Through the pages of his imprint, Third Culture Books, IBPA member Mickey Carolan explores the world of the deaf community. In addition to two children’s books published in their Deaf Kids Can series, Third Culture recently launched a book meant for adult readers Mom Dad Not Hear, which is Mickey’s memoirs of growing up as a CODA, a Child of Deaf Adults. The book gives readers a unique peek into life growing up as a hearing person in a non-hearing home, with all its joys and challenges.

We were interested to learn from Mickey about his experience as an author publisher, who like many author publishers, also holds a full-time job while managing a publishing business on the side. With limited time and support, Mickey developed an intentional marketing plan for his book which helped it find its audience and reach Amazon Best Seller ranking in its category.

IBPA: Hi Mickey, thanks for taking some time to chat with us. First, tell us about how you came to publish your books. Your first two books were children’s books…

Mickey: While negotiating with writing partners for my memoir, a detour emerged – it sparked the creation of a children's book titled Sky, the Deaf Home Run Hero: A Lesson in Courage, inspired by my father. The book's publication on the anniversary of his passing felt deeply meaningful. Then, emboldened by the positive reception of Sky, and fueled by my mother's eagerness to see her story in print, I penned a second children's book: Bonnie and the Deaf Bake Squad: A Lesson in Confidence.

IBPA: You’ve said that both books served as valuable training ground for your next book.

Mickey: That’s correct. The lessons from publishing the children's books allowed me to approach Mom Dad Not Hear: 30 Powerful Stories and Lessons about Leadership, Life, and Love from My Deaf Parents with a more strategic mindset. While it may be the third book under my imprint, it was always the intended centerpiece.

IBPA: How are your books sold?

Mickey: For print copies, paperback and hardcover, I use Amazon KDP and IngramSpark for a wide distribution reach. This ensures my books are readily available on major online retailers and bookstores. For ebooks, I took a different approach for each title.

The two children's books are exclusive to Amazon KDP. This allows them to be part of the Kindle Unlimited program. For Mom Dad Not Hear, I recognized the potential for library sales. Therefore, I used Draft2Digital to distribute the ebook to various libraries and retailers, along with a direct upload to KDP for wider availability on Amazon.

IBPA: Congrats on Mom Dad Not Hear attaining Amazon Best Seller status. (Editor's note: Amazon’s Best Sellers list showcases the top selling products within featured categories based on BSR scores). Tell us how you developed your marketing strategy.

Mickey: Thank you so much! As for the marketing plan, it centered around five key pillars.

First was building a strategic partnership. I knew I couldn't achieve this alone… everyone needs guidance and brainstorming. That's why I partnered with Aryn Van Dyke, a nonfiction book launch consultant and author coach. It's a small world! Years ago, I met her mother through the West Michigan business community.

Next came targeting the right audience. Here Aryn's expertise was instrumental. Many authors, myself included, make the classic mistake of thinking their book is for everyone. However, after analyzing the success of my children's books we pinpointed the ideal reader for Mom Dad Not Hear.

Mickey with his mom and sister at the dedication of an office they sponsored in his father’s memory at the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

IBPA: What came next after identifying your audience?

Mickey: We crafted a focused, six-month marketing roadmap. This included securing endorsements, maintaining consistent messaging, and sending advanced copies (ARCs) to key influencers within our target market.

Another key pillar in my marketing plan was relationships. Building relationships with prominent figures in my niche social media circles proved to be a major factor in our success. These influencers became valuable advocates for the book.

IBPA: Tell us how you worked with influencers.

Mickey: The foundation of successful influencer marketing, in my experience, lies in building genuine connections with potential endorsers. I began by creating a comprehensive list, segmented into three categories: dream, target, and safety. The dream category housed my most aspirational choices, think big-name celebrities and well-known authors. The target and safety groups contained influencers who closely aligned with my ideal reader base and my network. This multi-tiered approach allowed me to chase after those A-list endorsements while simultaneously securing commitments from highly relevant influencers who could still deliver impactful results.

IBPA: This was the easy part, right? Next comes the hard part which is contacting the influencers in your list!

Mickey: I’ll state that personalized outreach is the key to standing out. And that quantity takes a backseat to quality when it comes to influencer selection. Leveraging LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook, I prioritized crafting personalized outreach messages for each influencer. These messages often went beyond simple text, incorporating elements like photos, captivating descriptions of the book, and in some cases, even video introductions.

IBPA: You’ve said that providing value upfront and building trust are key when collaborating with influencers. Tell us more.

Mickey: One tactic I found particularly effective was sending out advanced review copies (ARCs) of my book to my targeted influencers. By providing them with early access and the opportunity to delve into the content, I demonstrated upfront value. Furthermore, the potential for even a few sales generated through their recommendations made sending ARCs a worthwhile investment.

IBPA: What were some of the marketing programs you found most useful?

Mickey: As a member of IBPA, I utilized various member benefits that contributed to the book's success. These included:

• ALA Conference Book Signings: An incredible experience I highly recommend!
• Roundtable Calls: Valuable for insights and networking.
• Media Outreach Blast: Increased visibility through targeted media contacts.
• Bookstore Catalog: Increased bookstore discoverability.
• Library E-Blasts: Reached librarians who curate book selections.

Additionally, volunteering as a judge for the Ben Franklin Awards was a rewarding and educational experience!

IBPA: Thank you for volunteering. Judging can be a valuable learning experience too...to be on the other side evaluating a book’s quality and missteps.

Now here’s our final question, any tips to share on working with Amazon KDP?

Mickey: The most transformative lesson? Mastering the triangle of KDP success: metadata, keywords, and category selection. I poured myself into researching these elements. And leveraging tools such as Publisher Rocket proved to be a game-changer. It's easily one of the best investments I've made on this journey. Nail your categories, and the coveted bestseller badge becomes a much more realistic goal!

IBPA: Wow, thank you for sharing all these valuable tips with us today Mickey. We wish you and Third Culture continued success!

Share your unique publishing stories with the IBPA community! Send to adeline@ibpa-online.org. For more details about the types of stories we're seeking, click here.

Though launching a new book isn’t the focus of our Spotlights articles, IBPA is happy to share that exciting news on social media. Please contact ashley@ibpa-online.org with the launch date, your book cover, your book title, your book's genre, a link to where readers can learn more about your book, and your Instagram handle.

For good news in general about your publishing company (your book received a wonderful editorial review, you have an upcoming speaking engagement, etc.), use the hashtag #IBPAmemberGoodNews on Twitter and IBPA will amplify your good news!

Whether you have news or not, all of us at IBPA are cheering you on!

About the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)

Founded in 1983 to support independent publishers nationwide, the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) leads and serves the independent publishing community through advocacy, education, and tools for success. With over 3,500 members, IBPA is the largest publishing association in the U.S. Its vision is a world where every independent publisher has the access, knowledge, and tools needed to professionally engage in all aspects of an inclusive publishing industry. For more information, visit ibpa-online.org.

(Manhattan Beach, CA - April 11, 2024) -- The Independent Book Publishers Association held its 2024 Annual Meeting of Members on April 4. The virtual event is the association’s annual opportunity for members to hear about the state of their association, its progress on various fronts, and vote for the candidates who will join the next fiscal year’s Board of Directors. A total of 115 members registered to attend the 2024 virtual meeting.

Click here to watch a recording of the meeting.

Welcome Remarks from IBPA Board Chair

The meeting began with IBPA Board Chair Karen Pavlicin, owner and publisher of Elva Resa Publishing, welcoming members to the meeting and acknowledging the board members who each bring unique talents to the board to help it fulfil its role in making strategic decisions that govern the association.

Pavlicin said that IBPA’s Board of Directors reviews and discusses reports from each committee at every meeting. There will be three new committees to be discussed later, alongside the Advocacy, DEI, Editorial Advisory and Membership committees.

State of the Association from IBPA CEO

IBPA CEO Andrea Fleck-Nisbet reiterated how IBPA’s mission—which is to provide community, education, and advocacy for the independent publishing community—informs every program, service, initiative, and event that the association develops. IBPA strives to empower its members so that their businesses can thrive.

IBPA is also building a community that provides a place for all members to be seen, heard and valued, and works to ensure that all publishers have the tools that they need to engage in the business of publishing. Some of IBPA’s work in the past year include releasing a new reference resource, the IBPA Guide to Publishing Models and Author Pathways; legislative initiatives that address copyright protection and book banning; and partnerships with other associations such as BISG and the American Association of Publishers.

She then introduced the IBPA staff who are: Adeline Lui, Director of Marketing & Communications; Ashley Hirao, Project Coordinator; Christopher Locke, Director of Membership & Member Services; Lee Wind, Chief Content Officer; Sean McDonald, Project Coordinator; Terry Nathan, Chief Operating Officer; Alexa Schlosser, IBPA Independent Managing Editor; Ingrid Reslmaier, Creative Director; Jackie Thompson-Maillet, Vendor Manager; and Jonathan Kirsch, Legal Counsel.

Membership Report

Currently, IBPA’s members number about 3,300 and they comprise four groups: independent publishers, author publishers, publishing partners, and future publishers. Over the past five years, IBPA has experienced an average annual membership growth of 3.5 percent, following a spike in membership among author publishers and future publishers during COVID. What the association is experiencing now is a right-sizing of membership following the spike.

Independent and author publishers make up a full 82 percent of the members. IBPA tracks how its member segments change over time, and uses data to develop programs and services that respond to changing needs. As an example, IBPA recently split the monthly member roundtables into separate events for author publishers and indie publishers. At Publishing University, IBPA will also be introducing separate tracks for beginner and advanced publishers.

Financial Report

In the past five years, IBPA has experienced a healthy annualized growth of 7.2 percent – a result of expanding its member programs, products and services; and from the continuing success of its awards program, Publishing University, and tradeshows.

In addition to placing its assets into long-term investment accounts, IBPA believes in investing in programs that will benefit members. Examples of this are allocating resources toward the further development of PubSpot and the Slack community; DEI programs; and improvements to the IBPA book award program that will be announced shortly.

Last fiscal year, IBPA invested around $60,000 from its savings and this fiscal year, it will be adding another modest amount to its assets. Overall, IBPA is a financially healthy organization that will continue to invest strategically into programs that will benefit members.

Progress in the Strategic Plan

All of IBPA’s work is guided by a three-year Strategic Plan developed and approved by the board, which outlines the goals of the organization and the tactics that are used to execute against these goals. In 2024, the association is midway through its current three-year Strategic Plan. 

Fleck-Nisbet explained the four goals that are outlined in the IBPA Strategic Plan:

1. Recruit, serve and maintain a diverse and inclusive member community.
2. Eliminate bias, enhance diversity and inclusion.
3. Advocate for independent publishing.
4. Investigate and shape the future of independent publishing.

IBPA Committee Reports

Fleck-Nisbet said that the work performed by IBPA’s four member committees is directly connected to all of these goals. It was then the turn of the committee chairs o give members an update on their respective committee projects.

Membership Committee

Renita Bryant, founder and CEO of Mynd Matters Publishing, leads the IBPA Membership Committee. In the past year, the Membership Committee had broadened its scope beyond focusing only on member benefits to focusing on membership overall to include member recruitment, engagement and retention. This committee’s work aligns with the first strategic goal, which is recruiting, serving and maintaining a diverse and inclusive membership.

In the last year, the Membership Committee has introduced several new benefits, including StreetLib, an ebook distribution company; Twin Flames Studios, an audiobook production company; Pro Audio Voices, an audiobook production and marketing company; Audiofile Magazine, a leading audiobook review magazine; and AMPlify Audiobooks, a global audiobook distribution platform.

Another project is the Member Benefits Survey. The committee analyzed members’ responses to identify areas for them to focus on. The committee also reviewed feedback on specific member benefits and will decide whether to retain or drop benefits.

Another area of focus is membership recruitment, the member experience and retention. The committee is actively nurturing activity on IBPA’s new Slack channel. Other initiatives that are being explored are a welcome email or phone call for new members to help them navigate the new member journey.

DEI Committee

The work of the DEI Committee touches all aspects of the association but directly aligns with strategic goal number two – to eliminate bias, enhance diversity and inclusion. Ashley Mireles- Guerrero, Director of Sales and Marketing at Familius Publishing, chairs the DEI Committee.

She said that one of the committee’s most important ongoing projects is the IBPA DEI Resource Center. The committee continues to add and update the resources available here so that members can go to the resource center to find DEI resources they need, all in one place.

The DEI Committee launched four affinity groups last year: Access and Disability, BIPOC/Marginalized Communities, LGBTQIA2+, and Women in Publishing. This year, these groups have been moved over to Slack to give members an easier way to network with other members.

The committee has continued to work with BISG to diversify BISAC subject codes, which have been available since last fall. It successfully updated the subject codes for the Indigenous Peoples subject tree. The committee also presented a webinar earlier in the year about the new BISAC codes.

This year, the committee also worked with a board-appointed task force to develop an RFP to hire a new DEI consultant who will provide training for IBPA members, the board and staff. Additionally, the committee submitted a proposal to the board to diversify the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award.

Advocacy Committee

The Advocacy Committee’s role is to advocate on behalf of IBPA members from both a legislative and commercial perspective, and to address industry challenges and opportunities. Their work aligns with strategic goal number three, which is to advocate for independent publishing.

The Advocacy Committee is led by Katherine Sparks, Senior Editor at the American Academy of Pediatrics. She said that the committee formed specific working groups to focus its advocacy work on legislation, market access, member education, and hybrid and emerging publishing models.

In the past year, the committee has focused on several key issues such as: ebook pricing and laws; AI technology and its use within the indie publishing space; copyright threats and protection; distribution and returns; barcode issues; and more.

On ebook legislation, the committee continues to coordinate with AAP to stop ebook laws from being introduced or from being adopted by state legislators. As of today, there are active proposals in eight different states, the New Hampshire and Vermont bills were defeated in committee with the help of testimony from IBPA. But others are still pending with Connecticut being the most problematic state at present.

IBPA is also actively fighting against efforts to ban books. Most notably, it joined The Media Coalition's Amicus Brief with regard to the Texas ebook law, which resulted in a court injunction.

The Market Access group launched an exciting social media campaign #FallintoIndieBooks which many book retailers participated in last fall. This group also updated the language in IBPA’s Hybrid Publishing Criteria, and worked extensively to create a reference guide that explains various traditional and independent publishing models, as well as define each model. The IBPA Guide to Publishing Models and Author Pathways was launched this March. The guide was spotlighted in an article in Publishers Weekly and also cited in the recent Amicus Brief filed by authors against the Internet Archive.

Industry Advisory Committee

Fleck-Nisbet said that the board recently identified a need for a committee that is exclusively dedicated to the fourth strategic goal, which is to investigate and shape the future of independent publishing.

Therefore, the board recently voted to approve a new Industry Advisory Committee that will be tasked with initiatives such as improving market access for indie publishers, advocating for better terms with distributors and retailers, developing tradeshow and advertising programs with other publishing associations, and creating educational programming specifically for mid-sized and larger indie publishing companies.

Editorial Advisory Committee

This committee is tasked with content development for the IBPA Independent magazine and with advising on the overall content strategy for IBPA to grow ad revenues and sponsorships. Alexa Schlosser who is the Managing Editor of the magazine also serves as the committee chair. She was unable to attend therefore IBPA’s CEO delivered the committee’s report. In addition to creating six issues of the magazine, this group also worked on the further development of PubSpot which was launched a year ago to bring together all of the diverse educational content from across IBPA's many platforms under one. The committee also developed measures on how to drive more traffic and engagement to the site.

Investment Committee

IBPA's Board Chair introduced the Investment Committee as a committee of the board that includes the treasurer and two board members. Investment Committee chair Victoria Sutherland, publisher of Foreword Reviews, has served on the committee for four years and as the association’s treasurer for two. Paige Allen, of Ingram Content Group, will be the new chair starting in July. The Investment Committee meets quarterly with the investment management company Sharp to review IBPA's medium risk investment policy. IBPA's investments are up 3.8 percent in the last quarter and 10.8 percent in the last 12 months, which means that IBPA is in a healthy financial state.

