A People's Guide to Publishing

Another reader question this week, from someone who wants to know how we reinforce and and substantiate our editorial choices. Essentially, what reference books do we use and why? As usual, our choices probably are not common choices shared by anyone else!  ************ Thank you for watching the People's Guide to Publishing vlogcast!   Get the book: https://microcosmpublishing.com/catal... Get th...

Reader question this week is how we became editors, specifically Elly, who now runs the department of editors. We trace our career trajectories, job skills, and how we became successful in these roles.  ************ 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... Mo...

Three things we've heard from publishers all year is that 1) There isn't any media anymore 2) It's a lot harder to get publicity without any media 3) When you do get publicity, it still barely moves the needle on book sales. So this week on the pod, we're going to take a look at how to make the most of your publicity efforts and where there is room to grow and succeed!  ************ Thank you for...

Back to basics this week! Many publishers get stuck on how to talk about their books so others will listen and can find their own interest. So we offer the basics on how to show people just how cool your work is!  ************ Thank you for watching the People's Guide to Publishing vlogcast!   Get the book: https://microcosmpublishing.com/catal... Get the workbook: https://microcosmpublishing.com/...

This week we answer a reader question "How do I know how much to bring to an event and how do I set it up?" Elly and I draw upon our combined 40 years of vending at events...when we are joined by surprise guest Jess Driscoll (Magic of Pockets) to share her own experiences and lessons from events in Canada and the U.S.! What a fun episode! 

Back in the wee infancy of the Internet, Friday Gladheart was busy creating WitchAcademy.org, the oldest and one of the most respected teaching libraries of its kind! She combines a wide variety of traditions and practices into an amalgamated Dr. Faith-style a la carte set of solutions to any given problem! Of course, single-doctrine purists hate this and people who are more open minded love it! T...

This week we feature guest star Jess Driscoll to talk about her brand new book, Magic of Pockets! We discuss the history and politics of pockets, the trajectory of pockets, key uses of pockets, what various body languages involving pockets communicate, and many other things about this excited new book! https://microcosm.pub/pockets *********** Thank you for watching the People's Guide to Publishin...

We all write our own stories. And some of those stories are a little racier and saucier than others. The work of S. Park straddles multiple worlds and one of those happens to be within our Queering Consent erotica series. This week on the pod, we treat you to a delectable interview with the author about the inspiration and creation of this series! 

This week we feature guest star Set Sytes to tell us all about the brand new edition of his book, Born to be Weird! We talk about writing fantasy as a reason to remain alive and how these sort of twisted stories are the flesh and blood for getting out of bed, even if you're writing about a disgusting toilet. Set is from the Great Imperializer and while Microcosm is based in the Colonies, there is...

This week a reader asked us what books we read to understand our economic theories. And that was a bit of a stumper, so we thought about it all week and thought back to where those ideas and values came from and made our best effort to explain how we see the world the way that we do! ************ Thank you for watching the People's Guide to Publishing vlogcast!   Get the book: https://microcosmpub...

High among common myths repeated about publishers is that "authors need a platform" before someone would consider publishing them. It's not bad to have a platform, but is it necessary? This week on the pod, we are joined by Wayward Writer author and teacher Ariel Gore to dismantle this myth to its pieces and talk about best practices, what authors could do better, and where publishers can meet the...

Earlier this year, we received some shocking news: Publisher's Weekly determined that Microcosm was the #1 fastest growing publisher! We sat in shock for six months...while we continued doing what we were doing. This week on the pod, we talk about how we accomplished that and you can too!  ************ Thank you for watching the People's Guide to Publishing vlogcast!   Get the book: https://microc...

This week on the pod, we tackle a reader question: How much is scientific and factual accuracy a concern for publishers? Can this lead to liability issues? It's complicated, yet simple. There are very clever workarounds, as seen in the recent case of books denying the existence of COVID-19 and politicians losing their minds over this. What is the responsibility of publishers as dispensers of infor...

During the course of the Penguin Random House / Simon & Schuster merger trial with the Department of Justice, the defense claimed that profit and loss statements are made up guesses, with no substantiation in evidence. Podcasts, agents, authors, and tweeters immediately latched onto this claim that publishers actually have no idea what they are doing. This week on the pod, we show how all of t...

Before long, it is not difficult to see the limitations of being a small publisher. So this week on the pod, we answer a reader question about how to become an imprint of a larger press, based on Elly's experience of merging her company with Microcosm and keeping her job. What are the benefits? What are the drawbacks? How do you do it? What are the advantages for both parties? ************ Thank y...

This week, a reader got in touch because they are publishing a values-based anthology with 20 contributors. 19 have signed the agreements but one is concerned that the agreement isn't fair and doesn't want to relinquish rights to the publisher. So this week on the pod, Elly and Joe explain "fairness" as well as what these agreements typically look like and offer advice about how to proceed. ******...

What's in a name? Why do so many books have the same title? What if another author has the same name as you? What if you change your name or pseudonym? How do you protect the names of yourself and your various projects? We tackle all that and more in this week's episode!  ************ Thank you for watching the People's Guide to Publishing vlogcast!   Get the book: https://microcosmpublishing.com/...

Last week a tweet appeared, interpreting testimony from the Penguin Random House/DOJ trial to mean that half of all books published sell fewer than a dozen copies! Quickly, it went viral and people shared their opinions about whether or not this is real. Soon, experts were commenting on this. Where did this statistic come from? Is it true? What can we learn from it? How can it better inform your o...

Twitter lit on fire when Barnes & Noble announced that, due to low sales and high return rates, it would no longer carry as many middle reader fiction hardcovers. What does this mean for authors, publishers, indie stores, and other aspects of the publishing industry? The intrepid Joe and Elly dig deep and come up with a take that you aren't likely to hear elsewhere! 

Lots of news and cold takes about the Penguin Random House / Simon & Schuster attempts at a merger this week, so this week on the pod, we offer some perspective and analysis about the two separate but not equal book publishing industries. Does the trial matter to small presses? What have we learned? How much is oversaturation affecting the Big Five? All this and more. ************ Thank you fo...

While we have little things that we've always bickered about, this week on the pod we take a deeper look at fundamental differences and disagreements between Elly and Joe!  ************ 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... More from Microcosm: http://micr...

Before too long in your publishing quest, you will quickly be dumped into various ethical quagmires. We offer some experience, advice, and tools for tackling this quandary. The short answer is that through a series of careful decisions, hesitating when your gut indicates, and moving intentionally, you can create the world that you want to see.  ************ Thank you for watching the People's Guid...

On this episode of the People's Guide to Publishing podcast (https://microcosm.pub/podcast), we interview Eric Sandy about his new book Speak In Tongues: An Oral History of Cleveland's Infamous DIY Punk Venue. (https://microcosm.pub/Speak) ************ Thank you for watching the People's Guide to Publishing vlogcast!   Get the book: https://microcosmpublishing.com/catal... Get the workbook: https:...

So much time is spent debating the waste, morass, and outdatedness of the publishing industry and so little ink is spent offering practical solutions about how to fix it. So this week on the pod, we take a stab at looking at pragmatic ways for publishers to make decisions, why this works, and what the outcomes of this could be!

Most people have educations or backgrounds that influence how they approach their work. Often, these influences cause them to replicate similar power structures back into publishing. So this week on the pod, we take a look at our own influences and how they have shaped the way that we pursue our craft. Who are your influences?