Podcast appearances and mentions of robin cutler

Today we catch up with the incomparable Robin Cutler. As one of indie publishing's original trailblazers, Robin created IngramSpark to serve indie authors and now serves as president of LMBPN, one of the fastest-growing indie publishers.//Draft2Digital is where you start your Indie Author Career//  Looking for your path to self-publishing success? Draft2Digital is the leading ebook publisher and distributor worldwide. We'll convert your manuscript, distribute it online, and support you the whole way—and we won't charge you a dime.  We take a small percentage of the royalties for each sale you make through us, so we only make money when you make money. That's the best kind of business plan.  • Get started now: https://draft2digital.com/• Learn the ins, the outs, and the all-arounds of indie publishing from the industry experts on the D2D Blog: https://Draft2Digital.com/blog  • Promote your books with our Universal Book Links from Books2Read: https://books2read.com  Make sure you bookmark https://D2DLive.com for links to live events, and to catch back episodes of the Self Publishing Insiders Podcast.

In this episode Mark interviews Judith and Michael Anderle of LMBPN Publishing. This episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update on the forthcoming release of Fear and Longing in Los Angeles and the ongoing work being done on Wide for the Win. He also talks about the benefits of PLR (Public Lending Right) programs.   In their conversation, Judith, Michael, and Mark talk about: How they each got started in the business of publishing Michael's first 90 days of writing and publishing Judith's background in the medical and pharmaceutical industry and how she made Michael create a profit/loss statement for the following year for LMBPN before she decided to step in and run the company How calculating the earnings of $7.50 per book per day led to the idea of the 20Booksto50K methodology, movement, and Facebook Group Judith's inkling for fashion and how that led to the company name LMBPN (London Madrid Barceloni Paris New York - the fashion capitals of the word) and how the complexity of the company name provided a "great, people will talk about it" essence The "Disruptive Imagination" tag line for LMBPN and the multiple pillars represented in the logo itself The generosity of spirit in working with authors directly at LMBPN as well as sharing with the larger author community Some of the international authors and employees of LMBPN who hail from all over the world How Michael and Judith have long operated not only within indie publishing circles, but also traditional publishing venues and international book fairs The recent acquisition of book industry veteran Robin Cutler as President of LMBPN Michael's recent health issues related to hypertension and other conditions The value of knowing yourself, and your nature, as well as understanding your strengths and weaknesses The unofficial "disrupting retirement" behavior of LMBPN How Judith never looks at a negotiation as a one-time business contract, but more about the benefit of the long-term relationship The OPUS-X project and the multi-layers of collaboration for this wide book launch Advice that Michael and Judith would give to the earlier versions of themselves when first getting into this business And more... After the interview Mark reflects on the ground-breaking changes that LMBPN is ushering in. He also thanks patrons of the podcast. Links of Interest LMBPN Publishing OPUS X Book One: Obsidian Detective Black History Month Organizations & Resources Findaway Voices Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Wide for the Win Wide Writer Survey Wide for the Win Submission Form Patreon for Stark Reflections LMBPN is the publishing company for the Kurtherian Gambit, Oriceran, Protected by the Damned and other Universes. In addition to Michael Anderle, they have have published in eBook, print, and audio format collaborations with Justin Sloan, Craig Martelle, TS Paul, CM Raymond, and LE Barbant, Paul C. Middleton, Amy Hopkins, Ell Leigh Clarke, PT Hylton, Candy Crum, Martha Carr, Sarah Boyce, A. L. Knorr, Sarah Knoffke, and many others.     The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Episode 050 / Not to be outdone by the countdown to the new year (and who isn’t ready to wave goodbye to 2020?), Jami and Sara count the top ten episodes of the first year of the Wish I’d Known Then podcast. In the intro, Sara talks about reading Gail Carriger’s book The Heroine’s Journey. Jami is finishing her story that she’s sending to her newsletter. Jami recommends Warrior Nun and Sara’s binging Hallmark Christmas movies. You can find show notes and links at wishidknownforwriters.com. Episode with the most comments/interaction: Ep 44: Narrating Your Fiction Audiobooks with Nikki Haverstock Episodes with the most Youtube views: 1 -Ep 15: Finding Success in Small Genres with Elana Johnson 2 - Ep 48: Becca Syme on Unrealistic Expectations and JOMO (the Joy of Missing Out) 3 - Ep 41: Robin Cutler on the Advantages of IngramSpark for Print and the Future of Publishing Countdown of Top 10 Podcast episode downloads: 10 - Ep 5: Learning to Reverse Engineer a Novel with Cecelia Mecca 9 - Ep 24: Why Isn’t This Book (or Series) Selling? Shea MacLeod on Analyzing Backlist Titles 8 - Ep 30: Understanding Your Motivation to Write with H. Claire Taylor 7 - Ep 17: Lindsay Buroker on Pen Names, Podcasting, and Rapid Release 6 - Ep 15: Finding Success in Small Genres with Elana Johnson 5 - Ep 22: How Pamela Fagan Hutchins Turned Her Writing Career Around 4 - Ep 1: Mistakes and Lessons Learned in Indie Publishing 3 - Ep 8: How David Gaughran is Using his Lessons Learned to Reboot his Fiction and Nonfiction Books 2 - Ep 29: Craig Martelle on Pricing Strategies, Making More Money with Less Books, and Writing with Health Issues 1 - Ep 26: Book Launch Plans: The Mega Episode The Big List of Craft and marketing books mentioned on WIKT podcast episodes Come over and say hi to Jami and Sara in the WIKT Facebook group.

