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Your Voice – Your Vision | Join Us This Saturday, October 17!
OPEN HOUSE · THIS SATURDAY
You have a seat at the table.
Discover Borinquen Within Press, explore international publishing opportunities, and join our Author Support & Planning Open House this Saturday. Reserve your seat!
Saturday, October 17, 2026 · 1:30–2:30 PM Pacific / Arizona
Join authors, aspiring authors, colleagues, and the Borinquen Within Press creative team for an open orientation. No publishing agreement is required to attend.
Meeting number: 2556 275 7823 · Brisbane: Sunday, October 18, 6:30–7:30 AM
There Is a Seat at the Table for You
A Daughter’s Journal, a Father’s Promise, and the Growing Journey of Borinquen Within Press
By Dr. James C. Rodríguez, MSW, CADC
Founder & Owner, Borinquen Within Press
Founder, President & CEO, Fathers and Families Coalition of America
There is an open invitation—and a seat at the table—for you.
On Saturday, October 17, 2026, from 1:30–2:30 PM Pacific Time, I invite you to join a special Borinquen Within Press Author Support & Planning Open House.
Perhaps you are already part of Meet the Authors or Fathers and Families Coalition of America. Perhaps you have published a book, started a manuscript, or spent years saying, “One day, I am going to write that story.”
You are welcome.
But before we gather, I want to tell you why this invitation means so much to me. Because before there was a publishing house, there was a daughter, a father, and a journal filled with possibilities.
Register for the October 17 Open House
Meeting number: 2556 275 7823
Before There Was a Publishing House, There Was a Journal
Some of my colleagues know me through my leadership of Fathers and Families Coalition of America. Others know my teaching, executive coaching, conferences, or work with children and families.
Many have not yet heard about another chapter in my life: I founded a publishing house called Borinquen Within Press.
To understand why, come with me into my office.
There is a journal on my desk. Inside is a message from my oldest daughter, Amber Rodriguez Young, who is now a licensed clinical social worker. I am deeply proud of the woman she has become. But the words in that journal came from my little girl.
She gave it to me for Father’s Day in June 2002.
It began:
“To my daddy, from your little baby girl.”
Then came words that have never stopped speaking to me:
“Daddy, I know I don’t say it enough, but I do love you. I’m proud of you.”
She reminded me that she knew I would give her what she needed without questions. She remembered our time in San Francisco, when I bought her a diary and told her how much I loved her and how proud I was of her.
In her own message, she returned those words: “I love you too” and “I’m proud of you, Dad.”
There was more. A sweet, sappy, beautiful love letter that made me cry. She knew I would always be there for her.
And after that message were pages.
Many were blank.
Those blank pages were an invitation to write my story for her. Looking back, I understand that they were also a call to action: Daddy, leave something of yourself here. Let me know the life behind the father I know.
In the spring of 2025, I opened that journal again.
More than two decades had passed. This time, I said to myself, I am going to finish writing that book.
I did.
By 2026, the promise had become a publication: The Purpose Within: Rise Out of the Ashes Like the Phoenix.
Now, I will admit that the book became long.
Some of my family members have asked whether I was one of the disciples in the New Testament, because apparently I looked as though I had written the Bible.
Family will keep you humble.
But behind the humor was something serious. I had honored my daughter’s invitation. I had put the seasons of my life on the page.
What I did not know was that finishing my book would lead me toward helping other people finish theirs.
The Seasons of a Life—and the Decision to Protect Its Voice
I originally approached the manuscript through seasons: spring, summer, harvest and fall, and winter.
I wanted to write about becoming, responsibility, service, loss, faith, family, cultural identity, leadership, and what it takes to begin again.
As I explored paid publishing offers, I received quotes of approximately $4,500, $5,000, and $8,000.
Why I Built Borinquen Within Press
I knew I could publish independently through Amazon KDP. I also knew I wanted a collaborative structure that brought people and expertise around the author.
A colleague told me he had once created a publishing imprint largely to open possibilities beyond a single sales platform.
Later, as he looked at what we were developing, he recognized that Borinquen Within Press was taking a broader direction.
We were bringing together a professional network, a community of authors, editorial leadership, design, production, social media, video, audio development, teaching, and international relationships.
His observation stayed with me: vision matters, and so does the team capable of giving that vision form.
Borinquen Within Press carries a name rooted in my Boricua identity. It also carries an invitation that reaches beyond any one culture, language, profession, or genre.
Your voice matters. Your intellectual property matters. Your legacy matters.
Our purpose is to help authors develop their work with care, understand their decisions, and build a professional foundation around what they want to share.
