Orange Hat Publishing
603 N. Grand Ave.
Neighborhood: Waukesha
Founded: 2011
Owners: Shannon Ishizaki
Employees: 2
Service: Book publishing
Why did you start a book publishing company in Waukesha?
Shannon Ishizaki: “I felt there was a need for the happy medium of publishing options. People picture New York, a traditional publishing house where it’s very intimidating and scary. And then there’s all sorts of self-publishing, but the quality is compromised because you may not have a background in design or editing. I thought, ‘There has to be a better way to produce quality books, because so many people have really great stories that need to be shared.’”
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Ishizaki[/caption]
How do you get the word out?
“We talk with writers and writers’ groups, and then they tell their writer friends. It’s mostly word-of-mouth that we’ve used to market.”
You have been at your current location since the spring. How is it treating you?
“We love it. We get walk-ins and the building alone is so iconic that it’s super helpful for people to find us. It’s a story in-and-of-itself. It was built in 1904, so everyone loves the woodwork and it’s a conversation starter. Plus, it’s orange and we’re ‘Orange.’”
What genres do you publish?
“When I first started, it was mostly children’s books because I had met so many people who wanted to publish children’s books. But we’ve grown to be open to all genres.”
You added a marketing component recently?
“We throw book launch parties every Saturday to help authors get the word out. We offer website design and business card making and bookmarks.”