In this episode Mark shares an interview with Monica Leonelle, a USA Today bestselling author best known for her young adult urban fantasy and paranormal romance series, Waters Dark and Deep. She also teaches writing, publishing, business, and marketing at TheWorldNeedsYourBook.com. Her most recent nonfiction series, Growth Hacking for Storytellers, has helped thousands of writers write faster, become better storytellers, and find their way to success. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal, update, some comments and a few words about this episode's sponsors. These details include Commentary on Robin Cutler joining LMBPN Thoughts about publishing trends and future predictions (based on insightful comments from patrons) A bit about Mark's early writing history, Tough Guys Big Adventure and a stupid Dad Joke video short Sponsors: Findaway Voices and Clark Chamberlan's Author Hustle You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. During their conversation Monica and Mark talk about: Monica's start in self-publishing back in 2009 in non-fiction How Monica's first book on social media for corporations allowed her to shift from software engineering to social media marketing Wanting to buy a domain called "howtobeanauthor" but Joanna Penn got it first The era of self-publishing when Amanda Hawking first exploded onto the scene Monica's first fiction book, Silver Smoke, which was not written to market, but still sold 5000 copies The "early days" of eBook publishing, which often involved learning html coding How learning to write fast was the next major turning point in Monica's writing career Some of the fundamental marketing practices that Monica recommends How books like Twilight and The Martian are written to super-specific genres, but with some high level story structures that are universal The importance of psychological triggers in a story How Monica has divided up her time working on three different types of writing and multiple author names/brands Trends that Monica has been tracking in the writing industry Some of the things going on with different reading apps outside the major retailers How Monica leverages different tools to sell direct, and her enthusiasm about being able to do bundling of eBook/Audio/Print via direct website sales The interesting history and secrets of the old house that Monica lives in And more... After the interview, Mark reflects on Monica's long term experience within indie publishing, and the important of persistence and sticking it out for the long run.   Links of Interest: Monica Leonelle Main Website The World Needs Your Book Special Courses from Monica (for Early 2021) Solo Storm Books Card Reading Queen Kobo Writing Life NaNoWriMo Promo (use coupon code NANO2020) Findaway Voices Clark Chamberlan's Stock Up Author Hustle Offer LMBPN Press Release about Robin Cutler Wide for the Win Submission Form A Christmas Howl (Christmas Carol Dad Joke) Patreon for Stark Reflections   Monica Leonelle is a USA Today bestselling author best known for her young adult urban fantasy and paranormal romance series, Waters Dark and Deep. She also teaches writing, publishing, business, and marketing at TheWorldNeedsYourBook.com. Her most recent nonfiction series, Growth Hacking for Storytellers, has helped thousands of writers write faster, become better storytellers, and find their way to success. She also founded The World Needs Your Book event series to bring this training to the world. Before becoming an independent author, Monica led digital marketing efforts at Inc. 100 companies like Hansen's Natural and Braintree. She's been an avid blogger of marketing and business trends since 2007. Her ideas have been featured in AdAge, The Huffington Post, Forbes, Inc., the AMEX OpenForum, GigaOm, Mashable, Social Media Today, and the Christian Science Monitor. Monica lives in a very, very old, 3-story home in St. Louis, MO with her husband and adorable westie, Mia. It possibly has ghosts. And definitely has a secret passage. To find out what she's up to and get access to her latest fiction updates, exclusive giveaways, advanced review copies, and more, sign up at MonicaLeonelle.com.   The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Episode 041 / Robin Cutler, director of IngramSpark, joined Sara and Jami to talk about how indie authors can expand their readership through print books. They also discussed common mistakes Robin sees authors make, how to set up print preorders through IngramSpark, what genres are selling right now, and future trends in publishing. Intro recap: Sara was on the Six Figure Authors podcast (#60-How to Write Series that Sell with Sara Rosett) and her How to Write a Series audiobook just released. Jami’s exciting news: she has a new grandbaby! Jami is grateful for indie publishing, which gives her the ability to spend time with her family and help them out during this time. Come over and say hi to Jami and Sara in the WIKT Facebook group! You can find show notes and links at wishidknownforwriters.com. In this podcast episode, you’ll discover: An explanation of the wholesale model and discounting Why discounting makes your books attractive to booksellers Publisher direct orders - using IngramSpark as your printer and having them dropship your books to readers The next iteration of publishing industry: direct sales Common mistakes Robin sees authors make Top genres right now and future publishing trends to watch for IngramSpark’s free formatting tool The advantage of print preorders, which are currently only available to indie authors through IngramSpark - Sara’s step by step guide to setting up print preorders through IngramSpark Using Bookshop.org for online affiliate sales of print books - Wish I’d Known Then Bookshop.org page of recommended craft and marketing books mentioned on the podcast How to use IngramSpark and KDP Print side by side Links: SPF 101 - Ingram Spark course Six Figure Authors Podcast - Writing Series that Sell with Sara Rosett How to Write a Series audiobook IngramSpark podcast: Go Publish Yourself Craft and marketing books mentioned on WIKT podcast

