There Had to Be a Better Way to Publish

When Morgan James Publishing founder David Hancock entered the publishing world, he saw an industry filled with talented authors and powerful ideas, but also a publishing model that wasn’t always built for the entrepreneurial author.

He believed there had to be a better way.

Authors deserved the editorial standards, credibility, distribution, and bookseller relationships of traditional publishing while also having greater involvement, flexibility, and opportunity to leverage their books far beyond the bookshelf.

That belief became Morgan James Publishing.

David and his bride, Susan, named the new company after their two children, daughter Morgan Renee and son Ethan James.

Morgan James began by publishing just six books. Today, we publish approximately 200 new titles each year and have built a backlist of more than 3,000 titles, with books available everywhere books are sold.

Along the way, Morgan James helped pioneer the publishing model that became known as hybrid publishing. In 2008, Publishers Weekly recognized Morgan James as the first hybrid publisher, helping give a name to an approach we had already been building around entrepreneurial authors.

Our publishing program now spans nonfiction, fiction, faith, and children’s books, with authors ranging from first-time writers with extraordinary ideas to bestselling authors, entrepreneurs, thought leaders, speakers, and recognized experts.

Morgan James has been recognized numerous times by Publishers Weekly as one of America’s fastest-growing publishers and was ranked #44 on Fast Company’s Fast 50 for its accomplishments and impact on the publishing industry.

But after nearly twenty-five years, the numbers and recognition aren’t what matter most to us.

The authors do.

We’ve watched books become businesses, speaking careers, movements, ministries, media opportunities, international editions, and legacies. We’ve also watched books do something much quieter and equally important: reach one reader with exactly the right words at exactly the right moment.

Through all the changes in publishing, our vision remains remarkably simple:

To publish books that educate, encourage, inspire, and entertain, and to help good authors and good books travel farther than either could have managed alone.

Twenty-Five Years of Publishing. And We’re Just Getting Started.

As Morgan James begins three years of celebrating our 25th anniversary, founder David Hancock looks back at the changes that reshaped publishing, the lessons we’ve learned from thousands of books and authors, and what we believe the next twenty-five years will require from authors and publishers alike.

Read The State of Publishing: 25 Years Later →

Continue reading Our Story below, but check this out! David Hancock’s personal, entrepreneurial journey is featured on BizableTV Season One, which has five short episodes.

Watch all five episodes below (or on BizableTV)! [External link to BizableTV]

  • Distribution: Connecting the right books with the right opportunities.

    Morgan James titles are distributed by Publishers Group West (PGW) and are available wherever books are sold. If you are a bookstore, college bookstore, independent, or book wholesaler, you can purchase the book from wherever you normally do so at your current terms, fully returnable – for the life of the book. You can also order directly from PGW, Ingram, or Baker & Taylor. For more information about ordering from PGW, go here.

  • Major Book Retailers

    Book lovers want to be able to buy books wherever they shop. We help you connect with readers at every turn.

  • National

    National account representatives cover all the major book retailers and wholesalers, including:

    • Amazon, Barnes & Noble
    • Follett, Powell’s
    • Books-a-Million, Ingram Book Company, etc.

  • Independent

    An acclaimed field sales team selling to more than 2,400 independent U.S. booksellers.

  • Mass Merchandise

    Specialists dedicated to mass merchant accounts such as Target, Walmart, Costco, Sam’s and Hudson.

  • Gift and Special Sales

    We provide a strategic approach to gift and special sales, offering extensive sales coverage for this unique sales channel.

  • Library

    Dedicated sales and marketing coverage, including a presence at all major library events such as American Library Association. We help:

    • Build buzz for our frontlist (New to 6 months old titles)
    • Support our backlist (Books over 6 months old)
    • Generate market feedback

    Library market coverage also extends to Baker & Taylor.

  • Consumer Direct

    Morgan James facilitates direct consumer marketing of the Work via various cooperative opportunities with online retailers, corporate social media, newsletters, and email lists of up to 3+ million readers to drive highly qualified traffic to the retailer product pages to assist each Author in their Marketing.

Our Story

Click each toggle below to read each section of Morgan James’ story, as told through a case study of its Founder, David L. Hancock.