Executive Committee

Pavlicin then introduced the Executive Committee which is a governance-focused committee within the Board of Directors. It consists of the treasurer, secretary, two at-large board members, the CEO and Board Chair. This committee is a little different from the others in that it doesn't have established initiatives for the year. The Executive Committee acts on behalf of the board. Pavlicin thanked Sutherland, the outgoing treasurer, for her service to the IBPA community for almost 30 years.

Governance Committee

A new committee, the Governance Committee replaced the former Nominating Committee. Its role is to recruit qualified board members and ensure that all board members have the proper tools to carry out their duties.

In addition to recruiting board members, the Governance Committee provides governance guidance to the Executive Committee and is tasked with developing stronger board mentorship, leadership development, and succession planning. Members of this committee include current and past board chairs, past board members, and two executive-level members of the IBPA staff.

Board Elections

The meeting then transitioned to the election of board members for the 2024-25 IBPA Board of Directors. Three of the candidates are incumbent board members. Before voting began, the six candidates introduced themselves and stated their objectives in wanting to join the board, starting with the three incumbent board members.

Paige Allen, Director of IngramSpark at Ingram Content Group, has been an IBPA board member for two years and also serves on the Membership and Investment committees. She hopes to bring her strength in the area of strategy in advising the board, and she is looking forward to stepping up to the Executive Committee as its new treasurer. In addition, she is interested in exploring more ways that Ingram, as an IBPA publisher partner, can further help IBPA’s members.

Maria Jesus Aguilo, a rights consultant, also serves on IBPA’s Membership Committee. Having spent the majority of her career at independent publisher Berrett-Koehler, she understands first-hand the challenges and opportunities that come with independent publishing. She believes that ensuring independent publishers have equal market access as the big corporate publishers, is crucial for the health and diversity of the publishing industry.

Alesha Brown is the founder and publisher of Fruition Publishing Concierge Services. She is a member of the Editorial Advisory Committee. It has been a priority for her to help IBPA foster a more inclusive industry. Her next focus is guiding IBPA’s content strategy to ensure that its publications, website and digital platforms continue to provide valuable insight and information to the independent publishing community.

MJ Courchesne of Gryphon Publishing Services has long served on the Advocacy Committee and been instrumental in the committee's work on copyright protection. She’s been a member since 2017 and has worked for trade publishers such as National Geographic. She has taught at George Washington University's Masters in Publishing program, where she instructs on subsidiary rights and copyrights.

Troy Johnson is the president of the African American Literature Book Club (AALBC). He is interested in improving access not only for Black publishers, but for all marginalized groups – from acquiring distributors to how to sell to bookstores. As a board member, he is interested in promoting further member education around BISAC codes.

Keith Riegert is a second-generation independent publisher as CEO of Ulysses Press and Velo Press. He teaches analytics and consumer insights at the NYU Masters in Publishing program. In response to the supply chain woes of two years ago, he launched PerfectBound, which is a free two-sided marketplace that connects small publishers with 50 of the top printers around the world.

Voting Commences

At the conclusion of the candidates’ speeches, IBPA’s CEO opened up polling in Zoom. Members could vote yes, no or abstain on the slate of candidates.

Outgoing Board Chair Remarks

As votes were being tallied, outgoing Board Chair Karen Pavlicin reflected on her six years in the IBPA Board of Directors – four years as a board member and two years as chair.

She has been part of the development and implementation of IBPA’s Strategic Plan, the DEI Strategic Plan and the Staff Strategic Business Plan. She observed that she has served under two board chairs, Brooke Warner and Karla Olsen, and two CEOs, Angela Bole and Andrea Fleck-Nisbet.

Pavlicin wanted to recognize IBPA's growth over the past six years especially in the area of advocacy. IBPA’s advocacy work has grown so significantly that the board recently voted to split the Advocacy Committee into two committees: the Legislative and Standards Committee, and the Industry Advisory Committee. The latter will continue the efforts of a working group of mid-size independent publishers focused on solutions to directly support strategic goal number four, to investigate and shape the future of independent publishing.

IBPA has also evolved in its DEI commitment. Initially, a task force developed the DEI Resource Center, then later, IBPA established a DEI Committee and hired a consultant to guide and support its DEI work. As the board planned its next three-year Strategic Plan, it kept one strategic goal focused solely on DEI while also fully integrating the DEI Strategic Plan into the four goals.

IBPA has also been intentional about supporting leaders from a variety of communities at all levels of the organization, resulting in the most diverse slate of volunteer leaders ever. Starting on July 1, Tieshena Davis will be IBPA's first Black woman board chair.

The Governance Committee is in the process of transforming IBPA’s board candidate selection process from a passive application model to a year-round recruitment process.

IBPA is also being more intentional about putting documentation in place to support its leaders, especially those who are to make strategic decisions about the organization. It made efforts to review and document IBPA's operating procedures, roles and responsibilities. All committees now have updated charters and handbooks for onboarding new members and templates for minutes and board reports.

In closing, Pavlicin said she plans to stay involved in IBPA after her term ends by participating in the Governance Committee and the Industry Advisory Committee.

Watch Board Chair Karen Pavlicin and incoming Board Chair Tieshena Davis's speeches at the annual meeting.

Incoming Board Chair Remarks

A board member for four years, Tieshena Davis, owner and publisher of Publish Your Gift, has served on several committees including the Executive, Investment, Governance, Membership and Editorial Advisory committees, as well as on task forces and working groups. In the past year, she worked closely with the staff to set up a project and process management system.

Davis detailed her personal experiences as a first-time publisher and how joining IBPA helped her meet other publishing professionals, engage, and build up her expertise. She thanked IBPA COO Lee Wind for being her champion and encouraging her to get more involved.

Davis stated that her top priority as board chair, in addition to overseeing the success of the Strategic Plan, is to help the organization optimize capacity and growth. And to do this, she will focus on three areas: 1) enhancing data acquisition 2) improving IBPA’s value proposition and 3) increasing membership.

She challenges members to aspire for excellence. Part of aiming for excellence is to innovate for impact i.e. finding opportunities in challenges. In addition, aiming for excellence requires us to maintain operational excellence, be on a continuous pursuit of performance and efficiency in all aspects of operations, processes and service delivery.

Board Election Results

IBPA’s CEO announced that the slate of candidates were elected by the members to join the upcoming 2024-25 board.

Meeting Adjourned

At the close of the meeting, members had the opportunity to bring up any topics or ask any questions of IBPA’s staff or board members. As there were no questions from the members, the meeting was adjourned.

About the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)

Founded in 1983 to support independent publishers nationwide, the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) leads and serves the independent publishing community through advocacy, education, and tools for success. With over 3,500 members, IBPA is the largest publishing association in the U.S. Its vision is a world where every independent publisher has the access, knowledge, and tools needed to professionally engage in all aspects of an inclusive publishing industry. For more information, visit ibpa-online.org.

(Manhattan Beach, CA – March 28, 2024) – The IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award, the premier book award program in the independent publishing industry, has announced the finalists for its 2024 awards.

In all, 171 books and audiobooks will be announced as Gold or Silver winners in 57 categories at the awards’ ceremony in Denver this April 26. See the complete list of the 36th annual IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award finalists here – https://www.ibpabenjaminfranklinaward.com/2024-winners

“IBPA has a long history of promoting excellence in independent publishing,” said IBPA CEO Andrea Fleck-Nisbet. “No program better showcases the quality of books that indie publishers produce than the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award. We are proud of this award’s enduring and prestigious legacy and congratulate all of the finalists.”

IBPA received 1824 entries this year, making this its second best year in terms of the number of entries received in the award's 35+ year history.

“The diversity of books and publishers who enter IBPA’s award shows the breadth of the indie publishing industry,” said IBPA’s Chief Operations Officer Terry Nathan. “We received a high number of entries in all categories – from the broad children, fiction and memoirs, to the niche categories such as psychology, nature, and regional books.”

“Since the awards’ inception in 1985, barriers to publishing have been steadily decreasing with each passing year,” said Fleck-Nisbet. “Despite many new publishers entering the industry, it doesn’t mean that quality has suffered. Quite the opposite. We are inspired by new publishers such as CamCat Books and WaxWing who are producing amazing books with their strong focus on quality.”

Four-year-old CamCat Books once again earned the distinction of having the most number of their titles, eight, recognized with an award in this year’s competition. Meanwhile, children’s book A Little More Beautiful, The Story of a Garden from new publisher WaxWing earned recognition in four award categories--Cover Design, Interior Design, Best New Voice, and the Bill Fisher Award for Best First Book--while another WaxWing book, While Everyone Is Sleeping, was recognized in three categories.

All finalists will win either a gold or silver in their respective categories when the winners are announced on April 26. The IBPA Benjamin Franklin award and gala dinner will take place at the Denver Hilton City Centre in conjunction with IBPA’s Publishing University conference happening at the same time. Tickets for the award dinner are open to the public and can be purchased here.

About the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award Program

The IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards, which include 57 categories recognizing excellence in book editorial and design, are regarded as one of the highest national honors for independent publishers. The awards are unique in that the verbatim judging forms are returned to all participating publishers, providing entrants with direct feedback on each submission.

The awards are administered by the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), with help from over 170 volunteer book publishing professionals including librarians, bookstore owners, reviewers, designers, publicity managers, and editors.

When the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award program launched in 1985, it had two goals: (1) to celebrate excellence in independent publishing and (2) to foster that excellence by sharing a written critique from each judge with the submitting publisher.

Both goals continue today, and each of the nearly 1,800 entrants will receive a written critique from three individual judges—meaning more than 5,000 written critiques will be shared. These critiques include constructive feedback to help each publisher transparently understand how the book was perceived by each judge.

IBPA is incredibly grateful to the volunteer judges—librarians, booksellers, design and editorial experts—who brought their decades of book industry knowledge and experience to this year's program.

The 37th annual award program's call for entries for books with a copyright date of 2024 will open in June 2024. For additional information, please contact IBPA Chief Operations Office Terry Nathan at terry@ibpa-online.org.

About the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)

Founded in 1983 to support independent publishers nationwide, the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) leads and serves the independent publishing community through advocacy, education, and tools for success. With over 3,500 members, IBPA is the largest publishing association in the U.S. Its vision is a world where every independent publisher has the access, knowledge, and tools needed to professionally engage in all aspects of an inclusive publishing industry. For more information, visit ibpa-online.org.

IBPA Member and Denver Resident Kimberly Peticolas Shares Her Insider’s Tips on Visiting Denver

Denver will host several hundred indie publishers, author publishers, association and university publishers this April 25-27 when IBPA Publishing University comes to the Hilton Denver City Centre. IBPA members in Colorado are excited to welcome you to Denver too! In fact, member Kimberly Peticolas approached IBPA and volunteered to help (thank you Kimberly!). So we recruited her to share with PubU attendees some fun things to do in and around her home city while you’re here.

For those of you who don’t know Kimberly, she has lived in the Denver area for 22 years after moving here as a teen (with a brief stint away for college at USC, Go Trojans!). She is a ghostwriter, editor, writing coach, and publishing consultant with her company Kim Peticolas Editing and also a literary agent with the Rudy Agency. She recently launched Peregrinari Press which will be publishing stories that emphasize traveling, languages, world perspectives, and journeys of all kinds. Be sure to find her at PubU and say hi! She’s happy to share additional tips on navigating Denver and the surrounding area! We hope you enjoy her article below…

Welcome to my city Denver!

by Kim Peticolas

Kimberly Peticolas

PubU is coming to Denver and I, for one, am excited. I hope you all get to spend some additional time here to experience all the fun Colorado has to offer. Colorado, best known for skiing, boarding, and 300 days of sunshine, has all four seasons and an endless supply of outdoor activities. We are a very active and adventurous state—did you know that despite being a double-landlocked state, Colorado has more certified SCUBA divers per capita than any other state in the country?!

But even if you are not an outdoorsy person, you will find plenty of activities and venues to enjoy including craft breweries, restaurants, museums, and cultural arts scenes. Below is a small sampling of some of the favorites of locals and visitors alike:

Kimberly snowboarding in winter.

For the Outdoorsy:

• Colorado is famous for our skiing. Unfortunately, PubU takes place a little outside the typical ski season. With a hope and a prayer, you might just manage to find some Colorado powder at some ski resorts still open in April—some years you can even ski into May and June. My favorite is Breckenridge because of the beautiful town and the variety of slopes and activities.
• Hike the hills of Boulder – Chautauqua Park is a great hiking venue with spectacular views and just 35 minutes from Denver.
• Wrangle a ride in Estes Park – Go for a horseback trail ride in gorgeous Estes Park, no experience required, just an hour northwest of Denver. Driving to Estes Park is beautiful itself, and the views from the back of the horse are spectacular.
• Enjoy a ziplining adventure along I-70 in Idaho Springs, or race to the top of a mountain with some local rock climbing nearby. Idaho Springs is also an old historic mining town with great restaurants and antiquing.
• Drive down to Colorado Springs and hike the Garden of the Gods. It’s a bit further than the others (1.5 hours), but well worth the trip.

For the History, Art, and Culture Buffs:

• Museums in Denver: The list is long, but some of particularly noteworthy local ones are: History Colorado, The Byers-Evans House Museum/Center for Colorado Women’s History; the Denver Art Museum, the Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art, the Clyfford Still Art Museum, and the (Unsinkable) Molly Brown House Museum are all within walking distance of each other. You can also check out the Brown Palace Hotel, which is a historic site in its own right.
• For the science and technology minded, be sure to check out Wings Over the Rockies aviation museum or the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Both are impressive museums and have a lot of great exhibits.
• The Denver Mint, the State Capital, and the Hammonds Candy Factory give daily tours during the week.
• Coors Beer factory in Golden, just 20 minutes away, also offers tours Thursday to Sunday.
• Check out the Georgetown Loop Train Ride and Mine Tour! Located just an hour outside Denver, it is not to be missed. The optional Mine Tour is one of my favorites.
• Meow Wolf is a well-regarded art installation and experience. Nearby, you can also check out Denver’s thriving Street Art scene in the RiNo neighborhood.
• Walking tours through downtown Denver are available, both guided and self-guided, that will take you to see many historical sites. Union Station is a highlight and sits at the end of the 16th Street Mall, so you can also enjoy a little shopping if you like. When you’re headed home, you can catch the train there to Denver International Airport.
• Denver is also home to several theatres and a ballet company. In April, Space Explorers: The Infinite; Emma; MJ; Where Did We Sit on the Bus; and Giselle are all playing.

For the Foodies and Craft Brew Enthusiasts:

Colorado is one of the top states in the country for craft breweries; we have 372 unique breweries, of which approximately 40% are in the Denver Metro Area. We also have 25 cideries and 14 meaderies, many of them also located in the Denver Metro area. And we have a diverse selection of top quality restaurant options.

Trail riding with her dad in Breckenridge.

Other Activities

• Dancing fiend? Check out the Grizzly Rose for a night of great Country music and line dancing. They even have a mechanical bull! It’s a really fun time and I highly recommend it.
• Sports Fan? Arriving early? You might be able to catch a Rockies baseball game at Coors Field Wednesday before the conference. Or catch a Denver Rapids soccer game Saturday night after the conference finishes up.
• If you just can’t get enough books, check out Denver’s premier indie bookstore, the Tattered Cover, located on the 16th St Mall at Union Station, not far from the conference hotel.

Final Tip

Finally, a brief note on altitude: Denver is the mile high city. If you are not used to the altitude, especially up in the mountains (but even in the city if you are sensitive to it), some people may feel easily winded or even get a light headache. The best advice is to drink lots of water, starting a day or two before you arrive. Hydration is key here, and it will also help with Colorado’s dry climate. Luckily, even if it does happen to you, you should adapt in a day or two.

The annual IBPA Publishing University will take place in Denver from April 25-27, 2024. Learn more and register here: https://www.publishinguniversity.org/

Publishers looking to scale up their business beyond POD have a variety of factors to consider. From manufacturing to distribution, it’s important to consider all the angles before investing time and financial resources into growth. Book designer and publishing consultant Paul Nylander of Illustrada Design will co-present a session on growing your publishing business at IBPA Publishing University this April. We sat down with Paul to get the scoop on what he'll be sharing at PubU.