Topics CoveredWhat is IngramSpark?Templates to make layout easier and books look more professionalThe importance of a unique cover designOn-demand books for retail and wholesale marketsHow has publishing changed in the past 10 years and what trends will continue? POD manufacture lets anyone be a publisherPower of AmazonEase of bringing books to marketIs distribution getting too consolidated?The rise of Bookshop.orgBenefits to working with established publishers as partnersLinksIngramSparkhttps://www.ingramspark.com/ParticipantsRobin Cutler has led the development of IngramSpark as an Ingram Content Group service for indie authors and publishers since 2013. During her career, she has published over 1,000 books as Assistant Director at USC Press, and CEO and founder of her own trade imprint, Summerhouse Press. Robin most recently worked for Amazon/CreateSpace. She has broad knowledge of indie, academic and trade publishing and is an expert in content creation, distribution, on-demand models, and author strategies. Follow Robin on Twitter @rcutlerbookpub and after she retires from Ingram in November 2020, contact her at robin@howtopublishbooks.com.Peter Goodman (host) is publisher of Stone Bridge Press in Berkeley, California. He began his publishing career in Tokyo, Japan, in 1976. A longtime member of IBPA, he has served on the IBPA board and as IBPA board chair.For more information, go to IBPA at https://www.ibpa-online.org/.

In the world of Independent Publishing, Ingram Spark is one of the major players. Today I talk to Robin Cutler, the Director of the company about was in which Ingram can support and assist you to publish your book. 

Join Robin Cutler, Orna Ross, Joanna Penn, and Sacha Black in this Self-Publishing Advice Conference Highlight: The Power of Indie Publishing. Over the last few years, there has been a seismic shift of writers choosing to self-publish rather than navigate a traditional publishing path. This is partly because authors have tools that are available to make publishing both affordable and profitable as never before. But more importantly authors are choosing indie publishing as a way to better realize their creative vision. In this session, learn why this shift is happening and how you can harness this power for your own work. Find more author advice, tips and tools at our Self-publishing Author Advice Center: https://selfpublishingadvice.org, with a huge archive of nearly 2,000 blog posts, and a handy search box to find key info on the topic you need. And, if you haven’t already, we invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally. You can do that at http://allianceindependentauthors.org.

In the final episode of Season 4, Robin Cutler is joined by Bill Samuel, indie author and member of the Foyle bookselling family, who founded the world-renowned Foyles bookstore in the UK. He shares his unique perspective from both sides of publishing: as a bookseller and a book publisher. Robin and Bill discuss the state of bookselling in the UK, and the important lessons Bill learned as a self-published author. Get inspired by Bill's story and self-publish your own book at https://selfpub.is/2XfzcPF. This episode is sponsored by The Alliance of Independent Authors, a non-profit professional association, offering collaboration, advice, and advocacy for authors who self-publish. Find out more at https://selfpub.is/2MfjGPc.

