It depends on the author’s goal, whether they need books for events, book consignment, or marketing purposes, and if they wish to try selling it themselves. We can accommodate small or large print orders. It is important to note that we work with a network of printers, and the cost per book decreases with increased quantities, so at low quantities of books authors may be paying a print cost that is higher than the print-on-demand cost. If they wish to print 50 books or fewer, they will find that ordering directly from a retailer is more beneficial because they will earn their royalties back, more likely get the shipping free of charge, and boost book sales and search rankings.
What is a question you get asked the most by authors? How do you answer it?
“When do you think my book is going to be live or published?”
Whenever I get this question from my authors during project orientation, or even the production stage of the project, there is one project-management tool I always consider using to help me get a better answer. I use a Gantt chart through which I can plot all the services included in the author’s account, and easily identify the level of support and time each service needs. Then, when I have everything in place, I’ll start analyzing the time requirement and projection for project completion. That’s where I get my answer, and more often than not my authors will better connect with me and trust that I can be of help to make their dream of becoming a published author come true.
What are you most proud of? What are some of your biggest accomplishments?
I hadn’t met my biological mother since birth and I never would have imagined that one day I would be seeing her, or have a chance to develop a relationship with her. One day I received a message from her, introducing herself as my mother, but I ignored it. It took me five years to accept the truth that regardless of whatever happened in the past, she will always be the mother who gave birth to me.
This year, in July, we started chatting and video-calling. I started to embrace the opportunities the universe had presented me with: to get to know her, be able to get a sweet message from her along with a prayer, and look forward to the opportunity to meet her in person this year. So my biggest accomplishment that I believe I will carry for the rest of my life is my acceptance and forgiveness for my mother.
If you were to publish a book, what would it be about?
If I were to publish a book, I’d like to share a story about “My Cats in the Midst of Pandemic,” since they provided me with a lot of comfort when I was living alone in the city during COVID. They were my companions most of the time, my stress-relievers, and they taught me how to be patient and attentive.
What do you enjoy doing most outside of work?
Hiking, freediving, and spending time in the country.
Do you have any good books or content to recommend?
Every Day, a novel by David Levithan.
What inspires you?
My grandparents:) They love me so much that they took care of me since I was only months old. The love, support, and hard work from them to raise, shelter, educate, and nurture me are commendable, and I know I am lucky to have them. Their love for me inspires me to keep pushing in pursuing my passion and achieving my dreams.
Ambition: I am truly eager to aspire to and accomplish something new, and I get excited when there is something new to learn or achieve.
Adventure: I love visiting new places, and experiencing and seeing new things. It inspires me and gives me the energy to focus and do better on things that I do. I enjoy seeing the calmness of nature. I like hills and green vegetation, which opens my heart to my inner creativity.
Faith: I have faith when times are tough or challenging. It inspires me when I am able to feel hope and see the light that life will move on, and things that seem to be tough will be fine somehow.
Get to know more of the Tellwell Publishing team here.
