We Get it

by John Köehler

At Köehler Books, we get it. We get what you want and we get your dreams, because we are writers too. We are not just in the publishing business—we write. We get it. We get you. We know how it feels to dream big and get nothing. Or get something. We understand your aspirations and desire to share your story with the world. We respect your dreams and we respect you, the dream maker.

We are not a self-publisher and we are not a New York publisher. We are a small Independent publisher, a fiction Imprint of Morgan James Publishing, and we use the same standards of excellence as the New York publishers. However… They are slow while we can turn on a dime. They are impersonal whereas we are personable and treat you like… an important person. You may never ever be able to talk directly to them, but you can call us, or meet us, or text us or email us. They will not respond, but we will and quickly. They will own your work and make all the key decisions without you. We don’t want to own your work: it belongs to you. You will be part of the key decisions because we treat you like a creative partner who can make the work better.

Most of our editors have published books and stories. They are serious journalists and literary writers. All of us have been through the wringer of having an editor beat up our stories to make them better. They say no pain, no gain, but they never told us it would hurt so much. We know that in the end it is worth it, but we will warn you up front and help you prepare for the emotional roller coaster of letting your manuscript go to turn into something so much better than you alone could hope to craft.

We begin by acknowledging you as an artist, as a fellow writer. In that acknowledgement there is respect and the absolute belief that you are now a colleague. By welcoming you as a colleague we are inviting you into a world with higher standards than you have probably worked in. We invite you up into the Big Leagues and demand that you adhere to those standards, that you put on the uniform, that you speak and think and act like a pro, and that you sign on with us to push yourself to your limits in order to create a book that is beyond your wildest dream.

Ultimately the success of your book will be determined by the quality of your work. Please allow me to say that again: the success of your book will be determined by the quality of your work. We prepare your book, build the site, design a great cover, give you spectacular editing, market and distribute it through Morgan James and Ingram Publisher Services, get it in the catalogs and in the stores, offer it in print and epub. We bust our butts (as will you) to make it great, to make you great.

We want what all “real” publishers want: book sales. But we also want you to feel loved and respected and encouraged and educated. We get you and what you are feeling. We get it.