Market First Publishing launches with pre-publication audience-building model

Market First Publishing launched today in Charleston with a new “Platform Publishing” approach that builds a book’s readership before the manuscript is finished. The company says the model is meant to give authors an audience on publication day, with Bob Batchelor joining as executive editorial consultant.

Why it matters: - Market First Publishing is trying to solve a common publishing problem: books often reach the market before a real audience exists. - The company’s model is designed to give authors built-in readership on day one, which could change how small and independent titles launch. - For writers, the pitch is simpler marketing support and less pressure to build demand alone after publication.

What happened: - Market First Publishing launched today in Charleston, South Carolina. - The company introduced a model it calls Platform Publishing. - The approach builds audience before publication, while the manuscript is still being written. - Author Bob Batchelor joined the company as executive editorial consultant. - The new website, More information, introduces the model and invites readers and prospective authors to follow the company.

The details: - Market First Publishing says it invests resources in every title it signs. - The company says it builds the audience during production so publication day begins with readers already waiting. - Founder Josh Schwartz said the company builds the audience while the book is still being written and aims to have readers ready by publication. - Schwartz founded the book-marketing and leadership-branding agency Pubvendo in 2017. - Schwartz has worked across the manuscript-to-retail supply chain with Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo. - Schwartz has also worked with Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Hachette, Simon & Schuster, and Macmillan. - Co-founder Joseph Lawrence brings editorial experience from leading editorial at a book publisher and running his own imprint. - Lawrence has shepherded books from raw manuscript to finished work. - Lawrence is a published poet who writes in classically metered verse. - Lawrence completed a master’s degree in publishing at George Washington University, where Schwartz lectures on book marketing. - Bob Batchelor serves as executive editorial consultant and is a cultural historian and biographer. - Batchelor is the author of Stan Lee: A Life, The Bourbon King, and Roadhouse Blues.

Between the lines: - Market First Publishing is positioning itself between traditional publishing and hybrid publishing. - The company says traditional publishers usually begin marketing only after a book ships. - The company says hybrid publishers market only as a fee-based service. - MFP is instead pitching a publisher-funded model that combines editorial work and audience development from the start. - The launch leans heavily on founder credentials and Batchelor’s editorial reputation to signal credibility in a crowded publishing market.

What's next: - Market First Publishing plans to grow through its new website and by signing titles under the Platform Publishing model. - The company will likely use early audience-building as a core selling point for prospective authors. - The effectiveness of the model will depend on whether MFP can consistently turn pre-publication marketing into real book sales.

The bottom line: - Market First Publishing is betting that books sell better when the audience is built first, not hunted later.