Boston-based publisher Bibliomotion, now marking its first anniversary with its spring 2012 list, has had its share of lessons in the last 12 months, but according to publisher Erika Heilman, none has been more important than its relationship with authors.

“We've learned that our relationship with our authors is key to our success; we must have a good working partnership with each of them,” said Heilman, who is pleased with the community of 23 authors Bibliomotion has signed in the past 14 months. Author relationships are particularly important for Bibliomotion, which forgoes author advances and in exchange gives authors higher royalties and a greater say in the publishing process. Among the authors on the spring list is Kevin Allen, author of the Wall Street Journal business bestseller The Hidden Agenda: A Proven Way to Win Business and Create a Following, and Whitney Johnson, who wrote Dare, Dream, Do. Said Johnson on her relationship with her publisher: “My experience with Bibliomotion has been nothing but stellar, right from the moment we signed on the dotted line. I have wracked my brain for something that I would do differently—and as a financial analyst I’m trained to poke holes—but there simply aren’t holes.”

Heilman noted that the publisher has had few issues as a non-advance house because authors are increasingly looking for expertise in brand building, not just product development and distribution. Another difficulty posed is the limited appetite from consumers for enhanced digital business content due to the immaturity of the space, but Bibliomotion remains committed to that area as a standard product offering and is confident the market will develop.

Heilman, who along with another former Nicholas Brealey Publshing executive, Jill Friedlander, runs Bibliomotion, stated that though the spring list was mostly business books, future titles will branch out into topics ranging from parenting to leadership to the restaurant business, and the hope is for 20 titles a year. Still, the core goal of producing quality content within an innovative publishing model laid out by Heilman and Friedlander one year ago remains the standard. “Jill and I want to be involved with every title and every author,” said Heilman. “Small, nimble, fun, and profitable are all core principles to our long-range plans.”