By Julie Swearingen What can you expect from a bookstore event? I’ve worked at four bookstores: Barnes & Noble in Bend, OR; Barnes & Noble in Reno, NV; Amazon Books in Portland, OR; and Roundabout Books in Bend, OR. In over five years as a bookseller, department manager, special orders manager, and now events manager, … Read more
Contributed by Brianne Marie Robinson What does it take to become an indie author? The answer to that question depends many different things, to be completely honest. You need to go into independent publishing with the right mindset. There are three options for how to approach it: Writing for the art of it without caring … Read more
Ian Doescher is an author out of Portland Oregon, whose William Shakespeare’s Star Wars, Verily a New Hope was a smash bestseller (we’re talking that NYT list!). There are currently eight—going on nine—books in the series plus Get Thee Back to the Future and Much Ado About Mean Girls, all from Quirk Books. Ian’s … Read more
Like it or not, getting book endorsements is vital to your marketing efforts. There are lots of factors that contribute to the decision to buy or a book or not—the cover, the reviews, the price—but something that’s just as important as any of those are endorsements. Also known as blurbs, these are declarations of praise … Read more
Devra Jacobs, agent and owner of Dancing Word Group, talks professional flexibility, following submission guidelines, and red flags for authors. Devra Jacobs is so much more than a literary agent for new age authors—this Taurian woman represents the books that speak to her soul. After working as a higher consciousness editor of Mystic Pop magazine, … Read more
As long as there has been written word, there have been written feuds. And as long as there have been American news sources, there has been determination to steal market share from one another. Just ask Benjamin Franklin, an OG publishing troll. This week, we celebrate our belated Hybrid Pub Scout anniversary by having an … Read more
If you want to sell a million copies, it pays to know how not to market your book. So you’ve written a book. Congrats! The easy part is over! Now it’s time to take your baby into the marketplace and sell, sell, sell! Most authors are less than enthused about this part, usually because they … Read more
Fantasy author Jasmine Gower joined us to talk about her prohibition-esque speculative fantasy, Moonshine—among other things! Those other things include her bookmaking habits as a five-year-old aspiring publisher ????, the truth about how authors and publishers work together to market a book, queer and disabled representation in fantasy, and her own path to publishing via … Read more
Today we’re joined by Nellie McKesson, automated publishing pro and founder of publishing software startup Hederis. Nellie has over a dozen years of experience in publishing. She spent the early years of her career doing hands-on book production and layout, and then moved into more technical and managerial roles. As the market for ebooks … Read more
Lori Carroll on owning, running, and loving a used bookstore in Portland. In this episode, we talk to Lori Carroll, owner of Jan’s, an indie used bookstore outside of Portland, Oregon. She’s a lifelong lover of romance books who majored in women’s studies—and she wants you to know that being a feminist and loving bodice … Read more
