Doing the math for publishers since 2002
There’s been a lot of hubbub these last few months about Print On Demand! Can you tell the difference? Yeah, maybe. But is it the “Fast Fashion” of books? We’re not so sure. Jane Friedman gives us her feedback on the way this tool has been moralized in the great world of Book People On … Read more
We know, royalties can be a pain. But we refuse to let publishers keep sorting through PDFs (or even worse, filing cabinets) in search of contract details. At WorkingLit, we want to provide easy access to your creators’ contract terms and royalty payment history. No wild learning curve, no barriers to entry. Just log in … Read more
Will Trump’s tariffs affect books? Broadly—not really, especially if you’re doing a lot in house (or in the United States in general). And, as Joe and Elly remind us, there are a ton of options for hosting every step of your publishing business within US borders. But there are still a few things you might … Read more
I love numbers and watching data. Nothing beats a good set of stats. And for any business owner, there’s nothing better than a good set of data about your business to help you make decisions. At my last company, we used the expression “That which is measured, improves.” I stand by that – to understand … Read more
Help us by filling out the survey at the end of this post. We’ll nerd out about it and love you forever. One of the main reasons why we built WorkingLit is to make royalty time suck less. Paying royalties is one of the more complicated tasks on a publisher’s plate, and we wanted to … Read more
Strengthen your sense of place, get to know your local landscape, and up your foraging game with Maggie Herskovits, whose book An Urban Field Guide to the Plants, Trees, and Herbs in Your Path was recently published. Elly and Joe discuss this delightful and practical illustrated field guide with Maggie on this week’s edition of … Read more
This week on the pod, Elly, Joe, and Bernie are joined by Jelani Memory of A Kids Co! They talk about taking making your press an imprint of a larger publisher instead of just having it distributed, sticking to your mission during the process, and making your business like a cockroach (unkillable!). Read about the … Read more
Publishing changes all the time. Reader tastes shift, markets move, sometimes the memoir you’re reading was actually about Jesus all along. This week on the podcast, Joe and Elly hang out with The Hot Sheet’s Jane Friedman to talk about the shifts they’re seeing in publishing deals, acquisitions, and tastes. Stay tuned for more episodes … Read more
It’s another throwback episode! A few years ago, Joe and Elly sat down with sales rep extraordinaire Kurtis to talk about how reps get books into stores. Learn about cover appeal, sales conferences, how store buyers see the books… and that’s just the first five minutes. It’s an oldie, but an eternally useful goodie of … Read more
How does a small press hire a sales rep? Do you even NEED a rep? This week on the pod, Joe and Elly talk about how Microcosm decided to work with reps, and how to find the reps that will work for you. Stay tuned for more episodes of the “A People’s Guide to Publishing” … Read more