Meet Calix Leigh-Reign and LaShelle Cooper | COO and CEO, Joint Publishers

We had the good fortune of connecting with Calix Leigh-Reign and LaShelle Cooper and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Calix and LaShelle, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Cayelle Publishing was a product of joint passions. We both loved reading, writing, and the art of storytelling. We were both published authors and after deliberating we decided that book publishing was a passion we could not avoid. We wanted to create a world that would make reading more stimulating. We noticed people weren’t engaged enough in the joys of storytelling, and it seemed as if people forgot what it was like to read a great story. Book publishing for us was the perfect beginning to a never-ending story. We wanted to be the gateway for other authors to create magical worlds, that in this day and time, would bring its readers a moment of escape. It was extremely important for us to love and enjoy our work, not just by being published authors, but bringing forth other authors to share their gifts with the world as well.

What should our readers know about your business?
Cayelle Publishing is a modern, independent Book Publisher. We have a vision of what we desire to see in print. The authors entrust us with their stories, and together we bring it to life. We are extremely proud and excited about the books we’ve published, and our forthcoming books. We have grown tremendously in the past two years by adding merch, audio titles, and we recently opened our brick and mortar book boutique in Lancaster, CA. As business partners, we supported each other and believed in our vision. It definitely wasn’t easy. It required dedication, consistency, and sacrifice but all of those things were overcome with being positive, having faith, and building each other up when things became difficult. We learned more about the publishing industry and how to take a book from a manuscript to a finished product. We applied our organizational and management skills to dive into an industry we knew little about. Cayelle Publishing is big on diversity. We support BIPOC(Black, Indigenous, and people of color) and LGBTQ literature. We are not afraid of publishing material that may not be well-received by mainstream Publishers. If we believe in a manuscript’s potential, we make every effort to ensure the author’s work is published. Cayelle Publishing is continuously growing and we look forward to working with more authors in the future.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
We would most likely go to a nice cafe for breakfast and coffee. Most definitely a spa day for massages and relaxation time in the jacuzzi. Shopping is most definitely required. What woman doesn’t like shopping? Lunch would consist of So Cal Mexican food or a sip n paint event, even a little salsa dancing would be fun. Then, the main course would definitely be dinner and cocktails at this amazing American restaurant in Quartz Hill. Seems the best food is always hidden. And a perfect ending to such an amazing day would have to be karaoke because everybody can sing at karaoke.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Calix Leigh-Reign: The love, encouragement, and support came from my daughter, Aliese; my mother, Sharon Paul; my sister, Tamya; and my business partner and best friend, LaShelle Cooper.

LaShelle Cooper: My support, love, and encouragement came from my mother, Carolyn Smith; my son, Cam; my siblings, Kris, Jonathan, Justin, and Tammi; my husband, Michael; and my business partner and best friend, Calix Leigh-Reign.

Website: Cayellepublishing.com

Instagram: cayellepublishing

Twitter: cayellepub

Facebook: Cayellepublishing

Other: TikTok: Cayellepublishing

Image Credits
Cayelle Publishing (Calix Leigh-Reign and LaShelle)