An author may bring a manuscript.
Another may bring years of practice, research, ministry, family experience, or a story they have never found the words to tell.
Someone else may arrive with nothing more than: “I know there is a book inside me.”
That is a beginning.
You should not have to understand every publishing system before you can begin a conversation about becoming an author.
A Starting Point of $500—and a Clear Conversation About the Rest
Our 2026 publishing relationship begins with a $500 Publishing Partnership Deposit.
That is the starting point for establishing the project and its agreed support. The complete cost depends on the manuscript, the formats, the creative work, and the services the author chooses.
Editing, illustration, interior design, cover design, production, video, audio, and marketing must be discussed according to the actual scope.
An illustrated children’s book needs a different plan from a Spanish-language memoir. A professional reference manual with activities, visual models, and journals requires different work from a short text-only publication.
Transparency means naming those differences before people invest.
To place the costs in context, Reedsy’s August 2026 guide, based on more than 230,000 freelance quotes, reports indicative self-publishing costs of $2,940–$5,660. It also reports that more than half of its cover-design collaborations fall between $630 and $1,200, and around half of its interior-design projects between $475 and $1,275. These are figures from that marketplace, rather than universal industry prices.
| Cost or decision | What it means |
|---|---|
| Offers I personally received | Approximately $4,500, $5,000, and $8,000; each proposal needed its own review. |
| BWP’s 2026 starting deposit | $500 to begin the publishing partnership; total services are agreed separately. |
| Professional cover design benchmark | Reedsy reports more than half of its cover projects at $630–$1,200. |
| Professional interior design benchmark | Reedsy reports around half of its interior projects at $475–$1,275. |
| An author’s full budget | Determined by the book’s needs, chosen services, production specifications, and marketing plan. |
I want authors to understand the starting figure and the complete project budget.
I want us to talk about what the book needs, why it needs it, who will do the work, what it will cost, and what the author is approving.
Rights, royalties, administration, deliverables, and permissions belong in the agreement and the conversation.
That is part of respecting the author.
April Through September: Six Months of Building
Looking back at our first six full months after the April 2026 conference launch, I see a series of decisions taking shape as books, relationships, and opportunities.
In March, there was time on a beach in Puerto Rico, editing, reflecting, and shaping the publishing vision. April brought that work into public view.
I cannot responsibly tell you how many new publishing houses accomplish these things in six months, nor can I claim that our journey outranks another publisher’s.
What I can tell you is what we have built—and why it matters to the next author who joins us..
| Month | Milestone in our journey |
|---|---|
| April 2026 | The first edition of *The Purpose Within* debuted at an international conference, where more than 100 copies were purchased during the launch and signing. We also opened a Purpose Within storefront on Bookshop.org and made the book available through Barnes & Noble. |
| May | We received approval for a Father’s Day weekend book signing at Barnes & Noble, turning preparation into a scheduled opportunity to meet readers. |
| June | The Barnes & Noble signing took place, and we began onboarding for Guadalajara FIL. Dr. Alicia L. Jackson became our first author outside the founder’s own books. Audio development also began with Gabe Barajas. |
| July | Alicia’s publication was completed for the birthday milestone she hoped to meet. Alfie Mendoza joined as Managing Editor-in-Chief. We prepared for the Neighborhood House Association Fathers for Families Leadership Summit in San Diego. |
| August | Participants took on Unlocking Unlimited Potential at the San Diego summit. Its role expanded across training programs, including the OAR Leadership Institute and manager/director learning. Arrangements for national conference learning in October were developed, and our Guadalajara Rights Center participation was approved. |
| September | Our Spanish-language memoir publication was released on September 16. Editorial, design, illustration, and production work continued across other author projects, including Tracey McMillan’s children’s book. We strengthened the marketing and international presentation surrounding the growing catalog. |
Some milestones were visible: a book, a signing, a cover, a video.
Others involved contracts, revision, proofreading, metadata, production checks, and quiet conversations that helped someone feel ready to continue.
Both kinds of work matter.
By October, the journey included an author in Australia, a prospective second international author in the United Kingdom whose agreement was pending as of October 13, a Texas author in editing, a California health toolkit in development, and additional manuscripts and relationships moving forward.
One author in Madera, California, chose to make the signing of her publishing agreement a public celebration at her church. Her book is planned for April 2027.
That moved me.
Signing an agreement can be paperwork. For her, it became a declaration that the story was worth bringing into the world.
That is the deep end of the pool.
Guadalajara: A Seat at Table 51
Borinquen Within Press × Fathers and Families Coalition of America
INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHING • CULTURAL EXCHANGE • AUTHOR LEGACY
Your Purpose Is Too Heavy to Stay Local.
