Herve Fanini Lemoine is an entrepreneur and the founder of Kiskeya Publishing, a company that publishes fiction and nonfiction books in French and English. Born in Haiti, Lemoine left for Canada in his late teens. After attending McGill University and Concordia University, in that country, Lemoine made the move to the United States in the early 1980s, and chose to settle in Florida.
After having worked as a realtor for most of his life, the entrepreneur decided to launch the Kiskeya Foundation, a learning center for Haitian culture and history. Fanini Lemoine says that he’s proud that the nonprofit has been a leader in challenging the status quo and enlightening new facets to Haitian cultural and historical approaches.
In the early 2010s, the Miami Dade College graduate founded Kiskeya Publishing Co. The company has thus far published nearly two dozen titles.
What pushed you to start Kiskeya Publishing Co?
As many have done it in music by creating an independent label, I believed opening my own publishing company could make me more productive since self-publishing doesn’t require too much. If you can navigate around a word processor, and you are familiar with Photoshop, or a software alike, you can easily make a presentable book. In addition, self-publishing does not require a large inventory; on demand-printing let you print the quantity you need. That’s a huge saving. If I could do it for me, I could help others attain their dreams. With that thought in mind, I opened up Kiskeya Publishing. And the rest is history.
To those who’d like to publish a book with Kiskeya Publishing Co—what are your submission guidelines?
I suggest that you prepare your manuscript without any formatting, since we will have to format or reformat the text. And that you send a great full-size picture for your front-cover, as well as your own photograph for the author’s bio in the back cover.
What are some of the challenges that you encounter in running the company?
The most apparent challenge so far is in text editing. When you tell a client you will have a finish proof copy in four months, and you don’t get it, that can create a problem. To prevent that from happening, I would tell the client to expect a proof within six months instead of four.
What’s next for Kiskeya Publishing Co?
For the past two years that we’ve been in the business of publishing, we have published more than 20 titles. We are looking forward to expanding our service to the English speaking audience.
Were you an avid reader growing up?
I love to read. I won’t pretend that I am an avid reader; however, when I need an information, I will read as many book necessary to have a balance.
Out of all the books that you’ve published, which one, or rather which ones have been the best received by the book-buying public?
Face à Face autour de l’Identité Haïtienne [A Look at Haitian Identity] has sold the most copies, followed by Marie-Alice’s Novel, Tolérence Zero [Zero Tolerance].
What advice do you have for those who are contemplating becoming entrepreneurs?
I will have to use that expression: “KISS”: Keep It Simply Stupid! An entrepreneur needs to have vision knowledge, and skills. He or she will have to identify a market where those goods or services will sell. And, more importantly, en entrepreneur must believe he or she can make it.
Visit the website of Kiskeya Publishing Co HERE.
