About

Colin Wright, Joshua Fields Millburn, Ryan Nicodemus


Our Philosophy, In Short

Asymmetrical Press is a publishing company founded and operated by professional authors who believe that in order to continue producing amazing, perspective-changing work, the publishing industry must break free of gatekeepers and refocus on inclusivity and self-determination. Must become a place where high standards of quality keep readers coming back for more.

This shift will manifest in different ways, but the core efforts revolve around empowering people who create high-quality work to take their creations to the next level.

That may mean working with a publisher. It could mean pulling yourself up by your bootstraps and learning the industry yourself (alongside other enthusiastic creatives) at the Asymmetrical Community & using available resources. It may mean going completely solo and making your own path, without a publisher or community at your back. All paths are equally valid and have our full support and enthusiasm.

Whatever the case may be, we want to be part of a positive movement in publishing. One that removes traditional hurdles and replaces them with trampolines. Instead of hindering, we want to liberate.

All of us—from the most experienced scribbler to the greenest wordsmith—have the potential to dictate what publishing will look like for decades. This is a responsibility and opportunity we don’t intend to let pass us by.

We are vehicle-agnostic in that we don’t care what medium is used to communicate, so long as its the most ideal for the story being told or information being conveyed.

We are pro-technology and pro-analog. This means that we love and embrace the ebook era for the benefits it brings, while continuing to think in terms of physical media and how best to work with them. One needn’t choose one over the other, and attempting to do so misses out on the cohesive benefits of both, together.

We believe that the indie movement, and its increase in work being published, is a good thing. Rather than viewing this flood of new creative work as the downfall of a noble industry, we see it as the chance to hear new voices and see new perspectives. When gates are pulled down and gatekeepers are unable to hold back those who wish to enter an industry, what happens next? Usually a whole lot of upset for traditional markets and innovation from new players.

That being said, we also believe in producing work of the highest possible quality, rather than just producing to produce. To this end, we help other authors and publishers elevate their work by sharing our workflows, resources, and advice whenever possible. And we benefit, in turn, when other people and organizations who are seeing success choose to share theirs with us.

Finally, we believe that its in the best interest of creative people to control as much of their craft as possible. This will mean different things for different people, but the age where an author could write a book and be done with it are over (if it ever truly existed for more than just a few). Today, an author must also be an entrepreneur of sorts, able to understand how they’ll support their craft monetarily, and how to promote their work before and after it arrives on shelves. In this way, authors are less ‘struggling artists’ and more ‘authorpreneurs,’ deciding what they write, when, and how they publish it.

The publishing industry is evolving. Let’s evolve with it.