After a sell-out 2018 series, BookMachine Unplugged is back in 2019 and ready to inspire you with real insights into what is working in publishing right now. There will be 6 events this year, all included in your BookMachine Membership. Each will zoom in on a vital area of the publishing industry and feature 3 expert speakers taking to the stage.
Meet publishers, editors, marketeers, designers, techies and more - all in a strictly social and informal setting.
One afternoon a few weeks ago I was in that state of high productivity which is fuelled by the panic of an upcoming holiday. On my ‘absolutely must get done before going away’ list were a number of items I needed to discuss with Amy Maher, the Senior Editor on the Psychology list (for which I am the Marketing Manager). However, the last thing I needed was to take a chunk out of my remaining work hours to have a meeting.
Many of us are taking steps to reduce our individual impact on the environment – but how is the publishing industry as a whole responding to the challenge of climate change? Kelvin Smith issues a powerful call to arms, to remind us that inaction is not an option.
If publishers are not asking this question, then they need to start now. Doing nothing is not an option.
I interviewed 15 editors whose work I admire for my new podcast, What Editors Want, to find out what they look for in a book and what tips they have for other editors.
Here’s some of what I learnt along the way:
Calverts is a graphic design and printing co-operative based in the East End of London. It was set up as a common ownership co-operative in 1977 by production staff from the design and printing arm of IRAT (formerly the Arts Lab), after an industrial dispute which ended in redundancy for all the workers.
In this interview, Harriet Poland of Audible describes the genesis of the Hag podcast, which will be launching on 29th August.
In this interview, Christopher Kenneally of the Copyright Clearance Center takes us behind the scenes of the Beyond the Book podcast, which has been broadcasting news and analysis from across the industry since 2006.
Melissa J. Davies describes the origin story of Pigeon Books, currently Southsea’s tiniest bookshop. It’s a pop-up shop at the moment, and hopes to have a permanent home soon.
Anne Trubek is the founder of Belt Publishing, a small press focused on quality non-fiction about the Rust Belt and Midwest. Her Notes from a Small Press newsletter is packed with useful insights into the publishing process, and this recent edition about assessing whether a book idea has commercial potential is as relevant to acquiring editors as to aspiring authors.
Did you know the amount of time we spend on social media platforms each day has increased by a whopping 58% in the last 6 years? The average Gen Z user now dedicates 3 hours a day to scrolling his or her newsfeed.* With over 3 billion people (42% of the global population) on social media, it is no surprise that advertising on these platforms is an extremely effective route to reach consumers for small to large brands alike.
Creativity is key to a great marketing campaign, and when funds are limited it’s vital to come up with innovative ways to maximise your money. On 3rd July, BookMachine assembled a panel of amazing publicity and marketing experts to discuss their experience of working with smaller budgets and creating incredible and effective campaigns. Julia Garvey is an independent marketer working within publishing and EdTech, Mindy Gibbins-Klein is the co-founder of Panoma Press, Lauren Ace is the Brand Director for Little Tiger and Stripes Books, and Amy Winchester is Head of Publicity at Unbound.
Did you ever read a book that inspired a lifelong love of reading, propelled you into a new career or opened your eyes to a life-changing direction? Finally someone understands me. The written word is powerful and it’s for everyone. If you use your local library, it’s also free. Yet access to it and time to savour it feels trickier than ever.
Eliza Kavanagh is Communications Manager at the Publishers Association and has managed the Love Audio campaign since its inception in 2017. Love Audio Week is an initiative of the Publishers Association’s Audio Publishers Group.
In the three years that the Publishers Association has run this campaign on behalf of our Audio Publishers Group, the hashtag #LoveAudio has grown from a modest reach of 5 million over the course of Love Audio Week to this year reaching 26 million – an increase of 420%.
Whatever else 2019 is offering us, one thing is certain: this is a great era for small-but-powerful publishing startups. In this interview, we meet Colin Steven, the founder of new independent publishing house Velocity Press.
Ah, to be a new editor, full of the conviction that your role, your duty, is to restore order to linguistic chaos. With a meticulous adherence to grammatical rules and your company’s house style, you set out to ensure clear communication, and perhaps even ‘good writing’. You can’t wait to set upon the untidy manuscripts that come across your desk.
Hachette UK were busy celebrating #LoveAudio Week last week, with colleagues and authors across the business joining in the industry-wide initiative. Jen, Laura and Ellie represented Hachette UK as part of the Love Audio Working Group with the Publisher’s Association, and are here to tell us their favourite things from this year.
The Knowledge Base is powered by our Editorial Board.
