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DescriptionMerry Robin Publishing, LLC was born in June, 2022 when an unexpected opportunity fell into our laps. Holly and I had been toying with the idea of starting our own publishing house following the publication of Jayne Ann's first children's book, When Mommies Get Sick. We created a logo and daydreamed about publishing books together for other people some day.
It wasn't until we met Carolyn Kasteler and began our work on Watching Over Angels together that Merry Robin Publishing really began to come together and come to life.
Holly and Jayne Ann are sisters who grew up always looking for ways to build on each other's interests. As young children, Holly would request specific coloring pages, which Jayne Ann would draw and Holly would color in.
Now as adults, Jayne Ann still enjoys creating frameworks for Holly to fill in - which is why Merry Robin Publishing feels like such a great fit. Jayne Ann does the cover art, formatting, and other technical framework and Holly helps fill in the pages with life and substance.
Holly Kolb is a professional book worm and a long-time editor. Books have defined her life for the better part of her education — from obtaining a master's degree in English at BYU to a second master's degree at the University of Edinburgh in Book History and Material Culture. She is passionate about helping people achieve their dreams of becoming published authors and seeing their work go out into the world in a way where they can maintain creative control. She lives in Germany with her husband, and they recently had their first child, Joanne, who is cuter than a button.
Jayne Ann Osborne is the author and illustrator of three children's books, “When Mommies Get Sick,” “Book of Mormon 123” and “New Testament ABC.” She illustrated “My Little Blue Home” and did the design and formatting work for “Hyperemesis Gravidarum: My HG Journal,” “Watching Over Angels,” “A Boy, His Surfboard and the Storm,” “Anchored, Not Tethered,” and “Heart of the Desert.” She has a bachelor's degree in Communication and is the creator of Life-OnPurpose.com.
She is a mother of four who loves to paint, write, dabble in continuous line art and create anything her imagination dreams up.

WHAT MAKES US DIFFERENT?

What Merry Robin Publishing has to offer, more than anything else, is a book coaching service that allows you, the author, to maintain creative control. Holly and I are here to provide support, answer questions, provide editing, proofreading, character development, continuity checks, design work, formatting, etc every step of the way.

We believe in your vision for your book, and we want to help you bring it to life in a way that aligns with your goals.

Request a free sample edit!

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What We Can Do For You

Content

You have a story to tell and we can help you polish it up and get it publication-ready. We offer one on one book coaching with personalized, professional feedback. You get to maintain creative control and you get the final say on what does and does not end up in the final draft.

Design

We will work with you cover-to-cover to ensure your book comes to life, just as you envisioned it. We work one on one with our clients to narrow down design options and create a cover that is eye catching, beautiful, and unique.

Publish

This process is guided from start to finish by your personal goals and aspirations. If you want to submit your work to a traditional publishing house, we will help you get your manuscript ready for submission. If you prefer to self publish, or indie publish through us, we're happy to help!

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A Breakdown of what Holly Offers

Here are all the fabulous things Holly can do to make your work shine.

Whether you have an idea for a book that you want to bring to fruition or you have a finished manuscript ready for a sharp editing eye, I am here to help bring your book to life for you and your readers.

For most projects, we start with a manuscript. My job is to help turn your manuscript into a publishable piece of writing. I will help you think through various aspects of writing like:

Audience
Character development
Pacing
Plot structure
Story
Readability
Grammar and punctuation
Organization
Conflict/resolution
Consistency

And so many other things that make a work readable to an audience made up of readers beyond your own eyes.

I will be a beta reader, an editor, and an advocate for your story.

Manuscript Submission

You can email your manuscript or share me on a shared document so I have access to make suggested revisions.

Initial Read-Through (Beta-reader)

This is when I read through the manuscript looking at big-picture things. I will be (perhaps your first) audience, and I want to make sure that it reads well and makes sense to someone other than yourself.

Here we will focus on things like organization, the strength of the story/characters, and arrange the book in such a way that it fits within a distinguishable genre.

