Why are bugs so cool? w/Karyn Light-Gibson (author of BUG LIFE) | A People’s Guide to Publishing

March 20, 2025

Just in time for spring, we’re talkin’ bugs! They’re everywhere, whether you like it or not. And they’re such cool little critters.

Bug Life author Karyn Light-Gibson joins Joe and Elly this week to talk about entomology, the importance of maintaining bug populations, how the book could have been much, MUCH longer, and fun insect facts.

Bug out!

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How can you teach experts to write a book in a day? w/Jelani Memory | A People’s Guide to Publishing

March 13, 2025

Jelani Memory (of DK Publishing and A Kid’s Co) is back to talk about The Workshop Method, how Kid’s Co is able to get subject matter experts to write quality kidlit, often in under a day. With over 200 books under their belt that have been created through the Method, it’s a proven successful way to get words on pages to help kids learn.

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Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
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How do tariffs affect books? | A People’s Guide to Publishing

March 06, 2025

Will Trump’s tariffs affect books? Broadly—not really, especially if you’re doing a lot in house. But there are still a few things you might want to know.

Fun fact: This episode was originally recorded in 2018, and focuses more on tariffs in China, but time is a flat circle and we’ve come right around to it being relevant again.

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Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
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How Should You Handle Criticism? w/Jane Friedman | A People’s Guide to Publishing

February 27, 2025 — by Abby Rice

How do you handle negative book reviews? Should you even handle them? What kinds of criticism do you engage with, and what’s the best way to go about it? Jane Friedman of The Hot Sheet to chat with Joe and Elly about the pros and cons of critical feedback.

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Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
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How Do I Identify the Plants in My Path? w/ Maggie Herskovitz | A People’s Guide to Publishing

February 20, 2025

You likely pass all kinds of plants and herbs in your day to day. But do you know who they are? Where they come from? Maggie Herskovitz can help! Her new book, “An Urban Field Guide to the Plants, Trees, and Herbs in Your Path” recently released, and this week on the pod she joins Joe and Elly to talk about the book’s story, cover design, and how she got into plant identification.

Get a copy of Maggie’s book here.

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Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
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Unfuck Your Parenting with Bonnie Scott and Dr. Faith G. Harper | A People’s Guide to Publishing

February 13, 2025

How do you raise your kids to be functional adults with big hearts, especially in the current timeline?

This week on the podcast, Bonnie Scott and Dr. Faith, authors of Unf*ck Your Parenting, join Joe and Elly to talk about the book’s journey and what’s new, respecting your kid, book bans, and more.

Get Unfuck Your Parenting on our site.
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Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
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How does a press become an imprint? w/ Jelani Memory | A People’s Guide to Publishing Podcast

February 06, 2025

It’s episode 300!

This week on the pod, Elly, Joe, and Bernie are joined by Jelani Memory of A Kids Co, which recently became an imprint of DK. They talk about taking making your press an imprint of a larger publisher instead of just having it distributed, sticking to your mission during the process, and making your business like a cockroach (unkillable!).

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Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
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What Shifts Are Afoot in Publishing? w/Jane Friedman | A People’s Guide to Publishing

January 30, 2025

Publishing changes all the time. Reader tastes shift, markets move, sometimes the memoir you’re reading was actually about Jesus all along. This week on the podcast, Joe and Elly hang out with The Hot Sheet‘s Jane Friedman to talk about the shifts they’re seeing in publishing deals, acquisitions, and tastes.

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