And now for the news!
Some highlights from this month in the world of self-publishing, specifically news from or regarding self-publishing companies!
Here’s an interesting one. Why do we care about John Barber and IDW? Simply put, Barber got his start in self-publishing. IDW is a major powerhouse of the comics industry, putting out the official Star Wars and Star Trek (as well as many other franchise) comics, and more or less going toe-to-toe with Marvel and DC Comics for creative property in the world of comics. To see a comics titan like IDW opting to hire someone who got his start kicking everything about traditional comics to the curb, albeit back in the 1990s, is indicative of the ever-more-permeable boundaries between “indie” and “mainstream.” (Barber went on to work with Marvel before transitioning to IDW.) The movement of personnel back and forth between these sectors is an indicator to watch as that barrier continues to grow more and more blurred.
The level of snark in the opening to this 9News news spot is perhaps a tad overdone, but there’s nothing which touches how wonderful it is to hear something like “fifteen years” and “self-publishing” and “going strong” all in one short clip. The Denver Zine Library, for those of you not quite in the zine loop, was co-founded fifteen years ago by Kelly Costello, and celebrated its anniversary with this short spot on state and national broadcast networks affiliated with NBC. Zines are self-published magazines, both print and digital, and tend to be highly specific and low-distribution, but no less culturally impactful for that. (And it’s worth noting that in the 90s, some zines were very big indeed.) These days, zines provide widespread communities and networks to keep in touch about the things they love, and are often a step in the young self-publisher’s evolution.
One of our favorites of the month is simply this headline, courtesy of the PRWeb affiliate Cision, which hosts press releases galore. The press release in question? Well, we’d be a 
tad misleading if we didn’t say that $300 off of a high-quality self-publishing package wasn’t something that we weren’t keeping an eye on for personal reasons of our own. After all, life is sometimes entirely too busy to do it all and be everything we need to be in order to get that book off of our laptop and into the world in the form of actual, beautiful printed books. And as a disclaimer, many of our Self Publishing Advisor contributors have worked with Outskirts Press over the years, which means we hear a lot more about their sales than we might otherwise. Still, this is one worth putting on your radar, both because of the steep discount and the excellently worded press release!
As a self-publishing author, you may find it helpful to stay up-to-date on the trends and news related to the self-publishing industry.This will help you make informed decisions before, during and after the self-publishing process, which will lead to a greater self-publishing experience. To help you stay current on self-publishing topics, simply visit our blog every Monday to find out the hottest news. If you have other big news to share, please comment below.
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