Publishing: A Key to Personal Credibility
Morgan James Publishing was founded as a result of its founder, David L. Hancock, a mortgage banker at the time, realizing how publishing a book could enhance the personal credibility of people who have a high level of expertise in their chosen field of specialization. As a mortgage banker, Hancock indicates he had reached a plateau in his career and was looking for a way to take his business to the next level. After spending significant time with such marketing masters as Tom Hopkins, Tony Robbins, Todd Duncan and Jay Conrad Levinson, and being encouraged by Levinson to write a book of his own, he embarked on his first endeavor in the world of book publishing. Quoting Hancock, “Publishing a book helped me to double my bottom line in less than eight months, and I enjoyed the positive reinforcement that came from my book helping other people. But the traditional publishing process was a terrible experience.”

For his third book, Hancock decided to self-publish, but was not satisfied with that process, either, especially the lack of credibility of a self-published book as compared to a book published under a recognized imprint. He says, “I knew there had to be a better way. I had been helping friends and associates through the process of writing and publishing their own books based on my experiences, and I decided that I could offer more effective help if I started my own publishing company.”

In 2006 Hancock met his mentor, Rick Frishman who he admits taught him what he didn’t know about publishing. Frishman, founder of Planned Television Arts (PTA), became a great referral source of entrepreneurial authors looking for a better solution in publishing. PTA also became a great source for current Morgan James authors to gain better access to traditional media outlets. It was a match made in heaven. Frishman subsequently retired in 2008 from PTA and came on board as Publisher for Morgan James. Immediately Morgan James started to play in a more public space with stories showing up in the trade journals like Publishers Weekly, Yahoo! Business, etc. Since then, Frishman has continued to guide Hancock and Morgan James down a clear, traditional, yet entrepreneurial path. Under his leadership enhancements like higher eBook royalties and the implementation of paying advances to the authors became great additions to what Morgan James was already doing.

Helping Others Help Themselves
While still pursuing his daytime job as a mortgage banker, Hancock began to lay the groundwork for a new publishing business whose sole vision was to work with professionals to take their businesses to the next level by authoring and publishing a book, in the same way he had done for his mortgage banking career. Hancock comments, “I was more interested in how a book could help its author than I was in selling a lot of books.” Thus, Morgan James Publishing, named after Hancock’s two children, Morgan Renee and Ethan James, was born, and shortly afterwards, Hancock retired from his mortgage banking career to devote his full attention to his new publishing venture.

Changing the Model
Hancock realized that a key to his success would lie in his ability to change the traditional publishing model by printing more books to order and carefully managing them through the distribution channel to maximize visibility for the author while at the same time minimizing the costs of inventory and returns. He says, “This is where Lightning Source came in. I was not only intrigued by their innovative business model, but I was also attracted by their relationship with The Ingram Book Group, a well-established, well-respected entity I wanted to ultimately establish a relationship with myself. By partnering with Lightning Source early on, as my business grew I would be well positioned to expand that relationship to Ingram when the time was right.” Additionally, Hancock liked the fact that by working with Lightning Source, not only would he be able to produce books to order, but he could also work through Lightning Source to produce longer offset runs of books when appropriate.

He adds, “Our primary objective is to publish good books. To do that, of course, we need to help our authors write good books. But we also need to manage the inventory in such a way that we can be profitable. Lightning Source gives us a good mix of offset and print to order to keep just ahead of the demand, keeping our expense outlay to a minimum.”

By partnering with Lightning Source and Ingram Publisher Services, Morgan James has dramatically reduced the time it takes for a book to go from manuscript to market. With Lightning Source as the production arm, Morgan James can also take advantage of extensive services and distribution options in the United States, Canada and The United Kingdom that complement the IPS offerings.

One recent title, The Millionaire Messenger, by Brendon Burchard, literally went from manuscript to #1 New York Times Best Seller in less than 60 days! “Morgan James Publishing is a great example of how publishing should work,” said J. Kirby Best, former Lightning Source CEO. “There is absolutely no reason why an author should have to wait nine months to a year to see a book in print. We are proud of the role we have played in helping Morgan James and its authors achieve success.”

New York Times rankings are based on figures of almost 4,000 bookstores and of wholesalers serving 50,000 hardcover retailers and 60,000 paperback retailers (gift shops, department stores, newsstands, supermarkets). The numbers are statistically weighted to represent sales in all such outlets nationwide.

Hancock comments, “Some of the more traditional publishers print 5-10,000 books, ship them to stores and hope they sell, with an industry average of 40% or more being returned to the publisher. My banking background says that is ludicrous. With Lightning Source and IPS, we have strategically placed books in bookstores in partnership with those stores, keeping our average returns at less than 25%. And we achieve great credibility for our authors. The model has worked well for us. It makes more financial sense to manage our distribution effectively than it does to waste money on printing and shredding like much of the industry does.”

