Shows / A People's Guide to Publishing
A People's Guide to Publishing
Do you find that the traditional methods for book publishing aren't working for you? Are you a publisher or author who wants to innovate, succeed, and expand your audience through time-tested methods? We offer time-tested publishing methods that we know work because we have used them to sell millions of books in a changing industry. We have been inundated with requests for consulting so we created this show to share everything we know. We are the executives of Microcosm Publishing, a Publishers…
Episodes
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 323: What does it mean that Costco is cutting books? | A People's Guide to Publishing Podcast
Is Costco cutting books a big deal, or will it be a great chance for readers to go back to their local indies? What does it mean for publishers? Jane Friedman…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 322: How can regional trade shows improve for bookselling? | A People's Guide to Publishing
We've been talking trade shows the last few weeks, from how they benefit booksellers to what publishers need to make them work. We continue the conversation…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 321: How effective are regional trade shows for book publishers? | A People's Guide to Publishing Podcast
After last week's episode, where booksellers and publishers evaluate the effectiveness of trade shows, this week Elly and Joe give their own analysis!…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 320: How well do regional trade shows work for publishers? | A People's Guide to Publishing
For booksellers, the regional trade shows are a beloved time for community, connection, and learning about the latest reads from their favorite publishers. Are…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 319: How does a press release their first book? w/Jane Friedman | A People's Guide to Publishing
So you've got your company. You've got your book. You've got an idea. But how do you get it out into the world? Releasing the first book as a press can be a…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 318: "The Bookshelf and Beyond" Microcosm Spring '25 Spectacular | A People's Guide to Publishing Podcast
We tried a new thing! Marketing Manager Abby (hi) recently did a presentation for some of our store and library customers, featuring some of our new titles…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 317: How Do Tariffs Affect Canadian Publishers? w/ Kim Werker | A People's Guide to Publishing
Tariffs! We've talked a lot about how they affect American bookstores and publishers. But what has the impact been for our neighbors to the North? Our friend…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 316: How can publishers lower information barriers? w/ Jelani Memory | A People's Guide to Publishing
Publishing a book can feel like this insurmountable wall that you have to climb over while also screaming that your writing is valid. How can publishers make…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 315: How Should Authors Market Their Books? w/ Jane Friedman | A People's Guide to Publishing
Does author marketing have an impact on sales? Can you move the needle yourself, or do you need to rely on your publisher for all of your marketing and…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 314: Marketing Your Book | A People's Guide to Publishing Podcast
How do you "make your books get found" (as Joe puts it)? This week it's a throwback to Joe and Elly chatting about marketing your book, search engine…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 313: Ben Snakepit Returns to the Snake Pit in 2025 | A People's Guide to Publishing
Every day for 25 years, Ben Snakepit has drawn a simple, 3 panel comic about his day. There's no overarching plot or theme, just Ben answering the question…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 312: How Should a Publisher Pitch a Book to an Author? | A People's Guide to Publishing
So you're a publisher with a brilliant idea for a writer you want to work with. How do you start that conversation? Is it even worth having? This week on the…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 311: How do I publish thematically? w/ Jelani Memory of A Kids Co | A People’s Guide to Publishing
Readers love knowing what to expect from a publisher. Having consistent theming in your titles can help with discovery, trust, and bringing readers back for…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 310: How do you market a book publisher? w/Jane Friedman | A People's Guide to Publishing
How do you market your press? It's not just social media and newsletters. Everything from your cover design, format choices, to who is on your marketing team…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 309: Does AI innovate publishing or just add noise? | A People's Guide to Publishing
AI has been a topic of near-constant debate in publishing the last few years. Is it a great democratizer, making writing, editing, and publishing accessible to…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 308: What is the Impact of Book Bans? | A People's Guide to Publishing
Book bans have seen an astronomical increase in the last few years. How are they impacting the book industry, booksellers, and publishers? We had the…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 307: How Should Publishers Manage Overstock? w/ Jelani Memory | A People's Guide to Publishing
Running out of books is a good thing, actually! Jelani Memory of A Kid's Co is back with Joe and Elly to talk about what to do with excess inventory, donating…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 306: Is Print-on-Demand a Class Issue? w/Jane Friedman | A People's Guide to Publishing
