Category: Features

  • Ryan Abramowitz on ‘Elegy for an Elephant’

    Ryan Abramowitz on ‘Elegy for an Elephant’

    Ryan Abramowitz is the author of Elegy for an Elephant, a children’s picture book inspired by his family’s journey to process and repair from the loss of his father through suicide. Ryan spoke to Independent Publishing about his process for writing on a sensitive topic, the collaboration he undertook, and the learning opportunities available to others…

  • The Community Publishing Research Project

    The Community Publishing Research Project

    The Community Publishing in Regional Australia project team comprises academic researchers Beth Driscoll, Kim Wilkins, Sandra Phillips and Alexandra Dane. With funding from the Australian Research Council, the project runs from 2023–25 and will be running workshops and conducting interviews about independent publishing in regional Australia over that time. Below, the team introduces the research…

  • B J Toniolo on ‘Here’s to Sweet Revenge’

    B J Toniolo on ‘Here’s to Sweet Revenge’

    B J Toniolo is the author of Here’s to Sweet Revenge, a ‘stunning tale of love, lust, greed, evil and revenge’ published with hybrid publishers Shawline Publishing. Toniolo spoke to Independent Publishing about the inspiration behind his debut novel, his experience working with Shawline, and his advice for other first-time authors. Please tell us what…

  • Beating the House: What professional gamblers can teach you about marketing

    Beating the House: What professional gamblers can teach you about marketing

    Nigel George is an educator and author of five books on technology and self-publishing. In this article, he prompts authors to consider a different way of thinking about their approach to marketing and their advertising spend. Would you, having never seen a horse race in your life, bet an entire month’s pay on a single…

  • Lucy Bloom on ‘The Manuscript’

    Lucy Bloom on ‘The Manuscript’

    Lucy Bloom is a keynote speaker and consulting CEO with a background in advertising and international aid. Her novel The Manuscript is her first fiction title after previously publishing two nonfiction books: her memoir Get the Girls Out, and Cheers to Childbirth, her ‘man-manual on the tricky business of childbirth support’. Independent Publishing spoke to Lucy about The Manuscript, how…

  • Do you Have What it Takes? Seven must-haves for indie publishing success

    Do you Have What it Takes? Seven must-haves for indie publishing success

    Nigel George is an educator and author of five books on technology and self-publishing. In this article, he draws on his experience to collate the ‘non-negotiables’ for an author to have if they are looking to establish a successful independent publishing operation. I’ve never been much of a social media fan. I’ve used social media…

  • The Paranoid Writer’s Guide to AI: Part three

    The Paranoid Writer’s Guide to AI: Part three

    Nigel George is an educator and author of five books on technology and self-publishing. In the third instalment of his series on AI tools, Nigel looks at how using AI can boost your writing business, and why using AI generated content isn’t a viable method for authors. In part one of this series, I summarised…

  • Damien Lewis on ‘Nostalgique’

    Damien Lewis on ‘Nostalgique’

    Damien Lewis is the author of Nostalgique: The wonderful things we no longer use, a coffee table art book featuring the history of and images of 50 items we no longer use, from the elegant to the unusual, things used by storytellers, singers, shopkeepers and spies. Lewis spoke to Independent Publishing about the experience of…

  • From the archive: Know your metadata, and other tips on modern marketing

    From the archive: Know your metadata, and other tips on modern marketing

    This article was first published by Independent Publishing in 2019. When asked to nominate the biggest challenge facing marketers today, publishing consultant Rachael McDiarmid says her answer often surprises: ‘My tip for all marketers is to know your metadata—it’s all about bibliographic data, search and discoverability, and ensuring the supply chain has accurate information about your books. Only then can…

  • Mark Spencer on ‘Ocean of Self’

    Mark Spencer on ‘Ocean of Self’

    Mark Spencer is the author of Ocean of Self: Beneath the waves of our individual selves, in which he correlates his experiences with ocean diving with the practice of transcendental meditation. Spencer spoke to Independent Publishing about the inspiration for his book and some of the lessons he learned publishing Ocean of Self. Please tell…