Page Two’s summer intern recently asked us how she could stay up-to-date with the latest news in publishing. After all, commercial publishing is filled with just as many buzzwords, hot topics, complexities, and developments as any other major industry and can be confusing and intimidating to people on the outside. Sometimes new authors and self-publishers feel like they fall within this category, often feeling like they’re going in blind. Sometimes our clients are left asking themselves, “where do I start?”
There are seemingly endless blogs, newsletters, and online educational tools to help industry professionals, and Page Two feels that new authors and self-publishers could stand to gain from these great resources. We think that if new authors and self-publishers could glimpse the industry from the inside, they’d feel a greater sense of empowerment and confidence in their projects going forward. This roundup of industry newsletters, blogs, and online resources is a great place to start your industry education and stay up-to-date on industry news.
Even better, all of these resources are free to the public and don’t require a business affiliation.
Publisher’s Weekly is an online and print publication focused on the business of book publishing with a reputation for being “the bible of the book business.” Best known for publishing thousands of pre-publication reviews, they also offer tips and tricks for book success, industry statistics, book deal announcements, awards and prize announcements, event announcements, and business deal announcements. You can subscribe to their daily newsletter, called PW Daily, to get a literal play-by-play of goings on in the industry. The BookLife Report, a weekly newsletter for self-publishers, is also a helpful resource.
Quill & Quire is similar to Publisher’s Weekly but for all things Canadian. Their blog, Quillblog, is an invaluable resource for industry news within a Canadian context. More than lists of top books, book deals, and award nominations, Quillblog is often a good resource for news in digital publishing as well as general developments within the Canadian industry. They also offer lots of information on children’s book publishing, which is sometimes a different ball game altogether.
BookNet Canada is an organization that aggregates data and reports on the Canadian book market. They offer market research and statistics on subject categories (or BISACs), consumer behaviour, sales trends, distribution trends, the state of digital publishing, and so on. Their newsletter, BNC eNews, reports on best practices for print and digital publishing, marketing, and distribution, including everything you ever wanted to know about metadata.
Digital Book World is the go-to website for e-book production. Their Expert Publishing Blog hosts a wide array of expert contributors from the digital publishing community, and as a result, DBW continues to be at the forefront of digital publishing development. As well as offering practical solutions to production problems, DBW provides a directory of trusted industry partners and services in e-book, app, website, and transmedia production.
Mike Shatzkin, industry expert and founder of the Idea Logical Company, is the authoritative voice in publishing innovation and development especially in the digital realm. The Shatzkin Files blog and newsletter discusses new technologies and technology best practices, including strategies for digital publication. Shatzkin speaks to authors and self-publishers just as much as industry professionals so he has insight into both arenas.
Jane Friedman’s award-winning blog helps authors and self-publishers make informed decisions for their publishing careers. Having worked in the publishing industry for many years, Jane has lots of interesting things to say about “the future of authorship” in relation to technology development. Her newsletter, Electric Speed, offers practical recommendations on software, website plug-ins, e-book distribution services, and marketing tools for authors and self-publishers.
The Book Designer founder, Joel Friedlander, has years of experience in printing, graphic design, and typography and his website offers “practical advice to help build better books.” Much of his website is geared toward self-publishers, helping them to make their way through the publishing process. You can sign up for his newsletter to receive how-to guides, tips and tricks, and FAQs on virtually every aspect of self-publishing.
Still confused about where to start? Contact us to inquire about how to start a career as a new author or self-publisher.