About Jennifer Holder, Mpub

I have been having a love affair with books since 2001—most people would simply call it a career. Creating books is a true calling, because books are empowering, humanistic, and life-changing. 

What prepared me for this work?

My undergraduate degrees are in writing and psychology, which many consider to be at the heart of my offerings as a craftsperson who supports clients in a collaborative and creative journey. After an engrossing year at Bryn Mawr College, I decided that instead of learning the Latin names for plants, I should learn to plant a garden. While absorbing Naropa University's contemplative education, I did indeed learn to dig in the dirt, water my writing dreams, and live in full bloom. 

I began my career editing and writing for a Buddhist meditation teacher who I studied with for eighteen years. To increase my skills and industry knowledge, I received a master of publishing degree (MPub) from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver. Then I completed my degree working in London at Penguin Books, focusing on literary fiction, which fulfilled my goal of understanding how industries work and readers engage books in the United States, Canada, and England.   

How did I gain NONFICTION experience?

During more than two decades in the world of professional bookmaking, I worked primarily with prescription nonfiction. 

• As a literary agent at Dupree/Miller and Associates, I worked among authors like Maria Shriver, Dr. Phil McGraw, Tony Robbins, Joel Osteen, and Stephen Covey. 

• At AMACOM Books, I supported acquisitions and edited manuscripts on succeeding at everything from parenting to marketing, leading others in nonprofits and corporations to starting and running a small business.

• My time at Sounds True doing production and content-development editing gave me the opportunity to engage books by spiritual luminaries like Ram Dass, Adyashanti, Pema Chödrön, Joseph Goldstein, and Sandra Ingerman.

• As an employee-owner at New Harbinger Publications, I coached, encouraged, and edited many authors who are dedicated to helping people in pain, like Michael Singer, Lindsay Gibson, Matthew McKay, and Rheeda Walker. 

• With Full Bloom Publications I support authors such as Steven Saitzyk, Erika Berland, Navi Radjou, Dr. Frank Lawlis, and Justin Bean in the process of creating a book through coaching, editing, or production management

.How did I gain FICTION experience?

The first writing accolade I received was in 1st grade, when I won a district-wide competition for an illustrated short book about the permanently frozen town of Snoweep and the boy who outwitted a wizard with the help of a lake nymph. Since then, I have been fascinated by the dynamics of story, whether it's our human story or one that reaches into imaginal realms.

I write fiction every morning from 5 to 8:30am, as it is the art that grounds each of my days. As a history lover with a beneficial sense of nostalgia, I write historical fiction. This requires strong roots in the facts of distant times, places, and social realities—and the imaginal realms where anything is possible. After trudging a hard and lonely path of fiction writing, I aim to make the journey engaging and enlightening for clients. 

You can sample my fiction at Lady Holderquill Press on Substack, where I am serializing it weekly, in the tradition of writers like Charles Dickens. To me, publishing is an art form. As I release my fiction in multiple formats, I am exploring new and old territory in the industry including: print, ebooks, online serialization, fan fiction, subscription, and personal-touch marketing.   

What are the effects of this experience? 

I mastered the process of creating a book and I can take an idea all the way to the printer. A lot happens along the way and many roles are necessary. I know how the gears turn in publishing and, with the perspective and skills to navigate all moving parts, I apply well-honed intuitions when working to meet the unique needs of clients. 

At heart, the magic of publishing lies in the fact that every book project is unique. Its topic, audience, and author all have specific needs and visions. This is one of many reasons I love what I do, because it turns every challenge into a path-breaking art. We're not making identical widgets, so I creatively rely on a base of experience to customize everything.   

I have worked with more than 300 authors during this love affair, including 5 New York Times bestsellers, and I would enjoy applying all I have learned to support your book writing and publishing journey.