Borinquen Within Press and Fathers and Families Coalition of America are preparing to participate in the Guadalajara International Book Fair's professional publishing and rights marketplace.
Rights Center — Table 51
November 29–December 2, 2026
For me, Guadalajara represents more than attending an international book fair. It is an opportunity to bring our publishing vision, our authors, and decades of relationships in professional development, family strengthening, and community leadership into a wider international conversation.
Through our participation at Rights Center Table 51, we intend to introduce selected titles, share our digital publishing catalog, explore international relationships, and learn more about opportunities involving translation, licensing, distribution, and publishing rights.
Our presence opens the door to conversations. Any future publishing or rights agreement will depend on appropriate author permissions, professional review, and mutually agreed terms.
Never let other people define your destiny. Claim your global footprint.
An Invitation to Authors
If you have a manuscript, a published book, or a story that deserves consideration beyond your local community, we welcome a conversation about your publishing goals.
Our preparation target for authors seeking consideration for the 2026 digital catalog is November 15, 2026. Inclusion is subject to review of the publishing relationship, available materials, and appropriate permissions.
Interested in publishing with us?
Where Voice Becomes Legacy.
The Books That Give the Vision Form
The Purpose Within: Rise Out of the Ashes Like the Phoenix
By Dr. James C. Rodríguez
This is the memoir that grew from Amber’s journal and the seasons of my life. Its publication connected fatherhood, military service, faith, resilience, healing, leadership, and cultural identity with readers.
It is the personal promise that became the foundation for a larger invitation.
Explore The Purpose Within on Amazon
Unlocking Unlimited Potential
An Evidence-Informed Reference Manual and Activity Guide for Personal Growth, Family Systems, and Professional Development
By Dr. James C. Rodríguez
The memoir invites reflection on the life we have lived. This reference manual and activity guide invites readers to apply learning to the life they are building.
Its work connects self-discovery, wellness, relationships, leadership, service, professional development, and team learning.
It grew into a resource for my training programs, professional gatherings, and organizational learning, including work with a large Los Angeles nonprofit.
The movement from a book to a training resource matters. It places ideas in the hands of people who can use them—with parents, colleagues, teams, and communities.
A person can read something meaningful and then carry it into a conversation. A facilitator can use an activity to help a group reflect. A manager can bring a model into team development. A parent can use a journal prompt to think about the story they want to create next.
That is the connection between purpose and application.
Explore Unlocking Unlimited Potential on Amazon
Watch the official book trailer
The national Together for Families Conference 2026, hosted by the National Family Support Network, takes place virtually October 20–22. Its published tracks include “Nurturing the Wellness of Children, Families, and Communities: An Evidence-Informed Parent Leadership and Family Support Workshop.” This is part of the professional context in which my teaching and the manual’s practical activities continue to develop.
Explore Together for Families Conference 2026
Let Me Catch the Fire While I Can
By Min. Alicia L. Jackson, PhD
Alicia, a colleague connected with Florida A&M University, trusted us with a message grounded in faith and personal conviction.
She responded to the cover artwork, then to the interior design, and asked what it would take to publish her work with us.
Her trust became an important beginning for this publishing house.
Her book also showed that another author could enter this process and find room for her own voice. Her birthday publication goal gave us a personal milestone to work toward together.
Explore Let Me Catch the Fire While I Can on Amazon
The Crocodile in My Chest
A Gentle Story to Help Children Navigate Divorce and Big Feelings
By Tracey McMillan
Tracey brings an Australian perspective and professional family-law experience to a children’s story that makes room for emotions children may struggle to explain.
This project has required narrative care, character development, illustration, layout, and collaboration around the child’s experience.
Its place in our growing catalog also makes the international dimension tangible: an author in Australia working with a publishing team across borders.
A story created in one part of the world can help a family begin a conversation in another.
Explore The Crocodile in My Chest on Amazon
Spanish-Language Publishing
Crecimiento Postraumático de Las Cenizas a la Belleza
Published by Borinquen Within Press on September 16, 2026, this project demonstrates another part of our capacity: executive coaching, consultation, professional Spanish-language editorial work, and complete exterior and interior design.
It is an example of the work our team can coordinate around language, lived experience, and an author’s manuscript.
That work belongs in the story of our publishing house alongside our English-language publications.
Our other projects are at different stages. Sunshine Flores’s Sunshine from Ashes: Beauty Born of Burnt Ground is in editorial development. Paulette Young’s health education toolkit is moving through concept and cover development before the remaining editorial and production work.
