Her Story
About Nicole
Nicole Deanes is a Mississippi-based publisher, editor, and bestselling children’s book author. She has served as publisher at Liberations Publishing for 12 years, where she focuses on diverse literature and provides a platform for emerging and established authors through hybrid publishing. Deanes holds a degree in business administration and draws on prior experience in healthcare, customer service, and insurance. She has been writing for approximately 20 years and is known for children’s books including the bestseller You’re Not Here by Accident, which includes a companion toy, and Jemima Love Bible Stories. In 2025, she received the Mississippi Trailblazer Inspire Award. Deanes is a member of the IBPA and the Chamber of Commerce and is a former member of the Association of American Publishers. She attributes her success to her imagination and her ability to see a world inside of everything, while emphasizing values of quality, transparency, honesty, and creating high value in her work.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Nicole
01What do you attribute your success to?
My imagination and my ability to see a world inside of everything. Even with trends like AI, it can't do what the imagination of a person can do because it doesn't have the emotion. I keep finding ways to reinvent my company, like working on public domain products such as Gatsby, The Scarlet Letter, and The Win and Willow.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The importance of focusing on yourself and becoming the best you. Learning to take care of your mental state and needs. Take care of yourself first. You can't pour from an empty cup.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Learn what a publisher is, what a publishing house provides. It's not just loading a book on KDP. You have to be able to transcend, understand publishing and writing, the bound word, and the importance of it. Look at better ways to do what you're doing so you can shift with what comes.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge is authors not knowing the industry, not knowing what it means to be an author, and having to coach them. Getting an author to really put in the time to make a quality book. It's not something you can do in 3 weeks.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Quality, having a quality product. Transparency is very important, especially in this field. Honesty, creating value, giving a high value.
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