Strategic Advantage of Strong Author Relationships
One core value of the Company is having strong and mutually beneficial relationships. The leadership has spent years developing many of the key business relationships that have allowed the Company to get its books in bookstores and obtain widespread Web coverage. The intentional development of positive relationships with people in all facets of our business is unique in the industry and translates into a very real strategic advantage.

Entrepreneurial Authors Sign On to Entrepreneurial Model
Morgan James has trademarked the term Entrepreneurial Publisher™ because of its unique collaborative approach with authors and other publishers, treating them as partners rather than solely as intellectual property suppliers or competitors. Hancock says “My Guerrilla Marketing training teaches me to eliminate competition by creating opportunities for collaboration”.

The model is obviously working, with several well-known traditionally published authors, including Rick Horrow (When the Game Is On the Line), Jay Conrad Levinson (Guerrilla Marketing), Rick Frishman (Author 101), Dr. Robert Anthony (Beyond Positive Thinking), Brendon Burchard (The Millionaire Messenger), and Gordon D’Angelo (Vision), having chosen to publish titles with Morgan James because of the company’s innovative way of doing business, according to Hancock. The firm has signed a multi-book deals with Levinson and Frishman that will result in many great books for years to come.

Higher Author Royalties
Morgan James’s authors are paid a higher royalty than is typical for the publishing industry. Every author controls the rights to his or her book and may publish it through other channels, or lift it entirely from the Company and turn it over to another publisher, at the author’s discretion.

The Company encourages its authors to take their material and offer it in other media, such as audio books and video programs. Authors are free to publish these materials with the Company or publish them elsewhere. One of the Company’s biggest success stories is with Robert Anthony’s book, Beyond Positive Thinking. The audio book version, which the Company also publishes, sells for $119, and is selling over $65,000 worth of inventory every month.

The Company’s founder David Hancock and Knowledge Exchange Press Executive Publisher David Garfinkel, a former McGraw-Hill Executive, have extensive backgrounds in internet direct response marketing, and the principles and techniques of this discipline have had a strong influence on the marketing and other business practices of the company.

Selective Publishing based on Content, Character and Family Values
The Company is very selective in what it publishes, and one of the Company’s rules of thumb is that the Company will not publish anything the founder, David Hancock, would not be comfortable showing his children.

However, the Company does not hesitate to publish titles outside the norm of the traditional publishing industry, such as Mark Joyner’s Confidential Internet Intelligence Manuscript, a $60 book of only 92 pages.

“The price is high but the value is there. A steady stream of monthly sales underlines that assertion. We expect to pioneer new types of products, compared to what you see now and would typically expect from a book publishers, and we know that success breeds imitation. So in that way we expect to broaden the vistas of the publishing industry at large.”

Multiple Imprints
Its manufacturing and distribution flexibility has also allowed the publisher to launch several new imprints, including:

• Morgan James Nonfiction, providing readers the inspiration and guidance they need to be successful.
• Morgan James Fiction, focusing on good, clean stories to entertain, encourage, inspire and even educate the public.
• Morgan James Faith, grouping the best of our Christian Faith books for distribution to world supporting the ultimate cause.
• Morgan James Kids, designed for books dealing geared to and for our younger generation.
• Guerrilla Marketing Press, which focuses on the very successful Jay Conrad Levinson’s Guerrilla Marketing Brand giving business unconventional methods to reach their conventional goals.

“These five imprints serve our mission in a very valuable way”, says Hancock, “because each one targets a growing, information-hungry audience known to buy a lot of books.”

Morgan James Today

Hancock’s vision became a reality. Since 2003, he has taken Morgan James Publishing from a start-up to a global empire and created an entire publishing segment.

Morgan James operates globally and has thousands of titles in its inventory, including Hancock’s own Wall Street Journal Bestseller, Performance Driven Thinking.

In order to maintain a close and personal working relationship with its authors, the company has set up a series of satellite offices across the U.S. for meetings with its clients. The entrepreneurial nature of the business, along with the entrepreneurial bent of many authors, makes it advantageous to have face-to-face mastermind sessions to further business.

Hancock has also realized his goal of becoming affiliated with Ingram, using the company’s Ingram Publisher Services (IPS) via Publishers Group West (PGW), a full service option for publishers who want warehousing, sales, and fulfillment services for their titles. Under the program, Ingram stocks the books, solicits and takes orders, ships the books, collects payments and manages orders to outlets of all sizes, including chain retailers such as Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million and Powell’s, as well as online retailers such as Bookshop, Amazon, and others. Via PGW over 98% of retailers in North America alone are presented Morgan James titles.