IBPA: Hi Paul, please tell us about your background in publishing. What was your path like arriving to where you are today?

Paul Nylander: I’ve taken a very circuitous route to publishing—but I wouldn’t change a thing about how I arrived at where I am today! My original training was in particle physics, studying the smallest constituents of matter. From that technical experience, I worked in the measurement instrumentation industry, building my small business acumen by running the U.S. branch of a German manufacturer for over a decade. During that time, I transitioned from the technical side to the customer side, ultimately working to help clients by designing training materials, product brochures, web info, etc.

IBPA: What happened next?

Paul: I found I had a passion for visual design, and so made the decision in 2011 to pivot, starting Illustrada Design. After earning a design certificate from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design in 2016, I chose to move exclusively into book design, developing covers and interiors for nonfiction, children’s books, and occasional genre fiction projects for a variety of independent publishers.

IBPA: But we know you also do more than that...!

Paul: Yes, I also help ensure my clients have a solid business foundation. This is also why I’m actively involved in supporting the publishing community through the Midwest Independent Publishers Association and the Minnesota Book Publishers Roundtable.

IBPA: What knowledge will you be sharing during your PubU breakout session “Beyond Print-On-Demand: Manufacturing, Inventory Management and Fulfillment”?

Paul: Beyond the limited options that POD services offer, there is a whole world of design and production possibilities. As a designer, I love to nerd out on the possibilities of papers, binding, and specialized finishing. But I also want to discuss the business case and trade-offs of scaling a business, such as the impacts of warehousing, distribution, and fulfillment on the business P&L.

IBPA: Without giving away your presentation here, what’s one thing you want publishers to know about the manufacturing and distribution process when scaling up?

Paul: My takeaway for publishers is to remove ego from the decision. Business is a game of numbers. Specialty printing, fancy binding, a distributor's trade salesforce—these are tools you can use to help position and sell your catalog when you’re ready to take things up a notch.

IBPA: Meaning, don’t pursue them yet, not until the timing is right...?

Paul: Many small publishers have the typical author’s mindset of exposure at any cost—thinking I need distribution because I need bookstores, because I need to be seen as legitimate…but the reality is that every service provider out there, from printers and binders to distributors, fulfillment houses, and wholesalers, is out there to help you sell more when you are ready for what they do.

IBPA: When is a good point to make the shift from publishing on demand, to digital or offset?

Paul: This shift away from POD should be viewed as an investment in your business. Like hiring help or buying a new computer, these are things that help us achieve greater reach as a business, but only when you are comfortable with the risk-to-reward ratio. Yes, there are risks associated with a big investment like print runs and using distribution, but my experience is that people tend to give too much weight to their fear of the risk and wait too long to make the leap.

IBPA: Can you give our readers one tip or piece of advice on how to scale up their publishing business?

Paul: One tip is not to let money be your limiting factor. I’m not saying to spend frivolously. But if you’ve solved, or are on a path to solving, your other roadblocks—building a sustainable, engaged audience, networking with new market opportunities—don’t let a fear of spending money be the one thing that keeps you from achieving your vision.

IBPA: Finally, let's talk about your company a bit. How does Illustrada Design help indie publishers?

Paul: I appreciate the challenges small publishers face in this crowded market. To create unique, well-crafted, and intriguing books—covers and interiors—my approach with clients is collaborative and flexible. I work to understand what they want to accomplish with each project and what their readers need to see to make that happen. Sensitive to business issues, I focus on delivering distinctive designs on time, on spec, and within budget, and I routinely cross over from design into production and marketing as needed to support their vision.

At IBPA Publishing University in Denver  this April 25-27, 2024, Paul Nylander will join Dwight Vicks of Vicks Print & Distribution and Keith Riegert of Ulysses Press and Perfect Bound to present a session that will discuss the next steps and things small publishers need to know when they are ready to take their business to the next level. Check out their “Beyond Print-On-Demand: Manufacturing, Inventory Management and Fulfillment” panel in the agenda and register to attend!

About the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)

Founded in 1983 to support independent publishers nationwide, the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) leads and serves the independent publishing community through advocacy, education, and tools for success. With over 3,500 members, IBPA is the largest publishing association in the U.S. Its vision is a world where every independent publisher has the access, knowledge, and tools needed to professionally engage in all aspects of an inclusive publishing industry. For more information, visit ibpa-online.org.

(Manhattan Beach, March 5, 2024) – In its ongoing efforts to provide clarity, accountability and support for the publishing community, the Independent Book Publishers Association today unveiled a new and free resource – the IBPA Guide to Publishing Models and Author Pathways.

It defines the eight main types of publishers today and their respective business models : (1) Corporate Trade Publishers, (2) Independent Publishers & Small Presses, (3) Association, Society & Non-Profit Publishers, (4) Higher Education & Academic Publishers, (5) University Presses, (6) Hybrid Publishers, (7) Author Publishers, and (8) Publishing Service Providers.

The guide, also known as the IBPA Publishing MAP (Models and Author Pathways), is free to download from: https://www.ibpa-online.org/page/PublishingMAP. For each publishing model, the guide explains their characteristics, how they generate income, the types of authors most suitable for this model, examples publishers, and more.

“IBPA has put together a guide that is transparent, educational, and is a foundation for thought leadership in the publishing industry. This cornerstone guide is a critical resource in today’s ever-changing publishing environment,” said Angela Engel, publisher and founder of The Collective Book Studio.

The guide will help IBPA members – and the publishing community at large – understand different ways that authors and publishers might partner together to bring a book to market. In addition, by naming the types of publishers in the guide, IBPA also hopes to bring more consistent language in the industry to how publishers self-identify and are described.

“Never has there ever been as clear or concise a document when it comes to helping an author navigate the shifting landscape of publishing.” said Jonathan Merkh, CEO and founder of Forefront Books, “And IBPA did an amazing job in making this industry understandable.”

“IBPA’s goal is to educate and advocate for our members, and we also provide trusted resources that can help promote sound business practices, collaboration, and quality publishing across the industry,” said IBPA CEO Andrea Fleck-Nisbet “Many advisors, volunteers and staff members worked together to make this first iteration of the guide comprehensive and valuable. As changes come to our industry, we welcome the opportunity to incorporate new and updated information.”

###

About the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)
Founded in 1983 to support independent publishers nationwide, the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) leads and serves the independent publishing community through advocacy, education, and tools for success. With over 3,500 members, IBPA is the largest publishing association in the U.S. Its vision is a world where every independent publisher has the tools and knowledge needed to professionally engage in all aspects of the publishing industry. For more information, visit ibpa-online.org.

IBPA is offering five in-person workshops taking place on April 25 in Denver, Colorado! Led by industry experts, these in-depth workshops will delve into popular and in-demand topics in the business of publishing, including how to best work with Amazon, manufacturing processes beyond print-on-demand, and more. Each workshop takes place in a small group setting, so you can receive personalized attention and answers tailored to your unique situation.

Here are some words from IBPA’s CEO Andrea Fleck Nisbet:

“IBPA is excited to once again offer a series of intensive four-hour workshops aimed at providing members with a deep dive into topics that directly impact their business and communities. This year, we are expanding our offerings to help publishers navigate the challenges of manufacturing and distribution, market access, and business management. The workshops are also customized to address the needs of publishers whether they are at the beginning of their publishing journey or seasoned professionals.”

Read on below to learn more about what each workshop has to offer and register for one of the workshops today! Cost $99 per workshop.

IBPA Preconference Workshops:

• Business Management (Including Amazon) - Start Strong
• IngramSpark - Setting You and Your Titles Up For Success - Start Strong
• Amazon - Level Up
• Manufacturing, Distribution, and Fulfillment: Building Healthy Partnerships with Your Service Providers to Successfully Scale and Diversify Your Business - Everyone
• Empowering Voices: A Workshop for Black and Brown Publishers - Every Level

Workshop 1: Business Management  (Including Amazon) - Start Strong

• When: Thursday, April 25, 1-5pm MT
• Where: Denver Hilton City Center
• Cost: $99
• REGISTER HERE

Trainers: Tieshena Davis, Publish Your Gift; Alexa Bigwarfe, Write|Publish|Sell & Kat Biggie Press; Maria Dismondy, Cardinal Rule Press; Ian Lamont, i30 Media Corp and Lean Media Consulting

Learn the elements of building a strong publishing business, gain strategies for real-time business analysis, and develop the necessary systems and processes to succeed. What’s your business plan? What are your goals? What kinds of sales are you planning for: Libraries, bookstores, Amazon (and the difference between Kindle Direct Publishing, Amazon Advantage, and the Amazon Seller Program), other online retailers, bulk sales, other? What’s your three-year plan, and beyond?

We’ll review all the key functions of every publishing business, walk through ways to troubleshoot and respond to challenges as your business grows, and explore critical standard operating procedures (SOPs) and the systems and processes you’ll need to run your business day to day, week to week, and year to year. This workshop will include hands-on activities, examples of problem-solving, a 45-minute Amazon detail page critique session where attendees will have their book pages critiqued, and time for your questions (and answers!)

Workshop 2: IngramSpark - Setting You and Your Titles Up For Success - Start Strong

• When: Thursday, April 25, 1-5pm MT
• Where: Denver Hilton City Center
• Cost: $99
• REGISTER HERE

Trainers: Paige Allen and Deon McAdoo, IngramSpark

You finished your manuscript and are ready to tell your story to the world. You’ll learn about what you need to get your book ready for print, best practices for setting your title up for success, and places to ensure your book is available for consumer orders. Learn the tools to help your books make a bigger splash in the market.

This session, hosted by Ingram experts, will walk you through all the things to consider when you go from writing your manuscript to publishing success. You’ll hear about what the experienced publishers are doing to make an impact on their market, tools that you need to embrace to deliver the most value to your clients, and where you need to look for the right partnerships and relationships to make your brand the most successful it can be.

This session is for:

What you’ll walk away with:

Workshop 3: Amazon - Level Up

• When: Thursday, April 25, 1-5pm MT
• Where: Denver Hilton City Center
• Cost: $99
• REGISTER HERE

Trainers: David Dahl, Ingram Content Group; Kelly Peterson, IPG; Holly Smith, Expansive Commerce; Penny Sansevieri, Authors Marketing Experts; Ian Lamont, i30 Media Corp and Lean Media Consulting

For print, ebooks, and audiobooks, Amazon makes up an outsized share of book sales for many independent publishers. It’s where consumers are buying batteries, and toilet paper, and books... and there are ways to work with the Amazon system to maximize your success with book sales on the platform.

Join our experts as they go far beyond Amazon 101 to level up your understanding of Amazon advertising (and how to get better results), detail pages (and how to get better organic search ranking), Kindle unlimited, A+ Content and Video, Creating Stores, Amazon Advantage, Seller Central, Amazon Brand Registry, Audible, Affiliate Programs, dealing with Returns, and much, much more. This workshop will conclude with a 45-minute Amazon detail page critique session where attendees will have their book pages critiqued—and learn from everyone else's critique, too!

Workshop 4: Manufacturing, Distribution, and Fulfillment: Building Healthy Partnerships with Your Service Providers to Successfully Scale and Diversify Your Business - Everyone

• When: Thursday, April 25, 1-5pm MT
• Where: Denver Hilton City Center
• Cost: $99
• REGISTER HERE

Trainers: Keith Riegert, Ulysses Press; David Hetherington, Books International; Dwight Vicks, Vicks Printing; Matt Baehr, Book Manufacturers Institute

In this session we will cover the state of the manufacturing industry, what a good partnership looks like from the perspective of the manufacturer, how to build a diversified roster of manufacturing and fulfillment options beyond print-on-demand, when to use POD options versus digital short run versus offset, and how to work with your suppliers from a scheduling, planning perspective.

We will also cover how to more effectively manage your inventory and how to source competitive bids from your suppliers.

Workshop 5: Empowering Voices: A Workshop for Black and Brown Publishers - Every Level

• When: Thursday, April 25, 1-5pm MT
• Where: Denver Hilton City Center
• Cost: $99
• REGISTER HERE

Trainers: Leah Hernandez, Young Authors Publishing; Brandi Hester-Harrell, Mahogany Pen Press

This pre-conference workshop is specifically designed for Black and Brown publishers to share and address the challenges they collectively face in the publishing industry. Throughout the workshop, emphasis will be placed on creating a supportive atmosphere, fostering connections, and promoting the sharing of resources and experiences.

(Manhattan Beach, CA – March 5, 2024) – In its ongoing efforts to provide clarity, accountability and support for the independent publishing industry and beyond, the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) - www.ibpa-online.org – has released a comprehensive guide that defines various publishing models, explains their characteristics, and provides information on which model might be most appropriate for authors seeking to be published.

Cover of IBPA Guide to Publishing Models and Author Pathways

The IBPA Guide to Publishing Models and Author Pathways is freely available online at: https://www.ibpa-online.org/page/PublishingMAP

New technologies, social channels, and publishing platforms have opened the publishing market to a diverse spectrum of content creators across genres and from myriad of backgrounds. The process of creating a book from start to finish has accelerated from a years-long or months-long process to one that can potentially be achieved in a matter of weeks.

However, these developments have led to a rapid increase in the number of new books entering an already crowded market, and a proliferation of organizations looking to help authors publish books. In such a quickly evolving landscape, much speculation has rightly been raised regarding the legitimacy of various publishing models and the value each brings to authors, readers, and the overall book market.

To create more transparency, accountability, and support for publishers, authors, and service providers, IBPA has released The IBPA Guide to Publishing Models and Author Pathways (aka The IBPA Publishing MAP), a 21-page document that details the characteristics, funding and acquisition models, and distribution methods of several different types of publishing organizations.

“Never has there ever been as clear or concise a document when it comes to helping an author navigate the shifting landscape of publishing.” said Jonathan Merkh, CEO and founder of Forefront Books, “And IBPA did an amazing job in making this industry understandable.”

The guide will help IBPA members – and the publishing community at large – understand different ways that authors and publishers might partner together to bring a book to market. The IBPA Publishing MAP also covers what types of publishers are most appropriate for which authors, the difference between a publisher and a service provider, and some cautionary information regarding good versus bad actors. Without bias, it presents models within -- and outside of -- traditional publishing that create high-quality, professional content.

“IBPA has put together a guide that is transparent, educational, and is a foundation for thought leadership in the publishing industry. This cornerstone guide is a critical resource in today’s ever-changing publishing environment,” said Angela Engel, publisher and founder of The Collective Book Studio.

As the publishing industry continues to evolve, IBPA will regularly update the document to reflect new and emerging models.

“IBPA’s goal is to educate and advocate for our members, and we also provide trusted resources that can help promote sound business practices, collaboration, and quality publishing across the industry,” said IBPA CEO Andrea Fleck-Nisbet. “Many advisors, volunteers and staff members worked together to make this first iteration of the guide comprehensive and valuable. As changes come to our industry, we welcome the opportunity to incorporate new and updated information.”

The IBPA Guide to Publishing Models and Author Pathways is downloadable as a free PDF from: https://www.ibpa-online.org/page/PublishingMAP

About the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)

Founded in 1983 to support independent publishers nationwide, the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) leads and serves the independent publishing community through advocacy, education, and tools for success. With over 3,500 members, IBPA is the largest publishing association in the U.S. Its vision is a world where every independent publisher has the access, knowledge, and tools needed to professionally engage in all aspects of an inclusive publishing industry. For more information, visit ibpa-online.org.

Deluxe Editions, Upfront Funding, Proof of Concept, and More – How Kickstarter is Breaking Barriers to Getting Books Published

The headlines around Kickstarter in recent memory aren’t about new authors getting their first books published; instead, they’re about established authors and publishers who’ve rounded up thousands of backers (and in one instance, $41 million dollars) to fund unique or needed projects that feed the author’s creative soul, reward fans, or fulfill a publishing mission – projects that would not have been possible if approached the traditional way.

