Mosaica Press

Mosaica Press is an independent publisher of Jewish books. Mosaica was founded and is directed by Rav Yaacov Haber and Rabbi Doron Kornbluth, both bestselling authors themselves, in 2010, and is already one of the Jewish world’s most successful – and most respected – publishers. Mosaica is known for creating beautiful books. Our authors include some of the most profound, interesting, and entertaining thinkers and writers in the Jewish community today. There is a great demand for high-quality Jewish works dealing with issues of the day – and Mosaica Press is helping fill that need. 

What is Mosaica?

Mosaica Press is an independent publisher of Jewish books. Our authors include some of the most profound, interesting, and entertaining thinkers and writers in the Jewish world today. Our partners and senior staff have been putting out books for years under various imprints and with various publishers. The Mosaica label itself began appearing around 2010.

As you can see from our site, we’ve had a tremendous amount of siyatta deshameya and have grown tremendously. We are now releasing, on average, 1-2 new books a month, and our books are (B’H!) gaining a lot of attention and selling well.

We create all types of books for all types of people. Some of our books are intended for the Orthodox community, some are more Kiruv-y, others on subjects of interest for frum and/or Jewish people, and some develop their own niches.

What is the difference between a publisher and a distributor?

Mosaica is a publisher. We take author content (from articles, shiurim, blog posts – or, of course, from a manuscript itself) and create books, overseeing the entire process to create a finished book ready to be sold, read, and recommended. We have distribution arrangements in place with the best distributors in the Jewish world.

Why do I need an edit, copyedit and proofread?

Mark Twain had an editor. Every author needs a professional outside editor to take the manuscript into “real book” quality. What is acceptable on a blog post may not necessarily be in written form. The difference shows, and our team is excellent and efficient. Every week we see documents that have been copyedited and proofread carefully by the author himself or the author’s neighbor … and have many dozens of conceptual, stylistic and grammatical mistakes in them. These steps are critical.

What is the financial ‘deal’?

The author makes the initial investment in the publication of the book. Why?

As authors ourselves, working with various publishers over the years, we’ve come to realize that it is more profitable for the author – and better for all involved – if the author pays for the initial development and printing of the book – as has been done in Am Yisroel with sefarim for hundreds of years.

Here is why:

First of all, few Jewish publishers today can pay for the entire book-creating process and still make a profit. After taking account of the bookstore discount, costs of distribution, and relatively small market, the numbers rarely add up. When a publisher does offer to pay, the author usually ends up getting a very small royalty, with many ‘hidden’ costs appearing along the way.

Also, when a publisher pays for a book, the publisher owns it. The publisher alone decides on the cover and title. The publisher decides how many copies will be printed or not printed, and the author needs to buy back copies at 50% (or more) of the retail price! Even if a book is effectively out of circulation and the author wants more copies for their own use, the publisher can – and often does – decide not to print again – as it is not worth their time or investment – leaving the author without copies of their own book. The publisher can do a lousy job in the creation, distribution, and promotion of a book – and the author can do nothing about it. Unfortunately, many authors have had negative experiences like this – including us!

We work differently, for all of our authors – including ourselves. Although Mosaica is certainly a company that aims to make a profit, we are also authors who are offering the best deal on the market for authors: When the author invests in the book, he or she actually ends up making more money and retaining more control.