Charette has moved on to the second title in a five-book series, a deal made by the author and the company following the success of the first title. The second "Misadventures" book has garnered wider interest, and Charette said she has even gotten some interest from celebrity parents in making literary contributions.
But Paterson said the company doesn't discriminate against regular moms, many of whom have never been published.
Moms In Print senior editor Terry Doherty and her laptop. All publication manuscripts are submitted via e-mail.
(Photos Katherine Frey -- The Washington Post)
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"Unless you know someone or you're a celebrity, (most publishers) won't even look at your book," Paterson said.
The company recently accepted the manuscript of a first-time author. "Driving Through the Zoo," a children's book by Natisha LaPierre, a 34-year-old mother of two young boys in Rochester, N.Y., is in the editing process now. Paterson said she hopes to begin promoting the title this summer. The book focuses on a little girl who is at the zoo with her family and the trials they encounter -- such as monkeys jumping on the car.
"It seems like they are doing a lot more hand-holding than most publishers, which is great for my first book," LaPierre said. "I don't know how they had time to do all this, honestly."
Time is something Paterson, Doherty and other employees balance wisely. All of the company's three paid employees and eight volunteers have jobs outside Mom's In Print -- and devote time to families.
Three years ago, Paterson also founded JFM Enterprises and Justformom.com, also businesses focusing on mothers that she now heads. Doherty read a story about Paterson in The Washington Post in July 2003 and was inspired to launch Reading Tub, a free Web site that profiles children's books, including reviews from parents who have read the books at least three times to their children. Doherty wrote Paterson a thank you letter following the launch, and Paterson replied with a description of her idea for Moms In Print and an invitation to Doherty to join.
The two hope to grow Moms In Print into an even bigger enterprise, once they get rolling and the amount of funding grows. They plan to launch a magazine in 2005 or 2006, and hope to hold writing contests in the near future.
The company has a sales partnership with Amazon.com and is working on other distribution relationships. Its Web site, momsinprint.com, boasts a 25 percent royalty for the author, compared to what Paterson says is anywhere from 2 percent to 10 percent at larger publishing houses. While the company does not give writers a cash advance, it does pay all marketing and distribution costs.
But, with their feedback, Paterson and Doherty also try to keep the whole publishing process in perspective for potential writers.
"It doesn't mean you're going to be the next John Grisham or Mary Higgins Clark," Doherty said. "We make sure it's realistic in terms of their expectations of the process and the outcome. We don't want to feed a fantasy perspective."
