A People's Guide to Publishing
Episodes
Episode 152: Ayun Halliday, author of Creative, Not Famous: The Small Potato Manifesto
14 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Ayun Halliday, playwright turned author/zinester/producer, learned an important lesson early in her career. When told that she could get parts in comm...
Episode 151: How to Resist Amazon (and Why) with Danny Caine (Raven Bookstore)
07 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Five years ago the conversation about how Amazon undermines not only commerce, publishing, and culture, but also bookselling was limited to inside the...
Episode 150: Microcosm Publishing's Top 10 Goals for 2022
31 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
After a blistering year of 119% growth, we took some time to reassess and think of what's next for Microcosm. And then we made a list and reviewed it ...
Episode 149: Top 10 Reasons Why Microcosm's 2021 Was So Successful
24 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
2021 was our busiest year ever—by a wide margin. We sold $3.449M in books and grew 119% while we heard a lot of publishers worrying, grumbling, free...
Episode 148: Reviewing our 2021 Annual Money Report
17 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The dust has finally settled and we've got our numbers for 2021. Wow! This marks the end of a year of more than doubling our previous “busiest year ...
Episode 147: How many books should you publish per season?
10 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We've constantly heard falsehoods thrown around like "There's no way to know how many books to publish per season" or "There's no science for how to f...
Episode 146: Why is Simon & Schuster making a book that is continually delayed?
03 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Reader question this week focuses on a book that's had publication thrice delayed. Why do books get delayed, sometimes for years? We walk through this...
Episode 146: How do I design a great book cover?
24 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
One of our first ten episodes remains one of our most popular, about the fundamentals of designing a book cover. Fans of the program have routinely co...
Episode 145: What books have inspired you?
17 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For every publisher, their motivation arrived because of a pivotal work discovered at an earlier age. We all know the magical, transformative nature o...
Episode 144: What's involved in opening a warehouse?
10 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A year ago, this week, we opened an additional book warehouse in Cleveland, OH (not so coincidentally, this is also where Microcosm was founded). Wow!...
Episode 143: Will an isbn help me get into stores?
03 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This question is remarkably common: someone publishes something and stores don't flock to put it on their shelves. What do you need? This week on the ...
Episode 142: How does a book publisher manage growth?
27 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
One of the most exciting aspects of being a publisher is watching it grow. A little at first but compared to two or five years ago, it can often be a ...
Episode 141: How Should a Publisher Experiment?
20 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
2021 was a year where the old tricks didn't work. But what are the new tricks? How do we find and choose the ones that are right for us? This week on ...
Episode 140: Why Have I Never Heard of that Publisher?
13 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
One of the most confusing aspects of publishing is the branding. With hundreds of thousands of active publishing companies in the world, we constantly...
Episode 139: What do you do if publisher pays you but doesn't release the book?
06 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Here is a a funny reader question that happens sometimes: your publisher pays you an advance but then cancels your book. Why? What do you do? What can...
Episode 138: How Will Publishing Change in the Next Five Years?
31 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Reader question this week is asking us to predict how the changes we've seen over the past year will take hold over the next five years and what that ...
Episode 137: Why do publishers make shirts, buttons, stickers, and the like?
23 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Why do publishers make stickers, magnets, shirts, patches, buttons, and the like? What is gained? Where does this get you? This week on the pod, we ja...
Episode 136: How do I sell translations, foreign rights, and audio of my book?
23 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For many publishers, the bulk of income can come from licensing deals: the same book translated to Japanese, as an audiobook, or even a videogame or i...
Episode 136: What forms your publishing point of view?
23 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Generally unbeknownst to each us, we have a set of experiences that form how we see the world. These experiences form what we see as acceptable, unacc...
Episode 135: How do publishers think about free speech?
02 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Publishing news has been brewing over a story of a protest resignation from a board member from the American Booksellers Association (ABA) over "old" ...
Episode 134: What does Follett selling Baker & Taylor mean?
25 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The book industry was shocked in April of 2016 when Baker & Taylor was purchased by their primary competitor in the library sales market, Follett....
Episode 133: The Future of Publishing with Bookshop.org
19 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For this week's episode of the People's Guide to Publishing podcast, Joe and Elly are interviewing (live!) Sarah High from Bookshop, the new online bo...
Episode 132: What does the Failed Penguin Random House/Simon & Schuster Merger Mean?
11 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Last week, the U.S. Federal Government sued to prevent Penguin Random House from purchasing one of their biggest competitors, Simon & Schuster. Th...
Episode 131: Why is U.S. Printing in Style Again?
04 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After decades of U.S. manufacturing disinvestment coinciding with decades of rapid production investment in China, book publishers have largely moved ...
Episode 130: Why isn't cheap labor working anymore?
28 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The past year has been plagued with U.S. labor shortages. Publishers can't get a break. But neither can workers. Conditions haven't markedly improved ...
Episode 127: Should I work with a traditional publisher or self-publish?
21 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Because of Amazon's relentless marketing campaign, one of the most common questions is "What can a publisher actually offer that self-publishing canno...
Episode 129: What did we learn at the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Show?
14 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We just returned from the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association show (PNBA), the first in-person trade show in nearly two years! So this week on t...
Episode 128: How do you create contracts with multiple authors?
07 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Most books have multiple contributors in varying capacities. Some have two authors. Many have an author and an illustrator. This week on the pod, we a...
Episode 127: What is bootlegging?
30 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Often, when you create something and the world likes it, they have a strong tendency to use it without asking. Or conversely, people have questions ab...
Episode 126: What is Content Licensing?
23 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When you create something, like writing a book or drawing an illustration, you have the power to decide who gets to use it and how. This week on the p...
Episode 125: What is Intellectual Property and how does it affect publishers?
16 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We frequently hear concerns from authors about how their books are handled. They think that "signing" with a publisher is giving up their ability to h...
Episode 124: What is an "Indie Author?"
09 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The past five years have become a vigilant fight to claim the word "Indie" in publishing. Who is Indie? What are they independent of? What are they de...
Episode 123: What Did We Learn at Las Vegas Market?
02 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The gift segment of publishing is the both the largest potential and one of the fastest growing. While there are around 2,500 bookstores in the U.S., ...
Episode 122: What does Hachette Book Group buying Workman Publishing mean? (A People's Guide to Publishing)
26 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It was announced last week that Workman Publishing had agreed with a buyout from Hachette Book Group for their entire company, including seven divisio...
Episode 121: Women on Wheels interview with April Streeter (A People's Guide to Publishing)
19 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the pod, we interview April Street, author of Women on Wheels, the fabulous story of how women shaped bicycling. Streeter had an incredib...
Episode 120: How can publishers provide healthcare?
12 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In 2006, our friend, Richard the Roadie, asked "Hey, did you ever figure out how to do health insurance?" I explained our convoluted system of stipend...
Episode 119: Should Publisher Price Against Amazon?
05 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the pod, we answer a reader question. Anyone in the bookstore or publishing industries are very concerned about being undercut on price s...
Episode 119: What new zines have we made recently?
29 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the pod, we review four new zines that fell into our laps as well as lots of tangents and nonsequitors. Autism, Tulsa, Racism, corking, b...
Episode 118: What does a publisher do when the first draft is bad?
22 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
There's a common belief among both writers and publishers that books are written by authors and editors are more like a delivery mechanism before the ...
Episode 117: Did Audio Downloads Kill Ebooks?
15 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In 2011, the publishing industry was poised for ebooks to kill print. This week on the pod, we talk about why the opposite happened and how an unexpec...
Episode 116: What happened with audiobooks in 2020?
08 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the pod we review the Audio Publishers Association numbers about growing trends in audiobook listening. What do they tell us? What does i...
Episode 115: What is notable about Kathi Berens' and Rachel Noorda's Book Study?
01 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Two PSU professors conducted extensive scientific surveying about people's book reading habits. This week on the pod, we walk you through some of what...
Episode 114: How do I publish my graphic novel?
24 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Last week we answered how to pitch your book and this week we received a similar, though different question. Graphic novels are a bit of a puzzle with...
Episode 113: How do I pitch my book?
17 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
One of the most common weekly questions that we receive, we take a different approach than most in answering the perilous journey towards showing some...
Episode 112: How do i get started as a new publisher?
11 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the pod, we field another reader question. You've got your focus and passions crystal clear. Now what do you DO? We tackle this answer th...
Episode 111: How do I get suitable manuscripts to publish?
04 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Over a year ago we answered a question (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPHmueANjRQ) about how a new publisher finds manuscripts. At the end of the ep...
Episode 110: What does the news from Ingram Publisher Services Mean?
27 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Big news this week in publishing: Ingram announces that the experiment to have books from its client publishers available in all of its warehouses did...
Episode 109: How do I plan my book, tarot deck, board game, or creative project?
21 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
One of the Kickstarter backers for our Gold Lyre Tarot deck is planning their own deck, and as one of the reward levels for that project, we answered ...
Episode 108: Why did HarperCollins buy Houghton Mifflin and what does it mean?