This April at IBPA Publishing University, we are very honored to have Oriana Leckert, Kickstarter’s Head of Publishing, speak in our keynote panel titled “Rise & Disrupt” about industry disruptors. We connected with Oriana in advance of Publishing University to give IBPA members some food for thought on how crowdfunding can open up all sorts of new possibilities for indie publishers.

IBPA: Hi Oriana, thanks for joining us today and at PubU in April. I guess we have to start with the biggest Kickstarter headline of them all – how fantasy author Brandon Sanderson raised $41 million to publish four secret books. For the benefit of some of us who may have missed that story altogether, can you give us the Cliff Notes version please?

In the "Year of Sanderson" campaign, backers receive a shipment each month for a year, including four secret books.

Oriana Leckert: First, thank you so much for inviting me! I’m thrilled for PubU and really appreciate getting to do this interview. But so, okay, Brandon Sanderson! He did indeed raise $41 million from 185,000 backers, but it was actually far more involved than only four secret books. The “Year of Sanderson” campaign was designed to send backers a box a month for the entirety of 2023. Four of those deliveries would indeed be brand new books, and the other eight contained complex and varied swag themed around his different characters and universes, including treasures like custom wax seals, intricate ramen bowls, reversible plushies, and more. Everyone expected the campaign to do well. Brandon Sanderson is tremendously popular and beloved, known for his intense fan engagement and his half-million YouTube followers, and this was not even his first Kickstarter, though his first campaign raised only—only!—$6 million. But I don’t think anyone thought for a single second it would wind up as the most successful Kickstarter of all time, more than doubling the funds raised by the previous highest-earning campaign.

IBPA: Why did he go through Kickstarter vs. having it published traditionally? How would the outcome and the end product have turned out differently, you think?

Oriana: I would not be so audacious as to speak for Brandon Sanderson himself, but there are a number of ways that a crowdfunding campaign can achieve different outcomes than publishing a book traditionally. For one thing, Kickstarter fosters a strong connection between authors and their readers that is not really available through traditional publishing. You’re including them in the creation of your work, helping them see how critical their help is to bringing your books to life, and rewarding them for their fandom with unique items and thrilling access.

For another, Kickstarter’s all-or-nothing framework creates a sense of tangible urgency and scarcity around a campaign. Whereas you can buy a book kind of whenever, the Kickstarter is only live for about 30 days, which raises the stakes and concentrates all the activity into a limited period of time. I will also add that Brandon Sanderson’s project was not a surprise to his publishers – it was worked out before he launched that all the books would be published by Tor in paperback versions some months after all the Kickstarter rewards were fulfilled.

IBPA: Established publishers have also taken to Kickstarter to fund their projects. We should note that Microcosm Publishing—Publishers Weekly’s #1Fast-Growing Company in 2022—is one such example of an indie press who uses Kickstarter. And Microcosm’s Joe Biel is also appearing in this PubU panel with you. What are the advantages for indie presses to fund using Kickstarter?

Oriana: Two huge boons to publishers coming to Kickstarter are getting funding for a project upfront, as opposed to hoping to recoup it once the book is produced and on sale. And being able to gauge audience interest and set appropriate print runs. This can be especially helpful for young presses still finding their financial footing, as well as established publishers looking to try something ambitious or in a new area of the literary landscape. Kickstarter also helps publishers strengthen bonds with their readers, sell through backlist titles, and augment their book sales with strategically conceived merch and swag.

IBPA: Can you share with us some other examples of publishers who use Kickstarter in new or unique ways?

Rough Trade's collector's edition of The Shining.

Meanwhile, Wraithmarked is at the forefront of a major trend on Kickstarter right now: deluxe special editions. They’ve created exquisite book objects – complete with Smyth-sewn bindings, ribbon bookmarks, metallic gilding, foiled dust jackets, spot gloss, and on and on – for V.E. Schwab, Travis Baldree, Bryce O’Conner, Daniel B. Greene, ML Wang, and more.

IBPA: Publishers have also used Kickstarter as proof of concept for new genres, correct?

Oriana: Yes, an example is children’s book publisher Enchanted Lion. They came to Kickstarter when they wanted to launch a new, genre-defying imprint, Unruly. They were able to fund the imprint’s first seven books, while also demonstrating that there is indeed an audience for gorgeous, high-concept picture books for teens and adults.

IBPA: Publishers have also utilized Kickstarter to launch complementary products or events, not just books. Can you give us some examples to help other publishers think of what is possible for them too?

Oriana: Certainly! Venerable nonprofit the Feminist Press comes to mind. They used Kickstarter to cover production costs as well as putting together a live event in celebration of their anthology It Came from the Closet, in which queer authors reflect on horror films. They ran the project in August so they could have their launch party when the book was released in October, capitalizing on all those spooky season vibes.

McSweeney's Kickstarter campaign said "With your support, these JPEGs on your screen will become books and magazines on your shelves."

IBPA: What is one particular project that you’re most impressed with?

Oriana: An older project that I have never stopped enthusiastically sharing is this big leveling up by McSweeney’s. What’s most incredible about this one is that they included 100 different reward tiers. There were plenty of postcards, annotated magazine issues, and signed books, but they also came up with wild and wonderful things like a signed decorative gourd, personalized book recommendations, custom Oulipian odes, editorial consultations, and even a Golden Gate Bridge walking tour with Dave Eggers.

IBPA: Wow, I think our collective minds are just blown away by the possibilities Kickstarter has opened up for publishers. Well, we can’t wait for the ideas that emerge when you, Joe Biel (Microcosm Press) and Dhonielle Clayton (Cake Creative) get together in your “Rise & Disrupt” keynote panel at IBPA Publishing University this April 25-27. Thank you for giving us a preview today Oriana, we’re so looking forward to your session at PubU!

About the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)

Founded in 1983 to support independent publishers nationwide, the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) leads and serves the independent publishing community through advocacy, education, and tools for success. With over 4,000 members, IBPA is the largest publishing association in the U.S. Its vision is a world where every independent publisher has the access, knowledge, and tools needed to professionally engage in all aspects of an inclusive publishing industry. For more information, visit ibpa-online.org.

(Manhattan Beach, CA – February 23, 2024) -- The Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) - the largest book publishers association in the U.S. with over 3,500 members - is currently accepting applications for the following member-focused committees:

• Advocacy Committee (read the committee charter)
• Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Committee (read the committee charter)
• Editorial Advisory Committee (read the committee charter)
• Membership Committee (read the committee charter)

The deadline to apply for one or more of the committees above is April 8, 2024. Applicants will be notified of their application status by April 19, 2024. Those selected to serve will begin their one-year term on July 1, 2024. Click here to apply.

"IBPA member committees are fundamental to the organization’s ability to effectively serve members and advance progress on our strategic plan," said IBPA CEO Andrea Fleck-Nisbet. "Over the past year, our committees have been responsible for adding new member benefits, helping to make BISAC codes more inclusive, launching the IBPA Publishing Models and Author Pathways guide, participating in key legislative issues that impact publishers, and bringing members timely information through the IBPA Independent magazine and on PubSpot. We are looking for engaged thought leaders who are excited to bring their knowledge, time, and expertise to work on behalf of the organization and our members."

IBPA committee volunteers:

• play a significant role in advancing the profession of independent book publishing;
• receive access to up-to-date information about the challenges facing independent publishers;
• exchange ideas and perspectives with other volunteer leaders;
• have access to special discounts and benefits as key volunteers

Committee Member Terms

IBPA committee members serve renewable, one-year terms coinciding with IBPA’s fiscal year (July 1 through June 30). All committee members, including the Chairperson, can serve no more than four consecutive terms. After at least a one-year hiatus, previous members can rejoin for renewable, one-year terms again not to exceed four consecutive terms.

Committee Member Selection Process

Each year, IBPA conducts a call for applications from members interested in serving on a member-focused committee.

Applicants must be in the PUBLISHER or PUBLISHER PARTNER class of membership for at least 12 months prior to the start of the new term on July 1. Applicants should be energetic, espouse inclusive values, and be able to commit the time necessary to advance a committee's objectives.

Applications for each committee are reviewed by the current chair of that committee in partnership with the committee's staff liaison and the IBPA Chief Executive Officer. Applications are evaluated based upon the expertise of the individuals in concert with of the needs, goals, and objectives of the committee and IBPA.

CLICK HERE TO APPLY.

About the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)

Founded in 1983 to support independent publishers nationwide, the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) leads and serves the independent publishing community through advocacy, education, and tools for success. With over 3,500 members, IBPA is the largest publishing association in the U.S. Its vision is a world where every independent publisher has the access, knowledge, and tools needed to professionally engage in all aspects of an inclusive publishing industry. For more information, visit ibpa-online.org.

(Manhattan Beach, CA – February 23, 2024) -- The Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) - the largest book publishers association in the U.S. with over 3,500 members - is currently accepting applications for the following member-focused committees:

• Advocacy Committee (read the committee charter)
• Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Committee (read the committee charter)
• Editorial Advisory Committee (read the committee charter)
• Membership Committee (read the committee charter)

The deadline to apply for one or more of the committees above is April 8, 2024. Applicants will be notified of their application status by April 19, 2024. Those selected to serve will begin their one-year term on July 1, 2024.

"IBPA member committees are fundamental to the organization’s ability to effectively serve members and advance progress on our strategic plan," said IBPA CEO Andrea Fleck-Nisbet. "Over the past year, our committees have been responsible for adding new member benefits, helping to make BISAC codes more inclusive, launching the IBPA Publishing Models and Author Pathways guide, participating in key legislative issues that impact publishers, and bringing members timely information through the IBPA Independent magazine and on PubSpot. We are looking for engaged thought leaders who are excited to bring their knowledge, time, and expertise to work on behalf of the organization and our members."

IBPA committee volunteers:

• play a significant role in advancing the profession of independent book publishing;
• receive access to up-to-date information about the challenges facing independent publishers;
• exchange ideas and perspectives with other volunteer leaders;
• have access to special discounts and benefits as key volunteers

Committee Member Terms

IBPA committee members serve renewable, one-year terms coinciding with IBPA’s fiscal year (July 1 through June 30). All committee members, including the Chairperson, can serve no more than four consecutive terms. After at least a one-year hiatus, previous members can rejoin for renewable, one-year terms again not to exceed four consecutive terms.

Committee Member Selection Process

Each year, IBPA conducts a call for applications from members interested in serving on a member-focused committee.

Applicants must be in the PUBLISHER or PUBLISHER PARTNER class of membership for at least 12 months prior to the start of the new term on July 1. Applicants should be energetic, espouse inclusive values, and be able to commit the time necessary to advance a committee's objectives.

Applications for each committee are reviewed by the current chair of that committee in partnership with the committee's staff liaison and the IBPA Chief Executive Officer. Applications are evaluated based upon the expertise of the individuals in concert with of the needs, goals, and objectives of the committee and IBPA.

CLICK HERE TO APPLY.

About the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)

Founded in 1983 to support independent publishers nationwide, the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) leads and serves the independent publishing community through advocacy, education, and tools for success. With over 3,500 members, IBPA is the largest publishing association in the U.S. Its vision is a world where every independent publisher has the access, knowledge, and tools needed to professionally engage in all aspects of an inclusive publishing industry. For more information, visit ibpa-online.org.

(Manhattan Beach, CA – February 22, 2024) – IBPA Publishing University, the Independent Book Publishers Association’s annual conference for independent publishers, author publishers, association and university presses, will take place this April 25-27 in Denver, CO.

With its theme “Rise and Disrupt,” the conference agenda challenges independent publishers to explore their unique power to innovate and disrupt “the rules” of publishing. IBPA is proud to bring three such innovators onto the stage in the keynote presentation to jumpstart attendees’ imagination on what is possible when small publishers--with the advantage of an indie mindset and nimbler operations--explore new paths. Moderator Brooke Warner, She Writes Press, will lead Joe Biel of Microcosm Publishing, Oriana Leckert of Kickstarter, and Dhonielle Clayton of Cake Creative in a discussion around innovation.

Publisher Joe Biel grew Microcosm Publishing into Publishers Weekly’s #1 Fast-Growing Publisher of 2022, and again #3 in 2023, having sold millions of books while defying the notion that one’s books have to be distributed in major bookstores or on Amazon in order to be successful. He does neither, but instead, built his own distribution.

For Dhonielle Clayton, founder of Cake Creative, a book packager, the books that they ideate and champion are based on what she feels the market needs – books that showcase diverse authors, characters, and cultures. Nine of Clayton’s projects have been optioned for TV and film. Because the packager owns the copyright, a savvy packager who understands the market can build a lucrative portfolio of intellectual property.

Oriana Leckert, Kickstarter’s Director of Publishing, will share recent examples of how crowdfunding has opened up all sorts of new and exciting book projects for publishers that were not possible before. One example is author Brandon Sanderson’s “A Year of Sanderson” campaign which sent backers a box a month for all of 2023 containing four secret books and themed swag, and raised $41 million dollars from 185,000 backers.

This year IBPA Publishing University, will feature specialized tracks for newer and established publishers that focus on topics that are unique to each group, as well as a third track devoted to the latest industry trends that impact all indie publishers. Learn more and register at https://www.publishinguniversity.org/

About the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)

Founded in 1983 to support independent publishers nationwide, the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) leads and serves the independent publishing community through advocacy, education, and tools for success. With over 3,500 members, IBPA is the largest publishing association in the U.S. Its vision is a world where every independent publisher has the access, knowledge, and tools needed to professionally engage in all aspects of an inclusive publishing industry. For more information, visit ibpa-online.org.

How Microcosm Publishing became a Publishers Weekly's #1 Fast Growing Publisher by Charting Its Own Course

For any publisher still hanging on to the notion that one’s books need to be distributed in major bookstores or be an Amazon bestseller in order to achieve sales success, take note of Microcosm Publishing who proudly does none of the above. And yet, Microcosm is one of today’s fastest growing publishers, named by Publishers Weekly as their number one fastest-growing publisher in 2022, and number three on the list in 2023. In fact, publisher and founder Joe Biel is well known for their anti-Amazon, pro-indie stance.

So, how did they build Microcosm into one of the most fascinating yet successful indie publishers today, having sold millions of books? We’ll find out when Joe takes the stage this April as a panelist in the “Rise & Disrupt” keynote presentation at IBPA’s Publishing University. In advance of their Publishing University appearance, we connected with Joe to learn a little bit about how Microcosm is disrupting the traditional notions of publishing success by charting its own course.

Joe Biel

IBPA: Hi Joe, let’s start by saying how excited we are that you’ll be one of our “industry disruptors“ who is headlining the keynote presentation at IBPA Publishing University. We’re sure every single person in the audience is just dying to know how you do it without Amazon. But first, can you give us some context on what it means to be a Publishers Weekly #1 Fast-Growing Publisher? How many books did you print in 2023, and what has your year-over-year revenue been like?

Joe Biel: Wow, thank you. I love that you are interested in the numbers because so much of publishing is so hung up on the words! We printed 517,279 copies of 127 titles in 2023 and are planning 550,000 books coming into our warehouse, including 42 new titles for 2024! The trick in publishing is the stability and longevity of the backlist—the books that are over a year old. Our bestselling 2023 titles didn’t come out in 2023 or 2022. We plan our books so that what we publish in 2017 or even 2002 is still selling more in 2023 than they did during their year of publication. We keep finding more independent retailers who will shelve and love them. We grew 207 percent in 2020, a further 106 percent in 2021, another 21 percent in 2022 and we feel like this is a comfortable size, at least for now, since we have quintupled our staff and sales since 2018. Endless sales growth isn’t and shouldn’t be Microcosm’s goal—saving lives needs to be. Growth is apparently a side effect of that mission.

Microcosm's store in Portland, OR

IBPA: Tell us about Microcosm Publishing’s origin story. When did you found the press and why? What was your journey like, arriving to where you are today?

Joe: I was a teenage autistic runaway in Cleveland who wasn’t assigned a single book to read during high school. I watched as my entire block got laid off from their factory jobs in the '80s. Any innocuous small talk question that you ask me will provoke an intense story. Through my interest in D&D, I read fantasy books in the '80s. My favorite was Curse of the Azure Bonds, about a woman who was controlled by a series of tattoos placed upon her body by her masters and forced to wear chain mail that exposed her heart—the only way to kill her. Naturally, she makes friends and together they destroy each of the monsters controlling her.

