Racket Publishing's Next Chapter
Exciting news on where we're going.
Three years ago, I started Racket Publishing with a number of lofty goals:
- To provide unreasonable hospitality to our clients.
- To do everything possible to help them publish their non-fiction books on their terms.
- To use modern technology to make the research, writing, and publishing processes less painful.
I never intended to create a hybrid publisher on the scale of Greenleaf, Page Two, or other behemoths. On the contrary, I made the conscious decision to provide concierge services to a limited number of Racket clients. Reading the book Small Giants in 2010 profoundly changed the way that I look at running a professional services company. Optimizing for revenue and profits isn't the only way to operate.
Less is more.
Reflections and Accomplishments
Since 2022, Racket has released five books and helped a decent number of authors in different capacities. During that time, I've also developed RacketHubâa robust tool that our clients use to manage every aspect of the writing, publishing, and research processes. (Publishers, authors, and book coaches can as well, but I've found that these folks are generally stuck in their ways.)
After successfully working with Amanda Wick on her book The Catalysts: The Accelerating Forces Forging the New World Financial Order, I began thinking about different ways to help authors beyond publishing their books.
How can Racket evolve?
Sure, I've done my fair share of book coaching over the years, but working with clients on an individual basis doesn't scale. Courses help, but by definition they're discrete: You record them and they exist. Constantly modifying them just doesn't fly.
Blogging fills that void. To this end, I've penned more than 100 posts on this site on AI, marketing, project management, writing, and other topics. I never put any posts behind a paywall. That's one of the core tenets of content marketing.
What's Changing?
The short answer: A few things.
Content
For starters, expect the frequency of blog posts and the number of new templates to increase starting now.
Like many publications these days, Racket is moving to a subscription and membership model. In the spirit of keeping things simple and avoiding a Black Mirror scenario, the three plans are:
- Free.
- Plus
- Premium.
The screenshot below provides a high-level breakdown of each plan's benefits:
Looking into the future, I envision a more diverse set of clients: many guppies and a few big fish. The goal is to cultivate a loyal following of folks willing to pay for valuable insights. Ideally, a few will engage the Racket team to ghostwrite and publish their books when they recognize what we bring to the table.
A New Engine
This strategic decision necessitated making one other big change: replacing the tech underpinning this website.
By way of background, in 2022, I built the original Racket site on WordPressâthe most popular content management system (CMS) on the planet. It seemed like a logical choice. I had been using WordPress since 2009. I also ran the Divi theme and a slew of plugins under the hood.
Despite this considerable setup (and related monthly maintenance to address a stream of issues), WordPress required even more plugins to meeet Racket's future needs:
- Allow for easy sign-ups.
- Offer different content to different tiers of members.
- Cultivate more meaningful relationships with this site's readers.
- Offer promotions to convert Free members to Plus and Premium ones.
As but one example, WordPress has long lacked native newsletter capabilitiesâalthough that has recently changed. As a result, scores of website owners also need to use Mailchimp, Substack, Constant Contact, and others to reach their subscribers.
Phil Simon
Enter Ghost
In April 2025, I seriously began looking at WordPress alternatives. The new model required a solution that provided for a simpler, more integrated experience. It didn't take long for me to land on Ghost.
Ghost aptly bills itself as "independent technology for modern publishing." I couldn't agree more. Racket's new CMS is lightning-fast:
What's more, it's packed with the features that it needs to succeed in its next chapter. Ghost's support staff couldn't have been friendlier, and Cathy Sarisky is a godsend. (As an aside, I'll have more to say about author websites in future posts.)
What's Remaining the Same?
Books remain important artifacts. Racket will continue to work with select authors on their books. Short of books, we'll offer the same services as we have in previous years.
Weighing the Risks
It's always a gamble to make such a fundamental shift, but it's the right one for Racket.
Moving to a subscription model is the best way to help committed ones in a meaningful way. Answering their questions in a quasi-public form is a solid starting pointâand just one of the many benefits of subscribing. (Related FAQ here.) Put differently, I'm deliberately choosing engagement quality over quantity.
June Promotion
For the month of June, purchase an annual subscription to the Plus plan and you'll receive a 20 percent discount.
Get 20% off the Plus plan until the end of June 2025.
Final Thoughts
Thank you for reading this lengthy post. If you find an error with the website, let me know. Ditto if anything is unclear.
More than ever, I'm excited about the future of Racket Publishing.
