Inside Independent Publishing (with IBPA)

Board Member Elizabeth Turnbull discusses quality standards, hybrid publishing, diversity, and other target areas for IBPA's Advocacy Committee

Subjects covered include:

Participants

Elizabeth Turnbull was born and raised in Haiti where she grew up surrounded by the people and landscapes of her latest book, Say to These Mountains.

After graduating from Quisqueya Christian School, in Port-au-Prince, Elizabeth went on to study Spanish and Journalism at Wake Forest University and received her MA in Latin American and Caribbean Studies from Florida International University. Today, she is the Senior Editor for Light Messages Publishing where she is immensely grateful to immerse herself in new stories every day. Elizabeth is also the author of two children’s books: Janjak and Freda Go to the Iron Market and Bonnwit Kabrit.

Elizabeth lives on a budding farm in Hillsborough, NC, with her husband Roberto and a handful of critters. She currently sits on the IBPA board.

Find out more about Elizabeth at https://www.lightmessages.com/.

Peter Goodman (host) is publisher of Stone Bridge Press in Berkeley, California. He began his publishing career in Tokyo, Japan, in 1976. A longtime member of IBPA, he has served on the IBPA board and as IBPA board chair.

Editorial Director Jim Milliot talks about how leading trade magazine Publishers Weekly views book publishing today and the rise of the indie publisher.

In a wide-ranging interview, Jim Milliot looks at how book publishing has changed in the last decade and how Publishers Weekly has adopted strategies to adjust, such as developing digital outlets for news and advertising in the face of declining print sales. As a result, today PW reaches a huge audience, surprisingly made up mostly of consumers looking for reviews and opinions to guide their buying choices.

Jim also talks about different ways PW serves the publishing industry, not just the BIg 5 but smaller presses. He suggests different ways indies can get coverage, and he emphasizes that PW plays an important advocacy role when it comes to creating a level playing field for publishers of all sizes.

At the end, Jim has a rather surprising take on the overall health of the American book publishing industry.

To visit Publishers Weekly online, go to https://www.publishersweekly.com/

Participants

Jim Milliot, editorial director, has been with Publishers Weekly for 23 years. Jim edits news on mergers, acquisitions, and financial performance for the weekly magazine and for the PW Daily online Newsletter. His reporting and insights into the changing publishing industry are often quoted in the media, and he regularly appears on book industry panels. Jim is also a member of the IBPA board.

Peter Goodman (host) is publisher of Stone Bridge Press in Berkeley, California. He began his publishing career in Tokyo, Japan, in 1976. A longtime member of IBPA, he has served on the IBPA board and as IBPA board chair.

Robby Price, in his last term as IBPA board chair, talks about the association, how it has changed, and how it is helping transform and strengthen indie publishing today.

Robby explains how he got his start in publishing, evolving from a 1-page printout to a full traditional printer and then, more recently, a successful author services provider. He then reflects on how IBPA has changed during his time on the board and then as board chair.

He points especially to the increasing strength exhibited by author publishers. It is no coincidence that as author publishers gain ground, hybrid publishers have emerged to lend them support with curation and expertise.

Robby also discusses his own business, Gatekeeper Press, a service provider to author publishers and small indie presses.

Gatekeeper press is at https://gatekeeperpress.com/.

Participants

Robby Price is chairperson of the IBPA board of directors and the president of Gatekeeper Press with 200,000 books sold as a self-published author. Gatekeeper Press works with publishers and authors looking to self-publish who earn 100 percent of their net proceeds, retain 100 percent of their rights, and reach readers all over the world.

Peter Goodman (host) is publisher of Stone Bridge Press in Berkeley, California. He began his publishing career in Tokyo, Japan, in 1976. A longtime member of IBPA, he has served on the IBPA board and as IBPA board chair.

Robin Cutler, Director of IngramSpark, discusses ways that publishers can use print-on-demand technology to launch their business and achieve distribution quickly.

Topics include:

To find out more about IngramSpark, go to http://www.ingramspark.com/

Participants

As the Director of IngramSpark at Ingram Content Group, Robin Cutler is committed to helping independent publishers easily get their content into the hands of readers around the globe. To help make this happen, she leads the development of IngramSpark and continues to support and refine the platform to better serve independent publishers around the world. She is a leader in the independent publishing space, and when not developing new programs and services for IngramSpark, she can often be found sharing her expertise at industry events around the world.

Peter Goodman (host) is publisher of Stone Bridge Press in Berkeley, California. He began his publishing career in Tokyo, Japan, in 1976. A longtime member of IBPA, he has served on the IBPA board and as IBPA board chair.

