Inside Independent Publishing (with IBPA)

Every book has to earn its place in Amazon’s discoverability queue. Does yours? Penny Sansevieri of Author Marketing Experts tells you how to optimize your book’s visibility and relevance using keywords, your author page, and more.

• Amazon, a force for good or for evil?
• How to make Amazon work for your book
• Remember, at its heart, Amazon is just a giant search engine
• Why you should avoid long preorders
• Amazon advertising and keywords: keywords strings vs. single words, which is better?
• The Amazon book page, crucial but how do you make it work to your benefit?
• If you have Author Seller Central . . . controlling the back end
• The super-secret and barely understood Amazon Relevancy Score: what is it? how do you boost it?
• ads: is a call to action enough or do you need more?
• work the Kindle side, not the pbook side

Author Marketing Experts
http://www.amarketingexpert.com/

Penny on Twitter: @bookgal
Penny on Instagram: therealbookgal

How to Sell Books by the Truckload on Amazon - 2020 Updated Edition: Learn how to turn Amazon into your 24/7 sales machine!
https://tinyurl.com/y6bpsxao

Ian Lamont's videos on YouTube about Amazon
https://tinyurl.com/y5mhlslm

Penny C Sansevieri, Founder and CEO of Author Marketing Experts, Inc., is a bestselling author and internationally recognized book marketing and media relations expert. She is an Adjunct Professor teaching Self-Publishing for NYU.

She was named one of the top influencers of 2019 by New York Metropolitan Magazine.

Her company is one of the leaders in the publishing industry and has developed some of the most innovative Amazon Optimization programs as well as Social Media/Internet book marketing campaigns. She is the author of 18 books, including "How to Sell Your Books by the Truckload on Amazon," "Revise and Re-Release Your Book", "5-Minute Book Marketing,' and "Red Hot Internet Publicity," which has been called the "leading guide to everything Internet."

AME has had dozens of books on top bestseller lists, including those of the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal.

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/.

• how the publishing world has changed
• the explosion of virtual events
• a hybrid approach to trade shows
• Pub-U online!
• a new focus on diversity
• indie publishers: adventurers and innovators
• why interns need to get paid better
• the emergence of bookshop.org
• how long can brick and mortar bookstores hold on?
• difficulties faced by publishers without distribution
• are author publishers still blocked by traditional media gatekeepers?
• the continuing importance of long lead times

Independent Book Publishers Association
https://www.ibpa-online.org

Publishing University 2021 (a fully virtual online event): April 7-10, 2021
https://www.publishinguniversity.org/

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: A BISG Town Hall
https://bisg.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1415616&group=

### 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 (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 is IngramSpark?
• Templates to make layout easier and books look more professional
• The importance of a unique cover design
• On-demand books for retail and wholesale markets
• How has publishing changed in the past 10 years and what trends will continue? 
• POD manufacture lets anyone be a publisher
• Power of Amazon
• Ease of bringing books to market
• Is distribution getting too consolidated?
• The rise of Bookshop.org
• Benefits to working with established publishers as partners

IngramSpark
https://www.ingramspark.com/

Robin Cutler has led the development of IngramSpark as an Ingram Content Group service for indie authors and publishers since 2013. During her career, she has published over 1,000 books as Assistant Director at USC Press, and CEO and founder of her own trade imprint, Summerhouse Press. Robin most recently worked for Amazon/CreateSpace. She has broad knowledge of indie, academic and trade publishing and is an expert in content creation, distribution, on-demand models, and author strategies. Follow Robin on Twitter @rcutlerbookpub and after she retires from Ingram in November 2020, contact her at [email protected].

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/.

### Links

2019 Readers’ Advisory Activities Survey
https://www.panoramaproject.org/2019-readers-advisory-activities-survey

Public Library Events and Book Sales Survey
https://www.panoramaproject.org/news/2019/12/9/public-libraries-book-events-panorama-project-survey

Immersive Media & Reading 2020
https://www.panoramaproject.org/immersive-media-reading-2020

Participants

Guy LeCharles Gonzalez is project lead for the Panorama Project and chief strategist for Free Verse Media. Previously, he was publisher & marketing director for Writer’s Digest; director, content strategy & audience development for Library Journal & School Library Journal; and founding director of programming & business development for Digital Book World.

The Panorama Project is focused on promoting data-informed conversations about public libraries and their impact on book discovery, author recognition, and consumer sales.

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/.

Diversity in book publishing begins with young readers finding books that speak to who they are and a diverse population of young professionals finding jobs in every aspect of the industry. Nicole Johnson, executive director of We Need Diverse Books, talks about programs and philosophies that are changing, literally, the face of book publishing in America today.

Topics Covered

• How We Need Diverse Books got its start
• Where does the real work in achieving a diverse industry have to be done?
• Advocating for diversity in publishing is nothing new
• The WNDB internship program
• What small indie publishers can do
• Resources for small presses and authors
• Creating stories that reflect a diversity of readers
• The importance of diversity in children’s books
o In education
o Leading the way in multiculturalism
o Creating a market for YA and adult books as they get older
• Getting representation right

Links

We Need Diverse Books media links
www.diversebooks.org
http://www.twitter.com/diversebooks
https://www.facebook.com/diversebooks
https://www.instagram.com/weneeddiversebooks

Resources for Writers
https://diversebooks.org/resources/resources-for-writers/

Participants

Nicole A. Johnson has over twenty years of experience in nonprofit leadership, program development, and resource development. Prior to joining WNDB, she launched Extraordinary Changes, an organizational development consulting firm, and she also served as Senior Director for Elev8 Baltimore, a full-service community schools initiative. In that role, she successfully planned a strategy to integrate learning, health, and family support services into the operations of four schools in East Baltimore. Over a seven-year period, she transitioned the initiative from start-up to sustainability, drawing upon her skills as a facilitator, strategic planner, grant writer, and youth worker.

