Publisher Business Success Stories [2025]
Think you have a story to tell or an eye for talent? Consider launching a publishing business. Essentially, this venture entails selecting, editing, and marketing literary works or other media content to a broad audience. You'll identify promising authors, refine their work, and bring these stories to market. The industry is evolving, encompassing not just traditional books but also e-books, audiobooks, and digital content.
What makes this appealing is the unique blend of creativity and commerce; you get to influence public discourse while building a lucrative enterprise. However, success requires hard work—securing manuscripts, managing production schedules, and executing effective marketing strategies. If you love literature and can handle the hustle, running a publishing business could be both financially and personally rewarding.
In this list, you'll find real-world publisher business success stories and very profitable examples of starting a publisher business that makes money.
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1. Publishing Services ($864K/year)
While self-publishing her own books, Laura Mikkelsen realized many independent authors struggled with marketing. This led her to create Publishing Services, initially offering just book descriptions in 2019; now, it nets $72,000 monthly.
How much money it makes: $864K/year
How much did it cost to start: $0
How many people on the team: 41
Publishing Services, a company founded by Laura Mikkelsen, began as a service to create best-selling Amazon book descriptions, and has now grown into a full range of services for publishers with an average monthly revenue of $72,000 and 41 people on the team.
