Book Publishing Case Studies and Testimonials

​“I thought about self‑publishing, and then I thought about working with some of the more traditional publishing, and I started down that
path in fact. Then I realized they wouldn’t embrace the vision that I had. So custom publishing allowed
me to use SPARK’s professionalism and their expertise in the process.”—Reginald BeanReginald Bean

Unfinished: 40 Lessons on Purpose, Self, and Becoming a Man

An executive at Coca-Cola Bottling Company Consolidated, Reginald Bean came from humble beginnings in Detroit. He spends his free time mentoring young men to rise above their circumstances and create their own paths. He wanted to publish a memoir to aid his mentoring efforts and share his journey but was struggling to complete the manuscript. After a strategy session and reading some of his draft manuscript, Fabi Preslar assigned Reginald a writing coach. She also helped him refine what he wanted from the finished product and how he would take it to market. When the manuscript was complete, SPARK Publications designed the book, its website, a speaker sheet, and a community card (a bookmark and business card all in one), and set the book up for print on demand. Unfinished has been a great success for Reginald and for the young men who have read it. He is now working on his second book with SPARK Publications.

​“I’ve always found that it’s better to hire experts and let them do what they do best. I didn’t know much about custom publishing, and I knew I’d be better off having someone help me through that process. And in hindsight, hiring SPARK Publications was definitely the right decision.”—Adam Holden‑BacheAdam Holden-Bache

How to Win at B2B Email Marketing: A Guide to Achieving Success

Adam Holden-Bache is an entrepreneur and email marketing expert. He wanted to spend more of his time on the national speaking circuit and wanted to publish a book to promote his credentials. Through his company blog, he had shared a wealth of email marketing information over the years. As he was considering his book, he realized he already had most of the content ready in his blog posts. He just needed to put it all together in a more cohesive way and fill in some holes. SPARK Publications provided pre-layout copyediting, cover and page design, page production, proofreading, print management, and e-book conversion. Adam has called his book “the best $20 business card money can buy” because it has opened so many doors for him.

​“I chose custom publishing because I wanted to maintain full control over the direction of my story. I had a vision for what I wanted to say, and I didn’t want to compromise that. Custom publishing allows me to maintain all the rights to my story and to work directly with the extremely talented people at SPARK Publications during the layout and production of my book.”—Andria GaskinsAndria Gaskins

A Second Helping

Andria Gaskins is an aspiring celebrity chef who has won several national cooking competitions, including Food Network’s Ultimate Recipe Showdown, Cooking Channel’s Perfect 3, Nordic Ware’s Bundts Across America, and the National Cornbread Cook-Off. She also has regular segments on local news and lifestyle shows. She wanted to publish a cookbook but had lots of other ideas that were battling for her time and attention. Through a strategy session with Fabi Preslar, Andria had a stronger focus and ended up writing a novel that incorporated love and food with a chef as the heroine. Recipes that played a part in the narrative were included in an appendix. SPARK Publications directed a cover photo shoot of “Damien’s Chocolate Sex Cake,” a four-layer concoction that tastes as delightfully sinful as it sounds. The firm also provided cover and page design, custom illustrations for the interior, page production, and e-book conversion, and set the book up for print-on-demand. Andria’s platform as both a chef and novelist is growing. And her message about love and food has launched her on the national speaking circuit.

​“I chose custom publishing because complex books with lots of images need a magazine design company. The improvements in publishing technology since my last book were a pleasant surprise, and I look forward to publishing yet another book with SPARK Publications down the road.”—Kroghie AndresenKroghie Andresen

Shorebird Decoys of North Carolina

Kroghie Andresen is a retired banker, avid hunter, and passionate decoy collector. Over the years, he’s collected more 1,300 decoys from North Carolina and Virginia. With SPARK Publications’ help, he had already published three coffee table books about his collection to educate others on the history and artistry. He approached SPARK Publications again in 2015 to publish a fourth book focusing on shorebird decoys and their carvers. The book would include hundreds of images of decoys, carvers, maps, and the North Carolina coast. SPARK Publications processed the images to make the tone and composition cohesive and to silhouette (cut out the background) of most of the decoys referenced in the book. Without that crucial step, the book would have appeared choppy and unprofessional. The firm also handled cover and page design, page production, hiring and managing the indexer, proofreading, and print management, and designed the book’s website. The final product is a gorgeous opus to coastal Carolina’s folk artisans and the shorebird decoys that endure as their legacy.