CASE STUDY
A CRM for Publishers
Unveiling the Chapters: O’Leary Publishing’s Thrilling Odyssey with Capsule CRM!
Running a publishing business involves considerably more than getting a manuscript from an author to the printer. There are prospective authors to nurture, contracts to manage, editors and designers to coordinate, deadlines to track, and countless conversations to keep on record.
For April O’Leary, founder of O’Leary Publishing, the challenge became clear soon after launching the business in 2019. She needed a way to bring the moving parts of the business together without adding another layer of complexity.
The answer was Capsule CRM.
Today, O’Leary Publishing has entered a new chapter. In 2026, the business evolved into Golden Acorn Press, while retaining O’Leary Publishing as its legacy imprint. The company describes the rebrand as an expansion of the original boutique publishing business, with the same author-focused foundations but a broader vision.
That makes the story particularly interesting: Capsule was originally introduced to help a small publishing team bring order to its everyday operations, and the system became part of the operational foundation on which the business could grow.
The problem: too many places to keep track of everything
When April launched O’Leary Publishing, she was doing what many small-business owners do. She was juggling multiple responsibilities and using different tools to keep track of different pieces of information.
The problem was that those pieces did not necessarily connect.
The current Capsule customer story recalls April describing a working day that could involve speaking with prospective authors, advising them about publishing options, reviewing manuscripts, working with the project manager, checking in with editors and designers, and responding to authors.
Before Capsule, information could be spread across email, notes and other digital platforms. April famously described having some tasks in her notes app, others in her email and some simply in her head.
For a small team, that creates an obvious risk. If information is scattered, it becomes harder to know what has already been done, what needs attention next and who is responsible for a particular task.
As April put it:
“We needed a central place for all of our daily work activities, tasks, clients, vendors, and more.”
That need for a centralized CRM system became the starting point for O’Leary Publishing’s relationship with Capsule.
A CRM that could handle the journey from lead to published book
Capsule did not simply become a database of author contacts. O’Leary Publishing used it to connect different stages of its workflow.
At the beginning of the relationship, Capsule helps the team manage prospective authors through its sales pipeline. Leads can be captured through Capsule’s integration with Google’s productivity tools, giving the team a clearer picture of potential business and the opportunities moving through the pipeline.
When a prospective author is accepted, the process moves from sales into production.
The project manager can convert the sales Opportunity into a Project and then apply the team’s customized Tracks. Those Tracks contain the repeatable tasks associated with producing a book, helping the team follow a consistent process rather than reinventing the workflow for every new title.
That is where Capsule becomes more than a conventional contact database. It acts as a publishing project management tool, helping connect the customer relationship with the work required to deliver the project.
Seven Tracks help turn a complicated process into a repeatable one
Publishing a book is rarely a single straight-line task.
An author might initially deal with April, before the project moves to a project manager. An editor may then become involved, followed by designers, illustrators, proofreaders, website designers and other contractors.
O’Leary Publishing used Capsule’s Projects and Tracks to keep these contributors connected to the relevant book project. The original case study reports that the team had created seven Tracks for its publishing workflow, together with automations to help the process run smoothly.
The benefit is straightforward: instead of relying on memory or lengthy email chains, the team has a repeatable workflow that can be followed from one book to the next.
April explained that Projects organize each book title, while Tracks contain the predictable, repeatable tasks involved in production.
She can also add milestones, deadlines and reminders to help keep the team moving.
For a business producing multiple books, that kind of workflow automation for small business can make a significant difference. It reduces the amount of administrative work required to keep routine processes moving and gives team members a clearer view of what needs to happen next.
Capsule’s current workflow automation capabilities have also developed beyond the functionality described in the original case study. Capsule says its automations can trigger actions around sales opportunities and projects, including assigning users or teams, adding Tracks and creating linked Projects. These features are available on its Growth, Advanced and Ultimate plans.
Keeping a remote team on the same page
Another important part of the O’Leary Publishing story is the way the team worked.
The business operated with remote workers working at different times and in different time zones. That made shared visibility particularly valuable.
Rather than constantly texting, calling or emailing colleagues to find out where something stood, team members could check Capsule to see assigned tasks, completed work and project status.
