A People's Guide to Publishing
Episodes
How Should a Publisher Budget for a Crisis?
07 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Publishers are words people, but it's also important to be a numbers person. In this episode we discuss how to plan for the best, worst, and most like...
How Should a Publisher Find Early Submissions?
23 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week's question is "How do I acquire my first manuscripts?" And our protagonists offer some experience and ideas!
What We Learned at AWP Writing Conference
17 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What feels like a lifetime ago, we went to the last conference in the forseeable future. Everything changed since then but our operation remains remar...
How do you make zines? #Quaranzine
04 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
By coincidence, two questions this week about making zines PLUS it's #Quaranzine fest, so we figured "Why not?" and dove right in!
How Should Publishers Respond to Coronavirus?
03 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
There is much panic about the economic impact of coronavirus on the book industry. So this week we take a look at how publishers can respond and rise ...
How To Make a Profit & Loss Statement
26 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
#Publishers frequently ask us how to create #profitandloss statements and this week on the #podcast one asked us how to manage one for #Kickstarter. H...
Is the educational market bigger than all others combined?
19 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We frequently meet publishers who truly don't understand how big the global book market is. In fact it's the third largest part of the $1 trillion/yea...
What do you think about Bookshop.org?
11 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
A viewer asked us for our opinions on the new website supporting independent bookstores, Bookshop.org and so we discuss feelings, views, relative powe...
Where Can I Sell Books?
04 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Every week we meet authors and publishers who only think of Amazon or bookstores as the places to sell books. So today we're going to look at all of t...
How To Write and Develop Erotica
27 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
After 24 years, Microcosm is going in a new direction—and it's queerer and smuttier. That's right, our latest gooey joy is Queering Consent, a serie...
How to Develop a Book
21 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Once upon a time at a big five publisher far, far away, a book was published. But it was made to look like it was about how weddings made women happy....
What We Learned at Winter Institute and Las Vegas Market
17 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
We just returned from the American Booksellers Association nat'l show, Winter Institute. And from there it was straight to the Las Vegas Gift Show. He...
Wherein We Review Our Annual Reports
06 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
2019 was a year of tremendous growth for Microcosm (55.77% to be exact) and we've split open our numbers to talk about how we did that, what it means,...
How Should A Publisher Use Kickstarter?
02 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the pod, we walk publishers through Kickstarter, its usefulness, the stigma, and how to get the most out of it!
How should a publisher’s time management work?
20 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
What should you do next? What is your most pressing task? What is an important task? What is a priority? This week we discuss how to figure out how to...
How does a publisher's acquisition process work, step by step?
09 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It's back to basics this episode as we retrace the who, what, where, why, and how of publisher acquisitions. What to look for, what to avoid, and how ...
How Much Do Bestseller Lists Matter?
05 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we landed Dr. Faith Harper's Unfuck Your Brain on the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post bestseller lists. So we explore the significa...
How to Launch a Book
29 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the podcast we look at how to launch your book through the lens of the 2002 classic Making Stuff & Doing Things, how to go viral, and...
What constitutes a "difficult author?"
18 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Last week during our talk on author platforms, we touched on the idea of what is "difficult," "cooperative," and "reasonable" behavior for an author s...
Honing Your Craft and Author Platform
12 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
There's a lot of conjecture out there about how to get published, what to do to prepare, and how to make yourself attractive as an author. Elly and Jo...
Costs and Consequences of Publishing
04 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
So much of what needs to go on in the publishing ecosphere is thinking about the costs and consequences of each of our actions and how they impact the...
Aim Your Microphone: How to Bring Diverse Viewpoints to Publishing
27 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In recent years the publishing industry has suddenly realized how homogenized and myopic its viewpoints are and is struggling to figure out how to mak...
5 Things I Learned from Metal Scrappers that Made Joe a Better Publisher / 5 Things I Learned from Liberal Arts College that Made Elly a Better Publisher
20 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
So much focus in publishing is on education but there are things that we can learn everywhere so today Elly talks about what she learned in liberal ar...
How do books get into bookstores? (with Kurtis Lowe of Book Traveler's West)
14 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
It's often assumed that if a book is "good" enough it'll be discovered, create buzz, and get placements in bookstores around the world. So this week w...
What is in a good book contract?
07 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
There's a deep wall of opacity in the world of "standard" book contracts so this week we do a deep dive into what a good contract looks like!
What is book production and how do I get started?
31 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
There are so many aspects to book production—from typography to images to grids to design to proof-checking to working with the printer. Many publis...
What is book editing and how do I do it right?
