Market First Publishing launches with audience-first publishing model

Market First Publishing launched July 23, 2026, in Charleston, South Carolina, with a “Platform Publishing” model that aims to build a book’s readership before publication. The startup says the approach is designed to give authors a ready audience on launch day, not a marketing scramble after release.

Why it matters: - Market First Publishing is betting that pre-publication audience building can improve a book’s odds in a crowded market. - The model shifts marketing earlier in the process, which could change how authors, editors and publishers think about launch planning. - The company is positioning itself between traditional publishing and hybrid services by investing in the titles it signs.

What happened: - Market First Publishing launched July 23, 2026, in Charleston, South Carolina. - The company introduced a publishing approach it calls Platform Publishing. - The model is designed to build a readership while a manuscript is still being written, then deliver that audience when the book goes on sale. - Founders Josh Schwartz and Joseph Lawrence are behind the new company. - Author Bob Batchelor joined as Executive Editorial Consultant.

The details: - Market First Publishing says authors will not have to market alone and will not wait until after publication to start building an audience. - The company says it invests resources in every title it signs and develops readership during production. - The stated goal is to have readers waiting on publication day rather than starting from zero. - Josh 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, and with Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Hachette, Simon & Schuster and Macmillan. - Joseph Lawrence has led editorial at a book publisher and run his own imprint. - Lawrence is a published poet who writes in classically metered verse. - Lawrence completed a master’s degree in publishing at George Washington University, where Schwartz lectures on book marketing. - Bob Batchelor is a cultural historian and biographer known for Stan Lee: A Life, The Bourbon King and Roadhouse Blues. - The new website, Market First Publishing, introduces the Platform Publishing model and invites readers and prospective authors to follow the company.

Between the lines: - Traditional publishers often begin marketing after a book ships, while hybrid publishers typically market as a fee-based service. - Market First Publishing is trying to carve out a different lane by making marketing and editorial development part of the same process from the start. - The pitch is simple: quality and readership should be built together, not sequentially.

What's next: - Market First Publishing is using its website rollout to attract both readers and authors as the company grows. - The company will need to show whether its audience-first approach can consistently translate into launch-day demand. - Bob Batchelor’s role suggests the company is also aiming to signal editorial credibility as it builds its list.

The bottom line: - Market First Publishing is launching with a clear wager: books sell better when the audience is built before publication, not after.