GROVE CITY, Ohio -- If one is open, life can lead to unexpected places. Take Rob Price as an example.
Price, a Pepper Pike native who graduated from Orange High School in 2000, was a physical fitness enthusiast who, one day while attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison, decided to create a single-page workout program to sell on eBay.
“Low and behold, it sold, and I expanded it to five, 10 and 50 pages,” Price said via phone from his Grove City, Ohio, office, outside of Columbus. “I then decided to research about how I could self-publish a book.”
Eventually, Price did just that, self-publishing the 176-page “The Ultimate Guide to Weight Training for Sports.”
The self-publishing bug never left Price while he later attended The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law and, after graduation, worked during the summer for a Cleveland law firm.
“I didn’t have a passion for the law,” he remembered. “I thought of myself more as a businessman.”
Price quit law and went on to found in 2015, with Tony Chellini, the company Gatekeeper Press, which helps people the world over publish their own books. In some cases, these aren’t people who have a desire to be a professional author, but wish to share with others a passion or a good story.
“The idea behind the (Gatekeeper) name is that, in the past, there was always a gatekeeper, a publisher that decided whether a book would be published and who would maintain control of a book,” Price said. “We’re making it easier for authors to self-publish their books.”
Before starting Gatekeeper Press, Price teamed with his brothers, Zach and David Price, to form Price World Publishing.
“We published a little more than 50 titles,” Rob Price said. “We started as predominantly a sports training publisher, but then we expanded to other genres.”
With his brothers moving on to other ventures, Rob Price took the experience he had gained with Price World Publishing and started Gatekeeper Press.
“The idea behind (Gatekeeper) was to build on the publishing basics I had learned and change the business model.”
Previously, the publisher took on all the costs, had total control over a book and received most of the proceeds. Gatekeeper Press changed the model to give authors 100 percent of the rights to their book, 100 percent royalties and total control of their work.
In return, Gatekeeper Press earns its money by providing publisher services. Gatekeeper offers a couple of packages, at $2,300 and $2,700, as well as a la carte services. For $2,300, the author receives services such as cover design, formatting, distribution and eBook conversion. For $2,700, the author also receives a hardcover copy, physical proofs and four paperback copies.
“Our a la carte services are as low as $400 for distribution only, if the author has a cover and the book is already laid out,” Price said.
Price said that an “author manager” service also sets Gatekeeper apart from other self-publishing companies. “It’s like a personal trainer that takes an author through every step of the process,” he said.
The manager provides the author with motivation, support and professional guidance, and ensures that the author does not have to work alone on accomplishing such tasks as cover design, editing and illustration.
As one who had published his own book, Price said he knew what self-published authors needed -- personalized attention, guidance, affordability and a single place that could offer all necessary services.
In addition to brick-and-mortar stores, Gatekeeper gets books placed on online sites such as amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com and booksamillion.com. The explosion in self-publishing has gone hand in hand with the advent of eBooks and online sellers over the past 20 years.
Gatekeeper Press, Price said, does not promote books, but does work with marketers with whom it can connect authors.
Price, 38, who with his wife, Takako, is the parent of a 15-year-old daughter, reports that Gatekeeper Press has published some authors who have gained critical and sales success.
“There is an author who was in her 20s when she started with us in 2015, who goes by the pen name Elise Kova,” Price said. "She writes young adult fantasies and has written a series called ‘Air Awakens.’ She became a USA Today bestseller and quit her job to write.
“We have another author, who is chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party, David Pepper. He’s published two political thrillers that have received critical praise and have sold. They’re called ‘The People’s House’ and ‘The Wingman.’”
Price said a Cleveland author, Scott MacGregor, has received excellent national reviews for his book, "Tunnel to Hell,' a graphic novel about the Erie Canal.
Price’s focus in life has changed from sports fitness, weightlifting and competitions, to law, to what has become his top interest -- the business of helping others get their thoughts and ideas out to the public. He said he has no desire to write another book.
“No,” he said, “I just enjoy the business side now.”
To learn more about self-publishing with Gatekeeper Press, visit gatekeeperpress.com.
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