This Week in Indie Publishing

Don’t believe everything you read – e-books are on the rise

With e-books recently being deemed ‘stupid’ by Arnoud Nourry, chief executive of Hachette Livre, and many articles in the last year claiming a ‘plunge’ in e-book sales and a resurgent in print, I think it is time to question exactly where the data for those articles comes from, and to question how much truth there is behind those statements.

It is fantastic that print publishing is seeing a resurgence, but why does it have to be at the expense of e-book publishing? Why are both formats not celebrated together? Surely every sale of a book should be celebrated, as should a general increase in reading on all formats. It seems that some publishers, particularly some of those working at the heads of the larger publishing houses are still eager to see e-books fail, and seem almost gleeful when they report that their e-book sales are stalling. It is time to stop looking down your nose at e-books and start looking to the future, because, like it or not, e-books are here to stay – just as much as paper books are. More and more readers are switching to e-books every day, or, like me, buying in both print and digital format, so, if your readers are embracing e-books, why wouldn’t you as a publisher?

Read the rest of this story HERE.

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How to Self-Publish an Audiobook – The Best PC Apps

Audiobooks are the fastest growing segment in digital publishing and are a billion dollar industry. There are no shortage of services that allow authors to outsource the production and narration to other companies such as the Audiobook Creation Exchange, Findaway Voices, ListenUp Audiobooks but it will cost almost $1,000 to have one developed. There are numerous tools available for the PC that make it easy to create your own audiobook.

It is important to note that most audiobook submission services such as iTunes will not accept a 12 hour long file.  You have to record your books in segments, chapter by chapter. Each uploaded file must have between 0.5 and 1 second of room tone at the head, and between 1 and 5 seconds of room tone at the tail. Each uploaded file must be free of extraneous sounds such as plosives, mic pops, mouse clicks, excessive mouth noise, and outtakes. Each uploaded file must measure between -23dB and -18dB RMS.Each uploaded file must have peak values no higher than -3dB. Each uploaded file must have a noise floor no higher than -60dB RMS. Finally each file must be 44.1 kHz and each file no larger than 170MB.

Read the rest of this story HERE.

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Legalities to Consider When Printing a Book

Publishing your own book can be a dream come true.  Many people opt to go down the self-publishing route due to creative reasons, or cost reasons but there are some things that you need to take into consideration when doing this.

If you do this through a publishing house, there is an editor with you every step of the way to give you a helping hand.  With self-publishing – all of the responsibility lies on you. This includes the writing of the book, the design of the book – as well as all of the marketing involved so it can be a daunting task.

There are some legalities involved that you may not be aware of, so we have put together a handy list below.  Hopefully by following this list, you will have a better idea of how to stay out of trouble if you are thinking about going to printing your own book.

Read the rest of this story HERE.

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5 Women In Publishing Talk About Why Books About Race And Gender Are So Popular Now

Tell us who you are, what you do, and how long you’ve been in publishing.

TMM: I’m Terese Marie Mailhot from Seabird Island Band (rez). I’ve been publishing and editing for three years. I’d classify myself as a writer, but I got my first real start as Saturday editor at the Rumpus, and since then I’ve been able to include original voices into several different projects and collectives, and I’ve been able to publish a book with Counterpoint Press and Doubleday Canada.

MT: I’m Meredith Talusan, a first-generation immigrant Filipino trans writer, journalist, and editor who is also albino. I’m currently the executive editor of them., Condé Nast’s queer digital platform, and author of the forthcoming memoir Fairest from Viking Books at Penguin Random House. I’ve been publishing pieces on minority issues, especially trans and race, since 2014, including at BuzzFeed where I was a staff writer.

Read the rest of this story HERE.

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British publishing can still lead the world after Brexit

UK publishing is world leading and a cornerstone of Britain’s cultural and economic influence. The books and journals our authors write have helped shape thoughts and ideas the world over for hundreds of years. Together our industry generates up to £7.8bn for the UK economy and supports more than 70,000 jobs. As Britain leaves the EU and looks to build new trading relationships with the world, negotiations in Brussels and beyond offer a unique chance to ensure the future success of one of Britain’s most important exports. The government has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make sure that the outcomes of any negotiations enable the UK to retain its place as the world’s publisher.

Read the rest of this story HERE.