Today we’d like to introduce you to Aaron Simms.
Aaron, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I was born in Missouri, but my father was in the Army so we moved around a lot when I was growing up: Germany, Hawaii, Virginia, Kansas, and finally Georgia. We moved to Georgia before high school and I ended up going to Georgia Tech. I graduated in 2001 with a B.S. in International Affairs. While there, I also completed the U.S. Army ROTC Basic Course (2 years) and studied the Russian language (although my Russian is extremely rusty now).
I married my wonderful wife, Amy in 2003, our daughter was born in 2005 and our son in 2007.
In 2007, I completed my graduate degree at Troy University through their distance program, graduating with an M.S. in International Relations. In 2010, I began a distance-education seminary program at Concordia Seminary St. Louis, which is a seminary of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. I was ordained as a Lutheran pastor on Father’s Day in 2012 and graduated with a pastoral certificate in 2014. Since 2013, I’ve pastored a small mission church in Gwinnett County.
Despite my basically liberal arts education, my working career has been in the technology field (I had an aptitude for computers and technology as a kid, which carried on through into adulthood). I was a sales engineer for a number of years, then a product manager at various companies. I used to travel quite a bit internationally: Russia, China, Sweden, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Canada, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, among other places.
I’ve always been interested in history (especially classical history) and Christian theology and have read a number of books on these types of topics. So, mid-way through my seminary education, I started writing my own books, because I wanted to put down the things I had learned, mainly so that my own kids would one day have them as resources. I believe that one of my skills is being able to distill various sources of information and present a “big picture” view, helping to provide context. My own books tend to follow this theme.
As part of writing my own books, I formed an LLC and registered a publisher imprint (St. Polycarp Publishing House). I also took care of other logistical matters such as registering trademarks, obtaining insurance appropriate for publishers, joining trade organizations (IBPA and CSPA), and setting up printing and distribution. I also began promoting the company on social media and established my own blog site. My goal for the company, though, was to branch out from just my books to begin signing on other authors. My mission is to publish works related to Christian theology, apologetics, and history with an emphasis on things which apply to the orthodox Christian faith as shared among denominations. In this, I hope to take an ecumenical approach which bridges the gap in the market between mass-market Christian books on the one hand and denominational-specific materials on the other.
Last year was a big investment year for the company to help achieve these goals. Early in the year, I signed my first author to the company and published a book he had written. This was followed by another author a few months later, then another, then another. We now have a number of contracts signed with books in various stages of the publishing process. We’ve also published a number of classic Christian books to help fill out the portfolio.
I’ve also established two other “legs” in the St. Polycarp stool, so to speak. St. Polycarp Publishing House, as mentioned, is focused on books. St. Polycarp Academy is a related site which provides affordable online Christian courses. Similar to the model I followed with publishing, the first few courses were created by myself, but I have since signed up others to begin crafting courses (including one of the authors of a forthcoming book). Finally, St. Polycarp Journal is an online theological journal which will be launching later in 2018. The goal with all three “legs” is to provide quality, affordable (and, in some cases, free) materials which will help strengthen and deepen people’s faith and assist in their Christian witness to others.
My goal is to make the company more personably, accessible, and approachable than bigger publishing companies. I view myself as working with three customers: the authors, the readers, and various partners (e.g. marketing and graphic design consultants, distributors, etc…). I want authors to view me as someone who is easy to work with, knowledgeable, and able to provide insights and edits to make their books better. I want readers to enjoy the books and be enriched by them. I want my partners to view me as reliable and professional; in turn, I want to work with partners who believe in the mission of the company.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
There were a number of things I’ve learned along the way. Trade organizations such as IBPA (Independent Book Publishers Association) and CSPA (Christian Small Publishers Association) have helped immensely.
When I signed my first author, I needed to ensure that I had a good contract template I could use. This required that I think about things such as royalties, copyrights, indemnification, etc… I had dealt with contract negotiations previously in my working career but needed help with contract terms specific to the publishing industry. As mentioned, IBPA helped with tips and then I worked with a lawyer to finalize the contract template so I could re-use it, with modifications, for each author. In addition, I had to make sure I had the appropriate type of insurance to cover both general liabilities as well as errors and omissions.
I’ve also dealt with other challenges, such as: switching printing and distribution partners, branching out to hardcover printing in addition to paperback, finding a better ebook publication and distribution platform, registering copyrights, obtaining Library of Congress control numbers, getting a Dun & Bradstreet number, setting up accounting and royalty reporting software, maintaining various websites and hosting platforms. Each new book project, however, has allowed me to both learn something new as well as add new offerings to the St. Polycarp portfolio. I’ve also been fortunate in that I’ve established relationships with a graphic artist and a marketing consultant who I trust and who both believe in the company’s mission.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with St. Polycarp Publishing House – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We specialize in printed and electronic books related to Christian theology, apologetics, and history. We seek to fill the gap between general Christian books and denomination-specific materials by focusing on wider Church topics, the early New Testament Church, and ecumenical and apologetical issues.
We are a member of the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), the Christian Small Publishers Association (CSPA), and the Small Publishers, Artists & Writers Network (SPAWN). We also support the IBPA’s Industry Standards Checklist for a Professionally Published Book.
What sets us apart from other companies is our emphasis on more ecumenical topics related to the orthodox Christian faith. What I mean by this is that rather than publishing books from one denomination’s perspective or books which are so general that they do not add much to the conversation, we publish books which deal with what G. K. Chesterton and C. S. Lewis referred to as the orthodox faith as expressed in the Apostles’ Creed. In addition, since we are a small company we can specialize in what is essentially a niche market and take a chance on new authors or authors with books which are likely to only appeal to a small audience.
In addition, I think that the fact that I can provide domain-expertize and help to authors is a value-add to them. Since I do have a theological education, I can help them refine their work, provide suggestions, and assist with editing.
I’m most proud of the reception I’ve received from authors who appreciate this more personalized approach. In particular, one author who had previously published a book with a larger publishing company remarked that he was happy and surprised that he could talk with me directly and get help; he said he never got this sort of response from the larger publisher.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I’m looking forward to expanding the number of authors we’re working with as well as publishing follow-up works from the current authors. For 2018, we have a number of books already in the works, which should help grow the mind-share of the company. As I mentioned, we’ll also be launching St. Polycarp Journal later in the year as well as adding new courses, by other authors, to St. Polycarp Academy.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://stpolycarppublishinghouse.com
- Phone: (470) 326-6578
- Email: info@stpolycarppublishinghouse.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stpolycarppublishinghouse/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stpolycarppublishing/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/StPolycarpPub
- Other: https://stpolycarpacademy.com
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