US Mag: You have a unique publishing business model. Tell us a little bit about Book By You?
BookByYou.com writes and publishes full-length personalized romance, mystery, classic, teen and children’s books. The novels are 180 to 400-pages and we have over 70 titles to choose from. Here’s the exciting part, your readers can customize the books by selecting the three (or more) main characters and 25-30 additional features. They select the names for the heroine, the heroine’s best friend and a hero, along with features such as nicknames, hair and eye color, body type, favorite restaurant – even include a dog or cat. And the personalized front cover adds that finishing touch so that when their beloved unwraps their personalized novel – they know immediately they have received something special. Oh, I should mention, we offer three formats – paperback, hardcover and ebook editions.
US Mag: We been hearing a lot about you & your books, you’ve garned a lot of media coverage.
We’ve been in business for over 23 years and have been recognized by the media and featured by The View, CNN, Good Day, Australia Broadcasting Corp., CBC, CTV, USA Today, Washington Post Dallas Morning News and many more. We’re now launching a new TikTok channel and moving forward in many more exciting new media directions.
US Mag: Let’s talk about your customized books. Can you please tell our readers more about “Licensed to Love“?
Glad you asked, we are excited about this book and it’s timely, “Licensed to Love” is our newest personalized romance book and is focused at spy and mystery book and movie lovers – especially those that are James Bond aficionados. The new Bond film, “No Time to Die” just hit theaters so our timing is good. Not to mention an exciting and romantic holiday/Christmas gift.
The storyline is about two spies saving the world from a terrorist attack in the midst of a dawning romance. The heroine and hero in this new book are a match in every way—each an expert in marksmanship, martial arts, and the use of all weapons. She in the CIA and he in MI6, they have individually devoted their lives to fighting terrorism around the world. Each has given up on love, never quite able to find anyone who could—or wanted to—keep up with their daring lives. Until they meet, compete in the field, and fall in love while stopping a colossal bomb attack.
US Mag: What was the reasoning behind writing the parody novel “Fifty Shades of You”?
This is our bestseller and if you haven’t guessed already “Fifty Shades of You” is a parody of the E.L. James, Fifty Shades, trilogy series. To add to the debauchery we’ve switched the lead roles – our heroine is the high power CEO that cracks the whip and keeps our hero begging for more and remember these are personalized characters and could be you in the leather bustier or restrained with handcuffs…
For more details and personalized readers can go here: https://www.bookbyyou.com/personalized-romance-books/fifty-shades-of-you
US Mag: I see you also offer same-sex books? Tell me more.
We’ve been offering same-sex romance novels for over ten years and we are thankful to our gay and lesbian customers that return year after year. Our bestseller is “Fifty Shades of Gay” of which we have personalized gay and lesbian editions. We are the only company to offer personalized same-sex novels. If readers are interested in same-sex romance novels they can visit here: https://www.bookbyyou.com/personalized-romance-books/filter/same-sex
US Mag: What has been one of the most exciting achievements in the last few years with Book By You?
Great question! Book By You is the first in the world to offer immediately downloadable personalized ebooks. A customer can select any of our 72 personalize novels, customize the names and features, add a photo to the cover and then download an ebook instantly. With the advent of eReaders, tablets and dominance of phone devices we are well positioned for the future. Many years ago, I realized that Book By You is conventional publishing company but we’re really are a technology company focused at publishing.
US Mag: What motivates you to do your best work as a book publisher?
We publish many genres of books – customized romance, mystery, classics, teen and kids books. We sell more romance books followed by personalized children’s books. I really should be the other way around. Children are motivated to read when they see their name in a personalized full-length chapter book. Parents truly appreciate our books because it keeps kids reading real books. Don’t get me wrong I love our customized romance book customers but in terms of changing and helping the world we really have a chance to change children’s reading habits for the better.
US Mag: Do you hire writers to write for BookByYou.com?
Yes, over the years we’ve hired and worked with many writers, and continue to do so – some experienced and seasoned – some quite green but eager. We’re currently accepting manuscripts for our romance and kids imprints.