What Makes a Hybrid Publisher a Good Value Chain? w/ Brooke Warner | A People’s Guide to Publishing

This week on the podcast, Brooke Warner of She Writes Press and Spark Press talks with Elly and Joe about her experience in hybrid publishing, how to tell if it’s a good idea for your books, recognizing predatory publishers, and misconceptions about that particular branch of the industry.

Prefer an audio experience? Listen to the episode on your favorite podcast app.
Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
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Thornapple Press to be distributed by Microcosm Publishing

Meet our latest distributed publisher

Starting April 1, 2025, Microcosm Publishing will become the new worldwide distributor (excluding Canada) for Thornapple Press, a Canadian publisher specializing in thoughtful titles about love, sexuality, and relational ethics with integrity. Publisher Eve Rickert founded Thornapple as the successor to Thorntree Press, publisher of popular and award-winning polyamory- and relationship-based books such as Polysecure, More Than Two, and Love’s Not Color Blind.

Microcosm founder and CEO, Joe Biel, says of the new agreement, “I’ve found Thornapple to have an excellent point of view, good publication packaging and design, and thoughtful ideas throughout their existence, so when they approached us to become their distributor, the answer was obvious. Independent presses are stronger together and it’s clear that this tide lifts all boats.” 

Rickert and Biel sign their distribution agreement by Andrea Fleck-Nisbet

Rickert adds, “The new arrangement offers a lot of benefits for Thornapple, our books and our authors. Microcosm has a large sales staff throughout the USA, with excellent reach into specialty shops, such as sex shops, that are well-suited for our books. Microcosm is also closely aligned with Thornapple in terms of both brand identity and company culture.”

Microcosm will distribute Thornapple’s full backlist as well as all forthcoming titles, such as Transforming the Shame Triangle: From Shame to Love Using Parts Work by bestselling authors Jessica Fern and David Cooley, scheduled for release in 2025. While Microcosm has always sold Thornapple Press’s catalog, Thornapple titles will be exclusive through Microcosm starting in April 2025.

Excited? Us too! Exclusive distro rights begin in the new year, but you can still browse the Thornapple titles currently available on our site, with more to come!

How does an election impact publishing? (with Jane Friedman) | A People’s Guide to Publishing

How does a major election affect publishing sales trends?

Jane Friedman of the Hot Sheet is back to talk with Joe and Elly about how we’re all doing, what’s been selling, and what we think that means for the next few years. Plus, we touch on the differences between the aftermath of the 2016 election vs 2024’s election.

Prefer an audio experience? Listen to the episode on your favorite podcast app.
Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
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Warehouse Walkthrough

Take a little tour through Microcosm’s Cleveland digs!

What happens at a Microcosm warehouse? Come along for a walkthrough of the Cleveland buildings with us for a behind-the-scenes peek at what running an independent press and distro really looks like.

Pallets of books get delivered to our well-marked dock and are received into our system.

We wait for construction to finish.

We fix leaks using the things we have around.

We put away tons of zines.

We make space for new deliveries…

…and plan ahead for the next several years.

Thanks so much for coming along! As the hustle and bustle of the holiday season sets in and orders are rolling out the door, these spaces and our small crew of dedicated, rad staff in them every day are what keep the books, zines, gifts, and resources flowing. We couldn’t do it without you!

—Your friends at Cleveland MCP

Microcosm’s 2024 Gift Guide

Make change, do good, spread some light

It’s been A Year (TM). Don’t know about y’all, but we’re tired—and at the same time, extremely motivated to make change, do good, and spread some light. ‘Tis the season, you know? So for this year’s gift guide, our theme is in keeping with the times. A lot of you are shopping for the movers, shakers, and helpers in your lives, and we have a few suggestions to help get you started (or you can just get yourself something nice).

🚨 If you want to make sure your items arrive in time for the holidays, be sure to place your order by December 6th! 🚨

To save a little money, use coupon GIFTGUIDE15 to get 15% off your order at checkout through December 7th!

So let’s get into it:

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How do you manage author expectations? w/ Chris Vega of Blue Cactus | A People’s Guide to Publishing

Publisher/author relationships are just like any other relationships— they need care, communication, and understanding. This week on the pod, Chris Vega of Blue Cactus press talks with Joe and Elly about different ways to onboard authors and set expectations, how to resolve disagreements, and more.

Prefer an audio experience? Listen to the episode on your favorite podcast app.
Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
Want to stay up to date on new podcast episodes and happenings at Microcosm? Subscribe to our newsletter!

How Can a Publisher Expand Their List Outside Personal Interests? | A People’s Guide to Publishing

Most publishers are most comfortable publishing to their own tastes. And from there, what’s popular but familiar. This week on the pod, we tackle the important but somewhat uncomfortable transition of publishing what you know to things that would resonate with your readers but are unfamiliar to you.

Prefer an audio experience? Listen to the episode on your favorite podcast app.
Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
Want to stay up to date on new podcast episodes and happenings at Microcosm? Subscribe to our newsletter!

Our Sacred Cycle

A Workbook to Reclaim Your Period from PMS and PMDD

Your period doesn’t have to ruin your life! Sometimes our menstrual symptoms prevent us from showing up the way we want to, and there is not a lot of information about how to feel better. You may have had trouble finding resources that explain what’s happening in your body and mind. You may have even been disbelieved or blamed.

