At today’s meeting of the Bay Area Independent Publishers Association (BAIPA), President Pete Masterson as usual presided over the first hour’s Q&A session. I always find these interesting. Each month there’s a lot of people who are new to BAIPA and the questions people bring to the meeting reveal something of the state of independent […]
Social Media
6 Ways to Jump-Start Your Self-Publishing Career
For some authors, making the leap into self-publishing is an easy and natural extension of their past activities. For others the move can seem strange and overwhelming. Since we know it’s hard to do right by your book if you’re feeling overwhelmed, it makes sense to try to set yourself up to succeed. If you’ve […]
Is It Time to Kill “Jerry”?
In 2000, screenwriter John Blumenthal self-published his comic novel, What’s Wrong With Dorfman? after his manuscript had been rejected 75 times. (You know, I have to admire a writer who believes in their book that much. I’m not sure how anxious I would be to resubmit my book after 30, 40, or 50 rejections.) In […]
This Week in the Blogs: November 30 – December 6, 2009
The talk this week has continued the discussion of “traditional” publishers entering the world of subsidy (some would say “vanity”) publishing. With Thomas Nelson and Harlequin Books each establishing new subsidiaries to make the publishing process available to anyone who chooses to pay for their services, it seems to me the ground is shifting under […]
This Week in the Blogs: Week of November 22 – 28, 2009
Spending time in the blogosphere is rewarding in itself. With change happening in publishing and self-publishing almost constantly, at the end of the week you like to look back, take stock of what’s happened, and take a deep breath before confronting Monday morning. Herewith some of the subjects and blog posts that stood out for […]
10 Events That Changed the Publishing Industry in 2009
At today’s meeting of the Bay Area Independent Publishers Association, Peter Beren laid out a striking picture of the events that have defined publishing this year. Peter is a publishing consultant and agent. He was the publisher of Sierra Club Books and VIA Books, and VP of Publishing at Palace Press International. Peter is also […]
The New Self-Publisher
Many people who self-publish, or who launch an independent publishing company to issue their own books have avoided the entire “get an agent/sell to a large publishing house” path in favor of a process that gives them more control of their book, gets them to market faster, and guarantees that, if they should produce any […]
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” […]
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 […]