Self-publishing in Australia is on the rise! How can you connect to this local community? What's the book publishing market like there? In this exciting episode, Robin Cutler is joined by Debbie Lee, a Senior Leader with IngramSpark Australia, and Tim Colonel, General Manager of the Small Press Network. Learn more about events, associations, and resources available to the indie publishing community in Australia, and publish like a pro at https://selfpub.is/2XfzcPF. This episode is sponsored by Ebook Launch, offering affordable, professional book cover design services for any genre. See your ideas come to life at https://selfpub.is/35CSXnp.

Media attention is necessary to grow awareness for indie books, but most authors are confused about the process. Where do you go to find the best media outlets for your book? What exactly does a book publicist do? How much does hiring a PR firm cost, and is there a benefit to hiring more than one? Zach Obront, PR expert and co-founder of Scribe Media, sits down with Robin Cutler to chat about how to get your book noticed. Learn more about how to publish a book professionally at https://selfpub.is/2XfzcPF. This episode is sponsored by Poets & Writers, the creative writer's trusted companion since 1970, providing carefully curated resources for writers, including hundreds of writing contest deadlines, weekly writing prompts, and more: https://selfpub.is/2Ptas47.

Web design expert, John Burke, joins Robin Cutler to discuss author websites. Does an author need a website? How can you use your website to market your book? What all should you put on your author website? Tune in to learn more and publish your book with IngramSpark at https://selfpub.is/2XfzcPF. This episode is sponsored by The Hot Sheet, a publishing industry e-newsletter, delivering context and analysis on issues affecting authors today. Sign up for a free 30-day trial at https://selfpub.is/2LvcqhR.

Robin Cutler and Justine Bylo are back for Season 4 of Go Publish Yourself! Tune in to find out if you’ve made any of the top self-publishing mistakes—from choosing the wrong book title to failing to be “social” on social media—and learn how to publish like a pro at https://selfpub.is/2XfzcPF. This episode is sponsored by Writer’s Digest, a comprehensive resource for professional and aspiring writers of all media, genres, and skill levels: https://selfpub.is/2qkiaUe.

Topics include What is IngramSpark and how can it help author-publishers publish their books and reach worldwide markets? Quality of POD vs offset: just as good? Use of POD for market testing, correcting, and enhancing content through multiple printruns POD enables books to be printed for overseas markets for instant delivery and no shipping! The pricing challenge: POD unit costs are higher, but these are offset by reduced inventory and lower fulfillment costs, as well as use of “short” discounts Emergence of POD coincides with the author-publisher revolution There is still benefit to authors if they can sign a deal with a publisher willing to invest in them POD puts power in the hands of authors, but authors still need to work to create professional books in terms of editing and design and marketing Do booksellers order POD books? Yes, but author publishers need to offer competitive terms and discounts – and make their books returnable The IngramSpark podcast, Go Publish Yourself Links IngramSpark https://www.ingramspark.com Go Publish Yourself podcast https://www.ingramspark.com/podcast Participants Robin Cutler is committed to helping independent publishers easily get their content into the hands of readers around the globe. To help make this happen, Robin leads the development of IngramSpark and continues to support and refine the platform to better serve independent publishers around the world. Robin has broad knowledge of indie, academic and trade publishing and is an expert in content creation and distribution, on-demand models, marketing and author strategies. Robin is a leader in the independent publishing space, and when not developing new programs and services for IngramSpark, she can often be found sharing her expertise at industry events around the world. Peter Goodman (host) is publisher of Stone Bridge Press in Berkeley, California. He began his publishing career in Tokyo, Japan, in 1976. A longtime member of IBPA, he has served on the IBPA board and as IBPA board chair.

Ingram and Amazon are arguably the two most important companies when it comes to how the book industry functions—and while Amazon gets a lot of visibility and media attention, Ingram tends to be a bit more amorphous for authors. This episode breaks down what’s what at Ingram—helping authors break down the many branches of Ingram and why it all matters. Guest Robin Cutler of IngramSpark gives an insider perspective about this all-important player in the book publishing space.

