Meet an Employee Owner: Braden Moulton
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“There are a lot of special people who walk through FriesenPress’s doors and leave with a book they are proud of. Having the opportunity to get to know them, and help them grow as a self-published author is what really makes this role so rewarding.”
Ask any of our 11,000+ authors: it’s the people who make publishing with FriesenPress so special. Why? As employee owners, we’re directly invested in you and your story, bringing a rare level of care to the book projects entrusted to us.
In our Meet an Employee Owner series, we’re getting to know some of the amazing individuals who help our authors publish their incredible books.
For our September edition, we’re connecting with Braden Moulton! As Senior Publishing Specialist, Braden takes a leading role in assisting our authors with sharing their best stories with the world.
What originally drew you toward FriesenPress?
The obvious answer here is what brings us all – employees and authors – to FriesenPress: books.
I actually knew very little about FriesenPress prior to applying for the role. When I told my close friend about the opportunity, he was quick to bring up Friesens in Altona. Little did I know that this pristine print facility known for its top-notch quality was a mere 1.5 hours away.
When I learned more about the opportunity with FriesenPress, a Canadian and employee-owned publishing service provider, it just felt like the right fit.
What do you find most rewarding about your role?
Books are an important part of humanity. They serve as a record of our tales, our truths, our histories – and they are an integral part of our identities. It’s a privilege to help others share their stories with their community. Listening to authors discuss their passions and present their ideas is all part of the reward, but ultimately it’s the connections made throughout the process.
There are a lot of special people who walk through FriesenPress’s doors and leave with a book they are proud of. Having the opportunity to get to know them, and help them grow as a self-published author is what really makes this role so rewarding.
Tell us a bit about your life outside of work – what are some activities and/or interests that fill your cup?
I live in Winnipeg with my partner and our Boxer-Sharpei, Jake. I love the little things in life: cooking, walking the dog, mowing the lawn, working out, etc. One of my favorite lines is: “If you can’t be happy washing dishes, you can’t be happy,” famously attributed to Nora Ephron. It keeps me grounded and is a friendly reminder that there is joy in the simplest of tasks.
Asides from the day to day: I am a big fan of games! Board games, video games, card games – you name it. I’ve played Dungeons and Dragons with a close group of friends since 2019, and recently started playing Magic: the Gathering, which is a weekly routine we cherish. A bit of friendly competition always fills my cup (and sometimes overfills it). Other interests include baseball & hockey, making music, writing, and travel.
What is a remarkable reading experience that you’ve had? Why is it so remarkable to you?
The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt. Sometimes a book just latches onto you unexpectedly. I discovered it in university as part of a course. Typically school reading tends to be methodical, focused, and critical – but this book was different. I just had fun with it and it eventually turned into a comfort read. It’s full of layers, and the characters are wonderful. It’s an exciting commentary on the Spaghetti Western genre from a Canadian perspective.
If I may nerd-out here: I also read manga, and if you ever find yourself having the time on your hands to read 1100+ chapters, One Piece by Eiichiro Oda is about as great of a story as there is.
What does being an employee owner of Friesens and FriesenPress mean to you?
Being part of an employee-owned company helps to establish a shared bond amongst colleagues. The success of the company directly benefits us as employees, which adds a level of responsibility and makes our team even stronger.
It means that my daily efforts and contributions amass to something greater than myself. We’re not only working for all the wonderful authors under our care, but we’re also working for each other member of the Friesen and FriesenPress staff and our livelihood. It is so incredibly important for our company’s identity, and we hope that we encourage other businesses in Canada to adopt a similar approach.
Looking back across all the conversations you’ve had and books you’ve worked on, what projects jump out as being particularly noteworthy or special to you?
Oh, there are a bunch. I’m having a hard time with this question because I feel like I’m excluding so many books that were also extremely special and the authors behind them are brilliant and caring. It takes courage to share your story, and I don’t take the significance of that lightly.
Ray Sproule is an author who sticks out – notably his story Grazz. After working with him on three books (which he was kind enough to send me a copy of each in the mail), I consider him a dear friend. As a retired professor of mathematics, he’s always had a passion for storytelling and is truly in it for “the love of the game.” His stories are dark and brooding with complex characters, yet fun and exciting. He is deeply passionate about writing. Check out his books.
What’s a piece of writing and/or publishing advice that you wish more writers knew (and why)?
Perfectionism is the death of a book (or more familiarly, the enemy of progress). What I mean by this is not that you shouldn’t strive for your book to be the best it can be – we at FriesenPress will always help you achieve this – but knowing when to let go of your book and shift your focus to sales and marketing is so important. It can feel disheartening to find a typo in your 5th read-through, but chances are, you are the only person that will ever notice it (and no one will mind it if they do). The longer you hang onto that book, the less time you have to invest in the other books living inside you waiting to be written.
Take advantage of the most valuable service we can offer – editing – and continue to focus on what you do best: write.
What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned in your role helping authors at FriesenPress?
The easy advice is not always the right advice. Publishing a book has a lot of steps, and within those steps there are a ton of decisions which can trigger emotional responses (like excitement, frustration, or overwhelm) – especially when you are so deeply passionate about the project at hand.
Being in the seat of a Publishing Specialist means that a lot of the decisions along the way require direct encouragement or realignment based on our industry knowledge and expertise. Choosing to not offer this because it may stimulate an adverse response is a detriment to your book. Our advice comes from a place of love and care for your book!
Asked by our previous respondent, Astra: what custom or traditional book feature makes you cherish a book and want to give it a place of pride on your shelves?
I am a huge fan of interior custom illustrations, especially on endpapers. Everyone loves the visuals a cover can provide, so opening up a book to find more art is a huge bonus. If you want to take it a step further, a custom illustration for sprayed edges is top notch. Toss a ribbon bookmark in the spine and now you’re cooking.