As a fan of the Ramones, I shoplifted Jim Bessman’s book about the band in 1993 from a chain store and it forever changed my life. The book showed me what reading could do—take something that was interesting and make it more so. I sought to do the same thing as a mechanism to create resources to change readers’ lives and the world around them. We had a punk club that I hung out at on West 44th and Lorain, and apparently one drunken night I told some of the older kids that I was going to start the punk rock version of publishing. I started getting my things together in 1996 and I think they laughed it off at the time but 15 years later on tour in Los Angeles, I ran into one of them who proclaimed “You actually did it!” I had no memory of what he was talking about.

IBPA: What types of books does Microcosm publish?

Joe: I really want to manifest the grit and desperation that I feel on the inside. Many of the people that I grew up with didn’t make it and that informed my approach both to tone and subject matter of our books. So whether we are publishing gardening, craft, self-help, coloring books, nature, science fiction, sociology, queer smut, herbalism, history, or music, I want the overriding vibe to be that the reader is empowered. Periodically I worry that you can’t see our roots, but when I express this concern, people laugh.

IBPA: Is there is a theme or a mission to your publishing program?

Joe: When we consider a new title, we ask “How does this equip the reader to change their life and the world around them? Does it cut backwards or punch down at all? Is it actually helping the reader?”

IBPA: One key to your success, and you’ve been quoted a few times for this phrase, is “the underground is bigger than the mainstream.” Can you explain what this means and your personal experience with this, especially in the sense that you’ve built a thriving sales and distribution network while avoiding the mainstream?

Joe: A friend wrote a somewhat satirical treatise wherein he studies the mainstream the way that the mainstream always tries to study subcultures. I thought it was funny at first but now I think he is right. The mainstream is just one myopic blip that ignores things they cannot understand until they find a way to coop them.

It’s the independent publishers and stores that are growing the market. We saw this again in the DOJ vs. Penguin Random House trial, when it was revealed that the only way that Simon & Schuster or Penguin Random House could grow their market share was through the distribution of independent presses. NPR did great reporting on how indie bookstores were also growing. And in 2016, my statement became literal: independent publishers comprised 54 percent of the market, and have continued to grow. Yet, who controls the power structures and why?

The team on a tour in 2009.

A distributor is focused on their 10 biggest accounts, who can set their own terms and may or may not be a great fit for each publisher. The methods of consolidation are like trickle down economics: they never favor the people who don’t already control the power. You might get some crumbs, but it’s never going to tip the scales so you have the power when you are under someone else’s boot.

One of the best parts of starting young and with no experience is that I am simply more stubborn and didn’t know what I don’t know or how difficult something will be. So I do it anyway. In the beginning, it was the independent stores that were receptive to me marching in the door with boxes of books and writing up invoices. During a conference panel in 2004, a publisher disparagingly told me that we were foolish for not putting barcodes on our books and selling into Barnes & Noble. Afterwards, a young woman in the audience cried and begged me not to do this. We’ve now tried it both ways and in many ways, she was right. Twenty years later, we sell more to three independent stores that we have strong relationships with, than the entirety of Barnes & Noble. Why focus on 10 fickle accounts when we could focus on 14,000 cool stores that know we have their backs?

IBPA: You have your own distribution, two warehouses, and a bookstore in Portland. Tell us more about that, and why building your own distribution made sense for you.

Joe: Early on, Microcosm was rejected by Small Press Distribution, so I kept the letter stating that there was no market for our books. That was the most motivating day of my career, next to when a Canadian distributor told me that we were too small to self-distribute. When we landed a national publicity spot in 2002, we signed with our first trade distributor. They asked for our customer list, assuming that they would handle all of our business operations. I said “No, we can continue handling those accounts. I assume that you have your own.” Sixteen years later, it had become repeatedly clear that we could handle these aspects better than anyone could for us.

The day after her job interview in 2015, one of our salespeople said “We could do a better job in-house than our distributor does.” I was skeptical, and figured that if we worked really hard we could match their results, but it bore out. We set a new mandate in 2018: we would focus on independent retailers, stop supplying Amazon entirely, and put little to no effort into the 10 biggest accounts. We grew 156 percent in 2019 doing it ourselves through focusing on small stores. We add 150+ new stores each month, thousands per year. We dig deep to find new places to sell books and, as such, reach people that don’t think of themselves as readers or feel welcome in bookstores.

When we left our fifth distributor, they claimed that they had done as well as they could considering how marginal our books are. The following four years were our fastest growth period in our history, 81 percent of which was from books published prior to terminating that agreement. We simply know best how to reach our ideal customer. In many ways, I’ve kept my early life experiences central in how I think about who our ideal reader is. Then we purchased our third warehouse in 2023!

IBPA: We should be remiss if we didn’t mention that Microcosm quite literally, published the book on this topic! How to Resist Amazon and Why has sold more than 48,000 copies. The book clearly strikes a chord with many publishers. Tell us a little about this book and why it’s so successful. Obviously, you can’t find this book on Amazon! So how did people discover this book?

Joe: Ha! I thought you were going to plug A People’s Guide to Publishing, which is my book about how to recreate Microcosm’s success for your own press. But yes, Danny’s book was a lifeboat for many who felt strangled by Amazon’s hold on retail. Our editor, Lydia, followed Danny on social media and said “Hey, I think this could be really cool!” Within 24 hours, we’d inked a deal and five years later, it’s clear that no other publisher would touch this.

I think that’s the same reason that the book is successful. People want to know alternatives and to feel empowered in agency for their own lives. Our field sales reps did a great job of showing this book to independent stores and it received many counter placements and impulse sales. The New Yorker did a story about the book and the New York Times asked Amazon why they had neglected to list it. The results were hilarious and awkward.

In 2023, this turned into Microcosm becoming the distributor for Bookshop.org when they published the new Lydia Davis book, Our Strangers, because she didn’t want it sold on Amazon.

An avid cyclist, Joe (with mascot Ruby) has a bicycle for deliveries!

IBPA: Another factor in your company’s success is your focus and investment in improving business operations. You even developed a proprietary software WorkingLit that automates many functions. Briefly, can you share with IBPA ‘s members what they should know about WorkingLit and how it can help small publishers?

Joe: I think this is really the headline. For many presses, this stuff is an afterthought but it is more important than any book that you publish. In 2001, we had someone working in our production department who said “Hey, you could create a database to automate most of these processes.” I said “Sure, if you want to!” and the rest is history. Within five years it was the key to our success.

WorkingLit manages all of our title data, sales, inventory, invoicing, accounting, shipping, when a title is due for reprinting, website, data exports, taxes, performance analytics, product management, and organization. It’s magical that we get a daily report of who we owe how much money to and when, which warehouse needs to ship which orders in which sequence, what books are going to need to reprint in the next 90 days based on their actual sales history and how long the printer takes, and which stores are due to make new orders.

The magic of a system like this is that it was built by publishers for publishers, so we have to make sure that each tool actually works and each time when we say “Hey, I thought of another thing that we could automate!” behold, it becomes so! We have so many plans to expand this in the next few years as a sales and marketing tool so that others can recreate our successes!

IBPA: Finally congratulations Joe, on receiving PubWest's Innovator Award last week in Arizona for “reimagining what publishing can or should be”! Microcosm is doing great stuff and we can't wait to hear more from you this April. Thank you Joe!

At IBPA Publishing Conference this April 25-27, 2024, Joe Biel will join an esteemed panel including Oriana Leckert, Kickstarter; Dhonielle Clayton, Cake Creative; and moderator Brooke Warner, She Write Press to explore current innovations and disruptions in indie publishing. Check out their “Rise & Disrupt” panel in the agenda and register to attend IBPA Publishing University in Denver.

Share your unique publishing stories with the IBPA community! Send to adeline@ibpa-online.org. For more details about the types of stories we're seeking, click here.

Though launching a new book isn’t the focus of our Spotlights articles, IBPA is happy to share that exciting news on social media. Please contact ashley@ibpa-online.org with the launch date, your book cover, your book title, your book's genre, a link to where readers can learn more about your book, and your Instagram handle.

For good news in general about your publishing company (your book received a wonderful editorial review, you have an upcoming speaking engagement, etc.), use the hashtag #IBPAmemberGoodNews on Twitter and IBPA will amplify your good news!

Whether you have news or not, all of us at IBPA are cheering you on!

About the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)

Founded in 1983 to support independent publishers nationwide, the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) leads and serves the independent publishing community through advocacy, education, and tools for success. With over 4,000 members, IBPA is the largest publishing association in the U.S. Its vision is a world where every independent publisher has the access, knowledge, and tools needed to professionally engage in all aspects of an inclusive publishing industry. For more information, visit ibpa-online.org.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

IBPA Governance Committee selects six at-large director candidates to stand for election during the April 4, 2024 Annual Meeting of Members.

(Manhattan Beach, CA – February 1, 2024) –The Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) is pleased to announce that the recently formed IBPA Governance Committee has selected six at-large director candidates to stand for election during the April 4th Annual Meeting of Members. These candidates will serve on the IBPA Board of Directors from July 1, 2024 – June 31st, 2026, should the membership approve the slate.

Formed in August 2023 by approval of the IBPA Board of Directors, the governance committee helps to identify the skills, qualities, and characteristics that the board needs, and it aids in recruiting qualified and diverse candidates. The committee also advises on orientation procedures, continuing education, and self-assessments for board members. It is comprised of eight members including current and past board chairs, directors, and executive members of the IBPA staff.

The six candidates are:

• Paige Allen, Director, IngramSpark
• María Jesús Aguilo, Rights Management & Consultant
• Alesha Brown, Founder & CEO, Fruition Publishing Concierge Services
• Mary Jo Courchesne, Owner & Principal Rights Consultant, Gryphon Publishing Consulting
• Troy Johnson, President, African American Literature Book Club (AALBC)
• Keith Riegert, CEO & Publisher, Ulysses Press

Scroll down for full candidate bios.

Three of the six candidates are running as incumbents, while (Mary Jo)MJ Courchesne, Troy Johnson, and Keith Riegert were added to the slate of candidates during the 2024 IBPA Board Nominating Process.

Leaving the IBPA Board of Directors on June 30, 2024 are Annette Hobbs Magier of Magier Marketing & PR and Victoria Sutherland, founder and publisher of Foreword Reviews. In addition to serving on the Board of Directors, Sutherland also serves as the IBPA board treasurer and is a member of the executive committee. The organization is grateful for the service of both outgoing directors.

For more information,
Contact IBPA CEO Andrea Fleck-Nisbet at andrea@ibpa-online.org.

Board Candidate Bios:

Paige Allen is the Director of IngramSpark and a brand and marketing strategist developing innovative channels for content delivery. She partners with companies and executives to sharpen their professional operations, define their brand identity, and engage audiences for maximum conversion. Paige is passionate about helping people and connecting companies to their right consumer. In addition to her extensive PR and marketing experience, Paige is a trained Sweet Adelines International a cappella barbershop singer and member of Metro Nashville Chorus.

María Jesús Aguilo moved to California from her native Spain in 1992, after receiving a Masters in Publishing from the University of Barcelona. In 1996, she joined the independently owned Berrett-Koehler Publishers, where she made several contributions over the years, including building up their subsidiary rights program, spearheading the transition to digital publishing, and creating their in-house audiobook publishing program. She is a freelance rights manager and consultant.

Alesha Brown is the Founder & CEO of Fruition Publishing Concierge Services™, a hybrid publisher devoted to helping authors find their voice, monetize their expertise, and create profitable author platforms. Alesha’s work led to her receiving the 2019 Inside Business’ Entrepreneurial Excellence award. Her expertise has been featured in Publishers Weekly, Authority Magazine, Huffington Post, Thrive Global, and iHeartRadio, just to name a few. Alesha is a renowned speaker at numerous author forums and publishing conferences in addition to being a best-selling author, copywriter, and magazine editor-in-chief.

MJ Courchesne is the owner and principal consultant of Gryphon Publishing Consulting. She is a publishing veteran with over 25 years of experience in trade, academic, and direct-response publishing, and specializes in licensing, subsidiary rights, and permissions. MJ served as adjunct professor for 16 years in The George Washington University’s Masters in Professional Studies in the Field of Publishing. She currently serves on the Rights Committee of the Book Industry Study Group (BISG), as secretary for the board of directors for The Big Easy in Buffalo and is a member of the Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators. She has also served in the CASE Act Implementation Working Group with the Copyright Alliance, and on the board of experts with the National Association of Writers and Editors (NAIWE). She currently lives in Buffalo, NY with her husband and two rescued dogs.

Troy D. Johnson is the President of the African American Literature Book Club (AALBC). His primary platform, AALBC.com, is the oldest, largest, and most frequently visited website dedicated to books by people of African descent. Through AALBC.com, Johnson sells, reviews, discusses, and publishes books. AALBC.com is also a major platform for publishers to advertise and promote books. He is also a recognized thought leader in the “Black Book Ecosystem.” Johnson has 20 years of corporate experience in roles ranging from designing wide area networks to managing international projects for major corporations, including Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank. As an educator, he taught information systems and web design at Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business. Mr. Johnson holds a BS and MS degrees in engineering and an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business. He has three daughters and lives in Tampa, FL.

Keith Riegert is the CEO of the Brooklyn-based independent publishing companies, Ulysses Press and VeloPress Books. Keith is also CEO of printing marketplace Perfect Bound and a co-founder of the book publicity and digital marketing firm, Pacific & Court. Keith is a member of the board of advisors at NYU’s School of Professional Studies in the Center for Publishing where he also teaches Analytics and Consumer Insights.

Keith holds a BA in English literature from the College of Creative Studies at the University of California Santa Barbara and an MBA from New York University's Stern School of Business with a specialization in statistics and marketing.

Prior to his current role at Ulysses Press, Keith was Associate Director of Analytics for Hachette Book Group. He is the co-founder of Little, Brown Lab and Kingfisher Press.

About the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)

Founded in 1983 to support independent publishers nationwide, the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) leads and serves the independent publishing community through advocacy, education, and tools for success. With over 4,000 members, IBPA is the largest publishing association in the U.S. Its vision is a world where every independent publisher has the access, knowledge, and tools needed to professionally engage in all aspects of an inclusive publishing industry. For more information, visit ibpa-online.org.

Tieshena Davis, publisher of Publish Your Gift®, will serve as IBPA Board Chair beginning July 1.

(Manhattan Beach, CA - February 1, 2024) – At its recent meeting, held on January 17, 2024, the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) Board of Directors unanimously voted to elect Tieshena Davis, founding publisher and CEO of Publish Your Gift, as the association’s board chair for the new fiscal year that will begin July 1, 2024.

She will succeed Karen Pavlicin—publisher of Elva Resa Publishing and owner of Military Family Books distribution—after Pavlicin completes her second term as IBPA’s board chair on June 30. Board chairs serve a one-year term, with the ability to be reelected by the board for a second one-year term.

Davis has been a member of IBPA since 2015, a member of the Board of Directors since 2020, and presently also serves on the Executive Committee under Pavlicin. She has served in other capacities as a member of IBPA’s Governance Committee, Investment Committee, Membership Committee, Editorial Advisory Committee, DEI task force, IBPA Independent magazine task force, the DEI consultant search working group, and as a judge in the Innovative Voices Program.

“Tie’s strong business leadership experience, dedication to IBPA’s mission, and passionate energy, along with her willingness to enhance her board leadership skills through a variety of service roles, has prepared her well for the chair position and earned her the confidence and full support of the board, which includes publishers from a broad spectrum of business models,” said Pavlicin. 

In addition to founding Publish Your Gift, Davis is an author and executive advisor at her consultancy Ekpansa, with over 24 years’ experience in strategic management, growth leadership, and training. She has been recognized by the Mayor of Baltimore for her philanthropic work with youth writers, honored as Prince George’s County, Maryland “Top Forty Under 40,” and recognized by Examiner.com in its “2015 Best of the Best in Publishing.”