“How do I get my book into independent bookstores?” “How do I get my book into libraries?” “How do I get my book into Target or Costco?” “How do I get my book into airports?”We hear these questions from authors every day, but the answer to each is different. All of these sales channels have different criteria that they look for when they select books, and it’s important to understand how AND why they differ. To encourage different stores and libraries to buy your book, you need to understand their motivations. Who are they serving, and what do they care about most?Book sales and marketing expert, Amy Collins, joins Robin Cutler and Justine Bylo to conclude Season 3 of the Go Publish Yourself Podcast. In this final episode, we discuss the nuances between sales channels, and how to give your self-published book the best chance of reaching readers. Listen, learn, and go publish yourself! https://selfpub.is/2sLTGkp

All your promotional strategies should be leading up to the ultimate moment: your book launch. Book promotion is a two-step approach, and it should be looked at from both a long-term and a short-term perspective. Long-term marketing involves building your author platform and brand, and it starts well in advance of short-term marketing, which is the actual promotion of your book. Fauzia Burke joins Robin Cutler to break down the specifics of the book promotion timeline, and help you understand where (and when) to start marketing your book. Do you know if you’re in the long-term or short-term marketing stage? Listen to find out, and for more book marketing advice, check out IngramSpark's free online publishing course,  How to Build an Author Platform: https://selfpub.is/2MvpeUI.

Most people assume that it takes a special kind of person to publish a book—that you must be a passionate writer who stays up at night dreaming about plot twists, character motivations, arcs, etc. But what about publishing a book to grow your business?Self-publishing has made publishing a book more accessible than ever, and business professionals have taken notice. Alex Fullerton joins Robin Cutler to discuss how she works with business people to create concise, compelling, and comprehensive books that complement their business and increase their professional standing. Learn how publishing a book makes sense for your business and publish like a pro with IngramSpark today: https://selfpub.is/2sLTGkp.

When it comes to soliciting book reviews for a self-published book, where do you even start? Patti Thorn, managing partner at Blue Ink Review, joins Robin Cutler and Justine Bylo on the podcast this week to discuss the difference between non fee-based (crowdsourced) and fee-based (professional) reviews. Before submitting a book to be professionally reviewed, it’s important to make sure that your manuscript is in top shape; and after you receive reviews, it’s important to know what to do with them! Learn more about book review submissions, the value of professional book reviews for self-published books, and how to incorporate reviews into your book marketing strategy. If you don’t yet have a book to review, create an account with IngramSpark and publish your book today! https://selfpub.is/2sLTGkp

Whether you're beginning a new novel, writing a book marketing plan for an existing title, or in the final stages of your self-publishing journey, now is the time to examine the self-publishing landscape at the conclusion of 2018 and prepare accordingly for 2019. Robin Cutler, Director of IngramSpark, and Justine Bylo, Author Acquisitions Manager for IngramSpark, are back to discuss 2018’s popular book trends—reviewing politics, poetry, sassy self-help, and more. Learn how these trends affect self-publishing and start publishing today at https://selfpub.is/2sLTGkp.

This is Part 2 of my talk with Robin Cutler, Director of IngramSpark, the professional publishing and distribution platform for independent authors. In this episode, we focus on distribution. IngramSpark has the widest distribution in the world, but we also talk about why you'd want to go direct with Amazon KDP Print (formerly CreateSpace) and how to make that happen without any problems.  You'll also learn how long it takes the stores to populate your book information - not every store is the same - and how this affects your book launch plan. Find out what bookstores expect and how to attract your local independent bookstore with the right discounting and, of course, a professionally produced book. Robin Cutler began her publishing career as Assistant Director of USC Press and than became founder and CEO of Summerhouse Press. She helped develop BookSurge, an early self-publishing tool that was acquired by Amazon and became Vendor Manager for Amazon/CreateSpace. When she is not traveling to represent IngramSpark at writing and publishing events worldwide, she works, writes, reads and lives in beautiful New Mexico. 

Learn about IngramSpark, the professional publishing tool from Ingram and its evolution from Lightning Source. You'll find out about free resources on the site for cover design templates, standard trim sizes, and a publisher compensation calculator to find out what your costs and profits will be when you distribute with IS. My talk is with Robin Cutler, Director of IngramSpark at Ingram Content Group. She is the former Assistant Director of USC Press and founder and CEO of Summerhouse Press. She helped develop BookSurge, an early self-publishing tool that was acquired by Amazon, and then became Vendor Manager for Amazon/CreateSpace. When she is not traveling to represent IngramSpark at writing and publishing events worldwide, she works, writes, reads and lives in beautiful New Mexico.  We talk about trim size standards for novels, children's books, and coffee table books. How to choose paper color (creme or white?) and weight (50, 60, and up) and the additional costs incurred with heavier paper weight. You'll also learn about creating books with "spot" color vs "full" color. Should you pay POD prices "as you go" or order a large number of books to save money? Where are the price breaks for high-quality digital POD copies of your book? If you're considering a hardback book—and we think you should—what are your choices? When do you choose case laminate or a jacket? We talk about setup fees and change charges, which don't apply to metadata changes and you'll find out why. (Hint: We love experimenting with metadata and we think you should, too.) This is just the first half of my talk with Robin. Next week, in part two, we talk all about distribution. 

