“Jetty Man” author Billy Reynolds recently became a book publisher out of necessity.

The Mayport native, who has written nine novels and one non-fiction book, started High Pitched Hum Publishing Co. seven months ago after two firms that published and distributed his books went out of business.

“I only created the publishing company so that I could finish the ‘Jetty Man' series,” Reynolds said in an interview last week at The Beaches Leader.

“Then I started getting calls from people wanting to know about my publishing company. I was treated so crummy by publishers that I felt like I could give authors a better deal.”

Since January, High Pitched Hum has published books for both veteran and first-time writers.

The fledgling company's catalog lists 24 books, including 10 by Reynolds, who recently published “Hoochie Coochie,” the eighth installment in his popular “Jetty Man” series of Southern Gothic novels.

“We have 14 authors and seven more are expected this summer,” said Reynolds, who penned “Jetty Man” in 1999 while on an 11-week sick leave from Mayport Middle School, where he was the principal for four years.

“We're on pace to have 50 books on our website by January. It's called cooperative publishing because we give authors so much in return.

“They put up the money but the return on their investment is very high compared to traditional publishing.”

An author who signs a contract with High Pitched Hum, a subsidy publisher, pays between $5,000 and $7,000 to have a manuscript turned into a 6-by-9 softbound book with a maximum of 250 pages.

In exchange, the author receives 2,000 books, full-color cover designs, an ISBN number and a back cover barcode.

Reynolds also organizes book signings for his clients at area book stores. He also registers High Pitched Hum books with Sarasota-based BookWorld Companies, one of the nation's largest book distributors.

Selling another story

Getting a book published is easy. Selling one is another story.

Reynolds learned that the hard way.

His inaugural novel, “Jetty Man,” has sold more than 70,000 copies, but it took a lot of time and effort on the author's part.

Self-published authors have to hawk their goods, much like street vendors.

Before retiring from the school system in May, Reynolds, who has a Ph.D. in educational leadership, spent his weekends - and many weeknights - at book signings.

Eventually, his persistence paid off.

“It took me a year and a half to get into Books-A-Million at the beach. And two and a half years to get into Barnes & Noble [at Regency],” Reynolds said.

“People think that as an author you get 25 books in a store. What you really get is three books in a store.”

At his first-ever book signing at The Book Mark in Atlantic Beach, Reynolds promised owner Rona Brinlee that if she ordered 50 “Jetty Man” books, he would invite 50 paying customers to the book signing.

Reynolds sold 187 books, 17 more than best-selling author Carl Hiasson, who had signed there the week before.

“Of course, all my friends bought books,” Reynolds recalled with a chuckle.

“I've endeared myself to independent book stores because I'm handling my own books now and I give them a 50 percent discount.”

Reynolds recently spent 30 days signing books at an independent book store in Fernandina Beach.

For the next 90 days, he and other High Pitched Hum authors will be signing books at the Borders book store near the Avenues Mall.

Among those signing is 84-year-old crime novelist Nancy Powell of St. Augustine, who recently released her second book, “Murder on the Rocks.”

Also participating is first-time children's author John Oberheu of Jacksonville Beach, one of the invited speakers at May's Much Ado About Books event sponsored by the Jacksonville Public Library system.

Oberheu's illustrated book, “The Manatee that Flew,” is based on a true story from the files of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, where Oberheu worked as a wildlife biologist.

Sell in own back yard

Reynolds advises his authors to sell their books in their own back yard before branching out to other markets.

Reynolds said he “saturated” Jacksonville with “Jetty Man” books before embarking on book signings from Daytona to the Carolinas.

Three years ago, Reynolds was invited to speak at a regional conference for Books-A-Million store managers in Birmingham, Ala.

He encouraged staffers with the nation's third largest book retailer to invite more local authors in for book signings.

Last November, Reynolds was invited to speak about the genesis of the “Jetty Man” series at the Ponte Vedra Beach Branch Library.

About 20 people attended the talk, seven of whom later contacted Reynolds about publishing their own books.

Five of those seven are currently High Pitched Hum authors, including Neptune Beach resident and former University of Georgia football star Leman “Buzy” Rosenberg, who has sold more than 4,000 copies of his memoir, “Building Character Through Sports.”

Reynolds said the turnaround time between manuscript and the finished product is about eight weeks.

High Pitched Hum edits the manuscript, but the author has the final say, Reynolds said.

“They get a lot of hands-on from me,” added Reynolds, who took the name of his publishing company from a chapter title in his first book.

“I never met the guy that was my first publisher. All we did was talk on the phone.”

10 books on the shelf

Reynolds had just finished the fifth book in the “Jetty Man” series when his original publisher went out of business.

Reynolds said he lost thousands in royalties, but eventually was able to obtain more than 8,000 unsold books, which he then stashed in a storage unit in Jacksonville Beach.

The storage unit, now stacked from floor to ceiling with cartons of books, is serving as an ad hoc distribution center for High Pitched Hum Publishing.

In January, Reynolds hopes to partner with Don Flynn Productions, an independent film company, to share office and warehouse space at Channel 4 Studios in Jacksonville.

Flynn produced an 11-minute “Jetty Man” short, which will be screened on Labor Day at Atlantic Theaters in Atlantic Beach. Actor Barry Corbin of the TV series “Northern Exposure” is the narrator.

Reynolds is teaming with FCCJ professor Dana Thomas on his next novel, “Ditch Walker.”

He has come a long way from peddling copies of “Jetty Man” out of the trunk of his car.

“I still want to be a book-signer and I don't want to quit writing,” said Reynolds, who will celebrate seven years as a published author in January.

“I thought I had one book in me. I thought all my family members would buy it and that would be the end of it. Now I have 10 books on the shelves.”