Forbes Books
Forbes Books is a hybrid book publishing joint venture between Forbes Media and Advantage Media that provides done-for-you publishing and Authority Media Services to CEOs, entrepreneurs, and business thought leaders under the Forbes Books imprint, distributed globally via Simon & Schuster.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersCharleston, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Forbes Books does
Forbes Books is a hybrid book publishing company operating as a joint venture between Forbes Media and Advantage Media, founded in 2016 and headquartered in Charleston, SC. The company targets CEOs, C-suite executives, entrepreneurs, and industry thought leaders with a done-for-you publishing platform, offering three tiered programs (Forbes Books, Forbes Books Select, Forbes Books Premier) that bundle ghostwriting, editorial, design, distribution, and brand visibility under the Forbes Books imprint. Beyond publishing, Forbes Books monetizes a suite of recurring Authority Media Services — including SMART Social, SMART Content, Public Relations, Podcasts, and Digital Media & Engagement — designed to extend author authority after publication.
The business model is author-paid publishing fees (one-time multi-year contracts) combined with subscription-style Authority Media Services. Distribution is executed through a flagship partnership with Simon & Schuster, providing access to 100+ countries, major online and brick-and-mortar retailers, airport bookstore chains, libraries, and a network of 2,200 foreign-language rights buyers. Authors retain 100% of intellectual property rights, and the company curates exclusivity through a selective application process designed to preserve the imprint's prestige.
The company is privately held with no disclosed funding rounds and reports a headcount of 51–100 employees. Forbes Books is part of a broader publishing family that includes Advantage Books, Entrepreneur Books, and SXSW Books, collectively serving more than 2,000 published authors. There is no proprietary technology platform product; the underlying capability stack is service delivery, editorial production, and brand-licensed media amplification.
Forbes Books firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Forbes Books
- Legal name
- Forbes Books
- Website
- https://books.forbes.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Forbes Books is a hybrid book publishing joint venture between Forbes Media and Advantage Media that provides done-for-you publishing and Authority Media Services to CEOs, entrepreneurs, and business thought leaders under the Forbes Books imprint, distributed globally via Simon & Schuster.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Forbes Books industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Book Publishing Services
- NAICS
- Book Publishers (513130)
- SIC
- Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Business, Personal Finance & Careers Trade Publishing (MPAJAAAK)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Author Marketing, PR & Launch Services (Ads, Book Tours, Influencers) (MPAJAJAL)
Keywords
Where Forbes Books is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Charleston
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Forbes Books business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Publishing Program Fees: Forbes Books operates as a hybrid publisher where authors pay for publishing services. The company offers tiered publishing programs with varying levels of services, promotion, and prestige. Authors invest in production costs in exchange for editorial standards, professional production, distribution under the Forbes Books imprint, and access to marketing services.
- Authority Media Services: Ongoing media services including digital media engagement, SMART Social content creation, PR services, and podcast production are offered as additional services to published authors, providing recurring revenue opportunities.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | Forbes Books - Base tier publishing program |
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | Forbes Books Select - Intermediate tier with enhanced promotion |
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | Forbes Books Premier - Premium tier with exclusive benefits |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels7 records
Forbes Books product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Forbes Books is a hybrid book publishing company that provides done-for-you publishing services for business leaders, CEOs, and entrepreneurs. The company offers tiered publishing programs (Forbes Books, Forbes Books Select, Forbes Books Premier) that include ghostwriting, manuscript development, editing, professional design, distribution, and branding under the Forbes Books imprint. It also sells Authority Media Services such as PR, social content, podcast production, and digital media engagement to extend author visibility after publication.
Product overview
Forbes Books is a hybrid book publishing company offering a platform of tiered publishing programs and authority media services designed for business leaders and entrepreneurs. The core offering consists of three publishing program tiers: Forbes Books (entry-level), Forbes Books Select (intermediate), and Forbes Books Premier (premium). These programs provide book creation and publishing, ghostwriting services, book promotion and marketing, distribution services (via Simon & Schuster), and Forbes branding and visibility. Supporting the publishing programs is a suite of Authority Media Services including Digital Media and Engagement, SMART Social (social media management), SMART Content (thought leadership article creation), Public Relations Services, and Podcasts. Premium features include access to the Forbes on Fifth event venue and Times Square book announcements. The company also provides an Authority Assessment tool for lead generation.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Forbes Books (Publishing Program) Entry-level publishing program for business leaders providing manuscript creation (up to 50,000 words), online retail distribution, Book Promo Bronze package, Authority Book Launch Bundle, and Forbes Books Author Seal. Authors retain 100% rights to their work.
- Forbes Books Select (Publishing Program)
Quantifiable outcome
- Authors achieve 8x ROI on book investment and double their close ratio (per Brent Tilson case study)
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Forbes Books
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Forbes Books technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Forbes Books partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.
- Forbes MediaflagshipIn 2016, Forbes Media approached Advantage Media recognizing their best-in-class publishing standard, with the goal to extend Forbes brand into book publishing. The resulting joint venture created Forbes Books. Forbes Books is the exclusive book publisher of Forbes, and authors gain access to the Forbes brand and 150 million business readers through Forbes.com digital network.