She is also the first person of color and Black woman elected to lead the IBPA Board of Directors. As board chair, her role is to guide and facilitate the board’s strategic direction and oversight of the association, and to serve as a collaborative partner to the CEO in support of IBPA’s mission “to lead and serve the independent publishing community through advocacy, education, and tools for success.”

IBPA CEO Andrea Fleck-Nisbet said, “Since joining IBPA in November 2022, I have worked closely with our current board chair, Karen Pavlicin, to make continued progress toward our 2023–25 strategic plan, including the launch of initiatives to strengthen and diversify our membership, advocate for independent publishing, eliminate bias in our industry, and shape the future of independent publishing. Tieshena is the ideal leader to continue this critical work. Her entrepreneurial expertise, deep operational knowledge, emphasis on data-driven decision making, and commitment to making publishing a more inclusive and accessible industry will help to lead IBPA as it grows and strengthens. She is also a wonderful collaborator, and I am proud and excited to partner with her in the year ahead.”

“I am thrilled to assume the role of IBPA’s incoming board chair,” Davis said. “The association has been a beacon of inspiration and growth throughout my professional journey, and I am truly grateful to the outgoing chair, Karen, for her trailblazing leadership and unwavering dedication. I’m prepared to build upon her accomplishments and aid the organization in reaching new heights of operational excellence, innovation, and influence.”

Appointed to the board in 2018, Pavlicin served four years as a director prior to her two years as chair, leading and contributing to many strategic initiatives and task forces. After her board service, Pavlicin will continue to serve on the Governance Committee as immediate-past board chair and intends to stay involved with IBPA projects close to her heart, such as expanding executive education and support for mid-sized and established publishers, and continuing to strengthen IBPA’s DEI integration and leadership development.

IBPA also wishes to recognize two board members who will term off the board together with Pavlicin at the end of this fiscal year: Victoria Sutherland, publisher of Foreword Reviews, and Annette Hobbs-Magier, owner of Magier Marketing & PR. IBPA is extremely grateful for the contributions of Pavlicin, Sutherland, and Hobbs-Magier in their years of service to IBPA.

About the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)

Founded in 1983 to support independent publishers nationwide, the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) leads and serves the independent publishing community through advocacy, education, and tools for success. With over 3,700 members, IBPA is the largest publishing association in the U.S. Its vision is a world where every independent publisher has the access, knowledge, and tools needed to professionally engage in all aspects of an inclusive publishing industry. For more information, visit ibpa-online.org.

Deep and Avani Udeshi have built a thriving publishing business founded on anticipating what people need in a changing world and helping them to navigate change. It all began for them in 2011, when the GRE General Test was revised with significant changes to its format, scoring, and content. Realizing an opportunity, the Udeshis acted quickly and published an updated GRE test prep book that was one of the first in the market. With that initial book as their launching pad, Vibrant Publishers went on to publish a series of test prep books (for the SAT, GMAT and ACT) and later developed two more self-help book series. With a catalog now exceeding 400 titles, we were interested to learn more about Vibrant Publishers, so we connected with co-founder Deep to tell us about his company’s story.

Deep proudly shows off their books on IBPA’s shelf at the ALA Show in 2023

IBPA: Hi Deep, thanks for taking time off your busy schedule to chat with us. Tell us a little bit about Vibrant Publishers.

Deep Udeshi: We publish about 30 new books a year and produce about 25 revisions to existing titles. Our books fall into three series: the Test Prep Series; the Self-Learning Management Series intended for working professionals whose role requires them to have the knowledge usually imparted in business schools; and finally, the Job Interview Questions Series that caters to IT professionals.

IBPA: With titles such as Oracle PL/SQL Interview Questions and Python Interview Questions, your Job Interview Questions Series isn’t like other job interview books. How did you discover there was a market for these types of books?

Co-founder Avani Udeshi

Deep: Well, if you remember, in 2008, there was the big IT bust. A lot of my friends were looking for jobs but weren't able to find one. They were struggling with clearing the interview. That is when we thought, this looks like a good niche market for us with not a lot of players. I mean, one could find a few books on Java interview questions, or on HR interview questions, but not books with both. So, we thought, why don't we have a solution where we provide both technical and HR interview questions specially for IT professionals.

IBPA: Then what about your next series, the Self-Learning Management Series. How did that series take off?

Deep: For the self-learning series, it was interesting. Our first author, Kalpesh Ashar—he is my first cousin by the way—used to teach in a few colleges but he was kind of upset seeing how many of the essential college textbooks were priced so high. So he approached me saying. “Since you're in book publishing, do you want to publish my book?” Well, I told him, I don't want to publish one book. But if you’ll write three or four books, then it will be more like a series and made more sense for us. That's how we started.

IBPA: How did subsequent authors come on board?

Deep: Through friends and family. They helped us through their contacts to approach new authors. We used to reach out to professors to ask them to write books for us. But now, it's mostly professors who are using one of our textbooks asking us if we will publish their books.

IBPA: Vibrant Publishers is based in Broomfield, Colorado, but you also have an office in India. Tell us about this setup.

Deep: The graphic design, cover design etc. happen through our India office. In fact, our social media is also handled by the India office. The U.S. office mainly takes care of direct sales and reaching out to certain professors…stuff like that.

The staff at Vibrant Publishers’ India office

IBPA: That said, the market for your books is global. What's the breakdown of sales like?

Deep: The U.S. market is about 40 percent of our sales. Then the Asian and European market together would come to around 35-40 percent. And the rest of the world, 20-25 percent.

IBPA: What do you think is one key element to Vibrant Publishers’ success?

Deep: Well, one thing is, I think we are pretty well-known among first-time authors who want to write a book. Because we have a well laid plan in place. If you're a first-time author and you know nothing about how the book publishing process goes, we have an onboarding team who will take you through the process. There are a couple of meetings that have to take place even before they actually start writing the book.

And, you know, a lot of processes go into making sure that the author is a good fit with the topic before we even start anything. And after that, we also have the editorial team who work closely with the authors on guiding them after every chapter is done. So, we have a pretty solid team here!

Share your unique publishing stories with the IBPA community! Our publishers want to hear what other publishers are doing that is unique, successful or inspiring! Send to adeline@ibpa-online.org. For more details about the types of stories we're seeking, click here.

Though launching a new book isn’t the focus of our Spotlights articles, IBPA is happy to share that exciting news on social media. Please contact ashley@ibpa-online.org with the launch date, your book cover, your book title, your book's genre, a link to where readers can learn more about your book, and your Instagram handle.

For good news in general about your publishing company (your book received a wonderful editorial review, you have an upcoming speaking engagement, etc.), use the hashtag #IBPAmemberGoodNews on Twitter and IBPA will amplify your good news!

Whether you have news or not, all of us at IBPA are cheering you on!

About the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)

Founded in 1983 to support independent publishers nationwide, the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) leads and serves the independent publishing community through advocacy, education, and tools for success. With over 4,000 members, IBPA is the largest publishing association in the U.S. Its vision is a world where every independent publisher has the access, knowledge, and tools needed to professionally engage in all aspects of an inclusive publishing industry. For more information, visit ibpa-online.org.

Now publishers can connect and collaborate with fellow members on this highly popular platform.

(Manhattan Beach, January 10, 2023) – It’s the beginning of a new year, and the Independent Book Publishers Association is excited to kick it off with a brand new benefit for members. IBPA’s new workspace on Slack is a mobile-friendly messaging and resource-sharing app that is designed to foster a collaborative and friendly community for IBPA members.

For many independent publishers who are facing the day to day challenges of running a publishing business, they can find kinship and help from fellow members. The ability to network with other indie publishers is often cited as a top reason that members join IBPA.

“Slack is one of the most popular collaboration tools used by businesses today,” said IBPA Chief Content Officer Lee Wind. “We are happy to offer our members the ability to connect, communicate and collaborate with each other using a platform that many members are already familiar with and love using.”

IBPA’s workspace on Slack comprises more than 20 open channels focused on topics such as: #ai-and-publishing, #amazon, #ingram-and-ingramspark, #job-listings-in-search-of, #book-marketing, #childrens-books, and more. Members can join in any open channel that aligns with their interests and in as many channels as they wish. In each channel, they can start a discussion, post questions, answers, and add their comments too.

There are also a few private groups that are reserved for members of IBPA staff, board, committees, and affinity groups to use for their respective collaborations.

Slack offers members a lot of functionality, including:

• The ability to Direct Message anyone else in the IBPA Slack workspace.
• Slack works equally well on mobile and on desktop, and you can switch on the fly.
• You can share links and upload documents and images.
• Excellent search function - so you don't have to keep track of any hashtags.

“We are so excited to launch Slack for members. Since our soft launch in September 2023, we have already more than 130 members on IBPA’s Slack,” said Wind. “Whether you’ve used it before or are brand new to Slack, I encourage you to join us there today. The platform is extremely easy to use, which is a huge reason why we are bringing this to members...it's another way for all of us to live the IBPA motto of helping each other to achieve and succeed.”

For more details and how to join IBPA’s Slack workspace, go to: https://www.ibpa-online.org/page/Slack

About the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)

Founded in 1983 to support independent publishers nationwide, the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) leads and serves the independent publishing community through advocacy, education, and tools for success. With over 4,000 members, IBPA is the largest publishing association in the U.S. Its vision is a world where every independent publisher has the access, knowledge, and tools needed to professionally engage in all aspects of an inclusive publishing industry. For more information, visit ibpa-online.org.

Embarking into publishing for the first time can be a daunting endeavor. The road to publishing success can be fraught with challenges both business and personal, from finding sources of funding to believing in one’s abilities. We sat down with Bethany Gano, whose first book Lulu the Beaver won the 2023 Bill Fisher Award for Best First Book: Children's/Young Adult at the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards, to learn how she tackled her fears and went from knowing little about publishing to a multi award-winning author and owner of her own publishing company.

IBPA: Tell us a bit about your background in publishing. How did you begin your journey as an author publisher?

Bethany Gano: I grew up drawing and writing as a kid. Mostly little comics, poetry, and songwriting, and then studied photography, printmaking, and Spanish in college. I went on to work in the commercial arts —in production, design, illustration, packaging, branding —for a couple of decades, then these skills coalesced into writing and illustrating my first children’s story.

As the project came together, I decided to launch a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign to bring the book to life. However, when gathering pricing to set up the campaign, the full-service book printers I found were all outsourcing their work overseas. Running a small business myself for many years, I wasn’t keen on outsourcing and wanted to produce my book with a local printer. I realized that to connect the various dots that were important to me, I needed to start my own publishing company. That’s how Bunny Books began.

IBPA: Tell us more about your winning title Lulu the Beaver. What inspired you to write this book?

Bethany: Lulu is a bashful and imaginative little beaver whose deep secret is that she longs to express her creativity through art. She feels embarrassed that her artwork isn’t good enough and is worried that it will be seen as frivolous in her industrious colony. This fear and self-doubt have her caught in a pattern of destroying her artwork until a surprise visitor's story changes Lulu's heart for the best. It’s a fun tale that urges kids to be themselves and to never stop dreaming.

The truth is, Lulu is me. Her story began brewing inside of me when I was in a pretty low place. I had spent so many years of my life using my artistic skills to help others achieve their dreams and realized that if I didn’t start doing anything differently, I would never achieve my own. I felt trapped creatively and saw myself like a little, hard-working beaver. At the time, I was paralyzed by fear and had never publicly shared any of my artwork. My freelance clients were all word-of-mouth. I was an internet hermit. I never had a website. Despite others’ encouragement, I was convinced my work was mediocre. But as Lulu’s story started spilling out onto pages, I realized I’d never be able to talk with our three kids about being brave and facing their fears if I never faced my own.

Bethany sharing her book at a school visit.

IBPA: Your first book was an award winner—I'm sure that wasn’t an easy feat! As a first-time author publisher, what were the biggest challenges for you?

Bethany: Oh my, yes. So many challenges. As a first-timer on a shoestring budget, I had to learn how to wear so many hats: author, illustrator, designer, videographer, video editor, crowdfunding campaign wrangler, saleswoman, publicist, marketer, and the all-so-important role of cheerleader -- for the many times I realized just how in over my head I was and super wanted to quit!

In light of that, I would say my mindset was critical. I tried to think positively and to focus on the potential that Lulu had to become something meaningful for kids one day, but to balance that with an understanding that I needed to expect challenges and failures along the way. As I mentioned, I had to muster the courage to even launch my project on Kickstarter in the first place, and the first campaign attempt failed. I also was rejected early on by local library after local library that decided not to stock Lulu’s story. My first school visits landed me with almost zero sales. I lost plenty of illustration contests, was rejected at my first mural pitch, received some not-so-great reviews, and of course, there were plenty of book awards I applied for that I didn’t win. But, I kept going.

My second Kickstarter campaign was fully funded in less than two days, libraries started buying, I have enjoyed many successful school visits, received a couple of wonderful trade reviews, and have been humbled to receive a handful of gold book awards. My publishing journey has certainly been full of revisions, rejections, and closed doors, but with perseverance, things continue to head in a great direction.

IBPA: How did you market your book? Was it difficult to generate interest and sales?

Bethany: This is still a work in progress for me! Going into all of this, I knew that my lack of social media presence was a problem and that for me, the most natural way to sell my book would be to physically get it in front of people. So, for Lulu the Beaver’s launch, I invested in partnering with an established author-blogger The Children's Book Review—whose offerings I learned about during a session at PubU ’22—to run a giveaway and blog tour to generate excitement.

I’m in the children’s book space, so busy media specialists and teachers rely on trusted trade reviews and awards to help “vet” books that are new to them. Considering that and knowing that I couldn’t afford a huge national advertising and marketing campaign I kept one focus: aim for national recognition to help score local sales. So, I submitted for national trade magazine reviews, invested in IBPA’s NetGalley program, and applied for national and international book awards with the hope of leveraging starred reviews and awards for local credibility and opportunities. That worked well for me. Also, the fall before the trade version launched, I made a plan for direct sales opportunities by booking up local and virtual school visits, as well as book fairs around the state of Florida...which have been amazing for networking, sales, opportunities for school visits, etc.

Bethany and Lulu

IBPA: What’s something that surprised you about the writing and publishing process? Do you have any advice you’d like to share with first-time publishers?

Bethany: I still have so much to learn myself, but here’s my advice to other first-time author-publishers: First, expect some failure on the road to success. As I mentioned above, it’s normal and expected to experience plenty of rejection and struggle along the way. Sometimes your work isn’t ready yet and you do actually need to keep honing your craft, but sometimes these low points are just a normal part of the process. I like to tell myself that I am stewarding my story as well as the stories inside of me — so I choose to celebrate both the failures and the victories. Cry if you need to...I did! But then dust off, get back up, and keep going.

Second is get connected. If you haven’t already, join wonderful organizations like IBPA and your local publishing group to network and learn everything you can about the business. If you are also an author, connect with writing organizations and attend conferences to find critique partners and hone your craft. As you know from my story, I was paralyzed by fear when I was getting started. I didn’t begin connecting with others until after my first version of Lulu’s story was already in print. It would have saved me lots of time, energy, money, and headache to connect with others earlier — and the journey would have been a lot more fun.

Lastly, consider crowdfunding. Each facet of this industry on both the craft side and the business side is complex. If you are like me and are heading into publishing with a limited budget, you will need to learn to wear lots of hats. Unless you have the capital along with a solid sales and marketing plan where you know you can move through an initial print run, consider producing your book as print-on-demand to avoid upfront costs. Then consider crowdfunding to offset the costs for the roles and responsibilities you need to outsource...such as editing, design, publicity, etc. as well as costs that fall under your sales and marketing plan like award entries, travel for events, advertising, etc. It all adds up.

IBPA: Wow, thanks for sharing your amazing publishing story with our readers Bethany. And thanks for all the advice and tips for other new publishers too. We wish you and Lulu all the best!

Share your unique publishing stories with the IBPA community! Our publishers want to hear what other publishers are doing that is unique, successful or inspiring! Send to adeline@ibpa-online.org. For more details about the types of stories we're seeking, click here.

