“Hello, I’m Brandon, and I’m the Editor in Chief here at Moon Books Publishing. Let me tell you a little about us.”

The Origins of Moon Books Publishing

If you are anything like me (and I know I am) then you are full of self-doubt when trying something new. Heck, I never planned to be a book publisher, or even had the slightest intention of doing something like it! I don’t even LIKE to write!

If that’s the case, what happened? How did I start a publishing company and get into publishing? I should probably start at the beginning and explain where it all started – an origin story if you like. You see, I’ve always had a love of books, and a love of collecting things. Around 2000, I put the two loves together. Having dabbled in computer programming, I put together a library on CD, which led to me developing a method of reading books on the Nintendo DS when it was released. I named the website where I distributed books and movies (all public domain content) The Moon Books Project.

Fast forward to 2015 – I was contacted by a lady by the name of Wren. She thought because my website was (and still is) moonbooks.net (named after the program I used on the Nintendo DS to read books) that I was a book publisher. Of course I told her I wasn’t, but always being interested in learning new skills, I became interested in trying it out! Wren and I worked together to publish two of her books – and that, is how Moon Books Publishing first came about.

Not long after that, I fell on some hard times, and I stopped operating Moon Books for a while. Fortunes change, and in 2019 I met Christina Engela. As a self-publishing author, she was looking for more outlets for her books. We began working together – and in the run of things I realized what could be accomplished!

With that in mind, I want to encourage anyone reading this to not be afraid of trying new things and following your dreams! I did – and my dreams are coming true!

How we can help You!

Proofreading & Editing

First off, we can take a look at your book or story and offer proofreading and editing services. At Moon Books we all help each other and lift each other up whenever we have the opportunity to do so. Christina Engela, one of our most prolific writers also handles proofreading and editing. My wife Elizabeth is also an excellent proofreader and editor.

Formatting

Once the content of your book is finished, edited and ready to go, it needs to be formatted – and that’s where I come into play! I handle all formatting jobs. I generally get things done quickly and when hurdles arise, I can jump over them, or at the very least, run around them. The way I handle formatting is unique – you see, I always want authors to be in control of their books but in formatting I feel like some of that control is taken away. When I handle formatting of a book, I create 8 different versions of the book for the author to choose from, and then we handle more fine tuning of the look of the finished product. At least in this way, the author is still part of the process, and will be most pleased with the final result.

Through Moon Books Publishing, I offer the chance to publish your book in eBook, print and audiobook formats!

Cover Design

When I first started out, I had no idea what went into cover design! I’ve learned a lot since then, and I want to give the author as much control over the creative process when it comes to cover design – in the same way as in formatting – as possible! I usually put together several covers and let the author choose the one they like the most, and then refine it to their tastes.

Here is a series of covers I did for an author that I am very proud of (the cover, and the author)!

The last one on the bottom right is the final cover, using elements from several of them. Both of the authors and I are all extremely pleased with the final product.

Audiobooks

Being a big fan of old radio shows from the 1950s like “Dragnet” and “X Minus One” and of the wealth or audio dramas from the BBC, it was a dream of mine to produce audiobooks of the books we have published! Luckily, with enough experimentation and determination I was able to fulfill this dream as well. Being able to hire professional narrators and have audiobooks made is a possibility for any book or short story. It is time consuming, and it takes patience, but it is possible. Most importantly with Amazon and Audible behind us we have released the audiobooks to a worldwide audience.