How Do You Handle Publishing Controversial Material Safely & Sustainably? (A People’s Guide to Pub)

July 05, 2024

Particularly when one comes from a conservative family and has many conversations where their beliefs are challenged, they tend to assume that the publishing landscape works the same way. This week, we answer a reader question about how to publish safely and sustainably despite one’s political opinions.

Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
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What is a Small Press Publisher? (starring Jane Friedman) (A People’s Guide to Publishing)

June 27, 2024

Jane Friedman is back!

During a recent phone call, we asked her how she defines “independent publisher” and her answer was “we know it when we see it.” “Indie” has grown to mean “dependent on Amazon” and Orwell would be proud. In the past decade, publishing has become overwhelmed by jargon. Well you might say that it goes back much further than that (and we probably wouldn’t disagree), but the jargon that is designed to intentionally obfuscate has grown considerably to the point that we have to define things like “small press publisher.”

Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
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What if someone else just published the same book? (A People’s Guide to Publishing)

June 20, 2024

It happens all the time. One of our distributed publishers got in touch, horrified and terrified that MacMillan had just published the same book that she did the week before. She thought it would cannibalize her sales. Many authors and publishers keep this stuff close to the chest. Not us. We follow the Paul Hawken school of being your best, individualized self.

Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
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Can booksellers increase bonding over Corgis? Janet Geddis of Avid Bookshop (People’s Guide to Publishing)

June 13, 2024

Publishers often think of booksellers as our frontline marketing force; the people who we outsource our jobs to. This week, Janet Geddis of Avid Bookshop does a great job of outlining the actual role that bookstores play in a daily role. It’s more matchmaking than pushing the newest thing on some poor, unsuspecting browser. It’s a deep game of familiarity that ultimately results in hilarity of two people of disparate backgrounds relating to each other in the store at the same time. Publishers interested in taking her up on her “Hang out in my store and learn what bookselling entails” offer, get in touch!

And if you haven’t seen it yet, here’s a link to Avid’s Solidarity Project interview.

Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
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How do you organize a Cat Party? w/ Katie Haegele (A People’s Guide to Publishing)

June 06, 2024

Katie Haegele has been passionate about cats for decades. They have been some of the most meaningful relationships in her life. This time around she’s organizing other people to share the most touching, heartwarming, wacky, and unbelievable stories about the behavior and emotional range of cats in her eighth book, Cat Party!

Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
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What does AI mean for publishers? (starring Jane Friedman) (A People’s Guide to Publishing)

May 30, 2024

Much hullaballoo and many predictions have been made about how AI will “disrupt” the publishing industry. Typically, with a new technology the steps are 1) fear the new way 2) figure out how to embrace it in a practical sense. How will AI affect publishers? Is the fear substantiated? What can publishers do?

(Note: We are aware that the video capture is frozen on and off for the first two minutes. Enjoy the listening experience during that time!)

Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
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What are the Limits of What You Would Publish? (A People’s Guide to Publishing)

May 23, 2024

In the dawn of a young publishers’ life, they focus on their own tastes. Gradually, they see which books are well-received and branch outward. Some publishers quickly find that the most popular books are things that aren’t exactly the reason that they got into publishing! So this week on the pod, we talk about the limits of a press’ curation and why that’s important.

Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
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What Can Your Regional Bookseller Association Do For You? with Larry Law (A People’s Guide to Publishing)

May 16, 2024

What is a regional trade association? What can they do for you as a bookseller or a publisher? This week on the pod, we feature Larry Law, executive director of the Great Lakes Bookseller Association, to learn more about this ecosystem and how it can work even better.

What Can a Publisher’s Advocacy Association Do For You? with Andrea Fleck-Nisbet (A People’s Guide to Publishing)

May 09, 2024

Corporate publishing has the distinct advantage of scale: they command more sales dollars, so they can push customers and vendors around more. This week, we take a look at options and opportunities for small publishers to band together and share resources, learn from each other, and be stronger together. Andrea Fleck-Nisbet, CEO of the Independent Book Publishers Association, unpacks it all for us and more!

Bookstore Solidarity Project: King’s Coop Bookstore with Paul MacKay (A People’s Guide to Publishing)

May 02, 2024

You may know King’s Coop Bookstore as the winner of our How to Resist Amazon display contest a few years back, but they are so much cooler than just that! This week on our continuing Bookstore Solidarity Project, we bring you a deeper dive into the realities of bookselling. From attempting to rip a book in half to walking around campus and seeing everyone reading the same thing, it’s all in here!

For more on King’s Coop Bookstore, check out their Bookstore Solidarity Project interview on the blog.