Market First Publishing launches with audience-first publishing model

Market First Publishing opened its website on July 23, 2026, with a “Platform Publishing” approach that builds readership while a manuscript is still in production. The Charleston-based startup says the model is designed to give authors an audience on publication day, not after release.

Why it matters: - Market First Publishing is trying to change the timing of book marketing, shifting audience-building from after publication to during the writing process. - The model could reduce one of the biggest problems for authors: launching a book without readers already in place. - The company is positioning itself against both traditional publishing and fee-based hybrid publishing.

What happened: - Market First Publishing launched on July 23, 2026, and opened its website in Charleston, South Carolina. - The company introduced a model it calls Platform Publishing. - The model is designed to build a book’s readership before publication and deliver the book to that audience on release day. - The new website at marketfirstpublishing.com introduces the model and invites readers and prospective authors to follow the company’s growth.

The details: - Market First Publishing says it invests resources in every title it signs. - The company says it builds an audience during production so publication day starts with readers already waiting. - 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 brings editorial experience from a book publisher and 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. - Bob Batchelor serves as Executive Editorial Consultant and guides the company’s editorial standards. - Batchelor is a cultural historian and biographer known for works including Stan Lee: A Life, The Bourbon King and Roadhouse Blues.

Between the lines: - Market First Publishing is making a bet that readers can be cultivated as part of the publishing process, not as a separate post-launch campaign. - The company’s language suggests it wants to combine editorial development and marketing into one system, rather than treating promotion as an add-on. - That pitch may appeal to authors who want more support and a clearer path to launch visibility.

What's next: - Market First Publishing says it will continue growing its catalog under the Platform Publishing model. - The company is inviting prospective authors to engage as it builds out the business. - The website launch signals the start of its public rollout, with more titles likely to follow.