24 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
So many times people who have read books all their lives do not see editing as a technical, professional skill like dentistry or plumbing. This week w...
How do you tell the world about your book?
17 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
So many times people's #1 question is how to tell readers about their book. It's rather quite simple so we break it down in this week's episode!
How are Tariffs Affecting Book Publishing?
10 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Our protagonists swashbuckle their way through how recent threat of additional tariffs will affect the publishing industry Get the book: https://micr...
How to Submit Your Book to Publishers
02 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This week we discuss #submission guidelines, what ours look like, how most of the #publishing industry operates, and what best practices are both as a...
Selling books at conferences
31 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
So much bookselling muscle goes into marketing, let's see where we can combine that with selling.
How Should A Publisher's Workflow Be Organized? (A People's Guide to Publishing)
29 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This week, A People's Guide to Publishing tackles the sexiest and least controversial of topics, what good process looks like to organize your workflo...
What to do with books that don't sell
23 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Did you massively overprint? Did it just stop selling? How to give it some new life and understand why it's underperforming.
How to Design a Book Cover
21 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Joe Biel and Elly Blue draw upon 24 years of publishing and selling millions of books in order to explain what goes into designing a successful book c...
Your Book's Print Run
18 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
MetaData is one of the more confusing aspects of publishing a book, even for industry "pros." This week Elly and Joe dig deep into the semantics of th...
How to Sell Books
12 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Today on the People's Guide to Publishing, #vlogcast, Joe Biel and Elly Blue talk about #booksales, with a focus on Quimby's Bookstore as our muse. Wh...
Author Events
10 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This week, we explore author events: what is their purpose? How do they work? What are best practices? What is involved?
Marketing Fiction vs. Nonfiction
04 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the People's Guide to Publishing vlogcast, Elly and I compare fiction to nonfiction and see if the claim that marketing fiction is differ...
Dr. Faith Harper's Unf*ck Your Intimacy at Powell's
22 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
During 2019 Snow Panic Portland, Dr. Faith Harper appeared at Powell's City of Books to promote her #1 book Unf*ck Your Brain as well as her brand new...
The Unbearable Whiteness of Publishing with Samm Saxby
15 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
This week on the podcast we discuss everyone's favorite and least favorite topic, the demographics of publishing—specifically race and racism. Why a...
Curate Your Niche
30 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Based on frequently asked questions from our audience and a workshop at PNBA, publishers Joe Biel and Elly Blue teach the value of not trying to be al...
Ayun Halliday, author and performance entertainer!
25 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
A longtime relic keeping New York's history alive and worth visiting, Ayun Halliday talks self-confidence, looking to yourself, chasing your passions,...
Mari Naomi talks what publishing success takes, identity politics, and
10 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
After "toiling in obscurity for fifteen years," Mari Naomi published Kiss & Tell with Harper Perennial in 2009. She talks candidly about her caree...
Rachel Bell of Overcup Press talks about reaching your readers
21 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Overcup Press publishes formidable coffee table art books, children books, and Portland drinking guides. Today on the podcast Rachel discusses their f...
Bringing Your Book To Its Audience
05 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Microcosm owners Joe Biel and Elly Blue bring you a workshop they presented at the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association regional trade show about...
Unf*ck Your Brain with Dr. Faith Harper
20 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Our brains are doing our best to help us out, but they can be real assholes sometimes. Sometimes it seems like your own brain is out to get you—melt...
Corbett Redford: director of Turn it Around: The Story of East Bay Punk
27 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
TURN IT AROUND excavates 30 years of the California Bay Area’s prolific punk past, highlighting Berkeley's landmark 924 Gilman Street music collecti...
Kate Berube, children's author/illustrator
27 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Kate's journey of sixteen years to become a children's illustrator and author. We talk about racism, her time working for Trump, her current resistanc...
Laura Stanfill, publisher of Forest Avenue Press
23 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Laura Stanfill has built a movement of authors and publishers in Portland into a coherent force. Whether that's a product of her own publishing effort...
Why Not? Minot's Jazmine Wolff Schultz
20 Aug 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Co-founder of the Why Not? Fest in Minot, North Dakota, Jazmine is a shining beacon that you can change your community by getting involved and rocking...
Top Shelf Comix's Brett Warnock
02 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Founder of Top Shelf Comix's Brett Warnock, has seen quite a bit. From the rise of indie comics to saturation of web and self-publishing, he turned to...
John "Jughead" Pierson
17 Jul 2015
Contributed by Lukas
The premiere episode of Microcosm Publishing’s brand new podcast, featuring Johnny “Jughead” Pierson of Screeching Weasel and the Neofuturists a...