Get to know the folks behind the scenes who bring ideas, books, and dreams to life.
Shanna Hammerbacher, Founder, Owner, and Editor-in-Chief
Shanna founded this company after surveying the traditional publishing landscape and realizing authors need a different publishing model, one that is focused on the authors and their work rather than the bottom line. She is passionate about stories, books, and ultimately the power of words to effect change and positively impact the lives of those around us.
In addition to identifying and bringing on board other team members who meet their high standards for quality and integrity, Shanna currently reviews and evaluates every potential manuscript and works directly with Josha’s authors, as well as performing editorial services in collaboration with the other editors Josha partners with.
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Kayli Baker, Copy Editor
Kayli is a writer and freelance editor. She chose to pursue freelance editing when she was a writing coach and realized how many indie authors needed an empathetic and more affordable option to traditional editors. Although she enjoys many genres, she specializes in working with memoirs. She believes that the path to healing in this world is through understanding, and that the difficult and beautiful life stories of her client play a vital role in that effort. You can learn more about her editing story and her clients on her website at www.kaylibaker.com.
In her free time, she enjoys cooking, eating, and watching shows about food; traveling; being in nature; music; and playing video games. Of course, she is also a writer and loves all cliché writer things: cats, comfy blankets, chocolate… In fact, she’s likely bleeding coffee onto the page in a cozy cabin somewhere in Idaho.
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Olivia Castetter, Acquisitions Editor
Olivia Castetter, author of the Too Much memoir collection, as well as various other fiction and nonfiction pieces, specializes in editing literary works that focus on trauma, abuse, and life as a survivor. As a survivor herself, she understands emotionally as well as technically how to help authors convey their experiences in a manner that is authentic, informative, and engaging.
In addition to writing and editing literary works that focus on trauma, abuse, and life as a survivor, she advocates for policy changes for sexual abuse survivors. In her spare time, she can be found exploring nature, learning about conservation at the zoo with her family, or nurturing her pollinator garden. Olivia lives in the Louisville Metropolitan area with her husband, two children, and an eclectic collection of pets. You can learn more about her projects at www.oliviacastetter.com.
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Jo Harrison, Interior Formatter
Jo began in 2011 as a virtual assistant for authors, then began formatting books for her clients after formatting her late Grandfather’s book to be distributed in e-book format on Amazon and Smashwords. Since then, she has formatted a large number of books for authors all over the world, enjoying what some may see as a frustrating and tedious task.
Jo moved to rural France in 2011 and now lives with her partner, dogs, and cat after taking voluntary redundancy from her job at a university in the UK. She loves exploring the French countryside as well as occasional city breaks, and her favorite thing to do is indulge in fantastic French cuisine and wine. You can learn more about what she does on her website, https://www.ebook-formatting.co.uk/.
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Shelly Person, Artist
Shelly Person began teaching art to middle school students nine years ago, and her passion for the arts was rekindled through teaching what it means to create with a mindset of joy and playfulness. She began sharing her work on Instagram, where she met author Katherine Turner. This meeting led to Shelly painting the artwork that would later become the background for Katherine’s memoir, resilient. In addition to teaching and designing custom artwork for book covers, she also sells a selection of artwork in her Etsy shop.
Life is an adventure for Shelly; you can find her going to the airport on a whim and ending up in Chicago exploring all the art she can soak in or traveling to wine country to paint the day away. Shelly’s favorite place above all, however, is her art studio, where she gets to create a magical world of art with her husband and fur family.
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Murphy Rae, Cover Designer
In 2015, Murphy bought Photoshop on a whim and decided to give design a shot. Since then, she has received her certificate in graphic design from Southern Methodist University and designed hundreds of book covers for a range of authors, from those navigating self-publishing for the first time, to seasoned USA Today and New York Times best-selling authors. You can see her portfolio and learn about other author services Murphy has to offer by visiting her website www.murphyrae.com.
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*Many of our team members also accept freelance work. Visit their individual websites for more information.
Josha Publishing, LLC 