Microcosm is hiring a Sales Specialist/Senior Sales Specialist!

We are looking for an experienced salesperson to join our team to help get our books, zines, and decks placed into retail shops.

Do you have experience selling books to specialty retailers, gift shops, and bookstores? Is title curation your superpower? Do you get energized when a new store opens up on your block? Are you driven by results and motivated by a cooperative team environment? Do you have the persistence and motivation to make cold calls? If so, keep reading!

Hours: This is a full-time, 40-hour-per-week  job with flexible hours. This job does not require travel.

Location: This position is fully remote. At this time, we can only hire new full-time staff who live in Oregon, Ohio, Washington State, Maine, and California. If you live elsewhere in the US and are open to contract work please apply anyway and let us know. A desk is available in our Portland, Oregon office if desired.

Experience: We are looking for someone with a strong track record of sales experience in the book publishing industry, with five years of full-time b2b sales experience or equivalent. 

Core job duties: 

  • 70-80% active selling (calls, emails, texts, presentations, visits)
  • 20-30% strategy, market research, sales analysis, creating sales materials

Requirements:  

  • Book publishing experience with a successful b2b sales background
  • Can quickly onboard and get up to speed 
  • Easily builds relationships with coworkers and accounts
  • Comfortable with presentations, meetings, and phone interactions
  • Available to work full-time
  • Love of learning, flexibility and comfortable with change, habit of implementing feedback into future projects and systems
  • Respectful of a neurodiverse workforce 
  • Driven without being competitive with teammates 
  • Fluency in Google Docs and Sheets
  • Ability to meet or exceed deadlines without operating in a state of last-minute urgency
  • Ability to prioritize between multiple projects and work independently
  • Willingness to sell books about topics that may be sensitive to some, including trauma, abuse, recovery, various religions, various marginalized identities, drugs, sexual instruction, and erotica
  • Familiarity with Microcosm’s titles and a belief in our mission 

Not required, but nice to have

  • Experience selling to key wholesale accounts and/or national retailers

Pay and benefits:

Starting wage is $20.50-$24 per hour plus commission, depending on work type, location, experience, and level of responsibility in previous sales positions.

  • Company profits are distributed to staff in the form of profit-sharing and raises
  • Health, dental, and vision insurance
  • Paid time off
  • Remote work
  • Flexible work hours and holidays
  • Employee ownership program after five years
  • Transparent compensation and clear metrics for advancement
  • Meaningful work, humane working conditions, and stellar coworkers

To apply:

Application deadline: June 21, 2026

We will respond to all applicants by July 9th. Please do not contact us about the status of your application! 

How to Sell Books to Bookstores, w/Maureen Karb | A People’s Guide to Publishing Podcast

Sales reps are crucial pieces of the book industry puzzle. They are the the ones who help stores find the titles that would be good fits, give feedback to publishers about their title lists, and so much more!

This week on the pod, we’re back chatting with sales rep extraordinaire Maureen Karb to talk about the process of selling books to bookstores, and what makes a great rep.

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!

Your Book Is Your Business: Money-Making Sales Strategies

Call it a hobby, side gig, side hustle, or whatever you’d like—but treat it like a business.

Take your book from a single product you feel like you have to hustle to a foundational piece of your prospering entrepreneurial enterprise with the help of this encouraging, no-nonsense guide to promoting—and profiting from—your writing, whether or not you have a relationship with a traditional publisher.

Joylynn M. Ross is a bestselling author with decades of experience in multiple genres. She shares her insider knowledge of how to treat your writing as a business. She walks you through the nitty-gritty, behind-the-scenes details of literary finances, from finding grants to printing options to cover pricing. Ross’s straightforward, tried-and-true advice is accessible, actionable, and practical, told in brief vignettes readers can easily refer back to, or easily share with others. You don’t need to rely on fast trends, conventional wisdom, or expensive freelance support to make sure your work succeeds and your reach continues to grow. 

Don’t be discouraged: Roll up your sleeves and dive in for a more successful publication, a more profitable business, and a more empowered writing community.

Read on for an excerpt from Your Book Is Your Business, shipping now from our site and available everywhere you find Microcosm titles on June 9th.

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Next-Level Ally: How to Support Your Queer and Transgender Friends

Speak up, take action, and protect your community

How do you show up for the LGBTQ+ people in your life? You’ve figured out pronouns, you vote, and you don’t say hateful things, but you have a lot of unanswered questions and the strong feeling that you could be doing more. You’re committed to educating yourself, but where to start? 

Author and activist Eli Sachse has created a practical guide to being a better friend, family member, partner, colleague, and community member to your trans and queer friends. With anti-queer and trans bias and oppression on the rise, it’s more important than ever for allies to step up with radical empathy. Allyship is a skill that anyone can learn, and Sachse is a kind, clear teacher. 

