Featured Business of the Week

First, tell us a little about yourself?

We are Dawn and Colleen, co-owners of Two Pentacles Publishing Services.

Dawn: I coordinate with our writers and edit their work to prepare it for publication.

Colleen: I design covers, create artwork, and facilitate accessible imagery for blind and visually impaired creators and audiences.

What type of business or Nonprofit do you own or work for?

Dawn: Two Pentacles Publishing Services specializes in adaptive communication, descriptive visual services, and flexible content sharing while providing our writers with professional editing and publishing assistance.

What brought you into this type of work?

Colleen: Honestly, we never thought we would be in the Publishing Service business. We always thought we would be doing the writing and editing, and nothing more.

Dawn: Colleen reached out to me about starting this project with the idea of helping our community of fellow writers. We wanted to make sure that our writers had a safe space to see their projects come to fruition without being taken advantage of.

Colleen: Essentially, we were drawn to build this business after seeing people we cared about lose money and time to people who didn’t have their best interests in mind.

What is your favorite part of the work that you do?

Dawn: Well, I love to read, and my dream job is just to be reading all day. Two Pentacles fulfills that dream.

Colleen: Being able to provide a safe place for creative people, and being able to bring more accessibility to the creative community in general. It’s also so fun to get to be someone’s cheerleader, and to be excited about their work with them.

Dawn: Supporting someone’s writing journey is an amazing feeling and I’m happy we get to be a part of that.

What is the least favorite part of the work that you do?

Colleen: Unfortunately we both work full time jobs outside of Two Pentacles. So currently, my least favorite part of the work we’re doing is having to balance my other job while prioritizing our amazing writers.

Dawn: On top of having my other full time job, I’m also going to school to get my Bachelor’s degree, so having to include that into my schedule is tough as well. So mostly, we just dislike not being able to do this, and this only, full time. However, we are committed to making sure our writers come first.

Colleen: The hardest part of our work is that we don’t get to do it enough.

What are your personal strengths and how do they assist you in the work you do?

Dawn: I’m great at figuring out what needs to be done and prioritizing when it needs to happen. I adapt quickly to changes and always meet my deadlines.

Colleen: Which is great for me, because I usually don’t know what day it is. Dawn is great with details, while I’m better at seeing the big picture.

Dawn: We really balance each other in our work.

What are your personal weaknesses and how do they hinder you in your work?

Colleen: Luckily, we’ve been friends for a long time, and are very honest with each other about our weaknesses. We do our best to stop each other from letting our shortcomings hinder our work.

Dawn: We know how to push each other to be better, without tearing each other down.

How are you working to improve them so you can lessen their hindrance to your work?

Colleen: Two Pentacles functions as a team and we embrace a growth mindset. We focus on what we have learned, rather than what could have been. We are always improving and we create a safe place for others to learn, grow, and improve in their own ways.

What is your dream for the future?

Dawn: My dream would be to just do this for the rest of my life. It’s what I want to do, it’s what I’ve been working towards, and it’s what I’m going to school for. I would like to devote all of my time to reading, and editing is an extension of that.

Colleen: I just want to write. I want to help my friends write. There are people out there who can’t help but write, and those are the stories that make the biggest difference to others. Those are the stories that I want to help share.

How does that relate to your work?

Colleen: It makes me genuinely excited to help creative people tell their stories and share their work.

Dawn: I love to read. Editing is just reading with a pen in your hand or a computer in your lap. The unique thing about working with Two Pentacles is that I get a first look, before anyone else, and I get to be a part of letting the world see what our writers have to offer.

What is your preferred way of communicating?

Dawn: We love receiving emails! You can submit a consultation form on our website, twopentacles.com, or contact us directly at info@twopentacles.com.

How can someone get in touch with you if they should wish to buy from or work with you in some way?

Colleen: If you already have a project completed and ready for publishing, the best thing is to submit a consultation form via our website, twopentacles.com. This form allows us to streamline your consultation process and get your project published quicker.

Dawn: If you aren’t sure how to move forward, you can always email us for help at info@twopentacles.com

Is there anything about you or your business I’ve not covered here? If so, please write about that below.

Colleen: The biggest thing we want to share is that this is a learning experience. The standard of accessibility for all audiences is always changing. Our focus will always be to increase accessibility as much as possible, and we will learn and grow as new methods become available.

Dawn: Also, whether you’re a first time writer or a seasoned author, we’re here to help! We’ll customize your experience to fit your needs.

Colleen: We want to create a safe place for everyone to grow and learn together.

For all our information please be sure to visit: www.twopentacles.com