Robin Cutler, Director of IngramSpark, discusses ways that publishers can use print-on-demand technology to launch their business and achieve distribution quickly. Topics include: how IngramSpark can help the small publisher manufacture and sell using IngramSpark and CreateSpace printing internationally indies vs the Big 5 full-service options for advanced indies the state of the ebook market is print dead? short-run color printing what's in Ingram's future? To find out more about IngramSpark, go to http://www.ingramspark.com/ Participants As the Director of IngramSpark at Ingram Content Group, Robin Cutler is committed to helping independent publishers easily get their content into the hands of readers around the globe. To help make this happen, she leads the development of IngramSpark and continues to support and refine the platform to better serve independent publishers around the world. She is a leader in the independent publishing space, and when not developing new programs and services for IngramSpark, she can often be found sharing her expertise at industry events around the world. Peter Goodman (host) is publisher of Stone Bridge Press in Berkeley, California. He began his publishing career in Tokyo, Japan, in 1976. A longtime member of IBPA, he has served on the IBPA board and as IBPA board chair.

Robin Cutler, Director of IngramSpark, in an insightful conversation with Smith Publicity CEO Dan Smith. Self-publishing, book marketing and book publicity insights abound in this lively conversation. From the evolving self-publishing landscape, book distribution, essential facts for self-publishing authors and even some Fifty Shades of Grey discussion - it's educational, entertaining, and must-listen material for all authors.

Robin Cutler, Director of IngramSpark, in an insightful conversation with Smith Publicity CEO Dan Smith. Self-publishing, book marketing and book publicity insights abound in this lively conversation. From the evolving self-publishing landscape, book distribution, essential facts for self-publishing authors and even some Fifty Shades of Grey discussion - it's educational, entertaining, and must-listen material for all authors.

