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.’”
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.”
