A People's Guide to Publishing

Most people imagine us with our noses in a book or having charmed candlelight talks over a manuscript in development. The reality, as always, is very different. This week on the pod, we talk about what we actually do every day—or at least on one specific day!  ************ Get the book: https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/books/7504 Thank you for watching the People's Guide to Publishing vlogc...

The year was 1999. Seth Tobocman's landmark graphic novel, War in the Neighborhood was published by Autonomedia. We ordered some copies. Quickly, we noticed a strange problem: the pages kept falling out of the cover. Turns out that this problem affected at least a third of the print run. Suddenly, all of the good copies were gone and we were making trips to New York to pick up the bad copies, deal...

Wanting to create a keepsake of meaningful discoveries she made as a younger woman, Francesca Black created Year of the Witch for her daughters. This week on the pod, we talk about her goals and vision and trying to create a better world for people like your younger self. ************ Thank you for watching the People's Guide to Publishing vlogcast!   Get the book: https://microcosmpublishing.com/...

Question on the pod this week: an old punk wrote a novel and is finding that it's harder to find open submissions without an agency from an amenable press that "gets" them. Where should they go? What should they do? We offer some options and solutions!  ************ Thank you for watching the People's Guide to Publishing vlogcast!   Get the book: https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/books/3663...

Laura Q writes Queer Smut in the tradition of Nerve Endings and the sparse and isolated incidents of trans erotica. This week on the pod, we talk about queer community and being a visionary for what that would look like in daily life through fiction.  ************ Thank you for watching the People's Guide to Publishing vlogcast!   Get the book: https://microcosmpublishing.com/catalog/books/3663 Ge...

This week we feature the very exciting guests, Jessica Mullen and Kelly Cree of the School of Life Design and their brand new book, Monthly Manifestation Manual. We talk about the origins of their work, their favorite things about their adopted hometown of Cleveland and ideas they have for rebranding it, and cherrypicking from influences that you have a hot and cold relationship with.  ***********...

So much of publishing work is explaining something to someone else, why they care, what their constituencies are getting out of it. So this week on the pod, we welcome back guest star Jessie Kwak to help us walk through the best way to pitch, how to accept a pitch, how to turn down a pitch, and so much more!  ************ Thank you for watching the People's Guide to Publishing vlogcast!   Get the...

You never end up with the problems that you expect or plan for. In fact, the biggest problems are usually caused by unexpected successes. Many publishers are put out of business by mismanaging a bestseller or by meteoric growth. Last week, a few years after being the fastest growing publisher, Callisto Media was rocked by massive layoffs, followed by the company being bought by Penguin Random Hous...

Over the past year, it was reported by a wide variety of sources that TikTok sells 3-25% of ALL books—about 90 million book purchases last year—by most estimates. This week on the pod, we take a look at the impacts of this and how social has come to replace traditional media, as well as what publishers can do in order to tap into this world, in addition to how much Colleen Hoover owes her booktoke...

The question seems silly at first, but what happens when the publisher releases a book that they wrote? What happens a year, five years, or ten years later if the book is really successful? This week on the pod, we look at how these issues are managed legally as well as the most important part of publishing: setting expectations at all levels of the chain.  ************ Thank you for watching the...

Most novice authors do not have a lot of familiarity with a contract and do not have an agent, so they both don't know the standards of these agreements or how to read them. So it's entirely too common—several times per month for us—that an author hires a lawyer to read and negotiate these agreements. The trouble is usually that this lawyer often does not specialize in book contracts, or entertain...

It is oft repeated that an author needs to already be famous in order to publish a book. This week on the pod, we are rejoined by Guy LeCharles Gonzalez who walks us through the reality of this situation and turns the tables a bit. What is a platform? Why is it important? What are its primary functions? What should an author look for in a publisher's platform? What should an author build in their...

