Built a Book Publishing Company From Nothing, Then Sold It in Four Years

About this episode

Andy Symonds built Ballast Books, Blue Balloon Books, and Valor Press from nothing — no business plan, no investors, no roadmap. He knew books, he knew authors, and he knew the old New York way of publishing wasn't working for anyone but the big houses.

He built the whole company around one principle: do right by your author. After six years in the trenches, he realized he needed a partner to take it further, found that partner through Rejigg, and closed the deal four years in from a standing start.

A conversation about getting started as a writer, walking away from traditional publishing, building a company that actually serves its authors, and what it really feels like — the hard parts and the good parts — when the deal finally closes.