WE HELP AUTHORS CREATE BEAUTIFUL BOOKS THAT LAST
Otterpine is a publishing partner for independent authors, small presses, and organizations. We work through holistic, end-to-end publishing partnerships, supporting authors across editorial, design, production, distribution, and long-term business and brand strategy.
QUALITY
BOOKS
Quality
Books
We care deeply about craft and quality. Every book we work on is approached with intention and care. The writing is shaped with depth and clarity. The design is considered and aligned. The materials are chosen to last.
The physical book matters. From paper weight to binding to the smallest details on the page, every choice is deliberate.
These details shape how a work is experienced, even when they go unnoticed. We think about how a book reads and how its form supports the work as much as the words themselves. Every book should feel like a work of art, worthy of the words it holds inside.
That Match
Your Values
Books are rarely standalone products. They are often part of a larger body of work, a business, or something that continues to grow over time.
We work with authors across a wide range of goals, from building businesses and platforms to bringing a single, meaningful book into the world.
We don’t just publish books. We help you build a publishing path that supports your work with care, clarity, and durability.
Our approach is informed by both indie and traditional publishing, but we’re not tied to any one model. Each project is shaped around an author’s values, priorities, and long-term goals. No two paths are the same because no two authors are the same.
WITH DIRECT CONNECTION
TO YOUR READERS
Through our in-house distribution center and fulfillment warehouse in Asheville, NC, we support direct-to-reader sales for offset-printed books, shipping thousands of books each month. This allows you to know who your readers are, communicate with them directly, and build something more durable than a one-time transaction.
Selling direct creates flexibility and connection. You can offer special editions, bundles, or custom pricing, create more thoughtful and personalized experiences that delight your readers, and retain greater control over how your book moves through the world.
Traditional distribution and Amazon can still play a role, but they don’t have to be the only strategy.
WITH DIRECT CONNECTION
TO YOUR READERS
Where You Keep
Your Royalties
We help authors build publishing models that prioritize ownership, flexibility, and long-term sustainability. We think about the financial and business side of each project alongside the creative work, building a P&L model to understand how decisions around format, pricing, and distribution will play out over time.
These decisions shape everything from format and production to distribution and sales, so we consider them early and revisit them throughout the process.
We don’t take royalties. Our work is structured so you retain full ownership and long-term control of your book.
We’re a small, dedicated team that cares deeply about the work and the people behind it, and we approach every project with the same mindset: build something that lasts.
Otterpine in Practice
Infrastructure, Distribution, & Production
Built direct-to-reader publishing systems for authors
Shopify storefronts, in-house warehouse fulfillment, and shipping thousands of offset-printed books each month from our Asheville warehouse
Developed multi-channel distribution strategies
Working across Ingram, Amazon (Vendor Central, Seller Central, and KDP), direct-to-reader sales, and more based on each project’s goals
Worked across an extensive, vetted print network
Aligning production with the goals, scale, and quality of each project
Helped authors move from print-on-demand to offset printing
Improving print quality, lowering unit costs, and enabling more sustainable long-term margins
Ownership, Transition, & Long-Term Systems
Reclaimed rights for traditionally published books & brought them back into circulation
Reviving out-of-print titles and formats with new production and distribution strategies
Supported authors transitioning away from traditional publishing
Shifting to independent models with full control over production, pricing, and distribution
Supported the growth of a small press from the ground up
Publishing infrastructure, direct sales systems, bundled and companion products, support for multiple releases over time
Developed publishing systems for authors building ongoing bodies of work
Planning for multiple titles, reprints, inventory management, and continuity across releases
Business, Products, & Audience
Produced books tied to existing businesses and platforms
Aligning each book with broader revenue streams, audience strategy, and long-term brand positioning
Developed a full product ecosystem around a book release
Including 15+ companion products and bundled offerings designed for direct-to-reader sales
Developed brand identity & supporting platforms around a book
Including website, product ecosystem, and audience growth from early stages to a large, engaged readership
Developed companion products & additional titles alongside traditionally published books
Expanding the life of the work through direct-to-reader products and extended formats
Craft, Experience, & Special Projects
Developed deluxe editions for authors with an established readership
Custom materials, sewn bindings, thoughtful art direction, and premium production for long-term readers
Supported high-touch fulfillment & reader experience
Custom packaging, gift wrapping, handwritten notes, and thoughtful details designed to create a sense of care and delight
Structured publishing entities to support charitable book projects
Including entity formation, donation flow planning, and systems for long-term stewardship and accountability
Supported crowdfunding & fundraising for mission-driven books
Helping authors fund production, validate demand, and build early reader communities around value-driven work
Worked with authors bringing a single, meaningful book into the world
Supporting the project with the same level of editorial, design, and production care we bring to every project
The Culting of America
By Daniella Mestyanek Young & Amy Reed
From the glamorized world of Playboy to the mission-driven violence of the military, from influencer culture to partisan politics, The Culting of America reveals how cultish behavior isn’t just thriving in modern life—it’s hiding in plain sight, woven deep into the fabric of American identity.
With sharp insight, dark humor, and unflinching honesty, The Culting of America is both a wake-up call and a survival guide. It’s for anyone who’s ever felt uneasy in a group they believed in, who’s begun to question the cost of belonging, or who’s ready to take back their autonomy—without losing their place in the world.
End Small Talk 2
By Cory Stout
This isn’t your average sequel. End Small Talk 2: MORE Deep Questions for Better Conversations brings you tons more weird, funny, and thought-provoking questions to skip the “How’s work?” and get straight to the good stuff.
Ready, Set, Hunt!
By Herbert Klann
Whether you’re brand new to hunting or returning after years away, Ready, Set, Hunt! is your go-to companion for getting started. Drawing on decades of personal experience, author Herbert Klann walks you through every step of the hunting journey—from earning your license and choosing the right gear to scouting land, practicing safely, and making ethical, clean shots.
Shooting Up
By Jonathan Tepper
In the shadows of Madrid’s most notorious drug slum, an American missionary family plants roots among heroin addicts and builds an unlikely church. Shooting Up is Jonathan Tepper’s searing memoir of a childhood spent in San Blas, where syringes littered playgrounds and his closest friends were recovering junkies twice his age.
Thank the Sweet Waters
By Lucille May
Thank the Sweet Waters is an intimate, quiet collection of love poems and moments of slowing down—an invitation to touch life a little more gently. As the world speeds up, grows louder, and fragments our attention into ever-smaller pieces, poetry offers a way to shift into a lower gear, where we can relearn focus and regain depth.
Imperfect
Books
Not every book arrives perfectly, but that doesn’t change what’s on the inside, and it helps keep a good book from going to waste. These copies may have light wear, scuffed edges, or bumped corners, so they’re offered at a special discounted price. Inside, the words are fully intact and readable. Even with a few marks along the way, they still deserve to be read, kept, and loved.
Otterpine
Eco-Friendly Tote
Introducing our latest Hemp Tote Bag, the perfect eco-friendly companion for carrying your books and essentials. Crafted from durable 55% hemp and 45% cotton and designed to be the ultimate book tote, this tote bag measures 13.5″x14.5″, providing ample space for your literary adventures.
100% of the proceeds of these tote bags will go toward the Author Support Fund, helping authors with limited access to resources.
Contact
Send us an email to introduce yourself and your book, to say hi, or to share something random.
Or even better, send us a letter or postcard. We always reply.
hi@otterpine.com
45 S. French Broad Avenue Suite 165, Asheville, NC 28801
