When dinosaurs fight, should the small mammals worry about it, or just continue scurrying along on our merry business? This week on the People’s Guide to Publishing podcast, Joe and Elly offer some commentary on the current trial as the US Justice Department tries to prevent publishing giants PRH and S&S from merging into a single mega-publisher. How big of a deal is this merger in the publishing world and in the economy as a whole? Who does it actually affect? Should smaller publishers be taking any lessons or warnings, or just make some popcorn and enjoy the show? In under 10 minutes, we break down what’s interesting, why it matters, and to whom.

This week on the People’s Guide to Publishing podcast, Joe and Elly talk about decision-making. When should you follow conventional wisdom or do what you see your fellow publishers doing? How do you determine what works for you? When you’re torn between two seemingly equivalent paths, how do you figure out which one to take? We give you some metrics and a flow chart here, because one practical step forward is better than a hundred think pieces about how not to do it.

This week on the People’s Guide to Publishing podcast, Joe and Elly tackle a common, usually fraught question among authors and publishers: If you want out of a book contract, how can you cancel it? The answer depends on the contract itself and we dive right into the hows and whys of it.

This week on the People’s Guide to Publishing podcast, we talk about one of the most serious aspects of growth—training new people into the publishing industry and your own company’s processes! We talk about making sure people understand the goals and big picture, investing the time it really takes to train and manage someone, giving people space to make mistakes and learn from them, and what you can learn from your new workers and their fresh view of your processes.

This week’s People’s Guide to Publishing podcast tackles one of the more glamorous and high-class aspects of the publishing industry: receiving pallets! This is the good stuff and we know this is what you’re in it for. Watch or listen and Joe and Elly get into the very basics of freight shipping and walk you through the steps of receiving a pallet of books at your warehouse or in front of your house or apartment or whatever hijinks you are up to. We go through how to prepare, what to expect, negotiating with the driver and your possibly miffed neighbors, and what to do if there’s been damage or a mistake.