Print-on-demand books have been called cheap, low quality, and the publishing equivalent of fast fashion. But is that true? What are the upsides of publishers…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 305: Why are bugs so cool? w/Karyn Light-Gibson (author of BUG LIFE) | A People's Guide to Publishing
Just in time for spring, we're talkin' bugs! They're everywhere, whether you like it or not. And they're honestly cool little critters. "Bug Life" author Karyn…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 303: How can you teach experts to write a book in a day? w/Jelani Memory | A People's Guide to Publishing
Jelani Memory (of DK Publishing and A Kid's Co) is back to talk about The Workshop Method, how Kid's Co is able to get subject matter experts to write quality…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 304: How do tariffs affect books? | A People's Guide to Publishing
How will Trump's tariffs affect books? Broadly, not much, especially if you're doing a lot in house, but there are still a few things you might want to know…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 302: How Should You Handle Criticism? w/Jane Friedman
How do you handle negative book reviews? *Should* you even handle them? What kinds of criticism do you engage with, and what's the best way to go about it?…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 301: How Do I Identify the Plants in My Path? w/ Maggie Herskovitz
You likely pass all kinds of plants and herbs in your day to day. But do you know who they are? Where they come from? Maggie Herskovitz can help! Her new book…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 300: Unf*ck Your Parenting with Bonnie Scott and Dr. Faith G. Harper | A People's Guide to Publishing
How do you raise your kids to be functional adults with big hearts, especially in the current timeline? This week on the podcast, Bonnie Scott and Dr. Faith…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 299: How does a press become an imprint? w/ Jelani Memory
It's episode 300! 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 People's Guide to Publishing
Episode 298: What tarot spreads will get you through the year? w/Karen Krebser
Joe, Elly, and Bernie sit down with Karen Krebser, author of "Tarot Through the Witch's Year," to chat about tarot in dark times, how to reconcile your…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 297: How do books get into bookstores? w/Kurtis Lowe
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…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 296: How Do I Hire Sales Reps?
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…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 295: What are the 3 Biggest Misconceptions in Publishing? w/Chris Vega
Chris Vega of Blue Cactus Press is back to talk common publishing misconceptions! Zoning issues, delusions of grandeur, printing—learn what makes us unique…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 294: What did Taylor Swift reveal about book publishing? w/Jane Friedman
On Black Friday of 2024, Taylor Swift released "The Eras Tour Book" exclusively through Target. But is it a book? What's the appeal? Who is the audience? Was…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 293: Relationships, Anxiety, and Lamps- A Q&A w/Dr. Faith G. Harper
This week, we pretend we're one of those "hang out and chat about whatever" podcasts, because it's time for Dr. Faith's long-awaited return to the pod! Join…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 292: How Did You Get a New York Times Bestseller? w/ Angela Engel
For a lot of publishers, landing a book on the New York Times Bestseller list is THE goal. How did a small press like Collective Book Studio end up with a…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 291: What Makes a Hybrid Publisher a Good Value Chain? w/ Brooke Warner
This week on the podcast, Brooke Warner of She Writes Press and Spark Press, talks with Elly and Joe about her experience in hybrid publishing, how to tell if…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 290: How does an election impact publishing? (with Jane Friedman)
How does a major election effect publishing sales trends? Jane Friedman of the Hot Sheet is back to talk about how we're all doing, what's been selling, and…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 289: How do you manage author expectations? w/ Chris Vega of Blue Cactus | A People's Guide to Publishing
Publisher/author relationships are just like any other relationships— they need care, communication, and understanding. This week on the pod, Chris Vega of…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 288: How Can a Publisher Expand Their List Outside Personal Interests?
Most publishers are most comfortable publishing to their own tastes. And from there, what’s popular but familiar. This week on the pod, we tackle the important…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 287: How Can Edelweiss Digital Cataloging and Community Help Publishers? | A People's Guide to Publishing
Edelweiss! It's a valuable tool for publishers, booksellers, and other industry folks. Buyers use it all the time to research and bring in books to their…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 286: Is Your Distributor Working?
How does a publisher know if a distributor is working for them? Odds are, if you're asking that question, they probably aren't! This week on the pod, Joe and…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 285: What Publishing Industry Media Should I Read?