Welcome to the Real Fast Results podcast!  Robin Cutler, from IngramSpark, is here to share her secrets on print on demand (POD) publishing.  So, without further ado, let’s welcome Robin… Our promise today is to talk a little about print on demand and what your options are as an author as well as the different platforms in which you can make your book available.  Most importantly IngramSpark, but also CreateSpace and some other options that you might have.  What we plan to do today is to bring clarity and to offer you some real solutions for how you might move forward with your self-publishing plans. Defining Print on Demand Publishing Print on demand, as a technology, has been around for, actually, about 20 years.  It really started at Ingram 20 years ago, when Ingram started a company called Lightening Source.  That was actually done by John Ingram 20 years ago, and Lightning Source is now the state-of-the-art print on demand company of the world.  Print on demand is just like it sounds, where instead of an author or publisher having to stock inventory, through print on demand, you can actually print as you need to and pay as you go. What’s so great about print on demand is that it allows you, as an author and as a publisher, to bring your book to the marketplace and reduce the risk of doing so.  We aren’t actually printing until we actually get orders for those books, and those orders can go directly to the customers in many cases.  The minimum order in a true print on demand model, like what we offer through Ingram Spark, is one copy.  So, isn’t that phenomenal? To me, this is the heyday for self-publishers.  They have as much, and as many, the tools at their disposal as the traditional publishers have always had.  You know, they have access to IngramSpark, which is the world’s largest book distributor.  You can put your content out into the marketplace very easily and inexpensively, through print on demand, and just see what happens without having to sell the family farm, which was not always the case in the old days. How to Start a Print On Demand (POD) Project First of all, you need to have worked with an editor to create a published book. You should work with a designer. Although, if you have the skill to design yourself, that’s fine.  Most people don’t, however, so you would probably need to work with a designer to actually format your book in a trim size that can actually be printed as print on demand. Book Trim Size There are some limitations on what you can do when it comes to print on demand.  You will want to check and make sure that the trim size that you and your designer have selected is one that actually can be manufactured through your print on demand process.  There are a lot of choices, as far as what those trim sizes are.  The smallest is 4x6, and it goes all the way up to 8.5x11.  There’s color, there’s hardcover, paperback, and a couple of different options in bindings that are available now.  Even in hardcover, you can have a cloth-printed look to your hardcover book with a jacket on it. 6x9 is the one that’s most heavily chosen by all publishers. That size is the one that’s most commonly seen on most bookshelves, and 5.5x8.5 is another one.  For children’s books, we’re starting to see sort of a square trim size.  There’s an 8x8 and 8.5x8.5, and also 8.5x11.  But, what’s great about a squarer kind of trim size is that it gives you a lot more flexibility in terms of your illustrations.  Most illustrations will fit on that sort of format.  We are always adding, and I think we’re about to launch a 10.5x10.5 square trim size through Ingram here in a month or so.  You can always check and see if we’ve added anything recently. There’s just a lot that’s available. An author, as they are writing their book, they tend to have an image of what they think that finished book should look like.  Often times, that image or vision that they have is a non-standard trim size because they think that makes their book unique in the world and on a bookshelf.  Unique isn’t necessarily a good thing, in terms of cost, and also, how you distribute your book.  In fact, you want it to be standard and part of a format that booksellers can sell easily. So, I say, don’t get hung up on the format.  Make sure it’s standard.  Make sure, especially as a new author, it fits a print on demand trim size.  You can go onto the IngramSpark site, and I’ll give you this information.  There are also other places you can check out what various print on demand providers offer.  So, I would say that’s Step #1. I think that it is smart to look at similar books in your genre.  Not only the trim size, but you also want to look at the pricing of your competitors and books in the marketplace. Making Changes In Your Book After It's Published Another thing that I wanted to mention about the value of print on demand, and this is a big, big thing, is that you can easily update your book.  If you’re a published author, you know that it’s hard to get it right initially.  Invariably, no matter how good of an editor you have, or how good of a proofreader, you’ll find something that you want to change.  And, it could be something for the good. Let’s say that you won an award.  That’s something that you would want to include on the cover of your book.  Maybe you’ve gotten a great review.  Well, if you’ve printed 5,000 copies, and they’re in your basement, and you’ve gotten this great review or this great endorsement from James Patterson, you’re kind of screwed.  You want to add that to your book.  Print on demand allows you to easily do that.  So, you just update your file, and everything that’s printed after that is the new information on the book. You can also easily update the metadata. There’s a lot of information out there, especially in the self-publishing world, about metadata and the importance of that.  So, POD allows you to easily update all of the book information, the pricing, the description, anything you want to update. Next Step: PDF You've edited your book, picked the correct trim size and evaluated your competition. Now, all you need to get started are the finished PDFs of your book for print on demand. You need a PDF of the cover and a separate PDF of the interior.  In creating those PDFs, that’s why It’s really valuable to use a professional who understands how to create a PDF for print.  Just a Word version of a PDF, maybe, is not going to work.  It definitely won’t work for the cover.  It may work in the interior, but it definitely won’t work for the cover. IngramSpark offers a cover generator template.  Once you decide your trim size, you can use that template.  The cover gets placed on it so that it will fit perfectly.  And then, you just create an IngramSpark account, upload your information about your book, and what we call the metadata.  Then, at the end of that, you upload your files. We have this great validator tool.  On the screen, this scrolling thing happens, and it will show you if you have any issues with your files.  If you do, you can go back and have your designer fix them and re-upload them.  Once it goes through, you get a proof, you look at it, and if you say, “Gosh, this looks fantastic,” you turn on the distribution for that book.  What that means is that your book actually goes out into the world via these data feeds.  