About Book Publisher Online
Our Mission
We empower them by offering an unmatched publishing experience that combines decades of experience in publishing and a passionate team of world-class designers, editors, and illustrators who bring your book to life.
Our Origins
Our family legacy of books stretches back four generations to 1950s South Africa, where the grandparents of our CEO, Jack Joseph (parents of our co-owner, Richard Joseph), founded a prominent chain of bookstores named Exclusive Books. Exclusive Books remains South Africa’s number one bookstore brand to this day and earned great acclaim for fighting back against Apartheid-era censorship, importing books that incurred the wrath of South Africa’s government of the time.
Richard and his father moved on to open bookstores in the UK, seeing great success for years and turning their new chain, Books Etc., into a beloved brand. After selling Books Etc. to Borders Books, Richard purchased Arcadia Publishing and moved to the United States in 2002. Jack joined the family business in 2012, helping his father grow the traditional publishing company for the next six years.
By 2018, Jack and Richard saw self-publishing as the future of book publishing. Where traditional publishers have to turn down far more books than they can accept, independent publishers shift power to writers so that every author has the opportunity to publish their work.
Book Publisher Online focuses on providing authors with an unmatched self-publishing experience. In 2022, Book Publisher Online proudly published thousands of new titles without ever compromising on our unique vision to ensure that the publishing process focuses on the author, allowing for the best possible book.
Our Values
Our Culture
500 Books
150+
30%
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Our Journey
Pam and Phillip Joseph founded Exclusive Books in South Africa. The burgeoning brand grew to become South Africa’s #1 bookstore and a prominent voice against Apartheid-era censorship.
Philip and Richard launch Books Etc. in the UK. Like its predecessor, Books Etc. grew into a beloved brand and one of the most popular bookstores in the country.
After selling Books Etc. to Borders Books, Richard took his publishing expertise to the United States where he purchased Arcadia Publishing, a traditional publishing company.
Jack joined the family business, helping his father grow Arcadia Publishing for the next six years.
After witnessing too many authors and manuscripts go unpublished due to the bounds of traditional publishing, Jack and Richard sell Arcadia Publishing and begin building an independent publishing company to empower all authors who dream of publishing.
Later that year, The Better Business Bureau awarded Book Publisher Online with the Torch Award for Ethics.
Book Publisher Online 249 books in 2019, a monumental achievement that gave credence to Jack and Richard’s vision of empowering independent authors to publish their work outside the restrictions of traditional publishing.
2019 wasn’t just about volume, though. BPO launched a proprietary internal publishing management software that served as the first building block in developing the company’s industry-leading author-driven publishing process.
Book Publisher Online 249 books in 2019, a monumental achievement that gave credence to Jack and Richard’s vision of empowering independent authors to publish their work outside the restrictions of traditional publishing.
2019 wasn’t just about volume, though. Book Publisher Online launched a proprietary internal publishing management software that served as the first building block in developing the company’s industry-leading author-driven publishing process.
Book Publisher Online moved into our Charleston, SC headquarters in 2021, giving our growing team room to expand and scale up to serve more authors. As a nod to our family legacy in bookstores and publishing, our office walls are decorated with the same paintings of famous authors that adorned the walls of Books Etc. in the UK.
Continuing our explosive growth, Book Publisher Online proudly published more than 800 new books by the end of 2021.
In 2022, Book Publisher Online launched our proprietary print-on-demand distribution system to replace popular POD solutions that often lead to poor author experiences. By the end of 2022, we published more than 1200 new books.
Recognizing how much Book Publisher Online had grown and evolved since its inception, the company launched a new logo to represent our premium, gold-standard quality, and rich history in the beautiful Palmetto state of South California.
Book Publisher Online In The Media
2018 BBB Torch Award
Recommended Publisher with the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi)