"Inside Independent Publishing (with IBPA)" wants to make you a smarter publisher by giving you access to powerful ideas, strategies, and tools for success.
Our interview guests are independent publishers, author publishers, and hybrid publishers, as well as distributors, printers, reviewers, booksellers, marketers, visionaries, and opinion leaders from all sectors of the book publishing industry.
We are sponsored and supported by the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), the largest book publishing association in the U.S. serving independent publishers and author publishers. IBPA’s vision is a world where every independent publisher has the tools and knowledge needed to professionally engage in all aspects of the publishing industry.
Your host is IBPA Director of Membership & Member Services Christopher Locke.
All content for Inside Independent Publishing (with IBPA) is the property of Christopher Locke and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
"Inside Independent Publishing (with IBPA)" wants to make you a smarter publisher by giving you access to powerful ideas, strategies, and tools for success.
Our interview guests are independent publishers, author publishers, and hybrid publishers, as well as distributors, printers, reviewers, booksellers, marketers, visionaries, and opinion leaders from all sectors of the book publishing industry.
We are sponsored and supported by the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), the largest book publishing association in the U.S. serving independent publishers and author publishers. IBPA’s vision is a world where every independent publisher has the tools and knowledge needed to professionally engage in all aspects of the publishing industry.
Your host is IBPA Director of Membership & Member Services Christopher Locke.
The question that IBPA staff probably gets asked the most by publishers is: How do I sell more books. We’re always happy to help, so IBPA’s Chief Content Officer Lee Wind joins “Inside Independent Publishing (with IBPA)” to share advice on the most effective and ineffective book marketing tactics, including how you can get your book vetted so bookstores, librarians, and consumers will be more likely to buy it; how you can make your books more discoverable to buyers; how you should successfully market your book pre-publication, during the launch, and post publication; and much more.
Canadian publisher Page Two found their publishing niche early on, honed it to perfection, and have had great success since then. It’s always helpful to learn from other publisher’s stories to improve your own publishing business, so Page Two Co-Founder and Co-CEO Trena White joins the podcast today to share details about how their team discovered the best books for their business, how they build strong relationships with their authors, how they built their staff, and much more.
Do you have an organized, detailed, strategic marketing plan for every book that you publish? President and Founder of Media Kit Buzz Brian Feinblum joins “Inside Independent Publishing (with IBPA)” to share expert tips about the most important aspects of a book marketing plan pre-publication, during publication, and post-publication, including what your budget should be, best practices for marketing through email lists, social media, advertisements, and much more.
Should you set up your publishing company as a hybrid publisher? To help answer that question, Broad Book Group’s co-founder Dr. Jennifer Dorsey joins “Inside Independent Publishing (with IBPA)” to share details about how they formed their hybrid publishing business, including how they set up contracts with authors, how they handle book distribution, how they decided what types of marketing services to offer, and much more!
Advertising on Google, Facebook, Instagram, and various social media sites can be exceptional exposure for your books and possibly lead to more sales, but which platforms are better for garnering sales as compared to visibility, and what types of images and copy work best for each site? Also, how long is the ideal time to run an ad? Ingram Content Group’s Senior Manager, Consumer Products & Services Development Erin Cox visits “Inside Independent Publishing (with IBPA)” to answer these questions and more!
Understanding reader habits can help independent publishers and author-publishers improve their book marketing strategies, hopefully boosting book sales. With over 550,000 readers on the popular digital review copy platform NetGalley, their team has collected invaluable data about reader’s preferences, so NetGalley’s Customer Success Manager Katie Versluis and Social Media Manager Hallie Fields join “Inside Independent Publishing (with IBPA)” to discuss where readers say they discover books, the social media platforms that readers tend to share their book recommendations on the most, tips for how publishers can garner reviews, and much more.
The more independent publishers and their authors work together on their book marketing strategies, the better chance they have of selling more books. One of the main focuses of independent publisher Wordeee is figuring out how to leverage the relationships that their authors already have to maximize the reach of their book marketing efforts. Wordeee CEO Marva Allen and COO Patrice Samara join “Inside Independent Publishing (with IBPA)” to share the interesting book marketing tactics they employ with their authors, partnerships they’ve created for the film and audiobook rights of their books, and more.
To set your books and audiobooks up for the best chance at success, you need to make your titles available to purchase in as many retail outlets as possible. Author and book publishing consultant Erin Wright joins “Inside Independent Publishing (with IBPA)” to share her expertise about the most effective methods to distribute books and audiobooks to as many retail sites as possible, including details about how to best use IngramSpark, Draft2Digital, PublishDrive, Author’s Republic, Bookvault, and more for your publishing goals.
Amazon is still the world’s largest bookseller, so naturally, many independent publishers and author publishers want to know how they can succeed on the platform. IBPA is always working to help indie publishers take their businesses to the next level, so we invited Firebrand Technologies’ Director of Sales and Education Joshua Tallent as a guest on “Inside Independent Publishing (with IBPA)” to share his expertise. He discusses how the Amazon search algorithms work to garner more exposure for your books, how Amazon sales ranks are calculated, smart strategies for Amazon advertising, and more.