Imprints

Morgan James Non-Fiction

Works that provide readers with the inspiration and guidance they need to be successful; authors whose book provides assistance in the pursuit of his or her career, the development of his business, or the expansion of his vision.

Morgan James Faith

The best of our Christian Faith books for distribution to world supporting the ultimate cause.

Morgan James Fiction

Focusing on good, clean stories to educate, encourage, inspire and even entertain the public.

Guerrilla Marketing Press

Focusing on the very successful Jay Conrad Levinson’s Guerrilla Marketing Brand, providing businesses with unconventional methods to reach their conventional goals.

Persona Publishing

Persona Publishing is an exclusive partnership between Morgan James Publishing and iUniverse, an assisted self-publishing company founded on traditional publishing roots, valuing quality service and professional editorial standards.

We believe that the best services in book publishing should be available to every author. Through our joint venture, we hope to give voice to the stories of aspiring authors like you and provide you with the top-quality services you would expect from an experienced publishing industry leader.

Locations

Headquartered in New York

5 Penn Plaza, 19th Floor, Manhattan, New York, 10001

Our Madison Square Garden Headquarters is located at 5 Penn Plaza on 33rd Street and 8th Avenue. This Midtown West office is across the street from Penn Station, only a block away from your subway stop.

Madison Square Garden is also across the street from our Headquarters. You can go right from your visit to watching the Knicks and Rangers play. Penn Plaza is next door and offers you a huge selection of shopping, dining and lodging options.

Administration Offices in Massachusetts

565 Turnpike St., Suite 76 North Andover, MA 01845

Our New Boston area office space is located just north of the city in North Andover, MA. North Andover is a charming town located just North of Boston along the Merrimack River that has a rich industrial and literary past, which led to a prosperous future.

North Andover features various historical sites to visit. Here, you can find the Stevens-Coolidge Place and the Parson Barnard House to get a first-hand look at life in Massachusetts’s past.

Acquisitions Office in Nashville

725 Cool Springs, Suite 600, Franklin, Tennessee, 37067

Located in the heart of the edge city of Cool Springs in Franklin, with a stunning lobby and reception area, scaled wood finishes and chrome accents. Located in the Highwoods III building, close to I-65, at Cool Springs II.

Located just outside of the prestige Nashville metro area, Williamson and Davidson counties. The office is close to amenities such as shops, hotels and restaurants.

Acquisitions Office in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

1275 West 6th Avenue #300, Vancouver, BC V6H 1A6

In the heart of Vancouver with an upgraded to a fresh new West Coast theme, featuring sleek & modern reception area, local artist photographs, stylish new meeting rooms and a Comfortable new lounge area.

Acquisitions Office in London, United Kingdom

16 St Martin’s le Grand, London, EC1A 4EN

The serviced offices in this majestic period building is very close to St Paul’s tube and City Thameslink station, with a grand entrance and reception area.

Adjacent to prestigious international banks, the London Stock Exchange and the Old Bailey, the building is in the heart of the City’s financial district.

Acquisitions Office in Melbourne, Australia

Level 32, 367 Collins St, Melbourne, 3000

Located on the top floor of one of Melbourne’s most prestigious addresses, 367 Collins Street. Positioned in the heart of Melbourne’s Central Business District (CBD), this centre features floor to ceiling windows showcasing sweeping views of the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known simply as “The G”, Port Philip Bay and towards Geelong. This location provides seamless connectivity with direct access to train, tram and bus transport. The Centre is within 400 meters of Flinders Street Station and has excellent tram access routes to the south, south-east and western suburbs.

The 367 Collins Street Centre is immersed in Melbourne’s city life with everything at our doorstep including retail amenity, eateries, theaters and gym. This location is in a contemporary environment in the heart of the City’s financial district.

Associations & Accolades

The Association of American Publishers (AAP) Dun & Bradstreet business information: D&B D-U-N-S Number: 14-998-4655 Publisher’s Weekly’s Fastest Growing Press Fast Company Magazine #44 on the Fast50 Google Marketing Partner Habitat For Humanity Peninsula and Greater Williamsburg Building Partner Habitat For Humanity Peninsula and Greater Williamsburg Board of Directors Ingram Publisher Services First High Volume Title Publisher NASDAQ – Opening Bell Ceremony December 17, 2008 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS): 511130 Standard Industrial Classification (SIC): 2731, 2741

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