Our Story
How it Started
Rather than the predictable “About Us” section, I thought I would tell our origin story. After all, at the heart of it, we are in the business of telling stories.
My name is Pat Walsh and I came into publishing atypically. I had worked at the San Francisco Chronicle for a decade, went into public relations, a foray that was as disastrous as it was brief. During this time, I met a man who started a publishing house and he, without much thought, made me Editor-in-Chief. I knew almost nothing about publishing, and he knew even less.
We inadvertently ignored all “publishing wisdom” and normal practices. We didn’t know it at the time, but our collective ignorance—coupled with a healthy budget—was our greatest asset. We had an enthusiastic team and a drive to invest in and promote our books. We made mistakes—expensive and time-consuming ones—but we had a clarity of vision and a strong company ethos. We had a number one New York Times bestseller in three years from hanging out our shingle.
Publishing is a dysfunctional industry based on a 140-year-old business model and finding success has eluded many smart people and worthy projects. Multinational publishers try to close the marketplace to all competitors and, if they had their way, consumer choice would be very limited. Despite attempts to jam the same products down readers’ throats, audience demand for new voices not only persists, but grows.
After years working for other publishers and then as an independent consultant, project manager, and ghostwriter, I learned that publishing is not a meritocracy. I have seen great books wither on the vine while much more mediocre books sell in staggering numbers. But I also learned that the glacial pace of change in the industry and the need provides enormous opportunities. As the saying goes, “There is great disorder under heaven and on Earth, and the situation is excellent”.
To wit: Prospects for thoughtful, important books are everywhere provided they are supported by a strong team, an imaginative plan, and a manageable budget. This is the genesis of the Walsh Book Team.
Who We Are
After working for multiple other publishers and on my own, I concluded that I needed a team of dedicated professionals to accomplish the kind of success that I wanted for my clients. Easier said than done. It took three years of working with scores of editors, publishing professionals, and even freelancers to piece together my perfect team. Establishing our partnership in early 2023, we have the ideal mix of experience/business, acumen/management with youth/vigor/technology to overcome hurdles.
Ingrid Nilsson
Editorial Director
Ingrid Nilsson was the first to partner with me. Her goals are clear: To work with authors to make their books inspiring, informative, and impactful to readers. In my thirty plus years of working with words, I recognize her natural talent at helping authors tell their stories better and I’ve never known anyone else who can advocate on behalf of the reader as well. Ingrid is a rising star in our industry and her constant thirst to get even better is, possibly, WBT’s greatest asset.
Maria McCoy
Project Director
Maria McCoy is one of the most experienced and qualified Project Managers in any field. Her skills at breaking down initiatives to a comprehensible and realistic series of steps is rivaled only by her organizational skills and professional acumen. We all consider it a great compliment that she deemed fit to forgo several lucrative corporate projects to join our team and work on projects that have cultural, educational, and literary merit. Maria manages our operations like clockwork, keeps the business running smoothly, and elegantly evades the pitfalls that kill projects.
Maya Biekert
Marketing Director
Maya Biekert is a wunderkind. Her collegiate and post-collegiate career offered her the opportunity to work anywhere she wanted, including many storied high-tech firms. But her love of books led her to want to use her talents and perspectives on the ever-changing ways that the arts, especially books, intersect with business. Her ideas are as creative as they are cutting edge and she turns every problem or hurdle into an opportunity to promote, publicize, and sell our titles.
Pat Walsh
Principal
Before founding the Walsh Book Team, Pat Walsh was the founding editor of MacAdam/Cage, publisher of The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn, and Twilight by William Gay. He is also the author of 78 Reasons Why Your Book May Never Be Published (Penguin).
This is our team. Each of our teams continue to grow and we will certainly be growing quickly, but our ethos and goals will never change.
What We Do
WBT often gets lumped in as a “book packager,” a catchall term for those who create publishing projects and place them with traditional publishing houses for a fee and share of the royalties. Our role in this business is so much more. While we take on a number of a la carte tasks, our primary mission is this: Build a dedicated virtual publishing house centered around each client. We research tirelessly, then prepare and execute a plan that has a high likelihood of achieving our author’s goals and strong sales around the world.
We have relationships with many carefully chosen partner vendors including traditional publishers, distributors, printers, designers, marketing firms, and publicity firms. Each one chosen on their merits for a particular client’s need.
Unlike traditional publishing, where the author is at best an obedient tool to promote via interviews and book signings and at worst a pesky afterthought, WBT includes and represents the author in every major initiative and decision. They are a key part of their publishing journey, not baggage.
We often manage the project from the first words on a screen up through dozens of formats and reprintings—including expanding outside of the US. We attend all major publishing conventions/trade shows like the London and Frankfurt book fairs, with the goal of advancing our books across the globe.
When we accept a client—and there is a great deal of discussion before we do—we are starting a multi-year relationship that we are all invested in. We need clients that meet our criteria: a book that influences the reader positively, a strong market, high but realistic expectations, the means to support the book properly, an understanding that publishing is a business and it has risks, and the ineffable human qualities that make them a good fit for the team.
While we primarily find authors by referral from existing clients, literary agents, and publishers, we are always excited to review new Prospects. Please contact us for information on how to apply.