Nicole has also worked as a director of after-school and summer programs across the country, including the Children’s Defense Fund Freedom School. These programs became a platform for her to promote diverse books and literacy to children of color in cities like Oakland, San Francisco, and Baltimore. She is also the founder of Baltimore Read Aloud, a local campaign to introduce diverse books to Baltimore City children and youth.

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/.

Some books lend themselves to creative collaborations and multimedia treatments. Lindy Ryan of Black Spot Books and Vesuvian Media Group outlines the key issues facing publishers today and talks about what makes some stories suitable for dramatic performance and other nonprint media.

• Top issues for publishing today
  • Connecting books and readers while still supporting local indie booksellers
  • Opportunities in digital publishing and other technologies
  • Embracing and developing diversity in all areas of publishing
• New media and ways of getting storytelling content to readers
• How do stories break into new media?
• What makes a book suitable for adaptation into different media?
  • Literary and visual quality
  • A fresh and unique voice
• Enhanced ebook experiences
• Growth of the ebook and audiobook markets
• The challenge: making these expensive projects profitable
• Why smaller is better: innovation and vision
• Advocacy on the IBPA Board

Vesuvian Media
https://vesuvianmedia.com/

Lindy Ryan is an entrepreneur, award-winning professor, and an experienced publishing professional. In 2011, Ryan was part of the executive leadership team that founded Radiant Advisors, a data and business intelligence research and advisory firm, where Ryan developed and launched the company's editorial and research divisions, and later its data visualization practice, for clients that included household names in entertainment and media (21st Century Fox Films, Fox Networks, Warner Bros., Disney).

In 2016, Ryan took her industry experience into academia, where she served as an active member of the New Jersey Big Data Alliance. She was previously an active researcher at the Rutgers Discovery Informatics Institute where she leads a team studying digital literacy.

Ryan is an award-winning professor of data analysis and business communication at Rutgers University. She is a prolific speaker at conferences worldwide and the author of numerous papers and two textbooks, “The Visual Imperative: Creating a Culture of Visual Discovery" (Elsevier) and "Visual Data Storytelling with Tableau" (Pearson).

In 2017, Ryan launched Black Spot Books, a traditional small press focused in speculative fiction. The company was acquired in 2019 as an imprint of multimedia corporation Vesuvian Media Group. In 2020, Ryan was named Chief Content Officer of Rosewind Books, Vesuvian’s clean romance division.

Ryan currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA). Ryan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration: Entrepreneurship and Strategy, and a Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership and a Doctorate in Education, Organizational Leadership.

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/.

Victoria Sutherland, founder/publisher of Foreword Reviews magazine and a new member of the IBPA Board of Directors, looks at indie publishing, virtual trade shows, reviewing, libraries, and diversity.

• Coping with COVID
• How the pandemic may change publishing
• The future of trade shows (hint: it’s going virtual)
• Can the face-to-face meeting be replicated online?
• The continuing importance of book reviews
• Fee-based reviews for indie publishers
• Are author-publishers still stigmatized?
• Improving standards of indie publishers
• Why traditional publishers aren’t going away
• How are libraries holding up?
• The increased emphasis on digital at libraries
• Is digital-only viable?
• The importance of mastering social media
• A commitment to diversity: in the content and in the staffing

Foreword Reviews magazine
www.forewordreviews.com

IBPA’s COVID-19 Resource Center
https://www.ibpa-online.org/page/ibpa-covid-19-resource-center

The IBPA Industry Standards Checklist
https://www.ibpa-online.org/page/standardschecklist

Victoria Sutherland co-founded Foreword Reviews 22 years ago with two other women who went on to explore their own writing talents. Since 1998, we've been celebrating indie presses only in our magazine, online, through our awards program, and at international rights events. I have a BA in communications from Michigan State University, and publishing certifications from Stanford, Yale, and NYU. Besides reading, in my spare time I like to rehab older buildings/homes and re-finish furniture. We live across the street from a national park in northwestern Michigan where I spend a lot of time running in the woods. Our lives changed dramatically for the better with the recent birth of our first grandchild, Rosemary Pauline.

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 COVID-19 pandemic is changing publishing around the world. Bridget Shine of the Independent Publishers Guild talks about issues, partnerships, and the role of indies and author-publishers in the UK.

• What is the Independent Publishers Guild?
• How are publishers coping with COVID and the changing retail and distribution landscape?
• Audiobooks and ebooks in the UK
• Difficulties of access and perception faced by small publishers and author publishers
• Partnerships between larger and smaller publishers
• the role of Amazon in the UK

http://www.independentpublishersguild.com/

Bridget Shine is chief executive of the Independent Publishers Guild (IPG), a flourishing trade association with more than 650 members from all areas of publishing, including trade, children’s, education, academic, professional and specialist sectors. Members range in size from one-person start-ups to long-established international companies and have a combined annual publishing turnover of more than £1bn.

The IPG provides resources and events to help its members become better businesses and publishers. Since joining in 2004, Bridget has led a doubling of the IPG’s membership and numerous initiatives including the launch of a Skills Hub of training and professional development resources, the annual Independent Publishing Awards, a mentoring programme and new Special Interest Groups. Before joining the IPG, Bridget worked for both large and small publishers, as well as in literary agenting and at the Welsh Books Council.

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 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/.