• The Internet Archive and why its position is wrong
• The Open Library
• What is fair use?
• Update on the Case Act

Appeal to readers and librarians from the victims of Controlled Digital Lending (CDL).
https://www.authorsguild.org/industry-advocacy/cdl-appeal-to-readers-and-librarians/

“Controlled Digital Lending Is Neither Controlled nor Legal”
https://www.authorsguild.org/industry-advocacy/controlled-digital-lending-is-neither-controlled-nor-legal/

“Internet Archive’s National Emergency Library Harms Authors”
https://www.authorsguild.org/industry-advocacy/internet-archives-uncontrolled-digital-lending/

Open letter demanding “National Emergency Library” be shut down
https://www.authorsguild.org/industry-advocacy/ag-sends-open-letter-demanding-national-emergency-library-shutdown/

Fact sheet from ControlledDigitalLending.org
https://controlleddigitallending.org/faq

Internet Archive Blog on the closing of National Emergency Library
https://blog.archive.org/2020/06/10/temporary-national-emergency-library-to-close-2-weeks-early-returning-to-traditional-controlled-digital-lending/

Mary Rasenberger is the Executive Director of the Authors Guild and Authors Guild Foundation. Prior to joining the Guild in November 2014, Mary practiced law for over 25 years in roles that spanned private practice, the government and corporate sector, as a recognized expert in copyright and media law. She is a frequent speaker, lecturer and writer on copyright law and authors’ rights.

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.

For more information, go to IBPA at https://www.ibpa-online.org/.

The IBPA Advocacy Committee is making plans for this coming year to lobby, write, and campaign for better awareness and fairness for independent publishers. Committee member Mel Corrigan discusses some of these initiatives, from distribution to piracy to copyrights.

• mission of the Advocacy Committee
• initiatives
• piracy
• access to distribution
• content protection
• the CASE Act, Internet Archive, Audible Captions
• advocation for indie publishers in broader terms, such as inclusiveness and diversity
• changing perceptions of indie publishers by review media
• how to join the committee

Scribe Publishing Company 
https://scribe-publishing.com

Mel’s' profile on Scribe Publishing Company's website 
https://scribe-publishing.com/mel

About the Internet Archive
https://controlleddigitallending.org/whitepaper 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/01/books/internet-archive-emergency-library-coronavirus.html

About the CASE Act
https://www.ibpa-online.org/news/479123/IBPA-Members-Encouraged-to-Join-CASE-Act-Social-Media-Campaign-Nov-25-30-2019.htm

About Audible Captions
https://www.ibpa-online.org/news/467194/Updated-News-Related-to-Audible-Captions-Program.htm

https://www.ibpa-online.org/news/462153/IBPA-Statement-on-Audibles-Caption-Program.htm?fbclid=IwAR2zBPA62X4mLtCWRJacLb3qJRwWqvEuQViAORlttZXZNIMvKm4s5ay6o4s

IBPA's response to Amazon cutting book orders in preparation for Black Friday (November 2019)
https://www.ibpa-online.org/news/478273/IBPA-Response-to-Amazon-Cutting-Book-Orders-to-Publishers.htm

IBPA's: Amazon's third party buy button policy hurts publishers (May 2017)
https://www.ibpa-online.org/news/344366/Amazons-Buy-Button-Policy-Change-Hurts-Publishers-and-Authors.htm

IBPA's call to action regarding the Amazon buy button policy (June 2017)
https://www.ibpa-online.org/news/news.asp?id=349854

Update on the Amazon buy button policy (Fall 2017 update)
https://www.ibpa-online.org/news/368798/IBPAs-Fall-2017-Update-on-the-Amazon-Buy-Button-Policy-Change.htm

Mel Corrigan is a member of the IBPA Advocacy Committee and the Business & Marketing Manager at Scribe Publishing Company in Royal Oak, Michigan. She joined the team in 2012 during the launch of the company’s first novel as project manager and editorial assistant and established an in-house royalty tracking system as well as other business and finance reporting.

To see what she’s currently reading, follow her on Goodreads. You can read more at scribe-publishing.com/Mel or find her on watch her interview with Indie Reads TV.

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.

For more information, go to IBPA at https://www.ibpa-online.org/.

All the conventions of book publishing have been disrupted in just a few months as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. How many of these changes are permanent, and how is indie publishing likely to evolve as a result? Podcast host and book publisher Peter Goodman takes a pause in his regular interview format to speculate on our emerging future.

• New Reality #1 Greater adoption of ebooks by readers
• New Reality #2 Fewer indie booksellers
• New Reality #3 Corollary to #2: Increased influence of wholesalers and online vendors
• New Reality #4 Second corollary to #2: More competition for Amazon
• New Reality #5 A vast new world of virtual book marketing and promotion
• New Reality #6 A proliferation of author publishers
• New Reality #7 The domination of print on demand

Peter Goodman (host) is publisher of Stone Bridge Press (www.stonebridge.com) 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.

For more information, go to IBPA at https://www.ibpa-online.org/.

