What Morgan James Publishing does

Morgan James Publishing, founded in 2003 by David L. Hancock, is a privately held hybrid book publisher headquartered at 5 Penn Plaza in Manhattan with additional offices in North Andover, Franklin (Tennessee), Vancouver, London, and Melbourne. The company pioneered the hybrid publishing model — codified under the trademarked "Entrepreneurial Publisher" brand — which blends traditional publishing credibility and bookstore distribution with self-publishing flexibility, allowing authors to retain intellectual property rights while receiving higher royalties (20-50% across formats, paid monthly) than the traditional 7-12%. Authors may also invest up to $6,000 per title to access production services and bulk book purchase rights. Core technology infrastructure relies on Lightning Source and Ingram for print-on-demand manufacturing and on Publishers Group West (PGW) plus Ingram Publisher Services for warehousing, fulfillment, and distribution across national accounts (Amazon, Barnes & Noble), 2,400+ independent booksellers, mass merchants (Target, Walmart, Costco), and library channels in North America, the UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and India.

The business publishes approximately 200 frontlist titles per year across five imprints (Morgan James Nonfiction, Faith, Fiction, Kids, and Guerrilla Marketing Press), with a backlist of 3,000+ titles. Revenue is generated from residual publisher economics on book sales after author royalties, upfront author investments in publishing services, foreign rights licensing managed by a dedicated Foreign Rights Director, and audio/video extensions. The go-to-market model is hybrid enterprise field sales — a field team selling into independent booksellers combined with consumer-direct marketing to a 3+ million-reader email list — supported by a portfolio of author services including the Entrepreneurial Vision Mastermind, Author to Influencer Accelerator, Morgan James Radio podcast, and a 1,500+ entry blog. In 2023 the company extended its reach downstream by launching Persona Publishing, a joint venture with iUniverse that offers assisted self-publishing services. Sub-25% bookstore return rates versus the industry average of 40%+ reflect disciplined placement and inventory management enabled by the print-on-demand architecture.

Name

Morgan James Publishing

Legal name

Morgan James Publishing, LLC

Website

https://morgan-james-publishing.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Morgan James Publishing is a privately held hybrid book publisher founded in 2003 that serves entrepreneurial authors, thought leaders, and storytellers across nonfiction, faith, fiction, and children's imprints, retaining author IP rights while delivering professional bookstore distribution and higher royalties than traditional publishing.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Book Publishing Services

NAICS

Book Publishers (51313)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Business, Personal Finance & Careers Trade Publishing (MPAJAAAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

General Trade Publishing (Adult Fiction & Nonfiction) (MPAJAAAA), Biography, Memoir & Narrative Nonfiction Publishing (MPAJAAAI), Rights, ISBN & Publishing Administration Services (Identifiers, Metadata, Royalties) (MPAJAJAK), Children’s Nonfiction Publishing (MPAJAFAE)

Keywords

• Hybrid book publishing
• Author publishing services
• Book distribution services
• Book printing services
• Editorial publishing services

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Publishing Royalties: Authors receive 20-50% royalty across all formats (print, ebook, audio) of net sales, paid monthly. Small advances are also paid to authors. Authors maintain ownership and control of intellectual property rights.
2. Author Services Revenue: Authors invest up to $6,000 in books, unlocking unlimited free ebooks and freedom to order up to 2,000 print copies at cost for direct distribution and profit maximization.
3. Foreign Rights Licensing: Foreign rights director with 30+ years experience manages translation rights licensing to publishers worldwide. Titles translated into multiple languages.
4. Audio/Video Extensions: Authors encouraged to offer material in audio books and video programs, with the company publishing these materials and taking a royalty share.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Morgan James Publishing is a hybrid book publisher that partners with authors to professionally edit, design, print, distribute, and market their books while allowing authors to retain intellectual property rights. Authors receive 20–50% royalties on net receipts paid monthly, with books distributed through Publishers Group West to over 98% of North American retailers within approximately three months of manuscript acceptance.

Product overview

Morgan James Publishing operates as a hybrid book publisher offering a unified publishing-as-a-service model for entrepreneurial authors. The core product is its hybrid publishing platform (Morgan James Publishing – Hybrid Publishing Model), which encompasses five distinct imprints — Morgan James Non-Fiction, Morgan James Faith, Morgan James Fiction, Morgan James Kids, and Guerrilla Marketing Press — organized by genre and audience. Authors also access Persona Publishing for assisted self-publishing. Author services layer includes the Author to Influencer Accelerator, Entrepreneurial Vision Mastermind, and Morgan James Radio podcast. Distribution is handled through Publishers Group West and Ingram, delivering titles to national retailers (Amazon, Barnes & Noble), independent bookstores, mass merchants (Target, Walmart, Costco), libraries, and international markets. A suite of author-facing web tools (Royalty Portal, Author Book Orders, eBook services) handles royalties and fulfillment. The company publishes approximately 200 frontlist titles per year across nonfiction, faith, fiction, and children's categories, with a backlist exceeding 3,000 titles.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Morgan James Nonfiction: Works that provide readers with inspiration and guidance to be successful; focusing on career development, business growth, and vision expansion.
• Morgan James Faith
• Morgan James Fiction
• Guerrilla Marketing Press
• Persona Publishing
• Morgan James Kids

