The Future of Bookselling (an interview with Bookshop.org)

November 18, 2021 — by Elly Blue

This week on the People’s Guide to Publishing podcast, we are debuting our first ever live show! Joe and Elly interview Sarah High, Senior Partnerships Manager at Bookshop.org, the online bookselling site that is revolutionizing the industry by partnering with brick and mortar bookstores, supporting rather than disrupting them. We talk about how Bookshop came to be and a little bit about the future of the book industry, our big hopes for the confluence of books and tech, and how we can achieve it by working together and sharing our passion for books.

Also check out our last two episodes, about the failed Penguin Random House acquisition of Simon & Schuster and how publishers can use the powers of math to make better books.

Why isn’t cheap labor working anymore?

October 28, 2021 — by Elly Blue

This week on the People’s Guide to Publishing podcast, Joe and Elly talk about the Great Resignation as it applies to publishing—specifically to the blue-collar warehouse jobs that our industry relies on yet often doesn’t acknowledge or respect. We brag a little on our own warehouse staff who are currently outperforming our industry fulfillment times by a longshot, and make the case for treating warehouse workers as equal parts of the team.

Self-publishing vs Traditional Publishing

October 22, 2021 — by Elly Blue

This week on the People’s Guide to Publishing podcast, Joe and Elly examine the pros and cons of different publishing paths for authors. A listener wrote in to ask the age-old question of whether they should try to find a traditional publisher or go ahead and self-publish. We have an obvious bias, but we did our best to treat the question objectively, because there are a bunch of benefits and pitfalls for both.

What we learned at this year’s PNBA

October 14, 2021 — by Elly Blue

On this week’s episode of the People’s Guide to Publishing podcast, Joe and Elly report back from the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association’s 2021 trade show. The event was back to being in-person for the first time since 2019 and everyone was excited to see each other! And excited about books! We learned some things and came away with some observations about what’s going on in the publishing industry.

P.S. We’re running a quick Kickstarter right now for Dr. Faith’s newest book: Befriend Your Brain is a de-swear-inated edition of her bestseller Unf*** Your Brain, suitable for humans 10+ who want help freaking out less.

How do you write a book contract for multiple authors?

October 08, 2021 — by Elly Blue

This week on the People’s Guide to Publishing podcast, Joe and Elly tackle a reader question about the exciting world of contracts! Someone wrote in to ask how to handle a contract for a book with multiple authors collaborating, or an author and illustrator working together on a project like a kids’ book or a graphic novel. We walk through a few different scenarios and how you might handle them with the goal of having a clear, fair, and consistent contract. Also, we say the word “contract” a lot to desensitize you, because these helpful little documents don’t have to be as scary as most people think they are.

What is licensing and how do publishers do it?

September 23, 2021 — by Elly Blue

Today on the People’s Guide to Publishing podcast, Joe and Elly tackle the topic of licensing. This is the key business concept for any publisher to understand and consider. Licensing is sort of the engine fuel that makes the industry and your piece of it work; publishers license work from authors to put out as books and then sometimes go on to license different editions and formats. Here it is broken down in a way that will help you see your part in that ecosystem a little more clearly.

This one is part of a 3-part series – you can also check out our episode from last week on intellectual property.

What do book publishers need to know about intellectual property?

September 16, 2021 — by Elly Blue

This week on the People’s Guide to Publishing podcast, Joe and Elly talk about intellectual property, what it means for authors and publishers, how to manage it, how to increase its value, and how to protect it. We definitely don’t make any juvenile jokes in this episode.

What is an “Indie Author”?

September 10, 2021 — by Elly Blue

This week on the People’s Guide to Publishing podcast / vlogcast, Joe and Elly consider the term “indie author” and how various forces have tried to co-opt the meaning of independence when it comes to writing and creative work. No punches are pulled as we encourage you to think critically about what you value about independence and whether or not you actually are getting that from the company selling it to you.

What We Learned at the Las Vegas Market Gift Show

September 02, 2021 — by Elly Blue

This week on the People’s Guide to Publishing podcast, Joe and Elly report back from Las Vegas Market—a giant trade show for the gift market. We talk about what “gift” means, why book publishers might attend such an event, what it was like, and some of the logistics and costs involved. Not mentioned, but deserving of a shout-out are Vegas’s bikeshare system and Tacotarian, two discoveries that turned our trip from a slog to a delight.

Hachette buys Workman: What does it mean?

August 26, 2021 — by Elly Blue

This week on the People’s Guide to Publishing podcast, Joe and Elly consider the recent news that giant publishing conglomerate Hachette is buying one of the last of the large independents, Workman. We talk about what the acquisition means for the companies involved, for other publishers, and for people who buy books.