Though launching a new book isn’t the focus of our Spotlights articles, IBPA is happy to share that exciting news on social media. Please contact ashley@ibpa-online.org with the launch date, your book cover, your book title, your book's genre, a link to where readers can learn more about your book, and your Instagram handle.

For good news in general about your publishing company (your book received a wonderful editorial review, you have an upcoming speaking engagement, etc.), use the hashtag #IBPAmemberGoodNews on Twitter and IBPA will amplify your good news!

Whether you have news or not, all of us at IBPA are cheering you on!

About the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)

Founded in 1983 to support independent publishers nationwide, the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) leads and serves the independent publishing community through advocacy, education, and tools for success. With over 4,000 members, IBPA is the largest publishing association in the U.S. Its vision is a world where every independent publisher has the access, knowledge, and tools needed to professionally engage in all aspects of an inclusive publishing industry. For more information, visit ibpa-online.org.

Now, members can market directly to consumers via Eblasts delivered into readers' email inboxes.

(Manhattan Beach, CA – January 3, 2024) – The Independent Book Publishers Association is excited to launch an exciting new marketing opportunity for members in 2024. Complementing IBPA's vast menu of marketing programs designed to help indie publishers sell their books to trade and consumer audiences, the new Consumer Marketing Eblasts will help publishers reach book buyers directly via email.

Produced in cooperation with Ingram Consumer Marketing, IBPA will send seven dedicated Eblasts each quarter -- one to a list of 800,000 book lovers, and six to lists comprising of 150,000 readers each, targeted by genre. Each Eblast will present only 12 indie titles exclusively for readers’ consideration. Click here to view an example of the Eblasts.

IBPA is pleased to launch the new program with these Eblasts in the first quarter of 2024:

Example of Eblast design.

This exciting direct-to-consumer opportunity is made possible through a partnership with Ingram Consumer Marketing, who has been building their lists of active book readers since 2017. These dedicated Eblasts will be sent to Ingram’s Bookfinity audience lists.

“We’re excited to empower IBPA members to market their books directly to consumers through this program,” said IBPA Chief Content Officer Lee Wind. “The secret sauce of being Indie is building consumer demand. It takes time and effort to build your own email list, especially when many sales don't happen directly. Now with IBPA’s Consumer Marketing Eblasts, members can tap into Ingram's large and engaged list of book lovers easily and at a low cost for the exposure.”

Spreading the cost across 12 different publishers enables IBPA to provide this opportunity to members at only $550 per title in the 800,000 consumer combined list Eblast and at $250 per title in each 150,000 consumer category Eblast.

Reservations are now open for the first quarter’s seven planned Eblasts (with a limit of only 12 books per Eblast). Click here to learn more and to reserve a spot.

Watch this video to learn about all the various IBPA marketing programs available to members to help indie publishers reach trade and consumer audiences to sell more books.

About the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)

Founded in 1983 to support independent publishers nationwide, the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) leads and serves the independent publishing community through advocacy, education, and tools for success. With over 4,000 members, IBPA is the largest publishing association in the U.S. Its vision is a world where every independent publisher has the access, knowledge, and tools needed to professionally engage in all aspects of an inclusive publishing industry. For more information, visit ibpa-online.org.

(Manhattan Beach, CA - December 21- 2023) -- As the year comes to a close, we’d like to take this opportunity to wish IBPA members and friends happy holidays and thank you for your contributions of time, talent and treasure, without which, we could not have fulfilled our IBPA mission “to lead and serve the independent publishing community through advocacy, education, and tools for success.”

In addition to providing 36+ monthly webinars, podcasts, and roundtables, six issues of the IBPA Independent magazine, over a hundred member benefits, and dozens of cooperative marketing opportunities throughout this year, we also launched several new initiatives besides...and more are in the works, readying for their 2024 debut. The work never stops because providing indie publishers with access, tools and education they need to be successful is our goal. So, stick around and help us to help you forge a path to publishing success in 2024!

Our 2023 Highlights

January

• IBPA celebrates 40th anniversary in 2023 and announces the first exciting news of the year – all 2023 webinars will be free for members!

February

• Four new affinity groups—Access and Disability in Publishing, BIPOC/Marginalized Communities in Publishing, LGBTQIA2+ in Publishing, and Women in Publishing—formed on Social Link to allow members to network with their communities. 

March

• IBPA launches PubSpot, the first online resource on book publishing knowledge open to everyone.
• IBPA issues a Position Statement on Ebook laws that are proposed around the country.

April

• #SpringIntoIndieBooks campaign on social media raises bookstores’ awareness of indie books.

May

• Publishing University in San Diego attracts record attendees, surpassing pre-pandemic conference.
• The 35th IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award winners announced in a gala ceremony at PubU.
• Innovative Voices Program launched to provide guidance and support to 5 publishers to help them elevate their publishing which focuses on people and issues of importance to marginalized communities.

June

• IBPA announces streamlined membership categories and membership dues structure. Auto-renewal also now available for membership renewals.
• Letter from IBPA opposing State Bill 900 sent to Texas Governor.
• IBPA attends ALA Show and represents indie publishers’ books to librarians in Chicago.

September

• Monthlong #FallIntoIndieBooks campaign on social media generates over 100+ posts on social media.
• Five Innovators selected to join the first group in IBPA's Innovative Voices Program.

October

• Learning Pathways—namely, Independent Publisher Start Strong, Independent Publisher Level up, Author Publisher Start Strong, and Author Publisher Level Up—introduced. IBPA recognizes our members are different and commit to programming that answers each group’s needs.
• IBPA attends the Frankfurt Book Fair and represents indie publishers’ books to international rights buyers.

December

• IBPA soft launches Slack  for members to have live conversations around shared interests and communities.
  

About the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)

Founded in 1983 to support independent publishers nationwide, the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) leads and serves the independent publishing community through advocacy, education, and tools for success. With over 4,000 members, IBPA is the largest publishing association in the U.S. Its vision is a world where every independent publisher has the access, knowledge, and tools needed to professionally engage in all aspects of an inclusive publishing industry. For more information, visit ibpa-online.org.

The White House, an Historical Guide was originally conceived by First Lady Jackie Kennedy. She even edited the book and set its price. The book was also the genesis for the White House Historical Association Press, which today, continues to update and reprint The White House, an Historical Guide, as well as many other books focused on America's presidential residence. 

The story behind this IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award-winning book began all the way back in 1962, when First Lady Jackie Kennedy introduced the first edition of The White House: An Historic Guide to the American people. More than 60 years later, the White House Historical Association continues to uphold her vision in its 26th iteration. The White House: An Historic Guide, 26th edition won a gold in the Regional category, and silver in the History category in this year’s IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards.

Today, the White House Historical Association Press continues the mission envisioned by Mrs. Kennedy by publishing books that preserve the history of the White House, while keeping true to her high standards for quality and beauty—and it all began with one title. We connected with Marcia Anderson, Chief Publishing Officer at the White House Historical Association to learn about how this book came to be published, and its profound impact on White House history.

IBPA: Please tell us more about the White House Historical Association—your history, your mission, values, and the kind of work you do to preserve the White House's history. 

Marcia Anderson: First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy envisioned a White House that conveyed a sense of history through its fine and decorative arts collections. In 1961, the White House Historical Association was established as a non-profit educational organization to support her vision to preserve and share the Executive Mansion’s history for generations to come. Today the Association is supported entirely by private resources and continues to fulfill its original mission to enhance understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment of the historic White House.

IBPA: Publishing is just one of the ways that the association fulfills its mission. What are the other ways?

Marcia: The association assists in the preservation of the state and public rooms, funds acquisitions for the White House permanent collection, educates the public on the history of the White House, and maintains an independent scholarly press.

IBPA: As a nonprofit association, tell us more about your history in publishing. What does your publishing model look like? How does it differ from more traditional indie presses?

Marcia: The White House Historical Association published its first book, The White House: An Historic Guide, in 1962. It was the wish of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy that such a book be written, and she participated actively in the editing. For more than 60 years, the association has continued to produce award-winning books on a wide range of subjects related to the history of the president’s home, from its architecture, gardens, fine and decorative arts to the presidents and first ladies who lived there over the years. Our list includes titles that will appeal to history buffs and art lovers, connoisseurs and curious amateurs, scholars and tourists, adults and children.

IBPA: Your other books in this year’s IBPA awards are titled The White House Family Cookbook and The White House in Gingerbread. What’s the common thread in all your books?

Marcia: The association’s publication brand is distinguished by authoritative content that is scholarly in essence, approachable in presentation, reasonable pricing, elegant, sophisticated aesthetics, and a nonpartisan perspective. Our goals are educational: to preserve and disseminate knowledge on the subject of White House history, and to include American history and culture within the context of the White House; representational: to fulfill the association’s mission by creating versatile tools that function not simply as commercial products but can be used to introduce and represent the association’s mission to broad audiences; and pioneering: to unearth and present untold stories, pose and answer questions, and to serve as a springboard for subsequent and significant scholarly and educational endeavors.

A White House Alphabet, published by the White House Historic Association Press.

IBPA: Please walk us through the process of deciding which topics you decide to publish books on. How do you source photographers and authors to work with?

Marcia: Our title list includes books solicited by WHHA for their relevance to our mission and known demand, as well as titles that come to our attention by way of unsolicited proposals, which upon review and are considered worthy of publication. Titles selected for publication fit into the following broad categories: core publications, which include basic references intended for a general audience that have been regularly updated and reprinted for many decades. These include The White House: An Historic Guide; The Presidents of the United States; The First Ladies of the United States; and Life in the White House.

The next category is authoritative and comprehensive references on the White House's fine and decorative arts collection, architecture, and gardens, which are written by scholars on each subject, for example: Art in the White House; Furnishing the White House: The Decorative Arts Collection; Official White House China; A Garden for the President; The History of An American Idea; The President's House; James Hoban: Architect for the White House; and Designing Camelot: The Kennedy Restoration and Its Legacy.

We also publish contextual titles. This group of books goes outside of the White House fence to place the White House in the broader context of the history of President’s Park and the surrounding neighborhood, for example: At Home in the President's Neighborhood, To Live on Lafayette Square; Blair House: The President's Guest House; and Decatur House: A History. This group also includes titles that place the White House in an international context, such as Official Residences Around the World and symposium proceedings.

Next are titles related to life as lived in the White House. This category includes works by those who have lived or worked in the White House, such as The White House Remembered, as well as topics related to entertaining, such as Wine and the White House: A History and Music in the White House. This group includes some of our best-selling books, such as Recipes from the President's Ranch, and A Sweet World of White House Desserts.

We also publish children's books. This is a growing category of titles intended to introduce preschool and early readers to the history of the White House. This includes activity books as well as illustrated story books.

Finally, niche and popular topics. This category includes titles on topics that are narrow but with a known appeal to a broad audience, such as The Official White House Ornament and Mona Lisa in Camelot.

IBPA: Tell us more about The White House: An Historic Guide. This is the 26th edition of the book, so we imagine that the book itself has a history! What’s the story behind how it was first published?

Marcia: The story actually begins in 1941 when 11-year-old Jacqueline Bouvier visited the White House as a tourist with her mother. She was already well traveled and familiar with museum guidebooks and she expected to find a guidebook that would tell her about the history of the White House. But the White House was not thought of as a museum at that time; there was no curator and there was no guidebook to follow. She later said "all I remember was shuffling through."

Twenty years later when she returned to the White House as First Lady, she had not forgotten her disappointing childhood experience and she quickly set about changing all that. She formed a committee to help locate furnishings that had once been in the White House. She hired a curator, and to make sure that items brought into the White House Collection would never be auctioned off—as many had been in the past—she inspired passage of Public Law 87-286, which made them “inalienable,” a permanent part of the White House Collection. She promoted the founding of the White House Historical Association and undertook as its first project the preparation of a guidebook for the historic White House. In February 1962, when First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy gave Americans a televised tour of the White House interiors she announced, “We are going to do a book.” Mrs. Kennedy actively participated in the editing of the book and she herself set the price at $1.

Designing Camelot, published by the White House Historic Association Press

IBPA: How was the book received by the public?

Marcia: It was the first and, for its time, only comprehensive published work on a place that symbolized the history of America and all that the nation stood for to the American people. It was written for the American people to whom Mrs. Kennedy acknowledged the house “belonged.” The book went on sale July 4, 1962, at a small table in the East Wing near the entrance to the tour route.

The public was hungry to know more about the White House and eagerly anticipated the release of the book. People even came to the sales desk with shopping carts that they filled with guidebooks while thousands and thousands of letters containing $1 bills overwhelmed the association's small staff. The first edition of 250,000 copies sold out in 90 days. A second edition of 100,000 copies and a third of 250,000 soon followed. By December 1962, the print runs totaled 600,000 copies. Today, sales have exceeded five million.

IBPA: How does the 26th edition add or improve on past versions? How has it evolved?

Marcia: The guide has evolved significantly over the years, most notably following September 11, 2001, when White House tours became more limited. People were no longer able to queue up at posted hours and flow through the house as they did in Mrs. Kennedy's time and the guide took on a new purpose it never really had before.

The association set out to make the guide a new sort of White House experience tailored to the modern visitor who may not actually enter the house. Parts of this book are written to accompany a tourist viewing the house from outside the fence. And more historical content has been added to enrich the experience of those reading the book at home. In recent years we have made a digital version of the guide available on our website.

The 26th edition marks the 60th anniversary of the guide. With this edition, advances in printing technology and photography allowed us to share more comprehensive views of White House spaces than ever before. Many rooms were photographed at wider angles, allowing us to illustrate the State Rooms with wall-to-wall shots on pages that fold out. We also went behind the scenes for a glimpse of several spaces off the tour route, such as the kitchen, bowling alley, flower shop, and collections storage.

IBPA: Where can we find this book?

Marcia: The White House: An Historic Guide is available online at shop.whitehousehistory.org and on Amazon. It is sold in the association’s shops in Washington, D.C., which include The White House History Shop at 1610 H Street, N.W; the White House Visitor Center at 1450 Pennsylvania Avenue; and the Bookseller’s Area inside the White House itself.  

IBPA: This has been a fascinating interview and look behind the scenes at the White House Historical Association Press. We're really grateful for your taking the time to share these stories with IBPA, Marcia. Thanks so much for sitting down with us today!

Share your unique publishing stories with the IBPA community! Our publishers want to hear what other publishers are doing that is unique, successful or inspiring! Send to adeline@ibpa-online.org. For more details about the types of stories we're seeking, click here.

Though launching a new book isn’t the focus of our Spotlights articles, IBPA is happy to share that exciting news on social media. Please contact ashley@ibpa-online.org with the launch date, your book cover, your book title, your book's genre, a link to where readers can learn more about your book, and your Instagram handle.

For good news in general about your publishing company (your book received a wonderful editorial review, you have an upcoming speaking engagement, etc.), use the hashtag #IBPAmemberGoodNews on Twitter and IBPA will amplify your good news!

Whether you have news or not, all of us at IBPA are cheering you on!

About the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)

Founded in 1983 to support independent publishers nationwide, the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) leads and serves the independent publishing community through advocacy, education, and tools for success. With over 4,000 members, IBPA is the largest publishing association in the U.S. Its vision is a world where every independent publisher has the access, knowledge, and tools needed to professionally engage in all aspects of an inclusive publishing industry. For more information, visit ibpa-online.org.

Lis McLoughlin has been a volunteer, poet, and supporter of the arts and land conservation long before she became a publisher. But it is through her press NatureCulture that she is able roll her social activism, and love of poetry and the land, all into one effort. Through its Writing the Land book project, NatureCulture publishes anthologies of poetry specially written for protected lands, and these books have helped over 150 land trusts across the nation to raise awareness and funds to advance their conservation efforts.

IBPA: Hi Lis, thank you for joining us. First of all, tell us what is the Writing the Land project?

Lis McLoughlin: Hi, thanks for having me. Writing the Land is a publishing project at the intersection of the environmental and creative communities. We use poetry as activism to conserve land by coordinating poets to adopt a property protected by a land trust or other entity. Poets visit their conserved lands and create poems inspired by the land. We then publish an anthology including these poems and other information about the land with a chapter for each land trust.

