PUBLISHED JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022 by Angela Bole, CEO, Independent Book Publishers Association — What IBPA’s recent membership in the Copyright Alliance means. Happy New Year, IBPA members! Welcome to 2022, a year I hope brings us all at least a few steps closer to the new normal. In this issue’s Directors Desk, I wanted to let …

PUBLISHED JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022 by Karen Pavlicin, Publisher, Elva Resa Publishing — A few lessons about expecting to plan for the unexpected. Elva Resa is a traditional publisher specializing in resources for and about military families. Each year in January, our team pauses to review our strategic plan, talk about what’s going on in our customers’ …

PUBLISHED JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022 by Hannah Gordon, Deborah Herman, and Lindy Ryan— How an author, publisher, and a ghostwriter can collaborate so true success can happen. There is a sense that writing as a career is a glamorous pursuit. There is also a misconception that all writers can make a living doing it full time. There …

PUBLISHED JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022 by David Wogahn, President, AuthorImprints.com — Think of A+ Content as a sales tool for your book as well as for you, the author. Amazon’s A+ Content for paperback and Kindle eBooks published via KDP is a powerful book marketing feature every self-publisher should consider using. Originally released in 2016 as A+ …

PUBLISHED JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022 Erin Wright, USA Today bestselling author — Instead of trying to do everything all at once, authors and indie publishers should use a leveling-up approach to focus their efforts. Article Synopsis: Focus on e-books in the beginning of your publishing journey, as they will provide the most stability and income. Diversify your …

PUBLISHED JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022 by Deb Vanasse, Reporter, IBPA Independent magazine — Publishers are facing offset print run delays, lengthy turnaround times for print-on-demand orders, cost increases, and other obstacles—but they are drawing on their characteristic agility and ingenuity to survive. Article Synopsis: COVID-19 was a catalyst for the current supply chain issues, but the origins …

PUBLISHED NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021 by Angela Bole, CEO, Independent Book Publishers Association — Each year, IBPA is offering several scholarships for IBPA members to attend IBPA Publishing University at no cost. offers premier educational opportunities to independent publishers and author publishers. The conference features an agenda designed to meet the unique needs of small publishers with …

PUBLISHED NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021 by Allison Olson, Hay House and Monica Meehan, DropCap — The way we conduct business and showcase titles to prospective buyers must not only be reinvented but revolutionized for a more modernized future. For those unfamiliar to it, the world of translation rights can be mysterious, even daunting—the job of a small, …

PUBLISHED NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021 by Brian Jud, Book Marketing Consultant — Here are a few techniques build consensus among diverse perspectives to close book sales. When you sell a few hundred books to a prospective customer, the decision is usually made quickly, by one or two people. You might close the sale with a handshake and …

PUBLISHED NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021 by Victoria Sutherland, Founder & Publisher, Foreword Reviews magazine — Below are some suggestions for keeping your team positively flowing with change. Change is inevitable. Over the last couple of years, facing a pandemic, ongoing national social justice traumas, and escalating global environmental catastrophes, most of us made some adjustments to our …

PUBLISHED NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021 by Julie Broad, Founder, Book Launchers — “Hi. My name is James. I read your book, and I was wondering if you have any interest in taking on more investors for your deal.” When my first book, More than Cashflow, hit the market, one of the things that surprised me the most …

PUBLISHED NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021 by John Parsons, Writer/Consultant at IntuIdeas — Below are five points to consider before venturing into online video as a major platform component. Conventional wisdom holds that an author’s platform—particularly the online, social media bits— are essential to a book’s success. Conventional wisdom also holds that video is, by a large margin, …

PUBLISHED NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021 by Diane Vallere, author — Learn how author Diane Vallere tripled book sales after experiencing IBPA’s Metadata Makeover program. Everybody loves a makeover, right? Picture Tess McGill in Working Girl: “You want to be taken seriously? You need serious hair.” The implication is simple: Success equals looking the part to the audience …

PUBLISHED NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021 by Desireé Duffy, Founder, Black Château — In the first installment of this two-part series on the TikTok community #BookTok, the founder of a marketing and PR agency discusses the launch of a focused campaign on the social media platform. Article Synopsis: Understanding the platform, the audience, the impact, the nuances of …

PUBLISHED NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021 by Alexa Bigwarfe, the founder and creative director, Write|Publish|Sell — The social media platform has entered as a gladiator in the book marketing arena. Synopsis: TikTok is a social media platform in which you can create and share videos that other people can watch, share, and even use to recreate their own …

PUBLISHED NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021 by Deb Vanasse, Reporter, IBPA Independent magazine — Authors and independent publishers are successfully using serialization and subscription apps like Wattpad, Radish, Substack, and Kindle Vella to expand reader engagement and enhance their bottom line. Charles Dickens did it. So did Jack London. So did a host of well-published novelists in the …

PUBLISHED NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021 by Dr. Kurt Brackob, Editorial Director, Histria Books — These bills are of special importance to independent publishers and booksellers, who should contact their congresspersons and senators in support of each. For more than two decades, independent publishers and booksellers have been under attack as a result of consolidation in the publishing …

PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021 by Angela Bole, CEO, Independent Book Publishers Association — Get to know Adeline Lui, IBPA’s new director of marketing and communications. I have exciting news to share this month from the IBPA office. In August 2021, the five-person IBPA staff was joined by a sixth member of the team: Adeline Lui, our …

PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021 by Hannah Gordon, Publications Manager, Elva Resa Publishing — How to find the readers for your books—and connect with them using brand awareness. Acquire a manuscript. Edit. Design. Market. Print. Distribute. Market a bit more. Hope your sell-through messaging reaches enough readers for your sell-in efforts to pay off—or to bolster your …

PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021 interview by Alexa Schlosser, Managing Editor, IBPA Independent magazine — An interview with contemporary and fantasy author, writing coach, and YouTuber Hannah Lee Kidder. Hannah Lee Kidder is a contemporary and fantasy author, writing coach, and YouTuber. She’s published two short story collections, Little Birds and Starlight. Her hustle-minded approach to self-publishing …