- Advantage Media (Advantage Books)flagshipAdvantage Media was founded by Adam Witty in 2005 to democratize book publishing with a done-for-you system for CEOs and business owners. After significant growth, Advantage Media became the exclusive book publisher of Forbes through the 2016 partnership. Forbes Books operates as a joint venture/flagship imprint.
- Hudson BooksellerscoreForbes Books works with Hudson Booksellers, one of four major airport retail chains, to secure competitive placement for select author titles in key airport markets. Hudson stores see up to 300,000 daily visitors.
- Paradies LagaderecoreForbes Books partners with Paradies Lagadere, a major airport retail operator, to place select author titles in strategically targeted airport bookstore locations that align with authors' brands and messages.
- WH SmithcoreForbes Books works with WH Smith, an international airport retailer, to secure placement for author titles in high-traffic airport locations serving business travelers.
- NewslinkminorForbes Books partners with Newslink as one of the airport retail chains for book placement opportunities at select airport locations.
- NetGalleyminorBook seeding campaign includes offering digital books for download and giveaway to NetGalley's community of 650,000 registered members for early reader reviews.
- GoodreadsminorBook seeding campaign includes access to Goodreads' 90 million registered members for digital book downloads, giveaways, and early reader reviews.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Forbes Books competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Greenleaf Book Group: Hybrid book publisher focused on business and self-help authors with distribution through traditional wholesalers. Directly comparable to Forbes Books on business-author target customer, hybrid-pay model and tiered service offering.
- Morgan James Publishing: Hybrid publisher serving entrepreneurs and business authors with author-paid programs and traditional distribution. Closest direct peer to Forbes Books on target customer (entrepreneur/business leaders), business model and tier structure.
- Advantage Media / Advantage Books: Founder Adam Witty's earlier hybrid publishing platform that is the operating company behind Forbes Books and shares clients, infrastructure and management. Direct peer by virtue of identical offering and shared leadership.
- Entrepreneur Books: Brand-licensed hybrid publisher under the Entrepreneur Media umbrella, run by the same parent ecosystem. Same business-leader author customer and tiered hybrid model, differentiated only by the licensed media brand.
- SXSW Books: Brand-licensed publishing imprint operated within the same Advantage Media parent ecosystem. Directly comparable on hybrid-publisher model with media-brand affiliation; overlap on operational backbone and target author pool.
- Page Two Publishing: Hybrid publisher focused on business and thought-leadership authors. Comparable on author-paid hybrid model, premium positioning and emphasis on authority/expert authors.
- Sound Wisdom Publishing: Hybrid publisher of business and personal-development titles with author-paid programs and traditional distribution. Comparable tier structure and business-author target segment.
Emerging players
- Harper Horizon: HarperCollins imprint launched for purpose-driven and business authors. Overlaps on hybrid-style author services and business-reader audience, but leverages a major traditional publisher's infrastructure.
Broad incumbents
- Wiley Author Services: Traditional publisher (Wiley) with adjacent author-services offerings across business, professional and academic imprints. Comparable on distribution scale and business-book category overlap but operates with traditional royalty model.
- Simon & Schuster: 5th-largest global publisher and Forbes Books' distribution partner. Competes with Forbes Books in the business-author category via its own imprints while simultaneously serving as the distribution backbone — a dual competitor/partner relationship that defines the channel structure.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Forbes Books social profiles
Digital presenceForbes Books financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Forbes Books leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Forbes Books funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Forbes Books M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Forbes Books
What does Forbes Books do?
Forbes Books is a hybrid book publishing company that provides done-for-you publishing services for business leaders, CEOs, and entrepreneurs. The company offers tiered publishing programs (Forbes Books, Forbes Books Select, Forbes Books Premier) that include ghostwriting, manuscript development, editing, professional design, distribution, and branding under the Forbes Books imprint. It also sells Authority Media Services such as PR, social content, podcast production, and digital media engagement to extend author visibility after publication.
Is Forbes Books a public or private company?
Forbes Books is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Forbes Books founded?
Forbes Books was founded in 2016. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Forbes Books based?
Forbes Books is headquartered in Charleston, United States, in the North America region.
How does Forbes Books make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Publishing Program Fees are the primary driver. The others are authority Media Services.
Who are Forbes Books's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Greenleaf Book Group, Morgan James Publishing, Advantage Media / Advantage Books, Entrepreneur Books, SXSW Books, Page Two Publishing and Sound Wisdom Publishing. Harper Horizon is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are Wiley Author Services and Simon & Schuster.
Does Forbes Books have an API?
No public API is recorded for Forbes Books.
What industry is Forbes Books in?
Forbes Books's product category is Book Publishing Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJAAAK, Business, Personal Finance & Careers Trade Publishing, with a secondary code of MPAJAJAL, Author Marketing, PR & Launch Services (Ads, Book Tours, Influencers). Its NAICS code is 513130 and its SIC code is 2731.