One of the primary ones is Ingram’s catalogue, and from there it goes out to Amazon, and Barnes & Noble, Gardners, and the UK.  You know, it goes all over the place.  So, it’s really fantastic. Just to bring clarity, one of the reasons why Ingram is so important for a self-publisher is because booksellers and libraries want to purchase books across a multitude of publishers from a single source.  They don’t want to have to go directly to these publishers.  They want to just have one or two vendors that they deal with, and so Ingram’s one. Once your book is in the Ingram catalogue, it’s like your book is right there beside all of the Random House books.  There’s nothing that marks your book as being self-published.  It just looks like any other book in the Ingram catalogue.  So, when you are promoting your book to libraries and to booksellers, it helps to elevate you into the realm of professional authors. If you can say, “My book is available from Ingram,” you don’t have to say that it’s self-published.  You don’t really have to say a whole lot more than about the book itself and where it can be purchased, and you say that it’s available from Ingram.  When you say that it’s from Ingram, it’s implied that it’s been vetted and is of a good quality.  That brings up another point, and that is to make sure that your book really is a good-quality book, which, by the way, is not that expensive. I say spend your money in creating, formatting, and marketing your book.  Don’t spend your money on inventory.  You can always do that.  If your book takes off, you have a lot of other options, but especially bringing the book to market as a new author, don’t invest in inventory.  Invest in creating your book and bringing it to market. The Difference Between Ingram and CreateSpace Just for full disclosure, I used to actually work at CreateSpace.  I loved working for CreateSpace, and for Amazon, and I feel really proud of the work that I did there.  I mainly worked with publishers, not so much with authors, like I do now at Ingram.  But, I have nothing but great things to say about CreateSpace.  I will say, because this is probably the #1 question that I get. Authors often ask, “What’s the difference between IngramSpark and CreateSpace?”  So, I think we can have a discussion that can help bring clarity to authors that are sort of wondering the answers to that question. The difference is that Ingram has much broader distribution.  CreateSpace distributes just to Amazon.  Although, CreateSpace has a program that they call “Expanded Distribution”.  Guess what “Expanded Distribution” is?  It’s Ingram.  It will put the book in the Ingram catalogue, which is a good thing, but it actually puts the book in the catalogue at a disadvantage to the author.  Your book is listed with what we call a “short discount, non-returnable”.  It doesn’t really get you what you need if you’re planning to sell to libraries and especially to booksellers. By putting your book into IngramSpark, you make your book available to Ingram and everywhere that Ingram sells; which is about 40,000 retail and library partners around the world.  Then, you control and can specify how that book gets listed in the Ingram catalogue.  You want that kind of control as an author, and I would advise you to have that control.  You can set up the same book, using the same ISBN, and we’ll talk in a minute about ISBNs because I have a lot to say about that.  But, you can set up the same book, with the same ISBN, that you own, in both platforms, with the same files.  Then, you’ll be pretty-well set. What’s great about having your book on CreateSpace is that your book will always show up as being in stock within Amazon’s catalogue, which is a great thing.  You want that as an author as well.  What’s great about setting it up with IngramSpark is that in the Ingram catalogue there’s no mention of CreateSpace being associated with your book.  Booksellers don’t like to see that.  If you walk into the store with a CreateSpace book, you’re likely not to be warmly welcomed.  So, you don’t want that. You just set up your book under your own imprint in the IngramSpark catalogue, and you’re good to go.  If I had to pick one platform, because a lot of people just want to have one place where they keep everything, I would suggest it be IngramSpark just because it’s the broadest distribution. The Use of ISBNs To distribute a book, you do need an ISBN, which is the international book identification number.  You attain an ISBN from, in the US it’s Bowker.  In Canada, the Canadian government gives free ISBNs.  So, it’s kind of country-specific, but in the US, you can obtain them from Bowker.  To me, owning your ISBN is like owning your name.  It travels throughout the life of your book, and there’s a different ISBN for every format of the book that you have, and that identifies the format as well.  So, you want to own it just because you don’t want your book tied to any one distributor. Anytime your book is given a free ISBN, your book is tied to whoever gave you that free ISBN.  You never want that for the life of your book, or even for a short length of time.  You’ll regret it in the end, and it’s not a good thing to do.  Just to be clear, CreateSpace does offer the use of their ISBN in your book, but you can’t use that ISBN on any other platform but CreateSpace.  In addition to that, the publisher is then listed as CreateSpace, which is not necessarily a good thing.  On Amazon it’s one thing, but off of Amazon it’s a whole other matter. You should really use the same ISBN on both your IngramSpark and CreateSpace edition.  Otherwise, it creates confusion in the marketplace.  For instance, you’ll suddenly get Barnes & Noble interested in your book, and they go to the Ingram catalogue.  Well, you’ve set up your book via CreateSpace using your free ISBN, and you’ve turned on “Expanded Distribution,” so they see it listed there, but you’ve also assigned your own ISBN to the one that you set up with IngramSpark.  So, it takes Barnes & Noble a minute to see that.  Then they’re confused, and it doesn’t necessarily put you in the realm of a professional author.  Instantly you will kind of have a mark against you. You want to set up your book exactly with the same ISBN that you have purchased and that you own.  It will travel along the life and the format of that book on any platform.  Like, you don’t want exclusivity anywhere.  We don’t require exclusivity at IngramSpark, and I don’t advocate exclusivity for the author.  I think you should be as broad as you can and make your book available as widely as possible. Print On Demand Tips Remember this process: Use POD when you’re launching as a new author.  It’s there to really make it easy and affordable for you. Purchase your own ISBN.  Make that investment. Make the investment in working with professional editors, designers, marketers, and spend your money like that. Set your book up, at least in IngramSpark and CreateSpace.  If you’re only going to choose one, I would choose IngramSpark. Real Fast Results Community If you are diggin’ on this stuff and really love what we’re doing here at Real Fast Results, would you please do me a favor? 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