Hybrid Pub Scout Podcast

A rant on how a reader behavior survey taken over the space of one month was conflated into an indictment on readers and—bafflingly—libraries. Emily discusses why fingers are being pointed in these particular directions and where they maybe should be pointed instead. Photo by Joshua Hoehne on Unsplash

When you buy a digital book, what exactly are you buying? The answer might blow your mind: nothing. You’re not buying a book at all. You’re licensing it, and with that license comes stipulations. In this episode, I talk about digital rights management (DRM), and what Amazon, and other digital media services, giveth and taketh away. We’ll talk about the ups and downs for readers as well as the pros...

I won't bore you by telling you a story you've heard before. This isn't hand-wringing about an individual author's ethical issues—this is an examination of what brought us here. In this episode, I talk about: The breakdown in the rules about AI between trad and self publishing. How acquisition practices, especially those of the past several years, have led us to the current situation. How to prote...

I’m just going to be honest with y’all—I’m overwhelmed. This podcast is about exploring the world of publishing and providing a resource for authors, but everything is moving so quickly that it’s easy to feel left behind even when my goal is to stay on top of things. So I feel that, in this episode, it’d be good to get back to basics. Let’s talk about reading. Yeah, remember that? If I’m not mista...

In this episode, I talked with Sarah Giffrow, an expert in helping small businesses with their online presences. If you weren't aware, I worked for Sarah's business, Upswept Creative, for a couple of years, and witnessed the similar workflows and software used for publishing, website design, and digital marketing. It's not a galaxy-brained take to say that the tools that make up those workflows se...

Writing is often a solitary activity. Writers spend their days living, and talking with imaginary people, inside our own heads. Existing in that wind tunnel and never coming out of it is not the healthiest way to move through the world (or around the outskirts of it). But, it can be difficult for a swath of people notorious for introversion to brave conferences, networking events, or new writers’...

This episode’s guest is David Morris of Lake Drive Books. In today’s interview, David tells us more about Lake Drive’s mission, publishing practices, and unconventional financial model. David also offers his takes on how to determine what works for you when it comes to choosing a publishing path and gives some platform-building insights for authors. -- Publishing Disrupted - Podcast - Apple Podcas...

Recent surveys verify what you probably have already guessed, that there are profound divides between writers who use AI and writers who downright refuse. But interestingly, these surveys have also shown that around 60% of writers do use AI tools of some kind. So, when you’re creating a software program for writers, you have some choices to make. Do you alienate your anti-AI users or your pro-AI u...

A not-so-brief history of National Novel Writing Month from its beginnings in 1999, its growth as a nonprofit, its scandals, and where November Novel-writers can go from here, -- It's that time of year again. You may love it, hate it, fear it, or be totally uninterested. I'm talking about...well, what you're calling it now depends on your history with it and your feelings on the way things went do...

We’re building Ellipsus as a platform that prioritizes transparency, trust, independence, and creative freedom. Writers shouldn’t have to trade their privacy or their ownership for good tools. The rise of AI scraping and big tech overreach only made that more urgent for us. —Rex at Ellipsus Whatever your attitude toward emerging technologies, we can probably agree it’s tough to be online these day...

Karl Becker, founder of Improving Sales Performance and author of Iceberg Selling, talks about his books, how they've made a difference in his business and life, and the necessity of being open to surprises during the writing process.

Dr. Amanda Nell Edgar, founder of Page & Podium Press, joins Emily to talk about overcoming impostor syndrome and taking the courageous step to share your story.

Website copywriter Kelley Gardiner joins Emily to talk about the overlaps between writing clear, attention-getting copy and writing a good nonfiction book.

Emily speaks with Ali about her definition of self-publishing versus independent publishing, how Indigo is working to improve the book world, and the exciting process of learning how to produce audiobooks. This episode's transcript: https://hybridpubscout.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Episode-77-Ali-Shaw-of-Indigo-Editing_otter_ai.docx.pdf Find us on... Our website: hybridpubscout.com Twitter: tw...

