Market First Publishing launches platform publishing model

Market First Publishing launched July 23, 2026, in Charleston with a model that builds a book’s audience before publication. The company says the approach gives authors readers on day one and sets it apart from traditional and hybrid publishers.

Why it matters: - Market First Publishing is trying to solve a core publishing problem: books often reach market before they have an audience. - The company’s model is designed to create readership during production, which could change how authors think about launch timing and early sales momentum. - The launch also adds another player to the independent publishing market with an approach tied directly to marketing and audience-building.

What happened: - Market First Publishing launched on July 23, 2026, in Charleston, South Carolina. - The company introduced a model it calls Platform Publishing. - The model is built to develop a book’s readership while the manuscript is still being written. - The company’s website, Market First Publishing, went live with the new model. - Author Bob Batchelor joined the company as Executive Editorial Consultant.

The details: - The company says authors will not market alone and will not wait until after publication to begin reaching readers. - Market First Publishing invests resources in every title it signs. - The company builds an audience during production so publication day starts with readers already in place. - Founder Josh Schwartz said the company builds the audience while the book is still being written. - Schwartz founded the book-marketing and leadership-branding agency Pubvendo in 2017. - Schwartz has worked across the manuscript-to-retail supply chain with Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble and Kobo. - Schwartz has also worked with Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Hachette, Simon & Schuster and Macmillan. - Co-Founder Joseph Lawrence has led editorial at a book publisher and run his own imprint. - Lawrence has shepherded books from raw manuscript to finished work. - Lawrence is a published poet who writes in classically metered verse. - Lawrence completed a master’s degree in publishing at George Washington University. - Schwartz lectures on book marketing at George Washington University. - Batchelor is a cultural historian and biographer known for Stan Lee: A Life, The Bourbon King and Roadhouse Blues.

Between the lines: - Market First Publishing is positioning itself against a common industry pattern in which marketing starts after a book ships. - The company is also drawing a line between its model and hybrid publishers, which market books as a fee-based service. - The pitch is simple: audience-building is treated as part of publishing, not an add-on. - That framing suggests Market First Publishing wants to compete on both editorial support and launch readiness.

What's next: - Market First Publishing is inviting readers and prospective authors to follow the company as it grows. - The company will use its website to explain the Platform Publishing model and present itself to authors. - Early titles will show whether the audience-first approach can translate into stronger launches and sustained readership.

The bottom line: - Market First Publishing is betting that the best time to market a book is before the book exists in stores.