From Author to Entrepreneurs, 3 Authors Join Forces to Shake up the Publishing World

Dec. 23, 2011 - PRLog -- In November 2009, Omar Luqmaan-Harris (who writes as Qwantu Amaru), sent a text message to Stephanie Casher and James W. Lewis: “What if [we] joined forces and created our own publishing company?”  Two years and over 10,000 books sold later, their company The Pantheon Collective has completed the first stage of the mission they set out to accomplish in December 2009 - publish 4 books while blogging about every step of the process.

The three partners pooled together an initial $15,000 investment which they used to set up their limited liability corporation, create their brand identity - The Pantheon Collective (TPC Books), website, and launch their first novel, the bestselling and award winning Sellout by James W. Lewis - a book that deals with three people facing the consequences of interracial dating. With their first collaborative venture a success, six months later they published their best-reviewed novel to date, When Love Isn't Enough - a multicultural fiction book about true love, terrible timing, impossible choices, and how you find the strength to go on when you discover that, sometimes, love just isn't enough. In 2011, The Pantheon Collective also published James W. Lewis second novel, A Hard Man is Good to Find - an erotic romance that has been "flying off the virtual book shelves" and their first foray into supernatural suspense and horror, One Blood by Qwantu Amaru - about a voodoo curse tormenting a group of people unaware of their hidden connections.

With the exception of One Blood (which launched 11/30/11), each novel has sold in excess of 2,000 copies, primarily in e-book format. This is a significant achievement since most independently published books sell less than 100 copies in their lifespan.

They attribute their success to "the power of three" the multiplier effect that happened when the three of them discovered each partner's area of strength. Stephanie Casher is the award-winning editing/quality control/finance pillar, James W. Lewis is the internet connection/publishing process expert, and Omar Luqmaan-Harris is the book marketing guru. By focusing on a mantra of "quality first", they have quickly made an indelible mark on the publishing world.

Today their website/blog http://www.pantheoncollective.com receives thousands of hits each month and is chock-full of how-to's on everything from how to decide between independent publishing or "assisted self-publishing" to free book marketing and business plan templates.

In 2012 they plan to continue publishing their own novels, with follow-ups from Stephanie Casher and James W. Lewis on the way, as well as two books on the process of creating an independent publishing venture - From Authors to Entrepreneurs and The Independent Publishing Plan. Their ultimate mission is launching an Author Services Division focused on helping other writers get their work published with the same quality standards the TPC 3 have set for themselves.

"What makes us unique is how well we collaborate together and our willingness to try and fail in terms of book marketing and promotion in this new realm of e-books and social media marketing in order to educate other authors coming in behind us," said Omar Luqmaan-Harris.

The Pantheon Collective has been featured in several publications, most recently John Kremer's (bestselling author of 1,001 Ways to Market Your Books) Book Marketing Bestsellers: Book Promotion Blog: http://bit.ly/v3gBNx

For more information visit their website: http://www.pantheoncollective.com or follow them on twitter @pantheon3

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Independent Publishing Venture with 4 titles published to date: Sellout, When Love Isn't Enough, A Hard Man is Good to Find, and One Blood