A future book can be celebrated while we remain clear that it is still being developed.
Stories Still Rising: The Next Chapter
Our publishing journey continues with authors whose books are preparing for the next stage. Sunshine Flores is preparing Sunshine from Ashes: Beauty Born of Burnt Ground, with a promotional introduction planned for October 24, 2026. Andrea Garcia Martinez is developing Freedom in Forgiveness for 2027. Each project carries a distinct voice, and each deserves a thoughtful, individualized path to publication.Coming in 2027: Freedom in Forgiveness by Andrea García Martínez
A forthcoming Borinquen Within Press publication. Andrea’s cover is featured here as part of our growing author community and the stories preparing for publication in 2027.
The Team Behind the Pages
I learned early that wanting excellence does not automatically produce it.
I needed people whose work could meet the standard the books deserved. When the initial editorial support didn't give my manuscript the quality I needed, I restructured and brought in professional editorial leadership.
Today, our team brings together:
- Alfie Mendoza — Managing Editor-in-Chief: editorial development, clarity, structure, consistency, and care for the author’s voice.
- Hamza Hashmi — Book Design and Production: cover concepts, visual identity, typography, and production artwork.
- Naomi Ruth Bright — Interior Design: page composition, book layout, and the reader’s experience inside the publication.
- Afroz Syed — Social Media and Author Marketing: content, promotional campaigns, digital storytelling, and reporting.
- Boryana Sirakova — Video Production: book-focused promotional videos and creative presentation.
- Gabe Barajas — Audio Engineering: audiobook development, recording, podcasts, and spoken-word production.
- Božidar Karik — Graphic Design: creative visual assets that carry the book’s themes into marketing.
- Isuru Sandakelum — Visual and Promotional Design: graphics and materials for books, authors, and publishing initiatives.
Through Mona Lisa Stallworth’s leadership in Meet the Authors and Authors of Impact, that production work also connects with a literary community.
Their work reaches readers before a book opens and continues after it closes.
An author may receive several cover concepts to consider, sometimes as many as five under the agreed creative scope. In some projects, one direction may suit print editions and another the eBook.
The author’s preferences and the reader’s experience guide those decisions.
Inside the book, margins, typography, images, chapter structure, and consistency help the reader follow the story.
Beyond the book, promotional imagery, video, audio, and social media can give people another way to discover it.
Every service is chosen according to the project. The team's value is that we can discuss those possibilities together.
The Work a Reader Never Sees
Another layer deserves attention: metadata and market pricing.
Metadata includes the title, subtitle, author details, description, ISBN, format, subject categories, and keywords that help retailers and libraries understand the publication.
Market pricing considers where a book will be sold, what it costs to produce, and what remains for the publisher and author.
As we grow internationally, each decision needs a rationale that fits the book.
IngramSpark recommends using both BISAC and Thema subject classifications for international discoverability, choosing accurate categories, placing the primary subject first, and using relevant qualifiers.
That work belongs alongside editing and design.
A beautifully produced book still needs to be described and classified in a way that helps its intended readers find it.
We also check files, review proofs, reconcile the edition information, and address platform requirements. Those steps take attention.
They help transform a creative vision into a publication that can be ordered, read, and represented professionally.
Sometimes the author sees the finished cover and the final book. Behind those moments are many decisions that made them possible.
I want our authors to understand that work—and to understand their part in it.
See the Vision in Motion
Our author support goes beyond the printed page. Watch the official book trailer and see how professional visual storytelling helps introduce an author's work.
If the embedded player does not load, watch the video directly on YouTube.
Guadalajara Is One Chapter. HOPE 2027 Is Another.
The relationships we build in Mexico can continue in Los Angeles through the 28th International Families & Fathers Conference, HOPE 2027, April 11–15, 2027, at the Hilton Los Angeles Airport.
The current schedule includes HOPE FIL 2027 Literary & Publishing Center, led by Mona Lisa Stallworth, and Meet the Authors / Authors of Impact opportunities.
It also connects Unlocking Unlimited Potential with applied professional learning through the Advanced Practitioner Credential.
This is how a book can remain part of a living professional conversation: readers meet an author, practitioners encounter a resource, and a new connection finds a place to continue.
A book table can become an introduction. An introduction can become a professional relationship. A professional relationship can become a discussion about training, speaking, publishing, or a future project.
Those possibilities require participation, preparation, and follow-through.
That is the kind of community I want us to build.
Explore the full HOPE 2027 conference schedule →
Follow Borinquen Within Press on LinkedIn →
Three Ways to Join the Journey
You can become part of this community through different pathways.