Publishing books is the main focus and source of revenue for independent publishers, but there are many alternative revenue streams that can be lucrative. President and Publisher for Gibbs Smith Books & Gift Suzanne Taylor joins “Inside Independent Publishing (with IBPA)” to share tips about the sidelines they create, including how they decide what products to make, which are the most popular, where they sell them, how they’re manufactured, and much more.
To garner as much attention for your books as possible, it’s important for independent publishers and author publishers to connect with audiences outside their network. Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) Campaigns Manager Matty Dalrymple joins “Inside Independent Publishing (with IBPA)” to share expert advice about how to land interviews on podcasts, blog sites, and with reviewers, including whether to pitch yourself or hire a publicist, how to best craft your pitch, how to promote the interview to get the most out of it, and much more!
Ambika Sambasivan and Suhani Parikh each had their own successful independent publishing company, Yali Books and Modern Marigold Books, but when they met in 2022, they realized that their companies had similar missions and that they could be even more successful if they combined their businesses.
Ambika and Suhani join “Inside Independent Publishing (with IBPA)” to share details about the challenges and positive experiences that they ran into during the process of merging to create their new publishing company Sambasivan & Parikh. They discuss the legal issues that had to be decided; how they updated their distribution systems; how they combined their different backend systems; and much more.
One of the most important relationships independent publishers have is with their authors, so how can publishers ensure that it's a productive working relationship? American Academy of Pediatrics Senior Editor Kathryn Sparks joins “Inside Independent Publishing (with IBPA)” to share advice about how publishers can successfully work with their authors based on her two decades in the industry.
She’ll share tips about setting reasonable deadlines and how to stick to them; the best ways to work with an author through the writing and editing process; and more. She’ll also share insights into how the independent publishing industry is doing at the moment, and what improvements could be made.
One of the most effective methods for independent publishers and author publishers to sell books is through direct-to-consumer sales. Motina Books Publishing Owner Diane Windsor joins "Inside Independent Publishing (with IBPA)” to share tactics that have worked best for her, including selling books directly through her publisher website, in-person events, and more.
One of the most consequential topics among independent publishers is how they can get their books into libraries. IBPA is always looking for ways to set indie publishers up for success, so we invited Becky Spratford on the podcast who has been working with the library market in multiple capacities for over two decades. Becky shares expert tips about how to collaborate with your local libraries to interest them in your books, how librarians make buying decisions, the best ways to approach a library about carrying your books, and more.
Bookselling profit margins can be tight for independent publishers, but with some ingenuity, publishers can create additional revenue streams. Agate Publishing President Doug Seibold has had great success with his publishing company, as well as various endeavors related to publishing, so he joins “Inside Independent Publishing (with IBPA)” to discuss package trade publishing and his newest venture, Agate Publishing Academy. Doug also shares invaluable advice about how to successfully run a publishing business based on his decades of experience, including fostering a line of credit with your bank, improving your backlist revenue, and more!
In a saturated book market where the Big 5 publishers carry a lot of weight, independent publishers have come up with some clever tactics to garner attention for their books. One such publisher is Muse Incorporated. Founder and CEO Leah Hernandez joins "Inside Independent Publishing (with IBPA)” to share details about how she’s created strategic partnerships to grow book sales; how she’s gotten her books into the education market; helpful ways she’s raised funds for her publishing endeavors; and more.
Distribution continues to be one of the most consequential pain points for independent publishers, and with fewer and fewer distributors from which publishers can choose, it seems like major changes need to occur to fix the system. Microcosm Publishing’s Founder and CEO Joe Biel joins "Inside Independent Publishing (with IBPA)” to chat about ideas for how distribution can be improved for indie publishers; the repercussions of the recent closure of Small Press Distribution; why so many independent distributors have shut down; and much more.
Between traditionally published and self-published books, there are over 3 million books published per year, so in order for a book to stand out, sometimes independent publishers have to think outside the box.
Independent publisher Holloway has a unique system with their publishing strategy in terms of discoverability and direct-to-consumer sales, which has been quite successful for them, so COO Andrew Savikas joins “Inside Independent Publishing (with IBPA)” to share details about Holloway’s savvy publishing model; how they’ve developed their website for search engine optimization; and how other independent publishers can apply some of the same techniques to their own businesses.
There is a huge market for books outside the United States, so how can U.S. publishers break into the international market, and how do publishers know which markets are a good fit for their titles? Co-Founder and Managing Editor of Red Hen Press Dr. Kate Gale joins “Inside Independent Publishing (with IBPA)” to share details about how her publishing company succeeded with international sales, as well as the challenges and opportunities publishers face based on the city where they set up their business; tips on book distribution; and much more.
"Inside Independent Publishing (with IBPA)" wants to make you a smarter publisher by giving you access to powerful ideas, strategies, and tools for success.
Our interview guests are independent publishers, author publishers, and hybrid publishers, as well as distributors, printers, reviewers, booksellers, marketers, visionaries, and opinion leaders from all sectors of the book publishing industry.
We are sponsored and supported by the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), the largest book publishing association in the U.S. serving independent publishers and author publishers. IBPA’s vision is a world where every independent publisher has the tools and knowledge needed to professionally engage in all aspects of the publishing industry.
Your host is IBPA Director of Membership & Member Services Christopher Locke.