What kind of virtual author events are successful in getting the word out, supporting booksellers, and developing enthusiastic online communities? Maria Dismondy of children’s book publisher Cardinal Rule Press has had recent success and discusses strategies and goals.

• online book launches and book “tours”
• partnering with bookstores
• sign-up events vs public streaming on Facebook and other platforms
• advance sales before the event
• sponsored and partnered events with giveaways as a way of developing and sharing contacts
• how to find partners for a virtual event: be sure to match the audience to the mission
• keeping pitch letters effective and succinct
• how the pandemic crisis may be creating new and permanent opportunities for new kinds of book promotion
• advice: pick 1 platform and be consistent with your message and timing
• be sure to spend more time “giving” than “selling”; you may not have a direct ROI but you will be building community
• how far in advance should you contact sponsors? participants?
• the growing importance of bookshop.org
• why traditional media are still important
• good advice: “do one thing every day!”

CardinalRulePress.com
www.cardinalrulepress.com

Maria Dismondy
www.mariadismondy.com

Sample a reader's guide: Evie's Field Day by Claire Noland
https://cardinalrulepress.com/uploads/pdf/Evies%20Field%20Day%20FINAL.%5B1%5D.pdf

Author and founder of the publishing company, Cardinal Rule Press, Maria Dismondy inspires and educates others in the book industry.

Her background in early education and research enables her to touch lives the world over while touring as a public speaker in schools, community forums, and at national conferences. When Maria isn’t working, she can be found embarking on adventures throughout southeast Michigan and beyond, where she lives with her husband and three book-loving children. 

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.

For more information, go to IBPA at https://www.ibpa-online.org/.

The city of Portland, Oregon, is one of the centers of Pacific Northwest publishing. Laura Stanfill of Forest Avenue Press discusses her own journey and describes how the special bond among Portland publishers, readers, and booksellers leads to the small victories that can get us through these tough times.

• the story of Forest Avenue Press
• NAB (Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association)
• engaging with local booksellers for advice, events, advance orders and buzz
• focusing on regional authors
• the role of Powell’s bookstore as a sales powerhouse and community gathering space
• the Espresso Book Machine (no longer but a great tool for local events and galleys!)
• the challenge of launching books when no bookstores are open or ordering books
• getting by with online orders and curbside delivery
• are books an “essential” business?
• publishers connecting with readers
• the story of The Royal Abduls and its online launch (the virus hit just when the book was headed for an important pre-release launch!)
• will NY publishers win all the eyeballs with their big money and big noisemakers?
• now is the time for publishers, booksellers, and readers to all rally together!
• refocus on truly good, truly essential titles that can cut through the noise and garner attention
• savor even the small victories: they’re why we do what we do!

Forest Avenue Press
http://www.forestavenuepress.com/

NW Book Lovers Reviews campaign for The Royal Abduls by Ramiza Shamoun
https://nwbooklovers.org/2020/03/10/face-out-extravaganza-the-royal-abduls-by-ramiza-shamoun-koya/

Radio interview with Forest Avenue author Julia Stoops on KBOO
https://shar.es/aHtwuG

Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association (PNBA)
http://www.pnba.org/

Laura Stanfill is the publisher of Forest Avenue Press, which she founded in 2012. She earned a certificate from the Yale Publishing Course in 2018 thanks to an IBPA scholarship. She believes in indie bookstores and wishes on them like stars.

Peter Goodman (host) is publisher of Stone Bridge Press (www.stonebridge.com) 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.

For more information, go to IBPA at https://www.ibpa-online.org/.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed American life overnight. How are booksellers faring, what kinds of issues do they face, and what measures are they taking to survive? John Mutter of industry newsletter Shelf Awareness makes some initial observations.

• The plight of booksellers and their employees
• Is relief in sight?
• Do stores already doing online selling have an advantage?
• The logistical challenge: you can sell, but can you ship?
• Resources at hand: the ABA, BINC
• How can authors and booksellers support each other?
• Virtual author tours and events and other strategies for staying afloat
• Is bookselling an “essential” business?
• Ingram’s major role in sales and fulfillment

https://www.shelf-awareness.com/
Shelf Awareness newsletter

https://www.bincfoundation.org/
Book Industry Charitable Foundation
https://www.bookweb.org/
American Booksellers Association

https://www.ingramcontent.com/retailers/direct-to-home
Ingram Direct to Home shipping service

https://www.aer.io/
Sell your books online with Ingram fulfillment

https://lunch.publishersmarketplace.com/2020/03/reference-supporting-booksellers-in-these-dark-times/
Publishers Lunch guide to supporting booksellers

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/82823-bookstores-seek-essential-exemptions.html
US booksellers fight against closures and develop new ways of serving customers 

John Mutter is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of the book industry and reader newsletter Shelf Awareness. Before that he was the longtime executive editor of bookselling at Publishers Weekly and executive editor of the former PW Daily for Booksellers. John is a former Board member of IBPA.

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.

For more information, go to IBPA at https://www.ibpa-online.org/.

Getting the look and content of your book right is priority 1. But looming changes at Amazon may be beyond your control. What to do? This is part 2 of our interview with Ian Lamont of i30 Media.