Angela Bole, CEO of the Independent Book Publishers Association, gives an overview of IBPA and how its mission can help publishers become more successful in an ever-changing publishing landscape.

Topics covered include:

For more on IBPA, go to http://www.ibpa-online.org.

Also, your questions on how to submit books to magazines, and is it legal to use characters from movies in fan fiction?

Participants

Angela Bole is chief executive officer of the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), the largest book publishing association in the U.S. serving independent publishers and self-published authors.

Prior to joining IBPA, Angela served two years as deputy executive director of the Book Industry Study Group (BISG), an organization that fosters conversation and consensus across all sectors of the book business. Before that, she served two years as BISG’s associate director and two years as its marketing and communications manager.

Angela holds a Masters of Science in Book Publishing from New York University and currently serves on the board of directors for the Book Industry Study Group. In 2017, she was awarded the Book Industry Study Group’s Industry Champion Award, given to an individual whose efforts have gone beyond the requirements of his or her position to advance the book industry.

Peter Goodman (host) is publisher of Stone Bridge Press in Berkeley, California. He began his publishing career in Tokyo, Japan, in 1976. A longtime member of IBPA, he has served on the IBPA board and as IBPA board chair.

Anne-Marie Concepción of Seneca Design & Training presents the case for using InDesign as a p-book and e-book creation tool.

Topics covered include:

Also, your questions on paying royalties to foreign publishers, learning more about printing and production.

Sites and resources mentioned in the podcast include:

Participants

Anne-Marie Concepción is the founder and president of Seneca Design & Training, which provides cross-media consulting, training, design, and publishing services for a variety of organizations across the United States. She is widely known as one of a very few digital publishing gurus, having worked and taught in this field for twenty-five years, since the early days of PageMaker and QuarkXPress.

Anne-Marie is now one of the nation’s premiere independent Adobe Certified Instructors, teaching hands-on classes at client sites around the world and helping publishers make smooth transitions to the latest software and workflows. As an industry expert, Anne-Marie enjoys sharing her real-world expertise via books, articles, and seminars. She’s the co-host of the InDesignSecrets.com blog and podcast with David Blatner, with whom she also co-authored Adobe InDesign CS/CS2 Breakthroughs (Peachpit Press, 2005).

Visit Seneca Design & Training at https://senecadesign.com/.

Peter Goodman (host) is publisher of Stone Bridge Press in Berkeley, California. He began his publishing career in Tokyo, Japan, in 1976. A longtime member of IBPA, he has served on the IBPA board and as IBPA board chair.

Tom Doherty of Cardinal Publishers Group presents need-to-know pointers for independent publishers seeking distribution for their books.

He covers:

Also: your questions on Digital Review Copies and royalties.

Participants

Tom Doherty has been president of Cardinal Publishers Group since 2000 and publisher of Blue River Press since 2004. Prior to Cardinal Publishers Group Tom worked in publishing for nearly twenty years including eight years in book distribution with Time-Warner and The Hearst Corporation. During his time at Cardinal Publishers Group, a full-service distributor, Tom has launched more than a hundred new imprints. As publisher of Blue River Press he published notable New York Times bestselling authors James Alexander Thom and Jack D. Hunter as well as category non-fiction and regional best sellers. You can check out his site at cardinalpub.com.

Peter Goodman (host) is publisher of Stone Bridge Press in Berkeley, California. He began his publishing career in Tokyo, Japan, in 1976. A longtime member of IBPA, he has served on the IBPA board and as IBPA board chair.

Ian Lamont of i30 Media discusses strategies for using Amazon Marketing Services to make your book pop to the top in Amazon searches.

Covered here are key concepts like bidding and budgeting, and a real-world assessment of what works and what doesn't when working with Amazon (or with Facebook and Google ads).

Here’s the YouTube how-to video Ian mentions in the podcast:

Mentioned in the members’ question portion of the podcast are new classes in Copyediting and Developmental Editing at UCLA Extension. For information, go to https://www.uclaextension.edu/.

Participants

Ian Lamont is an award-winning technology journalist, author, and publisher, and the founder of i30 Media Corp. and IN 30 MINUTES Guides. He is also a director and treasurer of the Independent Book Publishers Association and serves on IBPA's Executive Committee. His books include Twitter In 30 Minutes and Lean Media: How to Focus Creativity, Streamline Production, and Create Media That Audiences Love. A graduate of Boston University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he lives in the Boston area with his family. Visit https://in30minutes.com.

Peter Goodman (host) is publisher of Stone Bridge Press in Berkeley, California. He began his publishing career in Tokyo, Japan, in 1976. A longtime member of IBPA, he has served on the IBPA board and as IBPA board chair.