14 Publishing Business Success Stories [2024]
Starting a publishing business can be a rewarding and lucrative endeavor for those with a passion for literature and strong business acumen. This type of business involves producing and distributing written materials such as books, magazines, and digital content.
To start a publishing business, you need a solid business plan outlining your goals and target market. You will also need to secure funding to cover the costs of printing and distributing your materials. This can include obtaining loans or seeking investors.
In addition to financial resources, you will need a team of professionals with expertise in editing, design, marketing, and sales. It’s important to build a diverse and skilled team to ensure the success of your business.
Success in the publishing industry requires a strong understanding of current trends and adapting to changing market conditions. Stay current on industry news and continually seek new opportunities to grow and expand your business.
Starting a publishing business requires hard work, dedication, and a willingness to take risks. But with the right team and strategy, it can be a fulfilling and profitable venture.
Here are some real life success stories of starting a publishing business:
1. Nourishing Brands ($7.2M/year)
Jeremy Hendon, co-founder of Nourishing Brands, came up with the idea for the business after experiencing the benefits of a low carb Paleo diet. He noticed the rising popularity of the keto diet and decided to create the Keto Summit, a digital event featuring top experts. The success of the summit led to the company's shift towards cookbooks, courses, and meal plans, and they have since sold over 300,000 cookbooks in 2020 alone.
How much they make: $7.2M/year
How much did it cost to start: $500
Current team size: 10
Nourishing Brands is a direct-to-consumer media company that generates more than $600k per month and sold over 300,000 cookbooks in 2020 through their popular health websites like KetoSummit.com by transitioning from digital events to cookbooks, evergreen courses, and paid media.
2. Reedsy ($24M/year)
Ricardo Fayet, CMO of Reedsy, didn't come up with the idea for the book publishing services marketplace. His co-founder Emmanuel mentioned it to him in university, and it stood out as a promising idea that leveraged the growing self-publishing trend and freelance economy movement in traditional publishing. They validated the idea by talking to industry experts and built a core team to bring it to life.
How much they make: $24M/year
How much did it cost to start: $40K
Current team size: 38
Reedsy, a book publishing services marketplace that connects authors with freelancers, has driven over $1m in GMV, features over 1,500 vetted freelance professionals, and sees over 1,000 projects every month.
So... can you actually make money with a publishing business?
Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.
But how?
- Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
- Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
- Take action, because now you have the roadmap.
Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:
3. Forbes Books ($18M/year)
Adam Witty, the Founder & CEO of Advantage|ForbesBooks, came up with the idea for his business while working at a publishing company during his high school summer internship. Inspired by the creation, marketing, and sales of books, he later partnered with his boss to start a publishing company for entrepreneurs. He realized the power of a book as a marketing tool and developed Advantage into one of the largest business book publishers in America, offering a range of publishing and marketing services to help authors grow their businesses.
How much they make: $18M/year
Current team size: 81
Adam Witty started Advantage|ForbesBooks, one of America's largest business book publishers with sales over $1.5 million per month, which offers pain-free book creation and specializes in Authority Marketing™ for entrepreneurs and business leaders, achieving seven out of the past eight years in the Inc. 5000 list of America's most rapidly growing private companies, and has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, USA Today, amongst others, growing his business through customer referrals, speaking, and advertising both online and offline.
4. Scribe Media ($15.6M/year)
Tucker Max, a successful author himself, came up with the idea for Scribe Media when a fellow entrepreneur challenged him to find a solution for busy individuals who wanted to write a book but lacked the time or patience to go through the traditional publishing process. He realized that by using interview-based conversations and transcriptions, he could capture their ideas and words, allowing them to "talk" their book into existence. Since its launch in 2014, Scribe Media has worked with over 1,500 authors and generated over $1.3 million in monthly revenue.
How much they make: $15.6M/year
Current team size: 51
4x New York Times Bestselling Author Tucker Max co-founded Scribe Media in 2014, a book writing, publishing, and marketing service that has worked with over 1,500 authors and generates over $1.3 million a month, with a range of services priced between $10k-$100k+.
So... can you actually make money with a publishing business?
Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.
But how?
- Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
- Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
- Take action, because now you have the roadmap.
Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:
5. Prooftheword ($14.4K/year)
In this case study article, Sara Davies, founder of Prooftheword, shares how her excellent editing skills and frustration with the poor English she encountered everywhere inspired her to start her editing and proofreading business. With regular monthly earnings of around £1,200 and a client base that includes magazines and book writers, Sara's business has steadily grown over the years.
How much they make: $14.4K/year
How much did it cost to start: $1K
Current team size: 1
A sole trader launched Prooftheword, an editing and proofreading site, offering services to a wide range of clients, with consistent monthly earnings of around £1,200 through her skills and great work.
So... can you actually make money with a publishing business?
Of course. There are millions to be made in this industry.
But how?
- Research real, profitable businesses and see exactly how much money they make.
- Study exactly what works, and what doesn’t.
- Take action, because now you have the roadmap.
Join Starter Story and build your next big thing:
6. Prime Publishing LLC ($7.2M/year)
Stuart Hochwert, founder of Prime Publishing LLC, came up with the idea for his business while noticing that traditional print publishers in the Arts and Crafts space were experiencing circulation declines. Seeing the shift of "eyeballs" moving online, he developed a plan to create a free website focused on Arts and Crafts, leading to the launch of FaveCrafts.com. This decision, along with strategic marketing efforts and the addition of premium content, has contributed to Prime Publishing's success, generating over $10 million in advertising revenues and diversifying their revenue streams.
How much they make: $7.2M/year
How much did it cost to start: $650K
Current team size: 46
Stuart Hochwert grew his company Prime Publishing LLC to generate over 30 million monthly page views and $7 million in annual revenue by creating free, advertising-supported cooking and crafting websites and premium, ad-free digital products.
7. Dinosaur House ($72K/year)
How much they make: $72K/year
How much did it cost to start: $500
Current team size: 4
DinosaurHouse.com's owner adjusted his business from writing to producing children's books after the pandemic hit and hit six figures.
8. Merrative ($24K/year)
Harshala Chavan, the founder of Merrative, came up with the idea for her business after noticing a lack of dedicated spaces for people to discuss literature. After attending a book club meetup, where she had a great discussion with others who had read the same book, she wondered if she could bring this experience online at scale. She validated her concept through participating in BPlans and growing her Instagram page, which eventually led to the launch of Merrative as a community-led marketplace for publishing talent.
How much they make: $24K/year
How much did it cost to start: $100
Current team size: 0
Merrative, a community-driven marketplace for publishing talent, generates an average of $1,500 per month in marketplace transactions from their 5,000+ strong community of readers, writers, journalists, and scholars.
9. Paper Raven Books ($1.2M/year)
Founder of Paper Raven Books, a publishing company, started out as a freelance editor and writing coach. After working with clients and receiving requests for publishing services, she documented the process of self-publishing her own book and began offering it as a service to clients, eventually growing the company to gross $1.1 million in revenue with over 150 clients and an 18-member remote team.
How much they make: $1.2M/year
How much did it cost to start: $0
Current team size: 18
This case study follows the journey of a service-based business, Paper Raven Books, from bootstrapping with minimal expenses to scaling with a team of 18 members, $20,000 per month in advertising spend, and revenues of $1.1 million per year by package pricing, paid advertising to webinars, and offering smaller introductory packages with practical insights and guidance.
10. Publishing Services ($864K/year)
How much they make: $864K/year
How much did it cost to start: $0
Current team size: 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.
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- 4,818 founder case studies
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- 8,628 business ideas
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- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