Joan Conte joins Emily to talk about their subscription book box for trans people by trans people. Today's transcript: https://hybridpubscout.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/76-Joan-Conte-of-Trans-Book-Box-transcript.docx.pdf Find us on... Our website: hybridpubscout.com Twitter: twitter.com/hybridpubscout Instagram: www.instagram.com/hybridpubscoutpod/ Our newsletter: eepurl.com/gfajR9

Chris, Corinne, and Emily discuss the Library of Alexandria and all the things we don't know about it. The Transcript for Episode 75: https://hybridpubscout.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/75-library-of-alexandria_otter_ai.docx.pdf Find us on... Our website: hybridpubscout.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/hybridpubscout/ Twitter: twitter.com/hybridpubscout Instagram: www.instagram.com/hybridpubscoutp...

Emily interviews Troy Lambert, education lead at Plottr, about how the software helps writers plot everything from their novels to their nonfiction books (and even their marketing plans)! Try Plottr for yourself here: https://plottr.com/ Read the transcript here: https://hybridpubscout.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Episode-74-Plottr_otter_ai.docx.pdf Find us on... Our website: hybridpubscout.com...

Founding members of the new 501C3 Disability in Publishing join Emily and Corinne to discuss their mission and their plans for supporting and collaborating with disabled people in publishing. Read the episode transcript: https://hybridpubscout.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/73.Disability-in-Publishing_transcript.docx.pdf Find us on... Our website: hybridpubscout.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/hybr...

This Halloween episode of Hybrid Pub Scout brings you an exploration of Western grimoires: what they were, who used them, and how they were passed from one person to another. Also, we do slightly deeper dives into the Picatrix, The Lesser Key of Solomon, The Petite Albert, and The Grand Grimoire. Read the episode transcript: https://hybridpubscout.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/72-Grimoires.final-...

Joe Vallese joins us to talk about the queer horror anthology It Came from the Closet, which he conceived of and edited with The Feminist Press. Read the episode transcript: https://hybridpubscout.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/71-Joe. Vallese-transcript.pdf Find us on... Our website: hybridpubscout.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/hybridpubscout/ Twitter: twitter.com/hybridpubscout Instagram: www.i...

Debut author Sierra Elmore talks about self-publishing her Mean Girls remix, Death by Society. Read the episode transcript: https://hybridpubscout.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/70-SierraElmore-final-transcript.docx.pdf Find us on... Our website: hybridpubscout.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/hybridpubscout/ Twitter: twitter.com/hybridpubscout Instagram: www.instagram.com/hybridpubscoutpod/ Our new...

Emily talks to Ruthie Hanson about her experience running a successful Kickstarter for her upcoming TV project, Ladies of Fortune, as well as writing books, screenplays, and fanfiction. Read the episode transcript: https://hybridpubscout.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Episode-69-Ruthie-Hanson.final_otter_ai.docx.pdf Find us on... Our website: hybridpubscout.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/hybridpub...

Stephanie Argy, editor for the International Society for Technology in Education, reminds us that strides in learning and technology is cause for optimism. Read the episode transcript: https://hybridpubscout.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Transcript. Episode68-StephanieArgy-ISTE.docx.pdf Find us on... Our website: hybridpubscout.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/hybridpubscout/ Twitter: twitter.com/h...

The difficult truth is this: book publishing has a heavy carbon footprint and produces lots (LOTS) of waste. Rachel Done joins us to discuss a recent study done in partnership with Portland State University, Independent Book Publishers Association, and Pub West about how we can change the status quo and do right by the environment. Read the study here: https://hybridpubscout.com/wp-content/uploads...

Content Warning: Discussion of Nazis and neo-Nazis Shady and unethical journalistic practices In 1983, the Stern news magazine in Western Germany, after selling serial rights to publication across the Western world, announced that Hitler's lost diaries had been discovered in the German countryside. Within a few days, Stern was totally discredited, the diaries were exposed as forgeries, and two Hit...