We’re expanding our trade representation!

November 22, 2022 — by Elly Blue

Last week we sent out a press release that began: “Microcosm Publishing is making some changes in our US trade representation, effective Jan 1, 2023.”

For the uninitiated in the publishing industry, this means that we will be working with a broader array of outside salespeople to get our books into bookstores (aka “the [book] trade”). Most publishers of our size (probably best described at this time as on the smaller end of “medium-sized”) work with a large trade distributor to get their books into bookstores. Microcosm has worked with several distributors on and off in the last 28 years, until the beginning of 2019 when we announced our return to independent distribution (which also ended our relationship with a certain giant online retailer). Since then, we’ve been working with three different independent groups of trade sales reps who really get our books, have relationships with bookstores across the US, and have done a stellar job connecting our books with those stores and their buyers.

As we grow and learn what works best, we’re making a few changes in this trade representation:

Abraham Associates will now represent Microcosm’s titles in the midwest US, including Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

Bob Barnett (PW’s Rep of the Year for 2020) at Third Act Sales will represent Microcosm in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana.

Imprint Group (which is merging with our existing rep group, the former Book Travelers West—the head of which, Kurtis Lowe, was PW’s 2022 rep of the year) will continue to represent Microcosm in the western US.

Como Sales Co. (group head Maureen Karb was nominated for PW Rep of the Year in 2020) will continue to represent Microcosm’s books in the eastern and southeast US.

Microcosm has been an independent publisher since 1996, and was named the fastest growing publisher of 2022 by Publisher’s Weekly. Microcosm’s year-to-date sales are up 37%.

Microcosm CEO Joe Biel commented, “We are thrilled to continue to expand our reach with these new sales reps, in order to create a world we want to live in and for everyone pushed to the margins to help themselves feel recognized.”

Abraham Associates Principal John Mesjak said, “Everyone in our group is excited to get started working with Microcosm, talking up their books in our territory. We’re always looking for publishers who bring interesting, passionate voices to the world; present a worldview that aligns with our own; and have a crew of smart publishing folks that we can work with. We love that all three of those boxes are ticked in Microcosm, and we can’t wait to get started!”

Microcosm is the distributor for Birdcage Bottom Books, Don Giovanni Records, and GOBLINKO, whose books will also be sold to stores by these groups.

The economic theories behind our publishing

November 14, 2022 — by Elly Blue

This week on the People’s Guide to Publishing podcast, Joe and Elly entertain a reader question about the economic theories behind how we run Microcosm. Neither one of us is an economist, though we do sometimes play one on the internet. So this question kind of caught us off guard. But we have fun dredging the depths of our brains for the very serious reading of our youths that made a lasting impression.

Do authors need a platform?

November 04, 2022 — by Elly Blue

This week on the People’s Guide to Publishing podcast, Joe and Elly are joined by Ariel Gore, whose brand-new book The Wayward Writer is a stellar practical and personal guide for authors finding their own path to publication.

We talked about the question of platform—specifically the idea that authors need to bring a ready-made audience along with their manuscript. It’s not so straightforward, and have fun getting into the weeds about that.

How We Became the Fastest Growing Publisher!

October 27, 2022 — by Elly Blue

This week on the People’s Guide to Publishing podcast, Joe and Elly finally got together in the warehouse for the first time since Microcosm was named Publisher’s Weekly’s fastest growing publisher for 2022! It’s been a few months since the rankings came out, and we’re still pretty shocked. We talk about what all that growth means, what it’s been like, whether or not we have any plans to slow down, and how yeah, we’re a little tired!

Can you get sued for publishing misinformation?

October 20, 2022 — by Elly Blue

This week on the People’s Guide to Publishing podcast, Joe and Elly answer a reader question: do book publishers need to be concerned about liability if they publish books containing scientifically inaccurate information? We’re not sure if the question-asker is considering publishing an anti-vaxx book, suing the publisher of one, or just noodling about fact checking in a more general way, but we do our best to give some practical perspectives.

Are profit & loss statements just a bunch of smoke and mirrors? More from the PRH/S&S merger trial

October 13, 2022 — by Elly Blue

Back in August, the best show in publishing was the trial in which publishing behemoth Penguin Random House tried to make the case to the US Department of Justice that buying publishing mini-behemoth Simon & Schuster wouldn’t create an uncompetitive atmosphere for authors. We’ve covered it a bit in this podcast, and this week on the People’s Guide to Publishing podcast, we offer one last episode unpacking a funny statement that came out of it: the behemoths’ assertion that their profit & loss statements are meaningless and they actually have no idea how to predict if a book will be profitable. Spoiler: We kinda think they’re stretching the truth. Watch or listen for insights into what (if anything) this means for your own publishing….

Mergers and acquisitions, small press style

October 06, 2022 — by Elly Blue

This week on the People’s Guide to Publishing podcast, Joe and Elly answer a reader question: someone runs a small press and wants to know how they can become an imprint of a larger press. We speak about this from experience: in 2014, Elly’s very tiny press merged with Microcosm, and we talked about what worked, what didn’t, and how it’s going now.

What’s a fair deal for anthology authors?

September 29, 2022 — by Elly Blue

On this week’s People’s Guide to Publishing podcast, Joe and Elly answer a reader question! The question-asker edited an anthology, with all the authors donating their work and all proceeds going to a nonprofit cause. One author decided that the way the contract handled rights wasn’t fair, and now the publisher isn’t sure they did the right thing. We get into contracts, rights, and how to handle authors who sound off about you on social media. Whew, that’s a lot of ground in under 12 minutes.

How do you protect your book title and pen name?

September 23, 2022 — by Elly Blue

This week on the People’s Guide to Publishing podcast, Joe and Elly tackle a question we get asked a lot—do you need to trademark your book’s contents or title, or your pen name? Joe lays down some intellectual property and copyright lore, and the answers might surprise you.

Do half of all new books sell less than 12 per year?

September 15, 2022 — by Elly Blue

This week on the People’s Guide to Publishing podcast, Joe and Elly tackle a bit of viral misinformation that’s making the rounds: The myth that more than half of new books by major publishers sell less than a dozen copies a year. (The first comment on this newsletter, from someone at NPD Bookscan laying out actual stats, is our primary source.) Don’t get us wrong, the numbers for most books put out by the biggest publishers are astonishingly bleak. But not that astonishingly bleak.