That gave April greater confidence that she could step into a meeting without having to reconstruct the latest information beforehand.
She also highlighted the usefulness of having Capsule on her iPhone, allowing her to access contacts and projects while away from her desk.
For a small or distributed team, this is one of the less glamorous but highly practical benefits of a CRM: team collaboration with a CRM does not necessarily mean adding another communication channel. Done well, it can mean giving everyone access to the same information.
From scattered communication to a shared record
Contact management was another important part of the transformation.
O’Leary Publishing uses Capsule to save customer communications to activity records, giving the team a reference point for conversations and previous interactions. The integration with Google’s business productivity tools helped reduce the reliance on long email chains and made it easier to find information associated with a client.
That matters in publishing because relationships can last throughout a lengthy production process.
A book project may involve months of conversations, decisions, revisions and deadlines. Having the relevant history attached to the client or project means the information is not dependent on one person’s memory or inbox.
This is the real value of CRM for publishers: not simply storing contact details, but creating a reliable thread connecting the commercial relationship with the work being delivered.
Capsule became part of the company’s growth story
Perhaps the most revealing part of this case study is that April did not choose Capsule after an elaborate software-selection exercise.
Her husband was already using Capsule in his private law practice and recommended it when she started O’Leary Publishing.
What began as a practical recommendation became a long-term business system.
O’Leary Publishing has now evolved into Golden Acorn Press, which says the new business carries forward the foundation of O’Leary Publishing while expanding its reach and refining its processes. April’s current website says the team has published more than 50 titles since O’Leary Publishing began in 2019.
The current Golden Acorn Press site also describes the business as specializing in high-impact nonfiction and offering services including editing, design, marketing and project management.
That evolution gives the Capsule story a useful lesson for other small businesses. The tools you choose when the company is small can become part of the infrastructure that supports the business as it develops.
The human side of CRM support
Technology is only useful if people can actually use it confidently.
For April, Capsule’s customer support was another reason the relationship worked. She described the support team as friendly, personable and helpful, and said that they had provided ideas for using Capsule more effectively in the business.
That is an interesting detail because it highlights something often overlooked when comparing CRM software.
Features matter, but so do usability, accessibility and the quality of support available when a small team gets stuck.
For a business where the owner and team are focused on authors, manuscripts and publishing projects rather than software administration, that can be especially important.
What can other small businesses learn from O’Leary Publishing?
O’Leary Publishing’s experience offers several useful lessons for businesses that are considering a CRM.
1. Centralize information early.
Waiting until information becomes unmanageable can make CRM implementation harder. O’Leary Publishing recognized early that it needed one place for contacts, tasks, clients and vendors.
2. Connect sales and delivery.
The transition from a sales Opportunity to a Project means the customer journey does not end when the deal is won. The information and process continue into delivery.
3. Build repeatable workflows.
For businesses carrying out similar processes repeatedly, Tracks can turn a complicated series of tasks into a consistent workflow.
4. Make responsibilities visible.
When multiple people contribute to a project, everyone needs to know who is doing what. Shared visibility can reduce unnecessary internal messages and follow-ups.
5. Choose a CRM that can grow with the business.
O’Leary Publishing began using Capsule as a small publishing company. Its subsequent evolution into Golden Acorn Press demonstrates why it can be sensible to choose a system that can support more structured processes as a business develops.
The next chapter
O’Leary Publishing’s story is ultimately not about software for software’s sake. It is about what happens when a small business replaces scattered information and informal processes with a system that gives its people a shared view of the work.
Capsule helped April and her team bring contacts, opportunities, projects, repeatable tasks and communications into a more connected workflow.
And now, as O’Leary Publishing moves into its next chapter as Golden Acorn Press, the original lesson remains relevant: when a business is built around relationships and complex projects, having a reliable system behind those relationships can make growth considerably easier to manage.
For publishers, professional service businesses and other small teams handling complex client projects, it is a useful reminder that the right CRM does not have to take over the business.
Sometimes, it simply needs to help everyone know what is happening, who is responsible, and what comes next.
Interested in Capsule CRM?
Capsule offers a straightforward way for small businesses to bring contact management, sales and project workflows together. If you want to see whether it could fit your own business, you can explore Capsule for yourself with its free trial.