What defines a "good book" for you? Where do your ideas come from? What is "worth" publishing? This week on the pod, we answer these questions and more, based on how we've looked at formative aspects of how we look at each situation. ************ Thank you for watching the People's Guide to Publishing vlogcast!   Get the book: https://microcosmpublishing.com/catal... Get the workbook: https://micr...

For many, the ultimate dream is to make a living as a writer! Jessie Kwak (From Chaos to Creativity, From Big Idea to Book) has achieved just that for over ten years and shares how to do this in her new book, From Dream to Reality. This week on the pod, we interview her on why she gives away all of her secrets and a lot of background about the creation of her newest book! 

Ideas are everywhere. Thus they don't contain a lot of value. The worth is in the execution. So this week on the pod we take a look at the frequent concern from authors about someone else stealing their work or idea and why this isn't as much of a problem as it feels like it could be. ************ Thank you for watching the People's Guide to Publishing vlogcast!   Get the book: https://microcosmpu...

This week on the pod, we invoke our dark wizardry to predict the future. WE look at tools that publishers can and do use to know which books will be successful or not. We talk about strategies and ways to collect this information before everyone is disappointed and massive amounts of money have been lost to paperweights. Instead, you can propel one success after another!  ************ Thank you fo...

A few years ago, an author tweeted complaints about people checking out his book from libraries, only to be rebuffed by dozens of librarians how he actually makes more money when people read his book from the library. So this week on the pod, we are rejoined by Guy LeCharles Gonzalez as he diagnoses how publishers can better collaborate with libraries and some huge success cases!  ************ Tha...

Recently, a news story appeared about a customer ordering hundreds of dollars worth of books...and then attempting to return them as no-longer-needed set-dressing after the holidays. These stories feel crushing in the moment but are ultimately opportunities. So this week on the pod, we take a look at what to do when faced with a seemingly negative circumstance. ************ Thank you for watching...

This week, for our 200th episode, we take a look towards optimism and utopianism. What would we like to be different about our industry? How can publishers evolve to be more relevant and forward-thinking?  ************ Thank you for watching the People's Guide to Publishing vlogcast!   Get the book: https://microcosmpublishing.com/catal... Get the workbook: https://microcosmpublishing.com/catal......

This week on the pod, special guest on the pod, Guy LeCharles Gonzalez walks us through his career in publishing as well as how this was formative to constructing his value system and advice for people who want to enter the industry.  ************ Thank you for watching the People's Guide to Publishing vlogcast!   Get the book: https://microcosmpublishing.com/catal... Get the workbook: https://mic...

John Cordero was on the ground floor as Miami reinvented itself with graffiti, hip hop, and 24-hour parties. As Pitbull and DJ Khaled got their starts, Cordero was there, documenting it all in a street paper like Rapsheet, The Cypher. This week on the pod we talk to John about his interest in the scene, growing up, and why he chose to document the transition from 2LiveCrew to contemporary Miami in...

This week on the pod, we answer a reader question about how to manage it when we are publicly accused of something. What happens when authors attempt to take back some modicum of power from the publisher? How do we create greater understanding and mutual respect in order to hear and grasp the other party's position?

This week we are joined by Gwen Olton, Executive Co-Director of the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence and author of From Conflict to Community: Solving Problems Without Authorities. She talks through the basics and complications of problem solving as well as how she chose Microcosm to publish her book and the role that power plays in any disagreement—as well as how to overcome it through conve...

After posting our annual reports and final numbers for 2022, we take a look back this week at why it was our best year ever in publishing. What strategies worked? What didn't? What factors were changing? What will we do differently this year? ************ Thank you for watching the People's Guide to Publishing vlogcast!   Get the book: https://microcosmpublishing.com/catal... Get the workbook: htt...

For many would-be authors, it's a major struggle to find tools, methods, and time to create. This week on the pod, Jessie Kwak, who writes for a living, details and diagnoses a series of interviews with experts in order to offer how successful authors manage their effective writing practices!  ************ Thank you for watching the People's Guide to Publishing vlogcast!   Get the book: https://mi...