Where the Growth Is

President’s Post■sands of people publish their books, IBPA has now dipped itsown toe into the publishing waters. The Book Publishers Toolkit:10 Practical Pointers for Independent and Self-Publishers isthe first in what will be a series of collections of articles fromyour Independent magazine covering all aspects of publishing.As you read this, the book is available for the Kindle, withplans to expand distribution to make it widely available to all.It takes a village to publish abook, and IBPA’s first title isno exception.As you know from your own efforts, it takes a village topublish a book, and IBPA’s first title is no exception. A hugethank-you to the contributors to this inaugural offering fortheir generosity in donating any proceeds to IBPA to helpus continue improving educational and marketing programsfor members.These respected publishing professionals are: Kate Bandos,Kimberly Edwards, Joel Friedlander, Steve Gillen, AbigailGoben, Tanya Hall, Brian Jud, Stacey Miller, Kathleen Welton,and David Wogahn. Thanks also go to Independent editor JudithAppelbaum; board chair Stephen Blake Mettee of The WriteThought; Dan Snow of Unlimited Publishing; Janice Schnellof Ingram; Tom Doherty of Cardinal Publishing; and the IBPAboard of directors and staff for their help and support.Publishing University: “Discovering”Chicago“Discoverability: How to Reach Your Reader and Sell MoreBooks” is the theme of this year’s IBPA Publishing University.In keeping with IBPA’s mission to bring education topublishers throughout the country, Publishing Universityis on the road again to a new location—the Windy City in2013—with new programming, new speakers, new vision,and a keynote address from e-visionary Dominique Raccah,CEO of Sourcebooks, who started her publishing company31 years ago in her upstairs bedroom with one title (soundfamiliar?) and built it into the largest woman-owned publishingcompany in the country.Dominique is a pioneer in both the e-book and book app arenas,and joining her will be futurist and Sourcebooks authorDavid Houle (The Shift Age), part of the executive team thatlaunched MTV, Nickelodeon, VH1, and CNN HeadlineNews. David has 20 years of media and entertainment experienceand will give attendees a glimpse of publishing’s futureas well as a look at how he created his book using the AgilePublishing Model, featuring a partnership between authorsand their reader communities.The return of IBPA’s one-on-one consulting sessions, Ask theExperts; more than 20 breakout sessions featuring practicaltools for success you can use right now; access to more than40 experienced publishing industry instructors who generouslyshare their knowledge; and much more will combine tomake Chicago’s IBPA Publishing University 2013 the eventyou won’t want to miss. Don’t take my word for it—visitibpapublishinguniversity.com for all the details.Three very different offerings from IBPA, but there is onething they have in common. Neither these nor any otherinitiative would be possible without the help, support, time,and energy from you—our members—and the commitmentof so many industry experts who understand the importanceof nurturing, strengthening, and educating the independentpublishing community. ■Follow Florrie and IBPA on Twitter at twitter.com/ibpa, and on IBPA’s blog at ibpablog.wordpress.com. Join Independent Book Publishers Association–IBPA group on LinkedIn(linkedin.com).WHEREBOOKSARE BOUND FORGREATNESSRequesta quote atwww.c-mbooks.comwith our NEWsimplifiedsystem• Short to medium runs• Offset, digital, eBooks• Expedited schedules• Competitive pricing• Supplied film accepted• One-Contact CustomerServicetoll Free: 888.295.7244 • Fax: 734.663.5731CheCk out our new look at www.C-mbooks.ComVisit the IBPA Website at www.ibpa-online.org | 5