I am an evangelist for entrepreneurial agility because of what I’ve observed and what I’ve experienced. I know the huge contributions small business pioneers have made in every industry, and I know they were able to make these contributions because they adapted quickly to changing environments and they were open-minded about new approaches and willing …

Why publish an anthology? At Running Fox Books, an Alaska-based press and authors’ cooperative, the answer was simple: We believed it would help sell our other books. With the anthology we titled simply Alaska Sampler 2014, our idea was to make it easy for readers to discover the real Alaska, minus the hype and minus …

We know SEO strategies are important, of course, along with things like understanding how to use social media to increase discoverability, how to work with a distributor, how to provide metadata, and how to understand Amazon algorithms. But management and leadership principles and tactics are at least as important, although they may not get as …

PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 2014 by Eli Jackson, Chief Executive Officer, Griffyn Ink Publishing Before A.J. Scudiere and I decided to launch a book conference, we knew it would be a huge undertaking, requiring a lot of planning and organization. Now we know that it’s do-able with time, dedication, and a little help from our friends. My …

Even today, many publishers seem not to understand what social media can do for their businesses. They fear it’s nothing but the ultimate time suck, and until they grasp the mechanics of social media, they’re right; it’s hard to imagine return on investment until you have an idea of what that investment might yield. In …

A recent survey asked publishers and authors, “What’s the best form of promotion?” The largest percentage of people responded that they sell more books when they have personal contacts with readers. The thing is, readers want a relationship with authors, and they tend to be loyal to those authors they know something about through intermediaries …

PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 2014 SEE ALSO: Part 1, Part 3 Doing It All With A Team Self-publishing Shoe Print Art became one of the highlights of my life. As a former kindergarten and first grade teacher, I began writing part time while raising my family. For 25 years I had written mostly craft articles, a picture …

The first university press established in the Southwest, and the fourth in the western half of the United States, the University of Oklahoma Press describes itself as a “preeminent publisher of books about the West and the American Indian,” with an interest in scholarly disciplines such as archaeology, classical studies, energy studies, natural sciences, political …

Reaching Readers for Reading Rainbow Independent Publishers Group is distributing LeVar Burton’s first children’s book, The Rhino Who Swallowed a Storm. Created by Burton, longtime host of the children’s program “Reading Rainbow,” with Susan Schaefer Bernardo and illustrator Courtenay Fletcher, the title is being published by Reading Rainbow, a brand now owned by Burton and …

The co-editorial director of Publishers Weekly and one of IBPA’s new board members, Jim Milliot offers both encouragement and a caution for independent publishers. Technology means both challenges and opportunities for indie publishers, he recently noted. “With digital publishing and e-books now firmly established in the industry, it has never been easier to publish a …

At IBPA, we’re proud to provide professional association services to our 3,000 members. We believe independently published books have the power to transform society for the better, and we work hard every day to find more ways to help our members’ books shine. Of course you know that I think IBPA membership is a smart …

Blogging That Builds Sales You don’t have to spend money to make money if your DIY efforts are as focused as those of Lloyd Lofthouse of Three Clover Press in Walnut Creek, CA. His carefully documented publicity efforts for My Splendid Concubine point up the value of a blog tied to your book—and the value …

PUBLISHED OCTOBER 2014 SEE ALSO: Part 2, Part 3 Common Cause at Conventions During a convention for small publishers that I attended in Europe last year, someone said, “We sell more books at local festivals and city fairs than we ever do at autograph sessions in branches of major book chains.” Four months later, I …

PUBLISHED OCTOBER 2014 by Helen Sedwick, Author and Attoney — Wherever money is to be made, scammers are scheming to take it from you. They promise income, exposure, and freedom from your day job. They brag about off-the-charts successes. If your books are not selling well, you will be tempted to listen to them in …

In the last couple of years, as more federal funding has reached schools, there’s been much more activity in educational publishing and educational sales. Major publishers continue to dominate textbook publishing, pouring hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars into textbooks, including some that don’t get adopted. But independent publishers can be successful with secondary …

If you have an attitude, Cooperative Press’s books will help you express it. With titles including Doomsday Knits (“Everything you need for battling zombies and foraging the ozone-depleted forests for provisions …”) and Subversive Socks (“For those times when you have something snarky to say and—well—why not say it on your feet?”), publisher Shannon Okey …

The time to begin thinking about selling a book comes long before the book is available to consumers, and even before acquisition of the content. Naturally, your first thoughts may center on considerations such as how good the content is and who will be interested in it. But while you think about attracting consumers you …

Today’s readers are much busier and more distractible than ever before. Their time is precious and fragmented, and they’re constantly bombarded with other demands on their attention. To grab nonfiction readers and keep them turning the pages of books you write and/or publish, it’s critical to make sure the writing is clear, concise, and vivid. …

Being able to e-mail newsletters, press releases, and direct response ads has significantly reduced the cost of getting news to the media, booksellers, librarians, prospective customers, potential hosts of appearances, and authors’ fan bases. E-blasts give you better options than ordinary text-style direct e-mail. With templates offered by cloud-based e-mail blast vendors, even those of …

“KDP Select is evil.” “Free promotions are pointless.” “Nick, you’re an idiot.” These are things I hear on a daily basis, the last usually being something I say to myself when I’m looking in the mirror. As for the first two, I talk with a lot of people who have strong opinions on the merits …