Ryan and Julie at Mayfly were exceptional partners for our photography book project from start to finish! Their professionalism and creative expertise stood out from the crowd in their proposal to partner with us and they walked our team through every step of the process of creating a unique, elegant, and deeply powerful piece. Ryan’s eye for high-quality cover and page design is second to none and Julie’s knack for complex project management played a key role in the delivery of a final photography book that my entire team and our clients will be extremely proud of for years to come. Mayfly is the perfect partner to bring your storytelling project to life!

—Keanu Gaite, Meridan International, A Global Moment in Time

We have the highest praise for Mayfly! Both the process and the ultimate outcome—a beautiful book filled with photographs—were of the highest order. Ryan and Julie shared our passion for this project and determination to make it the best possible representation of our vision. They were a joy to work with–a true partnership.

—Roberta Walburn, Ciresi Walburn Foundation

Working with my co‑publishing partners at Mayfly has been an absolute dream! From day one, Julie and Ryan treated me with the highest level of respect—not just as an author, but as a creator deeply protective of my intellectual property and my vision. They embraced my work wholeheartedly and cared for it almost as if it were their own. What stood out most to me was how intentionally they honored my commitment to inclusivity. They truly got it—and made sure that inclusive energy flowed through every single part of the creative and publishing process. They even helped me find my creative illustrator partners who were EXCELLENT as well. That kind of alignment is rare, and it meant the world to me. As a new self‑publishing author, I learned so much from them. Julie and Ryan were patient, generous with their time, and always willing to explain every step in a way that made me feel empowered and confident. I would work with Mayfly again in a heartbeat—and in fact, I’m already planning my next project with them! Five bright, shining stars for Mayfly!

—Dr. Alfiee Breland-Noble, Rise and Thrive

SVP has completed 28 books in 12 years. Bravo Zulu was our first coffee table book, jam packed with full color photos of WWI and WWII warbird aircraft, 200 lush pages. We’ve done other traditional books with them before, but this was a whole nother thing. Mayfly took our photographs and our 50,000 words and created a masterpiece. The cherry on top is dust jacket using the photo of the author flying the Red Baron’s 1917 Fokker DR-1, leather helmet, goggles, and white scarf flying above the clouds. This project was fun but seriously challenging. The Mayfly team rolled with the many punches, false starts and speed bumps, and got us across the finish line on time. They’re a pleasure to work with, and they know how to do this stuff right! We will be back.

—Joseph DiNucci, Silicon Valley Press, Bravo Zulu

I had the best experience working with Mayfly. Their entire team is incredible. I can’t recommend them enough!

—Emily Maxson, Emily’s Fresh Kitchen

I cannot say enough about how wonderful it was to work with Mayfly’s team. We published a technical book (~200 pages printed) with more than 100 technical drawings and photographs. It was my organization’s first publication. Mayfly gave us tremendous guidance and set up a clear publishing schedule that helped our largely volunteer team stay on track. The final product, steered by Mayfly’s layout and typesetting experience, is beautiful. Very happy. Looking forward to setting up the 2nd edition!

—Christopher Kelsey, International Geosynthetics Society, IGS Geosynthetics Handbook, Frist Edition

I finally found a design team I can trust—and I’m not letting them go! Mayfly Design did the book cover and interior design/typesetting for my most recent book, Nonfiction Alchemy. Julie took extra care with the project management, Ryan asked great questions on our initial team call and Jess … Jess is awesome. She is the main designer behind the scenes, and wow! She was fast, efficient, detailed, and best of all her, her designs look and feel unbeatable even when compared to major publishing houses. I’ve worked with a lot of book cover designers over the years, and Jess is by far the cream of the crop. The final product was exactly what I needed and everything I wanted. I’ve been searching for a team this good for the last decade. If you’re like me, there’s no need to look elsewhere.

—Jordan Ring, author of Nonfiction Alchemy

Mayfly provided professional services that delivered the colorful, richly illustrated history book I had always imagined. Julie expertly guided me through the publishing process and kept the production schedule on track. Ryan’s page designs made my text and images shine. Mayfly supports authors on every step of the publishing journey, and I highly recommend its exceptional work.

—Judy S. Purcell, author of The Haddock Family of English Seafarers: Merchant Mariners and Naval Officers 1327–1941

I could not have been more pleased with the professionalism of Mayfly. Ryan was terrific to work with, the communication was outstanding, and he finished the project- which had a relatively short window- right on time. The book looks great! I would highly recommend Mayfly and look forward to working with them again.

—Julie Pfitzinger, Paris Morning Publications

The team at Mayfly was a treat to work with and I couldn’t be happier with the resulting design. There are a lot of firms that work with self-published authors and many of them do the bare minimum hoping and trusting that the author will be so star-struck seeing their name on the cover of anything that looks like book that they can get away with recycling old ideas. I know because I worked with a designer like that before connecting with the team at Mayfly. The difference was remarkable in both the quality of the ideas and in the collaborative nature our working relationship. I might be pickier than the average self-published author, but that’s probably because I have 25-year career in advertising and design to sharpen my aesthetic sensibilities. So trust me, Mayfly is the real deal and they’ll put more thought and creativity into your design than you might even be able to appreciate. I look forward to the next book we work on together.

—James Brown, author of Meditation Made Me Do It

Ryan masterfully wove a beautiful tapestry of 25 military badges, 30 bravery/service medals, and 279 photographs, into 332 pages of manuscript. The outstanding result is my new book titled: “Duty First (A Trilogy of Wars),” which I believe has taken graphic design to the next level of excellence. As a result I strongly recommend “Mayfly” to our next generation of authors.

—Dr. Philip (Tom) Cobley, Duty First

The best decision I made in my book publishing journey was hiring Mayfly. There is always the temptation to feel like we can save money by attempting to design covers or interior work ourselves, but the absolute best investment you can make is hiring professionals to bring the manuscript you have worked so hard on to life and set you apart from the competition. Not only does my book pop on the shelves, but the interior gives the book a polished and magical touch. Early readers and reviewers have gushed over the book’s design- calling it luxurious, enchanting, and surpassing the templates of many traditional publishers. And while I could spend an entire review raving about their design work, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that Mayfly’s real magic is their people. I connected with Julie Scheife, Mayfly’s Managing Partner, from our first consult. Her years of experience and knowledge of the industry, made me feel safe and seen, not just as another number. She quickly became a trusted and discerning advisor, mentor, and friend- holding my hand through each part of the process, including helping me to upload all of my files onto KDP and Ingram. Jess LaGreca, Mayfly’s senior designer, was a dream to work with. She understood my vision from the start and exceeded all expectations. She was quick and transparent in her communications, collaborative as a partner, and helped me across the finish line faster than every deadline set before us. I am so proud for my book to showcase her work. I plan on being a repeat customer of Mayfly—for every book in my series. For self-published authors who don’t trust the large wheel houses and really want to give their book the best shot at selling—I recommend Mayfly for your project. This was the best investment I could have for myself.

—S.W. Kent, author of The Storyteller From Balincia

I learned of Mayfly by chance after an internet search for a book designer. Though I was obviously taking a chance with an unknown entity, it turned out to be an excellent decision/choice. I’ve been in the book publishing business for almost 40 years, and I can state unequivocally that the attention to detail and design excellence which Ryan and Julie instill in their work is unequalled. I highly recommend them.

—R. Olin Jackson, Mystery & History in Georgia