PUBLISHED JANUARY/FEBRAURY 2021 by MJ Courchesne, Founder & President, Gryphon Publishing Consulting — Infringement and piracy will not go away, so it is important for you to learn what you can do if you find your work available online illegally. Infringement and piracy remain big issues for publishers. A 2017 report from Nielsen Digimarc estimated …

PUBLISHED JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2021 by Abe Ogden, Co-owner & Lead Strategiest, Paper Door — The six R’s of squeezing the most out of every piece of content you publish. Synopsis: Digital has opened up a number of new, low-cost opportunities for repackaging. Repurposing is the process of taking content from one source and creating a new …

PUBLISHED JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2021 by Deb Vanasse, Reporter, IBPA Independent magazine — Distributors and industry pros discuss the market trends across sales channels in preparation for a new year. Synopsis: By Q4 2020, overall book sales were up, and the pandemic seemed to drive content preferences. Brick-and-mortar businesses took a big hit during pandemic shutdowns, but …

PUBLISHED JANUARY/FEBRAURY 2021 by Peter A. Arthur-Smith, Founding Principal, Leadership Solutions Inc — Three factors independent publishers should consider before making their next move. In the July/August 2020 issue of IBPA Independent, Maria Dismondy, founder of Cardinal Rule Press, shared the story of how she launched and distributed a new children’s book as the COVID-19 …

PUBLISHED JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2021 interview by Robert Broder, Editor & Founder, Ripple Grove Press — IBPA Board of Directors member Rob Broder sat down with the president of the Vermont Library Association to discuss what has been going on during the pandemic and how it has affected libraries in the state. In addition to being an …

PUBLISHED NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 by Angela Bole, CEO, Independent Book Publishers Association — IBPA CEO recaps the challenges and successes the association saw during the year 2020. It’s hard to believe it’s November and many of us are approaching year-end still under shelter-in-place orders with an uncertain outlook for our personal and business lives in 2021. …

PUBLISHED NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 Compiled by Alexa Schlosser, Managing Editor, IBPA Independent magazine — 4 IBPA members with podcasts share their goals, tips, and tools for the medium. Tell me about your podcast. When did you start it? What was the goal for creating it? Carissa Andrews (CA): My podcast is called the Author Revolution podcast …

PUBLISHED NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 by Jyotsna Ramachandran, Founder, Happy Self Publishing — The best way to build a team is to hire a set of freelancers who are experts at what they do. Are you a self-published author who is overwhelmed by the number of items on your book launch checklist? I have some good news …

PUBLISHED NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 by MJ Courchesne, Founder & President, Gryphon Publishing Consulting — An overview of what the IBPA Advocacy Committee is monitoring and contributing to the copyright-related cases. As a professional trade association dedicated to leading and serving the independent publishing community, IBPA has an intrinsic interest in helping protect its members’ intellectual property …

PUBLISHED NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 by Bruce Harpham, Marketing Consultant, BooksGoSocial — Marketing Consultant Bruce Harpham walks through the actions authors should take in order to build an audience of readers and contacts who can help them sell their books. Selling books requires a consistent marketing effort by the author. You’ve probably heard that claim before. The …

PUBLISHED NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 by Richard-Anthony Lena, President, Brattle Publishing Group — Product testing will help you learn what appeals to your readers so you can be more successful in the marketplace. Synopsis: Quick testing will improve your narrative, illustration, design, and your readers’ experiences. Testing can be ongoing so that you receive continual customer opinions …

PUBLISHED NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 by Deb Vanasse, Reporter, IBPA Independent magazine — As independent publishers adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic with resourcefulness and ingenuity, some say their innovations will improve their businesses long after the crisis has waned. We can’t wait for things to get back to normal. Or can we? Everyone wants an end to …

PUBLISHED NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 by Karen Pavlicin, Publisher, Elva Resa Publishing — Enabling positive, actionable, systemic change. IBPA’s 2020-2022 Strategic Plan, developed by the IBPA Board of Directors in August 2019, includes the strategic goal of eliminating bias and enhancing diversity within the association. To help reach this goal, a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Task …

PUBLISHED NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 by David Marlin, Co-Founder, MetaComet Systems — Mistakes and inefficiencies in royalty calculations and payments can quickly escalate into publishing horror stories, but MetaComet has the remedies. Everyone in publishing has first or secondhand horror stories to tell—of bad decisions and simple mistakes that caused serious disruption or even ended a business. …

PUBLISHED NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020 by Michele McAvoy, Publisher, Blue Bronco Books and The Little Press — Publisher Michele McAvoy explains how and why she started her own publishing company during a pandemic. I did it. I started a publishing company during a global pandemic. Am I a risk-taker? Well, I don’t jump out of airplanes, I …

PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 by Angela Bole, CEO, Independent Book Publishers Association — Here are IBPA’s 2020-2022 goals and strategies for leading and serving the independent publishing community. During a meeting held in August 2020, the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) Board of Directors reviewed and reaffirmed the association’s Strategic Plan for the years 2020 through …

PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 by Kathy Strahs, Founder, Burnt Cheese Press — How Burnt Cheese Press founder embraced baking as an opportunity to make a positive difference. “Cooking and baking is physical and mental therapy.” —Mary Berry At one point, early in quarantine when pantry staples were running scarce, I procured a 50-pound bag of flour …

PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 Compiled by Alexa Schlosser, Managing Editor, IBPA Independent magazine — IBPA members delve into what they’ve done differently since the COVID-19 outbreak began. In what ways were you forced to pivot or adjust your business/publishing due to COVID-19? What did you learn from this? Ian Lamont (IL): I realized that my overreliance …

PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 An interview with Jalissa Corrie of Lee & Low Books and Christian romance author Pat Simmons. Jalissa Corrie is a marketing and publicity manager at Lee & Low Books, the largest multicultural children’s book publisher in the United States. How did concerns about racial inequity in publishing lead to the founding of …

PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2020 interview by Alexa Schlosser, Managing Editor, IBPA Independent magazine — An overview of how independent bookstores dealt with the difficulties of 2020. Independent bookstores have had quite a year so far. When COVID-19 hit, most were forced to shut their physical locations. Many took this time to focus on their online sales. …