13 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Big news this week! HarperCollins Publishers bought Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's trade division! The giants gobble on each other some more as Penguin R...
Episode 107: What Have Been Our Biggest Mistakes?
06 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
At a book event in 2019, a reader asked why more publishers are not more upfront about their own mistakes. Quickly realizing the answer to his own que...
Episode 106: What are the roles of being an author and a publisher?
29 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
For a lot of publishers, their own work as an author is their primary driver for what got them involved. While this wasn't either of our motivations, ...
Episode 105: How do borrow money for my publishing?
22 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Question on the pod this week: Where can I find a banks that will help loan me money without having to put down your house and second child? So we tak...
Episode 104: How Does a Publisher Select Their Focus?
15 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It can feel dizzying to muddle through the array of topics and genres that you could produce into the world. How does a publisher decide? After all, w...
Episode 103: Should I License My Books or Distribute Them?
08 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the pod, a reader got in touch. She's having trouble being accepted by distributors but received an offer to license her books from an es...
Episode 102: How do you know what a distributor specializes in?
01 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
There is a far-fetched and wrong-headed idea that distributors are like ATM machines, marketing machines, and can just infinitely ship books to stores...
Episode 101: How do I attract a trade distributor?
25 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Almost every time, new publishers that get in touch are asking for help with variations of how to be sold into various stores or simply to get the att...
Episode 100: Episode 100: Our Favorite Memories!
19 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Two years ago, this pod was just an idea: that two publishing nerds could answer reader questions for ten minutes each week since we no longer have ti...
Episode 99: How will COVID forever change publishing?
11 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Undeniably this has been a difficult and complicated year for publishers. But more interestingly, there are already long-term changes to the industry ...
Episode 98: What is a fair royalty for a book's author?
04 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Amazon has manufactured a faux rivalry, driving a wedge between authors and publishers. This week on the pod, we diagnose and explain the difference b...
Episode 97: How does COVID continue to affect book publishing?
25 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A year later, even as consumer habits resume and stores have reopened, account buying has changed their basic behaviors. This week, we look at how thi...
Episode 96: What Metrics Should a Publisher Keep Track of?
17 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How does a publisher evaluate their success? What are the numbers and measurements to look at? This week on the pod we take a good, hard look at how t...
Episode 95: 25 years—with a memory from each year!!
11 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Tomorrow marks our 25th anniversary of Microcosm Publishing so we bring you one formative memory from each year that creates the amalgamated experienc...
Episode 94: What do publishers do with that data?
04 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
You've created a pile of data about your books. Where do you keep it? Who do you send it to? How does it get there? We've got the answers!
Episode 93: How Does Data Management Work?
28 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Before long, publishers are juggling a lot of information. How many books do you have? What at their attributes? What is interesting about them? Who a...
Episode 92: How Do ISBNS Work?
21 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What are International Standard Book Numbers? How and why do publishers use them? When do you need them? What information is contained? What is useful...
Episode 91: Financial Annual Analysis 2020
15 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Every year—like a nonprofit—we publicly post our financials with some analysis and comparison to previous years. What's changed? What's exciting? ...
Episode 90: What new zines have we published recently?
07 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
With lightning precision and relentless candlelight editing, we publish a handful of new zines every month. So in our latest pod feature, we are going...
Episode 89: How do we rebuild kids self-image after sexual assault?
31 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Harvey Pekar's American Splendor showed the world that comics didn't have to be restricted to superheroes in tights embroiled in epic battles. And in ...
Episode 88: Will the new strategies of Barnes & Noble work?
24 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Barnes & Noble was recently purchased by a new parent company invested in brick and mortar retail during a year of COVID closures. They cleverly u...
Episode 87: How does the Holiday Rush change things?
17 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In publishing you make plans and try and stick to them. Then everything in the world insists on sticking a screwdriver into your front spokes. We disc...
Episode 75: Why are Simon & Schuster, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for sale? (A People's Guide to Publishing)
11 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Penguin Random House has negotiated the purchase of Simon & Schuster for over $2B. Sterling Publishers has been for sale, on and off, for years. H...
Episode 74: How do you sell your press?
03 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Due to the difficult year, we've had many publishers ask us for advice on how to find a buyer for their publishing company. Essentially, this is a pro...
Episode 73: How to Be Accountable: Nov 29 event
26 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Improve your relationships, get better at boundaries, and end toxic cyclesAccountability means accepting responsibility for your actions and repairing...
What's the deal with these books about GG Allin?