There are a lot of publishing industry news blogs, sites, and publications out there. Which ones are worth your time? Jane Friedman of The Hot Sheet is back to…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 284: What is Vertical Integration?
Vertical integration. It sounds like a fancy business term, but in reality, it means keeping things in-house as much as possible to keep costs low. This week…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 283: How To Design a Book Cover
Can you judge a book by its cover? We're revisiting another classic episode this week! Joe and Elly talk about cover design, how to make a book cover stand…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 282: What is book editing (and how do I do it right)?
Book editing! Surely it's easy, right? Especially if you're someone who has read like, a lot of books. Nope! This week Joe and Elly talk book editing, why it's…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 281: Why are so many books so mediocre?
A reader asks a very straightforward question— why are so many books so mediocre? Is it a new trend? How do we measure quality? Jane Friedman of the Hot Sheet…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 280: How does being an editor make you a better author? w/ Kandi Zeller | A People's Guide to Publishing
Being a book editor and an author can be a double-edged sword. On one hand, you have unique insight into how a book is developed before you even get started…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 279: How Should a Publisher Manage Their Brand?
Branding tells the consumer who you are, what your vibe is, and (probably most importantly) that you publish books. Past wisdom has focused on authors in the…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 278: Where Does the Money Go in Publishing?
If you hang in certain circles, you'll frequently hear that "Publishers have all the money," which is funny because bookstores get the largest percentage of…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 277: How Can Every Book You Publish Be Evergreen?
The publishing industry invests heavily in the logic that a new book hits hard out of the gate, has a third of its total sales before it's published, a third…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 276: How do I get my first books in stores and libraries?
You published a few books! Congrats! That's one of the most important parts of being a publisher. But... now what? How do you get your book in stores and…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 275: The Burning Rage of a Dying Planet (with Craig Rosebraugh)
Craig Rosebraugh, author of "Burning Rage of a Dying Planet: The FBI vs. the Earth Liberation Front" sits down with us to talk about how he became the…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 274: How do you become a neighborhood bookstore? w/Spoke & Word Books
This month for the #BookstoreSolidarityProject, we hung out with Cierra, owner of Portland-local bookstore Spoke & Word! We talked about bookselling, strategic…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 273: Why Do We Keep Talking About Boxes?
Boxes— they make the book world go round. Why do we have such strong opinions on boxes (and where we get them from? Why is there a cat on ours now? Let us…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 272: What is a Hybrid Publisher? (starring Jane Friedman)
What is hybrid publishing? What is it a hybrid between? Halfway between traditional publishing and service providing, hybrid publishers have come to mean a lot…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 271: The All New Henry & Glenn Comic (is back!) starring our tattooed, musclebound rockstars.
Ten years later, the greatest love story every told is back. Featuring an extensive interview with Tom Neely and Justin Hall, we take a deep look at "punk rock…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 270: How Do You Handle Publishing Controversial Material Safely & Sustainably?
Particularly when one comes from a conservative family and has many conversations where their beliefs are challenged, they tend to assume that the publishing…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 269: What do books and sneakers have in common? w/ CLASS bookstore
CLASS bookstore is probably the most talked about bookseller in the U.S. in 2024. They know how to build a hype machine and get people talking about them…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 268: What is a Small Press Publisher? (starring Jane Friedman)
During a recent phone call, we asked a partner how she defines "independent publisher" and her answer was "we know it when we see it." "Indie" has grown to…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 267: What if someone else just published the same book?
It happens all the time. One of our distributed publishers got in touch, horrified and terrified that MacMillan had just published the same book that she did…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 266: Can booksellers increase bonding over Corgis? Janet Geddis of Avid Bookshop
Publishers often think of booksellers as our frontline marketing force; the people who we outsource our jobs to. This week, Janet Geddis of Avid Bookshop does…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 265: How do you organize a Cat Party? w/ Katie Haegele
Katie Haegele has been passionate about cats for decades. They have been some of the most meaningful relationships in her life. This time around she's…
A People's Guide to PublishingEpisode 264: What does AI mean for publishers? (starring Jane Friedman)
Much hullaballoo and many predictions has been made about how AI will "disrupt" the publishing industry. Typically, with a new technology the steps are 1) fear…