Mandorla Books is a passion-project stemming from the dreams of its creator,
Jennifer Leigh Selig, PhD.
Jennifer was an avid reader from an early age, in love with all things book. She would lay tracing paper down over a favorite book's pages, and copy the letters and drawings meticulously, setting the stage for becoming a publisher later in life (or running a Xerox machine at Office Depot).
Jennifer reading to her little sister
She had her first book published in 1999 by Andrews McMeel Publishing (What Now? Words of Wisdom for Life After Graduation). Since then, she has published dozens of newspaper articles, book reviews, journal articles, essays, and she is either the author, editor, contributor, or publisher of over 20 books, including her latest book Deep Creativity: Seven Ways to Spark Your Creative Spirit (published by Shambhala Press, with co-authors Deborah Anne Quibell and Dennis Patrick Slattery).
Mandorla Books was born in large part out of Jennifer's frustration with the publishing industry when she was seeking a home for her doctoral research on Martin Luther King, Jr. She learned first-hand about some of the more commonly held frustrations of all writers, namely 1) lack of authorial control over and approval of the finished product; 2) loss of rights to one's own work; 3) painfully slow publication process (often 12-18 months); and 4) disfavorable royalty structures which are often tantamount to giving one's creative labor away for free. After receiving one more dismaying publishing offer, Jennifer decided to pull the manuscript off the market and self-publish what would become Integration: The Psychology and Mythology of Martin Luther King, Jr. and His (Unfinished) Therapy With the Soul of America. For her imprint name, she chose the symbol of the mandorla, the feminine symbol for connection and partnership, two driving forces in her life.
She enjoyed the publication process from start to finish so much that she decided to equally empower other authors in the creation and birth of their own book projects. She envisioned a truly revolutionary publishing model that redresses the frustrations above, offering authors 1) complete creative control over and approval of their finished product; 2) maintenance of all the rights to one's own work; 3) quick turnaround from manuscript to book; and 4) 100% of all royalties.
Request a complimentary consultation with Jennifer to see if publishing with Mandorla is right for you.
Mandorla Books was born in large part out of Jennifer's frustration with the publishing industry when she was seeking a home for her doctoral research on Martin Luther King, Jr. She learned first-hand about some of the more commonly held frustrations of all writers, namely 1) lack of authorial control over and approval of the finished product; 2) loss of rights to one's own work; 3) painfully slow publication process (often 12-18 months); and 4) disfavorable royalty structures which are often tantamount to giving one's creative labor away for free. After receiving one more dismaying publishing offer, Jennifer decided to pull the manuscript off the market and self-publish what would become Integration: The Psychology and Mythology of Martin Luther King, Jr. and His (Unfinished) Therapy With the Soul of America. For her imprint name, she chose the symbol of the mandorla, the feminine symbol for connection and partnership, two driving forces in her life.
She enjoyed the publication process from start to finish so much that she decided to equally empower other authors in the creation and birth of their own book projects. She envisioned a truly revolutionary publishing model that redresses the frustrations above, offering authors 1) complete creative control over and approval of their finished product; 2) maintenance of all the rights to one's own work; 3) quick turnaround from manuscript to book; and 4) 100% of all royalties.
Request a complimentary consultation with Jennifer to see if publishing with Mandorla is right for you.