Our Sacred Cycle was created to help. Written by a therapist who specializes in premenstrual syndrome (PMS), premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), and other forms of hormone imbalance, this workbook offers accessible information and reflective exercises to help you understand the physiology of the menstrual cycle and how it affects you, harness your power, and live in harmony with your body. Whether you want to heal from patriarchal trauma or connect with yourself in a new way, this is the empowering, gender-neutral feminist resource you need to reclaim your cycle, take control of your symptoms, and achieve a transformative mind-body connection. You can feel better!

Read on for an excerpt of Our Sacred Cycle: A Workbook to Reclaim Your Period from PMS and PMDD by Mary McDonald, available for preorder from our site or your local bookseller (officially hitting shelves 12/10/24)!

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We Keep Going.

Care and action on the road ahead

We’re all taking this election result differently here at Microcosm. Some of us are motivated, on fire, primed to rise to a crisis in proportion with its scope. Others are taking time off to cry, zone out, hold loved ones tight. Others are just getting through the days as normally as possible.

We remember eight years ago, when we didn’t see it coming: the shock, then grief, followed by focused action. We remember what hurt and what helped. One thing that helps, a lot, is to wake up knowing that our entire job is to put tools in your hands to counter the world’s bullshit. So we’ve made a new Care & Action Package of things that motivate us and help us deal and might help you too. We’ve also put together a selection of resources for all the different needs we can think of. Read on, find what you need, use the coupons you need to make it work for you.

If you’re having a hard time and need someone to talk to, write to us and one of our crew will write you back. Your voice, needs, and life matter. You matter. And together, we’ve got this.

—Elly and the MCP crew

Check out our recent toplists for other titles and resources that may be of use to you and your community right now. Read on to learn more about selected titles from our Care & Action Package.

From Conflict to Community: Transforming Conflicts Without Authorities by Gwendolyn Olton
Experienced peacemaker Gwendolyn Olton shows you how to use your existing skills and intuition to transform a wide variety of conflicts into working relationships that meet everyone’s needs. In this practical, kind, realistic guidebook, Olton offers a variety of conflict analysis and conversation tools that you can use to navigate the most challenging interpersonal dynamics, and to better understand yourself and others along the way—all without calling HR or the cops.

The Courage Party: Helping Our Resilient Children Understand and Survive Sexual Assault by Joyce Brabner and Gerta Oparaku Egy
After escaping a playground predator, Danielle learns to understand what happened and how to carry herself with pride and conviction after five older women organize a “Courage Party” for her, sharing stories from their own lives. With realistic interactions with police, pediatricians, prosecutors, victim advocates, a community rape crisis center, and the courthouse, Danielle learns she is a “crime fighter,” able to protect other kids in the park, with many good grownups on her side.

Surviving: Getting Through the Shit Life Throws at You by Dr. Faith G. Harper
A zine for getting through it when life is piling it higher and deeper, the political and personal and social disasters that we know always come in waves. Getting Over It was about getting past whatever happened in the past; Surviving is about making it through the present. Even if you don’t believe you can survive this, Dr. Faith believes it for you, and offers some basic tools that anyone can use to make it one more day.

How to Get Your Period: A Guide to Performing Menstrual Extraction by An Anonymous Healthcare Worker
In 1971, as part of their work with a feminist reproductive collective, Lorraine Rothman and Carol Downer invented menstrual extraction (ME), a suction process to pass the entire period all at once, ending any undetected early pregnancy. An underground network of providers has kept ME alive ever since, and in a post-Roe era, demand is surging. This book provides a short history of ME and detailed instructions and diagrams explaining how to safely and effectively perform a manual exam, use a speculum, assemble a Del-Em kit, and complete a menstrual extraction procedure.

Direct Action Handbook: A Guide to Organizing & Protesting Safely by various contributors
Have you ever wondered how to protest safely and effectively? It’s not just about showing up, chanting, and holding signs. You need to know what your rights are, how to handle the police, how to dress appropriately for all situations, what to do when tensions escalate, how to be an empathetic ally, and more. Packed with infographs and invaluable tips, this handbook is a must when you’re organizing your next protest or attending a rally or march.

Other resources available in our toplists and around the site, such as Microcosm’s Election Survival Guide, Protest Power Starter Kit, Reproductive Healthcare Resources, Red State Relief, ways to send books to people in prison, and more.

If YOU have an idea for a book or a zine that might support people in the years ahead, we’re always looking for submissions of most any kind (especially zines!), but particularly about:

▶Abortion, birth control, sex ed, and reproductive health
▶Herbal medicine
▶Gender medicine
▶Queer and trans health, safety, and self-defense
▶How-to projects for resilient living (eg, gardening, building, energy, food preservation, mutual aid, online safety)
▶Activism and movement-building
▶Writing, publishing, and creativity in difficult times
▶Suicide prevention

Find out more about pitching and submitting to Microcosm HERE.

How Can Edelweiss Digital Cataloging and Community Help Publishers? | A People’s Guide to Publishing

Edelweiss! It’s a valuable tool for publishers, booksellers, and other industry folks. Buyers use it all the time to research and bring in books to their stores and libraries. How does a publisher break through all the noise, make their products stand out, and make sure buyers are able to easily find what they’re looking for?

This week on the pod, we’re sharing a little bit of a presentation marketing manager (and former bookseller) Abby gave this year on how booksellers and buyers use Edelweiss, and some things publishers can keep in mind as they list titles.

Prefer an audio experience? Listen to the episode on your favorite podcast app.
Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
Want to stay up to date on new podcast episodes and happenings at Microcosm? Subscribe to our newsletter!