Through Fathers and Families Coalition of America
Meet the Authors, Authors of Impact, and appropriate conference and literary opportunities can connect authors with readers, colleagues, and professional conversations.
Through a publishing partnership with Borinquen Within Press
We develop an agreed plan around your manuscript, your voice, your goals, and the services your project needs.
Through an ongoing author relationship
Publication can be one milestone in a longer connection. Authors may explore future services, new books, professional development, and collaborative opportunities.
Some authors want a clearly defined publication project. Others want to build a wider platform around their knowledge and creative work.
Both deserve an honest conversation.
You can walk beside us as a BWP author. You can join the wider Authors of Impact community. You can introduce a colleague, share a book, follow our progress, or cheer us on.
There is room for all of those contributions.
Join Our October 17 Open House
YOU ARE INVITED
Borinquen Within Press Author Support & Planning Open House
Our Author Support & Planning Open House brings prospective authors, current authors, published authors, and colleagues together for a practical conversation.
Saturday, October 17, 2026
1:30–2:30 PM Pacific Time / Arizona time — UTC−07:00
For Tracey and our colleagues in Brisbane, Australia:
Sunday, October 18, 6:30–7:30 AM
Meeting number: 2556 275 7823
Our conversation will introduce:
- Understanding the publishing agreement: responsibilities, rights, expectations, and questions authors should ask.
- Beyond publication: book presentation through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other supported platforms, including enhanced content where available.
- Social media with Afroz Syed: content creation, scheduling, publishing, campaigns, and reporting.
- Professional videography with Boryana: creative options, with confirmed scope and pricing as available.
- Design and promotional artwork: sample covers, digital mockups, and visual presentation.
- Creating an author website: practical lessons from building an online home for books, biography, videos, and future projects.
- Book videos and retail presentation: preparing promotional content and understanding each platform's requirements.
- Guadalajara FIL: our digital catalog, permissions, representation, and international relationship building.
With one hour together, this will be an orientation to the possibilities and the next steps. Individual projects can then receive the conversations they deserve.
Please review the social media services catalog and sample artwork circulated with the invitation.
Bring your questions.
Invite an aspiring author or a colleague who has been saying, “One day, I am going to write that book.”
Attending does not require you to enter a publishing agreement.
We Are Going—and You Are Invited
Leadership asks us to build something before we know everything the journey will require.
For me, that responsibility is also rooted in faith.
There will be Goliaths.
Sometimes the largest one is within us: the voice that says we are too late, unprepared, unsupported, or unlikely to be heard.
I am coming with a few smooth stones.
One is vision.
Another is preparation.
Another is a capable team.
Another is relationship.
Another is the willingness to act.
Those stones are useful when the barrier says, “I cannot,” and a community is ready to answer, “We will.”
The phoenix reminds me that a painful season does not have to be the final chapter.
The eagle is an image of courage as we face difficult weather.
David reminds me that what we already carry may be enough to take the next faithful step.
And my daughter's journal reminds me why legacy matters.
A little girl gave her father blank pages.
Years later, those pages helped him finish a book.
That book helped him imagine a publishing house.
That publishing house now makes room for other people's voices.
I do not know all the stories that will come to this table.
I do know that our guiding principles remain:
Integrity • Inspiration • Influence • Impact • Ikigai
If you have a story, a manuscript, professional knowledge, or a dream that keeps asking for your attention, come sit with us.
You have potential worth developing. You have experiences worth examining. You may have a story that can help someone else recognize a possibility within themselves.
We are going to Guadalajara.
We are building toward HOPE 2027.
We are continuing to learn, create, and open conversations.
There is a seat at the table for you.
Explore, Watch, and Connect
Discover the books and our publishing community
Purpose Within online bookstore on Bookshop.org →
FFCA Featured Authors & Books / Borinquen Within Press →
Explore my author platform and video presentations
Unlocking Unlimited Potential official book trailer →
Connect and follow our journey
Borinquen Within Press on LinkedIn →
Dr. James C. Rodríguez on LinkedIn →
Explore international and conference opportunities
BWP's official Guadalajara FIL 2026 Rights Center listing →
Guadalajara FIL mission and vision →
HOPE 2027 full conference schedule →
HOPE FIL 2027 Literary & Publishing Center →
Author, vendor, and exhibitor opportunities →
Together for Families Conference 2026 →
Begin a publishing conversation
With appreciation,
Dr. James C. Rodríguez, MSW, CADC
Founder & Owner
Borinquen Within Press
Where Voice Becomes Legacy
Founder, President & CEO
Fathers and Families Coalition of America
