There are new forms of ecommerce popping up every day, on every website from Instagram and Tiktok to Pinterest. Is selling online through Tiktok right for your books?
This week, Jane Friedman of the Bottom Line is back to talk to Joe and Elly about the growing popularity of TIktok Shop, and if she thinks it’s worth a publisher’s time.
Angela Engel is the founder and CEO of The Collective Book Studio, one of Publisher Weekly’s 2024 fastest-growing publishers. This week on the pod, Angela hangs out with Joe and Elly to talk about how Collective got where they are, how they develop their titles and marketing plans, outreach, bookstore engagement, and so so so much more!
Even when you’re broke, you can live a full, fun, compassionate life.
Are you plant-based, penniless, and keen on making things yourself? This cookbook and DIY compendium of vegan living starts with a focus on spring and summer, offering hot-weather tips and treats like recipes for popsicles, sorbet, and tofu burgers; budget vegan travel tips; craft ideas; yard sale delights; and guidance on environmentally friendly housecleaning. The second half of the book is focused on harvest and holiday, offering cozy activities and recipes for cool-weather treats like pumpkin bread, cookies, hot cocoa, and more. You’ll find egg alternatives for baking, vegan survival tips for family occasions like Christmas, and Valentine’s Day gift ideas and guidance for doing it yourself and avoiding commercial holidays altogether. Save cash and learn new skills while staying socially and environmentally conscious all year round.
Portland, OR— Microcosm Publishing has entered a worldwide publishing agreement for the We Are Stronger Than Censorship campaign’s merchandise.
Founded in 2024 by the nonprofit Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) and EveryLibrary Institute, We Are Stronger Than Censorship works to share inclusive books with readers in communities across the U.S., especially those impacted by efforts to restrict titles featuring Black, Queer, and other under-represented characters and themes. Microcosm will serve as distributor for the organization’s new sideline collection of stickers.
“This is a big deal, and one we’re proud to be part of,” says Microcosm founder and CEO, Joe Biel. “We Are Stronger Than Censorship won an award for innovation because they fundraised to put censored books into the hands of readers. They are ablaze with buzz and we expect stores will be excited to get behind their efforts, too.”
With each individual book “challenge”—i.e. with each ban attempt—We Are Stronger Than Censorship buys and donates two books to offset it. The campaign will purchase and donate two books to communities in need for every sixteen stickers sold through Microcosm.
Lee Wind, co-creator of We Are Stronger Than Censorship and Chief Content Officer of IBPA, explains, “The idea is to make the numbers work against the folks who are so eager to limit others’ freedom to read. Some people are challenging over 400 books at a time! If they knew that meant this program would buy and distribute over 800 books, maybe they would slow their roll. For us, this campaign is like pulling an emergency brake on a runaway censorship train.”
Since its founding, We Are Stronger Than Censorship has gained more than 75 institutional partners, including Microcosm, allowing the campaign to purchase and donate 2,800 books to offset 1,400 book challenges.
Wind adds, “I’m thrilled about our stickers being available through Microcosm. This is how we’re going to scale this thing: selling a lot of stickers, spreading the word, and coming together as a community that believes in the freedom to read.”
We Are Stronger Than Censorship items are now available for retailers and direct customers to order through Microcosm’s site and Edelweiss.
Can you really judge a book by its cover? Absolutely, yes. A lot of work goes into planning a book’s cover design— marketing goals, representing the author’s work, making it appealing to the target audience, legibility, and so much more.
This week on the pod, Joe walks us through the things Joe takes into consideration for designing our covers.
Note: For those just listening to audio, there’s an accompanying slideshow in the video where Joe is showcasing varying covers! Still valuable info with just audio, but we recommending trying to catch the video of this as well.
For scrappy, can-do vegans on a budget, this essential cookbook eschews fancy ingredients and gets back to basics. It’s packed with attitude and recipes anyone can cook and eat, including comfort food, healthy smoothies, holiday staples to feed your family, and dirty rice to feed the touring band sleeping on your floor.
More than just a collection of recipes, this is a DIY cultural icon. The book makes author Ashley Rowe Palafox’s long-out-of-print Barefoot and in the Kitchen zine accessible again, with spirited annotations and updated resources, so you can find plant-based, cruelty-free inspiration you need without needing to hunt through your co-op’s crusty cookbook collection. Because plant-based broke folks deserve good eats, too!
As this ride called life starts to feel more like a perilously rickety rollercoaster, people are seeking any kind of stability they can grab onto, and—whoops!—suddenly they’re in a cult. In this tongue-in-cheek yet refreshingly generous dive into the contemporary cult craze, Mary Beth Chapman explores what defines a cult and why Americans (and the media) are so fascinated with them. Rather than focus on the foolishness of cult members, Chapman explores the contributing factors like capitalism, isolation, and overwhelm that lead people to seek firmer spiritual footing in the first place. Served up with humor, self-awareness, and fun charts, the book also includes tips for starting your own cult, including how to choose your idol and how to hire the just the right charismatic cult leader, plus activities like word salad mad libs, red flag bingo, and your very own cult leader paper dolls. Perfect for cult questioners, kool-aid critics, and zealots for fun facts, the quest for the one true path just got a fresh dose of snarky good times.
Lindsay Sims McKee is a professor and digital marketing expert based in Ohio.
This week on the podcast, Lindsay joins us to talk universal marketing truths and strategies, like determining who your customer is (hint: it’s not you!), their needs, and publishing books that fill those needs.
Buckle in, aspiring marketing pros, for this fun, accessible, and jargon-lite episode!
Pouncing, prowling, and purring, stretching, sneering, and sunning, the wise felines of the Magickal Cats Tarot are presented here in patterned, colorable line art! They’ve experienced nine times as many lives as humans ever will, and their range of emotions and expressions entices you to coloring bliss.
Drawn in aesthetic, charismatic poses, each of these cats has their own meditative point of view. When you’re done stalking dark alleys for adventure, curl up by the fire with a cup of herbal tea and your colored pencils and get to know these wise, archetypal furry friends.
Our culture treats the artist toiling in solitude like a romantic idea, but that’s rarely how it happens in the real world. Writing doesn’t have to be isolating—art flourishes in community. If you know where to look, there’s a whole world of writers out there, waiting to connect.
Jessie Kwak, author of From Chaos to Creativity, returns with a guide on networking and building your community, with clear and easy to follow advice. Learn how to form your own “writing constellation,” how to create an elevator pitch, tips on reaching out (without being a creep), and how to navigate things like events, classes, workshops, and more. A great read for writers new and old to shift their mindset away from the solo grind to enthusiastic collaboration and building an open, welcoming support network.
