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.