Book in a Box

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Book in a Box is an American book publishing services and media company based in Austin, Texas, which helps business professionals turn their ideas into professionally-published books. The company was founded in August 2014 by author and publisher Tucker Max and startup founder Zach Obront.

As of 2017, the company has worked with over 400 authors to publish their works.

Video Book in a Box

History

Book in a Box was started because of a discussion between Max and entrepreneur Melissa Gonzalez at a dinner hosted by New York-based venture capital firm LDV Capital. Gonzalez asked Max how she could write a book without needing to take all the time, energy, and focus away from her business. Max didn't think it was possible, but when she challenged him to solve her problem, the company was born.

In its first two months, the company earned $200,000 in revenue, and the founders decided to operate it without any formal funding from outside investors. The company quickly hired publishing industry veterans to help them scale, including Mark Chait, who previously worked as an executive editor at HarperCollins and a senior editor at the Penguin Group.

In August 2016, Max and Obront fired themselves from the company's top leadership, stepping into other roles in Book in a Box while hiring JT McCormick, President of Headspring Systems and a Book in a Box client, as the company's CEO and President.

As of 2017, the company had 29 full-time employees, has worked with over 400 authors, and since 2015 has exceeded $11.3 million in revenue. The company was also ranked second in the 2017 Best Places to Work awards by the Austin Business Journal.

Maps Book in a Box

Reception

Publishing industry publications have reported that the methods employed by Book in a Box to publish its books help diversify publishing. Obront argues that this will lead to entirely new types of books, effectively breaking down the barriers to first-time authors being published.

One group that has benefited from the company's product are minority tech executives. Female executivies like Gonzalez and Robin Farmanfarmaian have noted the power of publishing in developing their credibility, and how Book in a Box has helped in building that. More generally, the idea has especially caught on in the entrepreneurship community, where founders tend to have an extreme focus on doing things effectively.

The Book in a Box Method

In August 2015, Max and Obront published a book, The Book in a Box Method, which explains exactly how people can replicate their process and how following the method systematically will help save authors time, leading them to the best book for their goals. Since it was published, it has sold thousands of copies.

The method was described as an attempt to "revolutionize publishing" by Newsweek, but some, such as Jellyfish founder Andrew Rhomberg, have criticized the model for its lack of novelty.