Products and services

• Hybrid Publishing Program End-to-end hybrid book publishing service for authors, including editorial, cover and interior design, printing, distribution, and royalty accounting, with authors retaining intellectual property rights and earning 20–50% of net receipts paid monthly.
• Persona Publishing (Assisted Self-Publishing) An assisted self-publishing service within the Morgan James family that supports authors who want professional publishing assistance combined with greater author involvement and control over the title.
• Author to Influencer Accelerator A coaching and development program for Morgan James authors designed to help them build a personal platform, expand their reach, and convert their book into a sustainable influencer business.
• Entrepreneurial Vision Mastermind A mastermind program offered to Morgan James authors and aligned entrepreneurs for peer learning, accountability, and business growth tied to their published work.

Quantifiable outcome

• Time from manuscript to #1 New York Times Best Seller in under 60 days (Brendon Burchard, The Millionaire Messenger)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core, key, supporting and minor.

• Lightning Source/Ingram Publisher ServicescoreTechnology or IntegrationManufacturing and distribution partnership enabling print-on-demand capabilities. Lightning Source serves as the production arm allowing Morgan James to take advantage of extensive services and distribution options in the US, Canada, and UK. Reduces time from manuscript to market dramatically.
• Publishers Group West (PGW)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFull service distribution option for warehousing, sales, and fulfillment. Over 98% of retailers in North America presented Morgan James titles. Ingram stocks books, solicits and takes orders, ships books, collects payments and manages orders to outlets of all sizes including Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Powell's, Amazon, and Bookshop.org.
• Rick Frishman / Planned Television ArtskeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrishman, founder of Planned Television Arts, became Morgan James Publisher in 2008 after serving as mentor. PTA provides referral source of entrepreneurial authors and better access to traditional media outlets for Morgan James authors. Frishman continues to guide Hancock and Morgan James.
• iUniverse / Persona PublishingsupportingOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerPersona Publishing is an exclusive partnership between Morgan James Publishing and iUniverse, an assisted self-publishing company. Joint venture provides voice to aspiring authors with top-quality services from an experienced publishing industry leader.
• Habitat for Humanity Peninsula and Greater WilliamsburgsupportingOthersMorgan James is a proud partner of Habitat for Humanity Peninsula and Greater Williamsburg. Partners in building since 2006. Donates funds, books, places Habitat logo on books, and raises awareness for the organization's life-changing work helping low-income families build decent homes.
• Actively Caring for People (AC4P)supportingOthersMorgan James is an active partner of AC4P, empowering communities through psychological science of actively caring. Morgan James is the first corporation to be certified in these principles. Mission to believe in every individual's potential to impact their community positively.
• National Center for the Prevention of Community Violence (NCPCV)supportingOthersMorgan James is an active partner of NCPCV. David Hancock serves as Chairman of the Guerrilla Marketing International Advisory Board for NCPCV, reflecting deep commitment to community service and impactful philanthropy.
• ZazzleminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMorgan James partnered with Zazzle to provide MJ Gear - top of the line, high-quality apparel and merchandise products for the Morgan James brand.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Tyndale House Publishers: Independent Christian publisher with both traditional and faith-based author services. Comparable to Morgan James Faith imprint and similar faith-category retail distribution.
• Greenleaf Book Group: Hybrid publisher offering author-empowered publishing services including retail distribution. Directly comparable hybrid business model targeting entrepreneurial and business authors.
• Hay House: Independent publisher specializing in self-help, personal development, mind-body-spirit, and business books from thought leaders. Overlaps with Morgan James's nonfiction and personal development positioning.
• iUniverse: Assisted self-publishing services platform and joint venture partner of Morgan James via Persona Publishing. Directly comparable in assisted-publishing positioning and author services delivery.
• Berrett-Koehler Publishers: Independent publisher focused on business, self-help, and personal development titles with strong entrepreneurial author positioning. Directly comparable to Morgan James's nonfiction business book strategy and similar in scale and imprint orientation.
• Sourcebooks: Mid-size independent publisher with hybrid and traditional models across multiple imprints, including business, nonfiction, and faith categories. Closest scale-comparable hybrid publisher to Morgan James.

Broad incumbents

• Simon & Schuster: Big 5 publisher operating Archway Publishing, a hybrid imprint targeting similar self-publishing authors. Comparable through its hybrid imprint competition and broader business-book catalog.
• Penguin Random House: World's largest trade publisher with hybrid imprints (e.g., Bookouture) and broad business book presence. Competes for the same entrepreneurial author pool at scale with traditional credibility advantages.
• HarperCollins Publishers: Big 5 publisher with WestBow Press hybrid imprint and Zondervan (where Morgan James's Faith Publisher previously worked). Directly comparable in faith publishing and competes broadly in business/nonfiction.
• John Wiley & Sons: Major publisher with significant business book presence (Wiley Business) and strong nonfiction category overlap. Competes directly for the same business-author category as Morgan James.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/morganjamespub
• Facebookfacebook.com/morganjames
• Instagraminstagram.com/morganjamespub
• Pinterestpinterest.com/morganjamespub/morgan-james-covers
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/morgan-james-book-publishing

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Morgan James Publishing