Book Publishing News 05/18/17

Christian Small Publishers Awards now Christian Indie Awards

“Over the past few years, the number of books published independently in the United States has grown exponentially,” says Sarah Bolme, Director of Christian Small Publishers Association (CSPA), the sponsor of the book award. “In fact, between 2010 and 2015, the number of independent or self-published books grew over 400%. This new name better reflects the increasing numbers of independently published books and authors, while continuing to promote small publishers.” Read more …
Note from Eddie: While I applaud CSPA for inviting self-published authors to submit, LPC will no longer recognize any LPC title that wins this new award.    Progressive Publishers like LPC (small publishers that offer everything legacy, traditional publishers offer except author advances and guaranteed bookstore distribution) continue to fight the “self-published” stigma.  Authors remain confused as to what constitutes a self-publishing firm.  The definition is simple: If you have to buy books or pay for any part of your book’s publication, it’s self-published.  

Cynthia Ruchti joins Books & Such Literary

“Cynthia is such an obvious choice to excel at agenting,” said Janet Grant, founder and president of Books & Such Literary Management. “She has a significant network among publishing personnel through her many years serving as faculty at writers conferences; working with ECPA and CBA organizations as the professional relations liaison and past president for ACFW; as well as being a multi-published author herself. And she’s personally connected to many authors, especially through her work with ACFW.” Read more …

Audible Suspends Its Gift Copies Program for New Releases

Apparently Audible has stopped issuing gift copies of new audiobooks releases. Audible has explained the move as a way to focus on the selling of gift subscriptions. Read more …

Amazon Algorithms & How “also bought recommendations” Are Set

Indie author David Gaughran has written insightfully about how to strategically and ethically work the system. Read at his blog here and here.