Writing Workshop

This is where you and I will go back and forth with my suggested edits. You can choose to accept them or not, but I will make suggestions only as I see fit that will help guide the reader more smoothly through the manuscript. I do not want to change your voice or your style. This is still your book, and I want you to feel like you have control over your own story.

Proofreading

At this point, we get down to the nitty-gritty. Here I will make sentence level changes - editing for things like grammar and punctuation.

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Jayne Ann’s Breakdown

Jayne Ann is here to assist with all the visual aspects of your project.

Cover design

This includes up to two mockups of front, spine and back cover design. I will work with you to get a clear vision of what you have in mind before I begin designing. We will work together either in person or over video chat to go over sample styles and examples of covers that you find appealing.

This also includes the back cover text, including brief quotations, reviews, synopsis, etc

ISBN and LCCN

I will provide a purchased ISBN and apply for a Library of Congress Catalogue Number.

This also includes a copy of the finished book shipped to the Library of Congress upon publication and helps qualify your books to appear in libraries around the country.

Formatting

Page formatting, header and footer formatting, chapter headings, etc.

KDP Publication

I will either walk you through how to set up your own KDP account, or publish through our business account (with you as the author). You get to choose and I will happily walk you through the benefits of each.

Amazon Product Page

I will create a compelling product page synopsis to help draw in readers that includes important keywords to maximize SEO.

Amazon Author Page

I will walk you through setting up your Author Page on Amazon. This helps you appear professional and allows readers the chance to stay up to date on any future book releases.

Press Release

I will draft a press release that you can send out to local and national news sources.

Book Launch Strategy

I will discuss book launch strategy options with you to help create as much forward momentum as we can upon releasing your book.

Bookmark Design

I will design a bookmark with a QR code to purchase your book on Amazon that you can give out to friends, family, and other potential readers. You will receive 1000 bookmarks, shipped to your residence.

Amazon Ad Campaign

I will create an Amazon Ad Campaign to help increase sales following publication. This ad campaign will last for a couple of weeks. After the first couple of weeks, you are welcome to invest in continuing the campaign if you would like.

Library Submission

I will request your book to be acquired by the Salt Lake County Library System. This doesn’t guarantee the library will choose to carry your book, but they do take each request very seriously! (Pro tip: be sure to ask friends and family to request your book at their local libraries! This is a huge, free, marketing opportunity that is woefully underutilized)

Learn more

To see a current list of our published works, please visit the “Books” section of this website.

Check out our books!

Meet Our Authors

Carolyn Kasteler

Author of “Watching Over Angels,” Carolyn Kasteler was our very first client. She reached out for our help, in the final stages of cancer. It was her faith and her confidence that helped Merry Robin Publishing transition from pipe dream to reality.

Read more Carolyn’s story by clicking here.

Cheri Kane

Author of “A Boy, His Surfboard and the Storm” and motivational speaker, Cheri Kane, has spent the majority of her career as a real estate professional and motivational speaker. Some of her biggest motivators in life are her passion for encouraging others and her unshakeable faith in a God of miracles, who is over all. She is best known for her enthusiasm and “can do” attitude. Her love of life helps her see the sun through the clouds and helps her shine deliberately in everything she does.

Visit Cheri’s Author Page by clicking here.

Ashley Overby

Ashley Overby may have cerebral palsy, but that has never stopped her from shooting for the stars and reaching for her goals. Born and raised in Utah, hers has been a life shaped by family, faith, friends and animals. She especially loves any time she gets to spend with horses. She has always had a love of writing, often finding a special creative outlet in writing poetry. She enjoys educating others, especially young children, about life with a disability through motivational speaking, writing and spontaneous, every day encounters.

Read more about Ashley and her book, Anchored, Not Tethered, by visiting her Author Page.

Monte Hanks

Monte’s writing began as a desire to understand himself, find his place in the world and perhaps relate his experiences to others. After serving in the Vietnam War, overcoming substance abuse and spending 30 years working with the homeless population of Salt Lake, he is now the officially published author of “Heart of the Desert,” a desert landscape poetry collection about finding meaning and new life in nature.

Learn more about Monte by visiting his Author Page.