Morgan James Publishing is entering the fiction market through an agreement with the independent publisher Koehler Books. Under the Koehler Books imprint, MJ hopes to eventually publish 75 titles annually, said MJ founder David Hancock; it will begin by releasing 22 Koehler backlist titles from its Virginia Beach Murder Mystery Books series this May. Like its nonfiction titles, the fiction list will be distributed by Ingram Publisher Services.
In addition to mystery and thrillers, Koehler will do general fiction, romance and likely science fiction, said John Koehler who will continue to run the imprint he founded. John Koehler said the fiction imprint will likely offer some advances; MJ typically does not pay advances on its nonfiction titles but does pay a royalty of 20%. “That [no advance]model doesn’t’ look like it will translate into fiction,” Hancock said.
Similar to its nonfiction titles, MJ will do initial marketing for Koehler titles and will work with authors who want to do more marketing on their own. “We want to help authors who want to create a business out of their titles,” Hancock said. John Koehler said he expects the first new titles to be released in the late fall or early winter. Books will be released simultaneously in trade paperback and e-book formats and for the right books audio as well.
