How Can Publishers Expand Adult Reading? (A People’s Guide to Publishing)

You can read many academic articles about the need to get more people reading and how wonderful this would be for critical thinking and education. But most publishers focus on fighting over the exact same shelf space at the exact same stores. So this week on the pod, we talk about how to reach new people with your books and turn them into readers!

Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
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Why make masturbation graphic? An interview with Vic Liu (A People’s Guide to Publishing)

Vic Liu’s Bang! delivers a walloping dose of information about masturbation; probably more than most readers have ever thought about it. And we think that considering it in more depth is a good thing. So this week we talk to Vic about what led her to pursue talking about these things in public.

Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
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Queer Affirmations (An Interview with Joe Carlough and Ally Schwed) (A People’s Guide to Publishing)

It started as a joke at the kitchen table at 7 AM before AWP. We were looking at the many books of “helpful sayings” that really didn’t say anything at all besides repeating unhelpful wisdom of olde. We realized how heterosexual these platitudes were and before long Joe announced “I’d love to write the queer version of this book!” and here we are, less than two years later!

The Queer Affirmations Coloring Book is in stock now! Get it here.

Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
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How do we solve publishing’s Biggest Problem? (A People’s Guide to Publishing)

Last week we presented to you the biggest problem in publishing. So this week, we present the solution. Yes, the industry is very crowded but people are reading more and buying more books than ever and willing to spend more on those books. It’s downright a fantastic time to be a book publisher. This week we look at how to excel!

Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
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What Does a Day in the Life of a Publisher Look Like? (A People’s Guide to Publishing)

Most people imagine us with our noses in a book or having charmed candlelight talks over a manuscript in development. The reality, as always, is very different. This week on the pod, we talk about what we actually do every day—or at least on one specific day!

Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
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How we came to distribute Seth Tobocman’s War in the Neighborhood (A People’s Guide to Publishing)

The year was 1999. Seth Tobocman’s landmark graphic novel, War in the Neighborhood, was published by Autonomedia. We ordered some copies. Quickly, we noticed a strange problem: the pages kept falling out of the cover. Turns out that this problem affected at least a third of the print run. Suddenly, all of the good copies were gone and we were making trips to New York to pick up the bad copies, dealing with the problem that few others wanted to and selling the book back into the trade. This is a cornerstone tale of Microcosm that made us so successful, because we think differently than the rest of our industry.

Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
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Year of the Witch (An Interview with Francesca Black)


Wanting to create a keepsake of meaningful discoveries she made as a younger woman, Francesca Black created Year of the Witch for her daughters. This week on the People’s Guide To Publishing Podcast, we talk about her goals and vision and trying to create a better world for people like your younger self.

Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!

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