What tarot spreads will get you through the year? w/Karen Krebser | A People’s Guide to Publishing

January 23, 2025

Joe, Elly, and Bernie sit down with Karen Krebser, author of “Tarot Through the Witch’s Year,” to chat about tarot in dark times, how to reconcile your practice with your privilege, tarot spreads for diving the future of publishing, and a bit of the history of tarot.

Get a copy of Tarot Through the Witch’s Year here.

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How do books get into bookstores? w/Kurtis Lowe | A People’s Guide to Publishing

January 16, 2025

It’s another throwback episode! A few years ago, Joe and Elly sat down with sales rep extraordinaire Kurtis to talk about how reps get books into stores. Learn about cover appeal, sales conferences, how store buyers see the books… and that’s just the first five minutes. It’s an oldie, but an eternally useful goodie of an episode!

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What are the 3 Biggest Misconceptions in Publishing? w/Chris Vega | A People’s Guide to Publishing

January 02, 2025

Chris Vega of Blue Cactus Press is back to talk common publishing misconceptions! Zoning issues, delusions of grandeur, printing—learn what makes us unique (and also just as boring as other publishers).

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What did Taylor Swift reveal about book publishing? w/Jane Friedman | A People’s Guide to Publishing

December 26, 2024 — by Abby Rice

On Black Friday of 2024, Taylor Swift released “The Eras Tour Book” exclusively through Target. But is it a book? What’s the appeal? Who is the audience? Was it unfair to cut out indie bookstores from one of the biggest releases of the year? Jane Friedman of “The Hot Sheet” is back with Joe and Elly to give her thoughts on book-shaped objects.

(Note: This episode was recorded before the book actually released. Joe’s post-release comment— “Since even diehard fans were unhappy with the quality of the book, it’s hard to Bielieve the thinkpieces claiming that celebrities don’t need publishers anymore.”)

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Relationships, Anxiety, and Lamps- A Q&A w/Dr. Faith G. Harper | A People’s Guide to Publishing

December 19, 2024

This week, we pretend we’re one of those “hang out and chat about whatever” podcasts, because it’s time for Dr. Faith’s long-awaited return to the pod! Join Dr. Faith, Joe, and Elly while they answer reader questions, talk about Dr. Faith’s upcoming books, surviving the holidays, and more. There are always shenanigans when Dr. Faith comes around, so we hope you have as much fun as we did.

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How Did You Get a New York Times Bestseller? w/ Angela Engel | A People’s Guide to Publishing

December 12, 2024

For a lot of publishers, landing a book on the New York Times bestseller list is one of their loftiest goals. How did a small press like Collective Book Studio end up with a title on the most iconic bestseller list in the U.S.? Angela Engel had a chance to hang out with Joe for a few minutes at a recent conference to tell the story.

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

December 05, 2024

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.

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

November 27, 2024

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.

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

November 21, 2024

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.

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What Publishing Industry Media Should I Read? | A People’s Guide to Publishing

October 24, 2024

There are a lot of publishing industry news blogs, sites, and publications out there. Which ones are worth your time? (Besides us.)

Jane Friedman of The Hot Sheet is back to chat with Joe and Elly about her favorites, and which ones are best for what publishing news you’re interested in.

If you’re looking for the link Jane references to see her follows, you can find it here: https://substack.com/@janefriedman/reads

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