With a focus on direct and effective communication, Sachse has filled this book with real-world examples for everyday people. Learn when and how to speak up at work and online without doing more harm than good. Create more inclusive conversations and challenge misgendering and harmful jokes. Learn to see and question your own implicit biases and assumptions. Celebrate and affirm your friends. Become a better friend, manager, or parent. Volunteer, march, and create true safe spaces. Further chapters advise people working in health and mental health professionals, educators, and law enforcement in how to do better by the trans and queer people they serve.

Read on for an excerpt from Next-Level Ally, shipping now from our site and available everywhere you find Microcosm titles!

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Movie Deals, Book Clubs, & More Book Scams w/ Jane Friedman | A People’s Guide to Publishing Podcast

You open up your inbox and—surprise!— someone wants to turn your book into a movie! Or include it in a book club! Or feature it on a recommendation list! All you have to do is pay a small fee. Oftentimes in book world, if something feels too good to be true, it often is (especially if they want you to pay).

This week on the pod, Joe, Elly, and Jane Friedman talk about the common scams authors and publishers are sent, what to look out for, and how to avoid them.

Want more publishing insights from Jane? Check out The Bottom Line at www.janefriedman.com

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!

Is there a difference between gift & special sales book markets? | A People’s Guide to Publishing

Books should be sold to book stores, right? That’s it?

Eh, not really! There are markets for books everywhere, from your local museum gift shop to the gas station around the corner. How do you find these markets, and figure out what types of books sell at what types of stores? What even IS the difference between a gift and specialty shop?

This week on the pod, Joe and Elly dive in!

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!

A Pocket Guide to Pride Flags: An Illustrated History of Queer Community Symbols

Beyond the rainbow.

Find your own flavor of pride with this definitive guide to pride flags of all stripes—their history, meanings, legacies, and cultural significance around the world. A whole spectrum of stories has unfolded since the original rainbow flag debuted in the 1970s. For the first time, here are over 30 pride flags collected together, accompanied by details about their symbolism, creators, usage, and sometimes controversial histories. It’s all presented with graphic flair by Icelandic designer and comedian Sindri “Sparkle” Freyr.

If you’re LGBTQ, you’re likely familiar with your community flags, but you’re not the only ones! Kinksters, bears, sex workers, and drag performers—there’s a flag for you. If you’re nonbinary, intersex, agender, genderqueer, disabled, polyamorous, two-spirt, ace-aro, or demi—you’ve got a flag, too. These flags and the motives behind them show us that there really is room for everyone. With both queer visibility and heteronormative hatred on the rise around the world, this bold, stylish celebration of vexillology (the study of flags!) shows how these symbols can help us share who we are, how we define ourselves, and where we find community.

Keep reading to learn more about pride flag history in this first-of-its-kind guide, shipping now from our site or available June 2 at your local Microcosm dealer.

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What is some good Indigenous Punk? w/ Al Carroll | A People’s Guide to Publishing Podcast

Al Carroll is Associate Professor of US, American Indian, and Latin American History at Northern Virginia Community College, and a former Senior Fulbright Scholar in Indonesia. His latest book is “Indigenous Punk: A Definitive Guide to the Native, Aboriginal, and Pacific Islander Metal and Rock ‘n’ Roll Musicians Who Changed Music.”

This week on the pod, Al joins Joe and Elly to talk about Native punk and metal history, his favorite bands (incredible recs galore!), and how the book came together. (and keep an eye on the background for an adorable special guest appearance)

Grab a copy of Indigenous Punk here.

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!

Action!: An Illustrated, DIY Guide to Making Your Own Movies

The classic guide to movie-making fundamentals

Who says you need a film degree, fancy equipment, or studio backing to fulfill your filmmaking dreams? Pick up your phone or the video or film camera you found at an estate sale, and make your own movies, music videos, documentaries, vlogs, and more.

Charmingly hand-written and -illustrated, this revised and updated edition of the beloved classic fits in your pocket and provides all the essential information you need, free of jargon or elitist obstacles. You’ll learn why movies move us, how film and video cameras work, how to light and expose shots, how to create eye-catching compositions, how to record crystal-clear sound, and more.

Whether you’re a content creator, journalist, artist, director, fundraiser, or activist, movies are a more powerful storytelling tool than ever. This book will help you improve your technical expertise on any equipment and any budget so you can achieve your dreams and reach the world with your story. 

Want to know how you and your friends can make movies? Read on for an excerpt of this new and updated edition of Bill Brown‘s Action! Preorder your own copy from our site, shipping May 19, or find it at your preferred Microcosm peddler after its official release, August 25 🙂

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Notable dates and celebrations for July

We like to keep track of fun little holidays, noteworthy dates, and the titles we have to match. Our smart and well-organized marketing leader Abby shares these with us every month, and we thought you might appreciate having them in your pocket, too! Here are your notable dates and celebrations for July, because somehow we’re already almost halfway through the year.

July is Disability Pride Month
All things Microcosm + Disability

Stay tuned for our next installment, happy celebrating in the meantime!

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