Everybody Hates Self-Publishing

This week, Carrie interviews brand new business owners DJ Wright and Russell Marbut, founders of the new Birmingham gym Ohm Jiu Jitsu. They talk about whether or not the market for jiu jitsu is saturated, how the partners found their space and navigated the world of new business ownership, and we even touch a bit on how marriage impacts business (Russell is Carrie’s husband!). Find full show notes at localistpodcast.com.

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Ohm Jiu Jitsu: Find out more (and get a free class) at ohmjiujitsu.com

Ohm Jiu Jitsu on Instagram: @ohmjiujitsu

Sanctum Tattoos and Comics on the Localist

MMA

UFC

Seasick Records

Mom’s Basement

Joe Rogan

Jocko

A. Studio and Andrew Thomson (logo designer for Ohm)

Andrew Thomson’s episode of the Localist

Gym Desk

Welcome to Everybody Hates Self-Publishing, the podcast that explores the good, the bad and the ugly of creating and producing your own work. Host Carrie Rollwagen is author of the self-published book The Localist.

This week on The Localist, Carrie reminisces about her time managing Jonathan Benton, Bookseller. Carrie dives in with the lessons she learned through lots of trial and error, and what she took with her to her own shop. Carrie inherited a ton of debt when she became manager, but she was able to turn it around and got the store in the black by the time she left! Her methods may have bent the rules a bit, but Carrie gives tips that are applicable to all businesses. Full show notes at localistpodcast.com.

Mentioned in this episode: 

Church Street Coffee and Books

Infomedia 

Birmingham Post-Herald 

Jonathan Benton Bookseller

Cracker Barrel 

Libro.fm 

Carrie’s Kickstarter 

Sri on Instagram 

The Localist by Carrie Rollwagen

Co-Owners of Golden Age Wine on The Localist Podcast 

Golden Age Wine

Trattoria Zaza 

Print Gocco

Hermione Granger 

S.P.E.W.

Brick & Tin 

@ThinkLocalist on Instagram

CarrieRollwagen.com

This week on the Localist, Pam Sanderson, Director of Account Development at Infomedia, joins Carrie to talk about everything you need to know about websites. Pam and Carrie dive in with where you should start when evaluating your website, and how to assess your goals. One of Pam’s best tips is to focus on your customers and your content first, and she gives you a road map to follow from there. Pam and Carrie then discuss the best ways to strike a balance between your users, good design, and Google’s algorithm (hint: consistent, quality content is a good place to start!). Content is truly king in the world of websites, and Pam and Carrie give great tips on how to create, utilize, and get the most out of your content. They wrap up the conversation with when to seek help with your website, and what you can expect if you work with a web developer. 

Mentioned in this episode: 

Carrie’s Ecommerce Webinar Signup

Pam Sanderson

Infomedia

WordPress

Drupal

Wix

SquareSpace

Church Street Coffee and Books 

One Quick Question Podcast 

Pam on One Quick Question

Infomedia’s Contact Form

In this episode, Carrie Rollwagen wraps up season one of Everybody Hates Self-Publishing. She talks about Charles Dickens (A Christmas Carol was self-published), WordCamp US, her new job with the American Booksellers Association and her upcoming new podcast, Words with Carrie.

In this episode, Carrie Rollwagen talks to Annie B. Jones, owner of The Bookshelf bookstore in Thomasville, Georgia about how to host an innovative book signing and how to pitch a book signing for your self-published book to a bookstore successfully.

In this episode, Carrie Rollwagen talks to Betsy Teter of Spartanburg, South Carolina’s Hub City Writers Project about small press publishing versus self-publishing, crowdfunding projects, book signings, book selling and more.

In this episode, Carrie Rollwagen explains what Shop Small Saturday is and how it can help you establish relationships with bookstores that can help you get your book onto shelves. She also talks about the Shop Small Saturday release of her self-published book, The Localist, and gives tips about hosting your own book signing.

In this episode, Carrie Rollwagen talks to former Print Production Manager Leslie Johnson about getting your self-published book printed and understanding print terminology to get a better idea of how to manage the printing of your book.

In this episode, Carrie Rollwagen talks to Little Professor bookseller and Nanowrimo winner Sara Glassman about how writing a draft for this year’s National Novel Writing Month could be a great first step to writing your book. They also talk about Little Professor’s recent move to a new building, decorating a bookstore for the holidays, and mistakes self-published authors often make when trying to get independent bookstores to carry their books.