• 3 keys to success: a great cover, powerful keywords and metadata, solid content
• Using social media to drive traffic to Amazon
• How Amazon is changing: increasing costs of advertising and, surprise, Amazon may no longer consider books very important to its business model
• Any other competitors on the horizon? (um, not really)
• But, you can use other platforms to sell books: Shopify, Ingram Spark, Aerio among others

Lean Media
http://leanmedia.org/

Lean Media YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsYGJf9h3mJHS9KP6H5ldYQ/videos

Amazon Deep Dive
http://deepdive.leanmedia.org/

IBPA Publishing University: Using Metadata and Amazon to Expand Your Business, Thursday, April 2, 8:30 am - 12:30 pm (Redondo Beach, CA )
https://sched.co/YAAX

Ingram Spark
https://www.ingramspark.com/

Aerio
https://www.aer.io/

Shopify
https://www.shopify.com/

Ian Lamont is the founder of i30 Media Corporation and the creator of the Lean Media framework. He started his publishing business in 2012 with a single how-to guide on Amazon KDP. The company has since expanded to a complete line of utility nonfiction (the IN 30 MINUTES series) as well as several ancillary product lines. Ian uses a range of Amazon programs, including Amazon Advantage, Amazon Advertising, Seller Central, and the Amazon Brand Registry to develop and market new products, and is a frequent speaker at publishing events on Amazon-related topics. He lives in the Boston area with his family. Ian is a former Board member of IBPA.

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.

For more information, go to IBPA at https://www.ibpa-online.org/.

Amazon advertising can be a great way to boost discoverability, but you have to know what it costs and how to manage Amazon issues that arise from time to time. This is part 1 of our interview with Ian Lamont of i30 Media.

• Amazon Advertising
• Customer support
• Keeping an eye on costs
• Discoverability
• Amazon as a test laboratory
• KDP, Audible, and other programs
• Is Amazon Advantage being phased out?
• Seller Central
• Problems with Amazon customer service

Lean Media
http://leanmedia.org/

Lean Media YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsYGJf9h3mJHS9KP6H5ldYQ/videos

Amazon Deep Dive
http://deepdive.leanmedia.org/

IBPA Publishing University: Using Metadata and Amazon to Expand Your Business: Thursday, April 2, 8:30 am - 12:30 pm (Redondo Beach, CA)
https://sched.co/YAAX

Ian Lamont is the founder of i30 Media Corporation and the creator of the Lean Media framework. He started his publishing business in 2012 with a single how-to guide on Amazon KDP. The company has since expanded to a complete line of utility nonfiction (the IN 30 MINUTES series) as well as several ancillary product lines. Ian uses a range of Amazon programs, including Amazon Advantage, Amazon Advertising, Seller Central, and the Amazon Brand Registry to develop and market new products, and is a frequent speaker at publishing events on Amazon-related topics. He lives in the Boston area with his family. Ian is a former Board member of IBPA.

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.

For more information, go to IBPA at https://www.ibpa-online.org/.

CEO Angela Bole of IBPA summarizes some of the key issues facing book publishers and authors in the coming year—hint: there are challenges, but lots of opportunities (and lots of great books!)

• important issues, some old, some new
• AB5 (the gig economy law)
• windowing ebooks to libraries (the Macimillan controversy)
• the CASE Act, on the way to passage?
• tariffs: not here yet, but not off the table either
• a continuing challenge: diversity in the publishing workspace and content
• Barnes and Noble: a new owner, but will it make the company more responsive to its community and local publishers?
• the challenge of reaching independent booksellers without a distributor
• achieving profitability by publishing more!

IBPA Comments on proposed tariffs on printed books
https://www.ibpa-online.org/news/456983/Updated-IBPA-Comments-on-Section-301-Investigation--Proposed-Tariff-on-Printed-Books.htm

IBPA’s own source of news and updates on the Audible lawsuit
https://www.ibpa-online.org/news/467194/Updated-News-Related-to-Audible-Captions-Program.htm

Mike Shatzkin’s thoughts on changes in publishing as the decade begins
https://www.idealog.com/blog/2020-zero-year-thoughts-about-the-changes-in-book-publishing/

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.

For more information, go to IBPA at https://www.ibpa-online.org/.

Topics covered include:

• Marketing into the US from overseas: conforming with schedules and promotion
• Using Ingram Spark to serve world markets
• Brexit: what happens next? Customs and VAT
• UK rules and regulations, loosening libel laws
• Complying with EU privacy standards

https://camphorpress.com
https://twitter.com/camphorpress

Michael Cannings is one of the three founders of Camphor Press, an independent publisher focusing on East Asia. Now back in his native England after eleven years living in Taiwan, Michael has a background in marketing and design which has proven invaluable in getting Camphor Press off the ground, though he still describes himself as a publishing amateur. Outside work he will invariably be reading; sometimes alone but nowadays more often with his two children. Michael is keenly interested in Taiwanese history, and also follows the not-so-mighty Torquay United football club.

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.