Market First Publishing launches with audience-first book model

Market First Publishing launched July 23, 2026 in Charleston with a new “Platform Publishing” approach that builds readership while a manuscript is still being written. The company says the model is meant to give authors a ready-made audience on publication day, and it has brought on historian and biographer Bob Batchelor as executive editorial consultant.

Why it matters: - Market First Publishing is trying to change when book marketing begins. - The company’s model could reduce the gap between publication and discoverability for authors. - Building readers before release may give new titles a clearer launch path in a crowded market.

What happened: - Market First Publishing launched July 23, 2026 in Charleston, South Carolina. - The company opened its website with a model it calls Platform Publishing. - Platform Publishing is designed to build a book’s audience while the manuscript is still being written. - The company also named Bob Batchelor as executive editorial consultant. - The new website, Market First Publishing, introduces the model and invites readers and prospective authors to follow the company.

The details: - Market First Publishing says it invests resources in every title it signs. - The company says it builds the 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 chain with Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble and Kobo. - Schwartz also has worked with Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Hachette, Simon & Schuster and Macmillan. - Co-founder Joseph Lawrence brings editorial and imprint-management experience. - Lawrence has led editorial at a book publisher and run his own imprint. - Lawrence has a master’s degree in publishing from George Washington University. - Schwartz lectures on book marketing at George Washington University. - Lawrence said the company was built so a finished manuscript enters a room that is already full of readers. - Bob Batchelor will guide the company’s editorial standards. - 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 as different from both traditional and hybrid publishing. - The company says traditional publishers often begin marketing only after a book ships. - The company says hybrid publishers market only as a fee-based service. - MFP is instead framing marketing as part of the publishing process from day one. - That approach reflects a bet that audience-building early can improve a book’s commercial odds.

What's next: - Market First Publishing is inviting authors and readers to follow the company as it grows. - The company will need to prove that pre-publication audience-building can scale across titles. - The first test of the Platform Publishing model will be whether it can deliver readers when books reach market.

The bottom line: - Market First Publishing is launching with a simple pitch: build the audience first, publish the book second.