When Jill and I first got into self-publishing the book world was a vastly different place than it is today. There was no Google, no Amazon, no print-on-demand, no blogs. There were two giant wholesalers, Baker and Taylor, and Ingram. (Well, not everything has changed.) But Ronald Reagan was president, gas cost about 90 cents […]
Marketing
Indie Business Memoir Scores Major Reviews
I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area with my wife and infant son in 1993. We were glad to escape the winters in New York, and had many friends in the area. But leaving home can be hard in other ways. Growing up in the Bronx and, later, lower Westchester, we were accustomed to […]
Self-Publishing Review New Guest Post
Henry Baum’s remarkably useful Self-Publishing Review covers the field of self-publishing thoroughly. News, reviews of self-published books, reviews of publisher-services companies, interviews and more make it a great destination for anyone interested in the field. I find myself there once a day, just to check on what’s new. Self-Publishing Review has started a “Guest Post” […]
Independent Bookstores Opening to Self-Published Books?
A lot of the trepidation authors feel when thinking about self-publishing their book seems to come from the retail bookselling community. Trying to pitch your book—from your one-book publishing company—to a chain bookstore buyer is an exercise in futility. And that’s assuming you can actually get to talk to a buyer, which is no easy […]
Self Publishing Basics: How to Create Your ARC Cover
Years ago I used to buy books at a famous bookstore in downtown New York City, in the old book selling district. This bookstore was famous for the range of subjects it carried, its steady inflow of new books, and the lively and sometimes erudite people you could meet browsing the narrow aisles looking for […]
How To Use Twitter in 5 Minutes for Small and Independent Publishers
At the BAIPA meeting many people wanted to talk about social media and their use for self publishers who would like to use these powerful networking tools. Most people seemed hesitant to try Twitter. I certainly understand the reluctance but Twitter is actually a fairly simple site that can be used in a variety of […]