IBPA: How many anthologies have you published, and how many land trusts and poets have been paired up in this project so far?

Lis: The project in its fourth year. We have published eight anthologies, but next month in December, it will be nine, and five other books of poetry to do with the land. One more, our first, was published by Human Error Publishing. We have over 150 land conservation organizations and 325 poets in this project.

More than 150 land trusts across the country are participating in the Writing the Land project. Click on map to see one near you.

IBPA: So how do these poetry anthologies support the land trusts and their missions?

Lis: The entire project is run in order to support land trusts with outreach and fundraising. The organizations protecting the lands each get a chapter in the anthology that includes their poems, maps, photos, and information about the featured lands, and how the organization protects the land. Land conservation organizations can purchase the books at wholesale for $10 and resell at retail for $20, or give away as donor gifts, raffle, or thank you gifts to volunteers. Some have formed alliances with local bookstores, while others hold workshops and poetry readings bringing new people from the arts community into their membership.

Writing the Land's website features over 90 videos of trust lands and poets reading their poems dedicated to them.

IBPA: What about the poets who are partnered with each land trust?

Lis: The land trusts pay a small stipend to be in the project that also includes a stipend for their poet—we are one of the few projects that pay our writers for their contributions; poets retain their copyrights, but land trusts and the project can use the poems indefinitely and non-exclusively to support their mission. Poets can also purchase the books at wholesale to resell, and of course, they get a free book!

IBPA: Which brings us next to your company NatureCulture. How did the press, and the Writing the Land project start?

Lis: As a volunteer, for example as a board member of a land trust, we're asked for our time, and also our money. I felt one or the other should be enough, so I created NatureCulture as a business that would support my volunteer habit. I am lucky to not need to create an income stream from my work, so that makes it easy to cover expenses of the business and keep costs low for land protection partners, while still being able to pay poets.

IBPA: What next, what is your long term vision for this project?

Lis: I am always looking for new partners, as I have a lot of ideas, but little capacity to expand. In terms of the books produced, I am shifting toward more place-based and themed anthologies which seem more popular than the wider-ranging national collections.

Next month Writing The Land: The Connecticut River will come out; then next year, among other volumes, Writing the Land: Virginia; and a book focused on the island of Cayman Brac; and in 2025, Writing The Land: Washington and Writing The Land: New York (Rensselaer County).

Further, I'm thinking of compiling some of the work we already have into new volumes that would appeal to people who seem to love to read about places close to home, or places they dream about visiting. We could do WTL: Islands, or WTL: West Coast...there are so many wonderful poems and information in the books, and I'd like to see the work we've already put in reach a greater audience.

IBPA: You have recorded the poets reading poems they've written for their "adopted land" in a series of 98 Writing the Land YouTube videos, not to mention hosting poetry reading events on the lands itself. What next?

In a recent Writing the Land event, poet Lisa Ventura reads at the Morris Jumel Mansion in New York City.

Lis: This winter we're piloting Reading the Land, a project where a poet visits a library's reading group and they discuss the book and give a reading, with an optional field trip out to a conserved land.

I'm also discussing some gift card and calendar options with photographers. And my "reach" project is that I'm considering how to encourage more activism and networking among the many activist poetry and arts groups I've met along the way, maybe starting with a page on my website as a resource, and somehow using my annual online Authors & Artists festival as more of a conference or community meeting. The goal of all these projects is to encourage humans to be in a right relationship with nature, and to encourage the conservation of lands.

IBPA: Now let’s shift gears and talk about you! You hold a BS in Civil Engineering, an MEd in Education, and a PhD in Science and Technology Studies…an amazing background in the sciences! And now you’re a poet, activist and publisher! Tell us about your journey and how you ended up here.

Lis: I don't believe there are right-brained and left-brained people. Dualisms are too simple to describe humans, and we should stop limiting ourselves and just try whatever feels interesting. I've been writing poetry forever, but like most middle-class kids, I was encouraged to major in something more "practical." I didn't particularly enjoy math, but I was ready for a change and a challenge. Engineering has been good to me: I learned high-level organizational skills I use every day, I was able to get a job and teach because people are always looking for math-literate teachers, and of course it's very useful in helping me understand environmental research.

But at each stage of my education and later life, I wondered: when do I finally get to do what I want? It wasn't until I thought of how to use my interest in poetry to forward a greater cause, that of land conservation, that things came together for me, and that writing stopped feeling like "not enough." I don't write much anymore because I'm too busy publishing, but as I learn as I go in the business world, and build systems that support me, I am slowly reclaiming my writing time, too.

I now believe, contrary to the advice I received, that people should go with their passion, especially as the corporate world becomes less of what it used to be, a safe bet for a secure future. Young people choosing a career have less to lose by taking a riskier path...and we all have so much to gain...if everyone pursues the intersection of their passions, their skills, and what needs to be done to make the world a better place.

IBPA: You currently live off the grid in Northfield, MA and also part time in Montreal, Canada. Just the former in itself is fascinating—living off the grid!—without adding on the latter which is living in another country, though admittedly, Canada is a neighbor. Tell us how this came about...

Lis: I love living in the forest, and the decision to be off-grid was both practical in terms of finances—bringing the electricity lines to my rural land would have cost more than the installation of an off-grid electric system—and fit my values of not wanting to support the current energy system.

Montreal is for me an indulgence, and an investment. I have since learned that travel along the Connecticut River corridor from Montreal to western Massachusetts is traditionally very common. I am privileged to be able to enjoy both places. But while I am grounded in Northfield, in Canada I'm only a visitor. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be a call for more publishers in Quebec. They might take me if I went back to being an engineer, but having finally found my own interdisciplinary, twisted path in life, I'm going to stay on it...even if it takes me across the border every six months.

Share your unique publishing stories with the IBPA community! Our publishers want to hear what other publishers are doing that is unique, successful or inspiring! Send to adeline@ibpa-online.org. For more details about the types of stories we're seeking, click here.

Though launching a new book isn’t the focus of our Spotlights articles, IBPA is happy to share that exciting news on social media. Please contact ashley@ibpa-online.org with the launch date, your book cover, your book title, your book's genre, a link to where readers can learn more about your book, and your Instagram handle.

For good news in general about your publishing company (your book received a wonderful editorial review, you have an upcoming speaking engagement, etc.), use the hashtag #IBPAmemberGoodNews on Twitter and IBPA will amplify your good news!

Whether you have news or not, all of us at IBPA are cheering you on!

About the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)

Founded in 1983 to support independent publishers nationwide, the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) leads and serves the independent publishing community through advocacy, education, and tools for success. With over 4,000 members, IBPA is the largest publishing association in the U.S. Its vision is a world where every independent publisher has the access, knowledge, and tools needed to professionally engage in all aspects of an inclusive publishing industry. For more information, visit ibpa-online.org.

(Manhattan Beach – November 9, 2023) -- Each year, the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) conducts a member demographics survey to better understand the make-up of IBPA’s membership and the challenges faced by independent publishers at the moment.

This past fall we invited our 3,500+ members to participate in the survey. A total of 410 individuals responded, reflecting about 12% of the IBPA membership. In addition to sharing information about their publishing companies and the respective business challenges and opportunities they encounter, publishers also shared the educational programs, member benefits, and advocacy initiatives they would most like IBPA to prioritize. IBPA will use this information to inform our 2024 programming.

As in past years, the majority of respondents identified as Independent Publishers, either hybrid or traditional (46%), with the next largest group being Self-Published Authors (39%). The remaining respondents comprised suppliers, authors, and future publishers.

In terms of their roles within their organizations, 50% were organizational leaders (Publishers, CEOs or C-level employees) while the next largest group (24%) identified as Authors. While 27% of respondents have been in publishing for just 2-5 years, a full 20% of members indicated they have been active in the industry for over 21 years.

Some additional statistics gathered from the survey include:

• Catalog Size
  Over half (54%) of respondents have 2-20 active titles in their catalog, while 12% have over 100 active titles.
  
  
• Distribution
  While 13% of IBPA members have a full-service distribution partner, another 32% report that they do not have, nor do they want, distribution. However, the majority (43%) expressed desire for a dedicated sales force to promote their books to bookstores.
  
  
• Revenues
  When asked where the majority of their revenue is coming from, 45% of respondents said it came primarily from online retailers, followed by trade sales and direct to consumer sales.
  
  
• Challenges
  The top distribution concerns expressed by members were: Returns, securing distribution, understanding fees charged for distribution, and better understanding how to forecast for print runs and sell-through.
  
  
• Book Sales
  When asked to identify the top challenge regarding book sales, respondents identified: Understanding how to work with bookstores, understanding how to work with libraries, ensuring books were in the right markets, and managing sales returns.
  
  
• IBPA Benefits
  When asked to rank the IBPA benefits in terms of value, respondents identified discounts on member benefits as the top value (33%), followed by educational programming (32%) and marketing and advertising programs (17%).
  
  


• Advocacy
  When asked to identify the #1 areas of advocacy in which members would like IBPA to invest, overwhelmingly respondents selected market access (82%) as their top priority, followed by creating space for publishers from marginalized communities (45%) and legislative representation around issues such as copyright protection and book banning (43%).

IBPA thanks all the members who participated in the 2023 IBPA Member Survey. If you didn’t have the opportunity to take the survey, but would like to ensure your perspective is captured, please reach out to Andrea at andrea@ibpaa-online.org.

IBPA uses the information to inform its efforts in designing services and education that answer members’ needs. All information shared is private and will be used in aggregate only.

About the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)

Founded in 1983 to support independent publishers nationwide, the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) leads and serves the independent publishing community through advocacy, education, and tools for success. With over 4,000 members, IBPA is the largest publishing association in the U.S. Its vision is a world where every independent publisher has the access, knowledge, and tools needed to professionally engage in all aspects of an inclusive publishing industry. For more information, visit ibpa-online.org.

Becky Parker-Geist, CEO of Pro Audio Voices

The Rise of Audiobooks

The audiobook market has been thriving, and continuously growing, over the years, and Parker-Geist believes that the growth of audiobooks will continue unabated. For over a decade, the industry has witnessed double-digit growth, with no signs of slowing down. A significant portion of the population has yet to fully embrace audiobooks, which Parker-Geist says presents an enormous untapped market.

“There’s still a large percentage of the population that hasn’t really gotten into audiobooks yet, so there’s a huge potential there,” she says. “The most typical experience is that once people get started listening to audiobooks, they fall in love with that experience.” Audiobooks provide authors with a powerful means of reaching their audience and making a lasting impact, Parker-Geist says.

A Journey Rooted in Passion

Parker-Geist’s journey in the audiobook industry began in 1981 when audiobooks were primarily distributed through the Library of Congress on cassette tapes. She fell in love with the art of audiobook narration and storytelling, and this passion eventually led her to create Pro Audio Voices in 2013. Initially, the company was a one-person operation, with Parker-Geist wearing multiple hats, from narrator to producer. However, her desire to provide a broader range of services and help authors with diverse needs drove the company’s growth.

In late 2017, Pro Audio Voices started gaining momentum. Today, the company has three employees and utilizes a team of over 500 global narrators and numerous audio engineers, allowing them to cater to a wide array of client requirements. Their mission-driven approach reflects their unwavering commitment to the industry they love.

“Our goal is to meet our clients where they are with what they need,” she says. “That’s always been a real driving force for me because we’re very mission-driven. We’re doing this because we love doing it, and we feel like it’s really important work.”

Pro Audio Voices thrives on collaboration, both internally and with authors. Parker-Geist’s open-minded approach encourages team members and collaborators to suggest improvements and innovations. While challenges can arise, particularly with narrators who may face unforeseen circumstances that affect their work, such hurdles are part of the dynamic nature of the industry, and Parker-Geist and her team navigate them with professionalism and understanding.

Empowering Authors (and Publishers) with AMPlify Audiobooks

One of the most significant milestones in Pro Audio Voices’ journey is the launch of the AMPlify app in July 2023. This platform transforms the way authors interact with their audiobook audiences. To authors, the app functions as a virtual mall, where they have their own stores. They enjoy full control over metadata, pricing, promotional offers, and even access to valuable customer information. Parker-Geist understands the importance of this direct connection between authors and their readers, fostering the growth of vibrant communities around audiobooks.

In a world where indie authors often struggle to see a return on their audiobook investments due to the dominant retail model, AMPlify offers a lifeline, Parker-Geist says. It empowers authors to market effectively, run promotions, and tailor their audiobook experience to suit their unique needs. “This has felt really essential to me for years, and we’ve only just been in a position where we’ve been able to make this happen,” she says.

The decision to develop the AMPlify app was a long and deliberate one. Parker-Geist’s team embarked on this journey in late 2020, initially setting up the AMPlify Audiobooks program. However, the user experience fell short of their expectations. Through collaboration and determination, they overcame challenges, hired a dedicated programmer, and brought the app to life.

The launch of the AMPlify app also brings benefits to publishers. It introduces an affiliate fee/referral fee program, allowing publishers to refer authors to the direct opportunities provided by the app. This creates a win-win situation for authors and publishers, fostering a more symbiotic relationship within the industry.

The Use of AI in the Audiobook Process

Parker-Geist sees technology, including artificial intelligence (AI), as having a role in audiobook production, but she emphasizes that it should be seen as a tool rather than a replacement for the creative human touch. AI can assist in proofing and other tasks, but the human connection and creativity remain irreplaceable elements in audiobook narration. “No matter how good AI gets, on some level, we’re not aligning. We’re not connecting in the same way that we could when it’s human-to-human. One of the things I love about audiobooks is: Here I am in a booth, and I’m telling a story, and then later, in some other place, someone is listening to the story. We have just messed around with time and space through this process, and there’s something really magical about that.”

Share your unique publishing stories with the IBPA community in a member spotlight article! Send to adeline@ibpa-online.org. For more details about the types of stories we're seeking, click here.

Though launching a new book isn’t the focus of our member spotlight articles, IBPA is happy to share that exciting news on social media. Please contact ashley@ibpa-online.org with the launch date, your book cover, your book title, your book's genre, a link to where readers can learn more about your book, and your Instagram handle.

For good news in general about your publishing company (your book received a wonderful editorial review, you have an upcoming speaking engagement, etc.), use the hashtag #IBPAmemberGoodNews on Twitter and IBPA will amplify your good news!

Whether you have news or not, all of us at IBPA are cheering you on!

(Manhattan Beach, CA - November 3, 2023) -- In 2020, a DEI Task Force of the IBPA Board of Directors developed a DEI Strategic Plan, making more explicit IBPA’s commitment to fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion within its leadership, policies, practices, publications, and membership and its desire to contribute to a more inclusive and diverse publishing industry, particularly within the independent publishing community.

Our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) work to date includes:
1. Ongoing organization-wide surveys/assessment.
2. Working with DEI consultants to provide introductory training to the board of directors, key volunteers, and the at-large membership.
3. Incorporating DEI principles and values into IBPA’s strategic plan including a commitment to eliminate bias and enhance diversity and inclusion within the IBPA community.
4. Creating a member-led DEI Committee that is tasked with serving as a sounding board and advisory council on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion within IBPA and the independent book publishing community.
5. Developing a DEI Resource Center to enable positive, actionable, and systemic change among our membership and within the publishing industry.
6. Launching the IBPA Innovative Voices Program to recognize and serve publishers from marginalized communities.

Continuing in its efforts to build a more inclusive, equitable and transparent industry, IBPA is seeking a qualified consultant to build on this previous DEI work. The scope of the work will be to assess the current knowledge base that our staff and key volunteers hold, and provide training to elevate their awareness and skill set. In an effort to find the ideal candidate for this role, we ask that members review and share this RFP with any applicants that might be interested. The deadline to submit a proposal in response to this RFP is December 29, 2023.

Click here to view and download the IBPA Request for Proposal for a DEI Consultant.

Thank you for your help in building a thriving and inclusive IBPA community.

Best,
Andrea Fleck-Nisbet
IBPA CEO
info@ibpa-online.org