19 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
GG Allin, the scumfuck king, set out to make music dangerous. He died 27 years ago from a heroin overdose. So why did we make two books about him? Wel...
Comics about the history of service dogs, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and anarchist prince Peter Kropotkin
12 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Harvey Pekar fundamentally changed the way that comics convey information and entertainment. The advent of the nonfiction comic allowed books like the...
The story of publishing Practical Witch's Almanac 2021 and Trans-Galactic Bike Ride
06 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Another week, another pair of new books! How did they come to be? Why did we choose them? How are they received? This time it's Practical Witch's Alma...
Why do we publish so many workbooks?
29 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
"Workbooks are the new coloring books" we declared to Publisher's Weekly last year. "Prove it." they responded, unimpressed. A year later, publishing ...
A Tour of Microcosm
22 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Many years ago we ran out of a 600 sq' office and we would repeatedly hear rumors that it was a false front, like the Hershey's fake factory in Hershe...
How Should a Publisher Manage Inventory?
15 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The minute that you open the boxes of your first books, it's SOOOO EXCITING! Then a few days, weeks, months, and years go by and...where do we put all...
How Does a Publisher Manage Their Brand?
14 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Most of the time in publishing, when we talk about brands, we are talking about authors. But recently, in independent publishing, we've seen the rise ...
Damn, Why Didn't I Write That? (A Review)
13 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Last week we talked about the evolving definition of midlist so this week we are cracking the lid open on how to write a midlist book or twenty! The l...
What is the publishing midlist?
24 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Recently we ran into an article claiming that the publishing midlist no longer exists. So we talked about it and realized that the definition of it is...
Why Did We Rebind These Books with New Covers?
16 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In 2010 we published Firebrands. In 2013 we published Grow. In 2020, we hired a bindery to rip the covers off thousands of existing stock and redevelo...
How Do You Determine a Book's Word Count?
10 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week we answer a reader question about the brain science of how many words go on a page and how many words in a manuscript!
What Can a Publisher Do in the Time of COVID?
03 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
When the bookstores closed up shop, the publishers suddenly lost their ground troops. What should publishers do to promote their newest titles? Here's...
How did these books get published?
27 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
One of the most frequently asked questions of us are how authors have successfully approached us to get their books published. Here are two of those s...
What are Advance Reader Copies?
20 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
You've seen them floating around bookstores and in freeboxes! Perhaps you've received them to review! This week, we explore the purpose, benefits, and...
What is Book Marketing?
13 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Book marketing is that dirty phrase with an innocuous meaning: what allows the book to reach its audience. This week we walk through some examples and...
History Lesson Part Two
06 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Over the past 25 years, Microcosm Publishing has come to sell millions of books, against all odds, and seemingly by accident. This week we explore wha...
How do publishing supply chains work for books?
30 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We frequently meet authors who don't understand all of the things that can go right or wrong between the time that a book is acquired and found on a s...
How Does My Press Join the Revolution?
23 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Over the past 25 years it's been awkward to watch how publishers try to paint themselves as plain enough for all people. The events of the past year h...
What happened to chain bookstores?
16 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
When most people think of bookstores, they think of the corporate chains. But yet, that's only 25% of the bookstores in the U.S. at this point. What h...
How Is Fair Competition Ensured in Publishing?
09 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We frequently talk to publishers who do not realize that publishing is quite a bit more legislated than they realize. So this week we explore that and...
How much does it cost to make an ebook?
30 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
People are often shocked to learn that ebooks comprise a mere 8% of book sales. Consumers are often under the impression that it costs much less to ma...
Why can't publishers talk about price?
30 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
You might have seen the news stories about consumer protections about pricing collusion. Often when you go to publishing conferences, you can't talk a...
How Should Authors Interact with their Audience? w/ Dr. Faith Harper, Unfuck Your Brain
11 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
At first an author is so excited that people have read their book and wants to engage with them but quickly this can simmer into resentment. This week...
How Will the Comics Industry Change?
04 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week we answer reader questions from Anastacia Ferry: What did you think of Diamond stopping production and how it's affected the comic book worl...
How Do Publishers Find Staff?
28 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
You'll soon find yourself deluged with offers of people to hire or help you. This week we walk through how to choose who to bring on!
How Should Authors and Publisher Manage Conflict? (with Faith Harper, Unfuck Your Brain)
21 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Differences of opinion and disagreements are inevitable. Relationship breakdowns are preventable with sufficient communication and planning. This week...
What Job Duties Does a Publisher Have?
21 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The viewer question on the pod is "What job duties are there at a publisher?" so we tackled that one from our new, secret, underground warehouse bunke...