Knowing What YOU Want When Making a Personal Budget | A People’s Guide to Publishing Podcast

December 26, 2025

How do you set a personal budget, even if thinking about money feels like the worst thing ever? What if you’re allergic to spreadsheets, or your family set you up with a ton of anxiety and expectations around finances?

Joe Biel, founder and CEO of Microcosm and regular host of the pod, did a little seminar for Microcosm staff on setting a personal budget and Joe’s favorite tips for money management. We got so much out of it, we wanted to share it with you!

If you want more tips on where to get started with your finances, check out UNF*CK YOUR WORTH by Dr. Faith Harper

Should you innovate your publisher? w/ Jane Friedman | A People’s Guide to Publishing Podcast

December 19, 2025

“Innovation” is one of the biggest words you hear in just about any industry, especially with the rise of our new AI overlords. It can be so tempting to make big changes just for the sake of making changes! But what is real innovation, and how do you know when it needs to happen? How do you innovate with intention? Is innovation even right for you? Jane Friedman of The Bottom Line is back with Joe and Elly this week to talk about branding, change, innovation, and how to go about it all thoughtfully. (Does “innovation” sound like a word to you anymore?)

Prefer an audio experience? Listen to the episode on your favorite podcast app.
Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
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From Solo to Supported: How authors find community (w/Jessie Kwak) | A People’s Guide to Publishing

December 04, 2025

Being an author can often be an isolating experience. From writing to marketing, you’re often running solo.

Jessie Kwak, author of FROM CHAOS TO CREATIVITY and FROM SOLO TO SUPPORTED, joins us on the podcast this week to talk about building community as a freelance author, making connections as an introvert, and leaning into what people will notice about you.

Get FROM SOLO TO SUPPORTED here.

Prefer an audio experience? Listen to the episode on your favorite podcast app.
Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
Want to stay up to date on new podcast episodes and happenings at Microcosm? Subscribe to our newsletter!

How Can Book Publishers Utilize Bookstore Coop? w/Jane Friedman | A People’s Guide to Publishing

November 26, 2025

Early episode drop this week due to the holiday!

Put simply, bookstore co-op is a tool publishers can use to incentivize bookstores for ordering and featuring their books, or hosting events with their authors. Is co-op right for your publisher? How do you best use it? Jane Friedman of The Bottom Line is back to chat with Joe and Elly about co-op, Microcosm’s experience with it, and how to communicate with buyers and reps about it.

Check out The Bottom Line here.

Prefer an audio experience? Listen to the episode on your favorite podcast app.
Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
Want to stay up to date on new podcast episodes and happenings at Microcosm? Subscribe to our newsletter!

What is in a good book contract? | A People’s Guide to Publishing Podcast

November 20, 2025

It’s a throwback episode! Contracts are no one’s favorite part of publishing, no matter which side of the table you’re sitting on. This week on the pod, we revisit a classic People’s Guide to Publishing episode where Joe and Elly walk you through why contracts are important, how to navigate them as an author, and what makes a good publishing contract.

Prefer an audio experience? Listen to the episode on your favorite podcast app.
Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
Want to stay up to date on new podcast episodes and happenings at Microcosm? Subscribe to our newsletter!

It doesn’t have to be perfect: Punk, Art & DIY w/Ashley Rowe Palafox | A People’s Guide to Publishing Podcast

November 13, 2025

It’s the 20 year anniversary Ashley Rowe Palafox’s original “Barefoot and in the Kitchen” vegan cookzine! This week on the pod, Ashley joins us to talk about the inception of the zine, how punk helps you let go of perfectionism, and updating the zines for the new collection, “Cook Your Own F*cking Life.”

Get “Cook Your Own Fucking Life” here.
Check out Ashley’s other works here.

Prefer an audio experience? Listen to the episode on your favorite podcast app.
Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
Want to stay up to date on new podcast episodes and happenings at Microcosm? Subscribe to our newsletter!

We Are Stronger Than Censorship: Book Bans & Empathy w/ Lee Wind | People’s Guide to Publishing

November 06, 2025

This week on the pod, Lee Wind of the Independent Book Publisher’s Association is here to talk about the We Are Stronger Than Censorship campaign, book bans, and a few fun side quests like microwaves and 90s movies.

For more on the We Are Stronger Than Censorship campaign, click here.

To get the stickers, click here.

Prefer an audio experience? Listen to the episode on your favorite podcast app.
Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
Want to stay up to date on new podcast episodes and happenings at Microcosm? Subscribe to our newsletter!

Marketing and Selling Books on Tiktok Shop, w/ Jane Friedman | A People’s Guide to Publishing Podcast

October 30, 2025

There are new forms of ecommerce popping up every day, on every website from Instagram and Tiktok to Pinterest. Is selling online through Tiktok right for your books?

This week, Jane Friedman of the Bottom Line is back to talk to Joe and Elly about the growing popularity of TIktok Shop, and if she thinks it’s worth a publisher’s time.

Prefer an audio experience? Listen to the episode on your favorite podcast app.
Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
Want to stay up to date on new podcast episodes and happenings at Microcosm? Subscribe to our newsletter!

Selling to National Specialty Markets, w/ Angela Engel | A People’s Guide to Publishing Podcast

October 23, 2025

Angela Engel is the founder and CEO of The Collective Book Studio, one of Publisher Weekly’s 2024 fastest-growing publishers. This week on the pod, Angela hangs out with Joe and Elly to talk about how Collective got where they are, how they develop their titles and marketing plans, outreach, bookstore engagement, and so so so much more!

Prefer an audio experience? Listen to the episode on your favorite podcast app.
Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
Want to stay up to date on new podcast episodes and happenings at Microcosm? Subscribe to our newsletter!

Iconic Images, Information, & Accessibility: Designing Book Covers | A People’s Guide to Publishing

October 16, 2025

Can you really judge a book by its cover? Absolutely, yes. A lot of work goes into planning a book’s cover design— marketing goals, representing the author’s work, making it appealing to the target audience, legibility, and so much more.

This week on the pod, Joe walks us through the things Joe takes into consideration for designing our covers.

Note: For those just listening to audio, there’s an accompanying slideshow in the video where Joe is showcasing varying covers! Still valuable info with just audio, but we recommending trying to catch the video of this as well.

Prefer an audio experience? Listen to the episode on your favorite podcast app.
Get the People’s Guide to Publishing here, and the workbook here!
Want to stay up to date on new podcast episodes and happenings at Microcosm? Subscribe to our newsletter!