Future editions of Paul Betit's mystery-suspense series, featuring U.S. Army CID investigator John Murphy, will carry a distinctive logo on its copyright page and back cover, that of imprint BeeMan Books.

The crime series includes “Phu Bai, Kagnew Station” and “The Man In The Canal,” which was published last year.

“The publishing industry has changed tremendously during the past decade, and I want to be in position to take full advantage of those advances,” Betit said.

According to recent reports, up to 75 percent of new titles released annually are subsidized wholly or partially by the authors themselves.

“Publishing my books under my own imprint will allow me to have more control over what I produce, and it will enable me to receive a larger share of the revenue stream,” said Betit.

Betit has no plans to publish anyone's work but his own.

Betit will present a talk entitled “My Adventures In Publishing” from 5 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 18, at the Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library in Boothbay Harbor.

For the past eight years, Betit's books have been published by the Topsham-based Just Write Books.

“I've had a great working relationship with Just Write Books,” he said. “Nancy Randolph (JWB owner) has been extremely helpful in making sure my books are the best they can be. Nancy does top-notch work. I've valued her input.”

Randolph said Betit should be successful in his new endeavor.

“Paul is very aware that he is now a business owner,” she said. “He knows that maintaining his books in bookstores, on the Internet and in the hands of readers is a full-time business. He’ll do well at it.”

Betit said he may still take advantage of editing and design services offered by the Topsham publisher.

Currently, Betit, who grew up in Augusta, is working on a number of writing projects he intends to publish during the next two or three years.

“I've been writing short fiction of varying lengths,” he said. “It includes semi-autobiographical material as well as novella-length pieces in what I would call the modern crime noir genre. I also intend to produce one or two more installments of the adventures of John Murphy.”

In 2013, Betit retired as a full-time staff member of the Portland Press Herald and Maine Sunday Telegram following a newspaper career spanning 39 years. He continues to cover high school, college and pro sports for those newspapers on a freelance basis.