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It's about time I introduced myself properly.
So here we go!
May name is Kevin ( @kevinbeynon). I'm a Welshman 
living with @Soulsubsistence and our tyrant-toddler daughter in West Cumbria. 
I founded Libreture in 2017 as an e-book alternative to Goodreads.
So here we go!
May name is Kevin ( @kevinbeynon). I'm a Welshman living with @Soulsubsistence and our tyrant-toddler daughter in West Cumbria. I founded Libreture in 2017 as an e-book alternative to Goodreads.
After 20 years in the e-learning/charity sector, I left my job in May last year to pursue developing Libreture, my bookshop @scarlet_ferret, and to improve my wellbeing and mental health, and be with my family.
Money's tight, but something my girlfriend said when I resigned has stuck with me and helped me realise I made the right choice:
"I feel like I've got you back, and I didn't even know you'd gone."
Yup, I blubbed a bit at that.
"I feel like I've got you back, and I didn't even know you'd gone."
Yup, I blubbed a bit at that.
What's the point of, well everything... if you don't get to enjoy the things that are really important.
I was stressed, annoyed, likely depressed, and had almost nothing to show for it at work.
I was stressed, annoyed, likely depressed, and had almost nothing to show for it at work.
You see, my employer was a HUGE UK charity raking in millions in donations, but it wasn't the ethical place many would think of when they imagine charities as workplaces or employers.
They're no different to their corporate counterparts.
They're no different to their corporate counterparts.
I went to Art College (shoutout CCTA Job's Well @colegsirgar) before Uni (they're not getting a shoutout), and it was the happiest period of my education.
No one competed, we were all creatives working on our own projects & pieces, and improving our skills, and each others'.
No one competed, we were all creatives working on our own projects & pieces, and improving our skills, and each others'.
I hoped the charity sector would be the same, and for a while it was.
But things changed significantly over the last 20 years. Creativity disappeared.
But things changed significantly over the last 20 years. Creativity disappeared.
The author @nealstephenson included a tech industry saying in his book Reamde:
"As hire As, and Bs hire Cs, ...as long as you continued to recruit only the very best people, they would attract others, but as soon as you let your standards slip, the second-raters would begin to seine up third-raters to act as their minions and advance their agendas."
THIS!
This is the charity sector circa 2020s.
The experts have gone, the middle-managers rule, bully, do a Napoleon, waste millions, break the law, etc.
Being creative was not an option.
This is the charity sector circa 2020s.
The experts have gone, the middle-managers rule, bully, do a Napoleon, waste millions, break the law, etc.
Being creative was not an option.
The more I read by people like @dhh at Basecamp, the late great @davidgraeber, or more recently @shl at Gumroad, the more I realised it didn't or shouldn't, be this way.
I built up Libreture as much as I could in my spare time (remember toddler), and I quit. Just walked.
I built up Libreture as much as I could in my spare time (remember toddler), and I quit. Just walked.
Over 20 years, I built e-learning platforms, CRM system-driven membership websites, e-mail marketing set-ups, single sign-on systems, content personalisation programmes, e-learning systems and approaches. And most of it is gone.
You have to do it yourself.
That's my takeaway from my 'career'. If you want to see it through, be developed to its full potential, or heck even completed. Do. It. Yourself.
That's my takeaway from my 'career'. If you want to see it through, be developed to its full potential, or heck even completed. Do. It. Yourself.
Companies & Charities don't have 'Values' as they often claim.
Only people have those. And they often conflict with an organisation's values.
If corporate culture ruled services like Basecamp, today it would be filled with Gantt charts!
Only people have those. And they often conflict with an organisation's values.
If corporate culture ruled services like Basecamp, today it would be filled with Gantt charts!
I launched my e-bookshop @scarlet_ferret in January 2020. Just before a pandemic, Brexit, and all the other stuff. 
One of Scarlet Ferret's missions is fairness to its creators: the authors. They get 80% of the list price. Not the net profit after fees, etc. The list price.
One of Scarlet Ferret's missions is fairness to its creators: the authors. They get 80% of the list price. Not the net profit after fees, etc. The list price.
Because that's fair.
Libreture has monthly plans. It doesn't have discounted annual fees that save money for those that have it available.
Because that's fair.
Because that's fair.
I could probably make more money doing things differently, but I'd rather do things the way that makes me happy, makes me feel good about my work, and in a way that doesn't shaft creative people.
I've seen enough of that to last me a lifetime!
I've seen enough of that to last me a lifetime!
So if you're looking for an e-book storage service that supports indie bookshops and authors, built by someone who wants to support people making more art, give Libreture a try! http://Libreture.com
If you're looking for special edition e-books that are a bit different, that come with exciting digital extras, and where authors get 80% of the list price, then take a look at our collection at Scarlet Ferret! http://ScarletFerret.com
You have value. You have values.
Stick to them.
Stick to them.
More reading on creativity and 'work': https://twitter.com/VersoBooks/status/1347221137546240000?s=19
And a grest, enlightening article by @shl about Gumroad, and what 'work' means there: https://sahillavingia.com/work
Another important read is @davidgraeber's seminal On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs. https://www.strike.coop/bullshit-jobs/
