The Ballast Blog: Your Guide to the Publishing Journey

At Ballast Books, our goal is to democratize and demystify the publishing experience by involving you from beginning to end.

When it comes to publishing a book, the editing process is often the most intensive, and the cover design is extra exciting because it’s so visual and colorful.

Everyone has a story. Maybe yours seems more mundane than the stories of the Michelle Obamas and the Matthew McConaugheys of the world, but I promise you, every tale is worth telling.

Here is one of the most common questions in the world of writing: Do you outline?

Writing a book requires a stroke of genius—or maybe just a stroke of inspiration.

Many authors value having creative control over their book, but there’s a lot that goes into professionally producing, publishing, and marketing a high-quality book.

There are tons of amazing books out there, and they’ve all left an indelible mark on the literary landscape. But each one is unique, with winning titles spanning various genres, themes, and target audiences. So what makes a book truly great?

Barry Morgenstein is a renowned portrait photographer with decades of experience capturing the essence of music icons from Elton John to Michael Jackson.

Beau Dooley is from Oklahoma and was born into a small-town family with a rich heritage in military service to our nation during times of war.

Think you know the truth about hybrid publishing? Don't let these misconceptions fool you!

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” doesn’t fly here. We believe in getting better—always. That’s why we’ve completely redesigned our website to be more informative, direct, and valuable for authors. It’s not just a facelift—it’s a reflection of who we are, what we do, and why we do it. Explore the new site and see how we’re raising the standard.

Have you ever spent an hour working on your manuscript only to realize you haven’t really accomplished anything? You only wrote one line when you meant to finish one page. You were struck with writer’s block and spent the whole time playing on your phone. Or you got distracted and never wrote anything at all.

If you’re an author who has reached out to us over the past several months, chances are you have had the pleasure of conversing with Beau about your book and publishing needs.

Discover the industry secrets publishers use to design book covers that captivate readers and convert browsers to buyers.