Austin, Ho! Publishing University

As a writer with several books traditionally published, and one aiming to place the next with a commercial or university press, what in thundernation am I doing signing up for the Independent Book Publishers Association's two day annual Publishing University? 

Pug-assisted. In a future blog post 
Uli and Washi will demonstrate
the number 1 book marketing
principle. 

Well, inspired by the likes of Kenneth Ackerman, Sophy Burnham, and Sandra Gulland, I have become what is called a "hybrid author," that is, an author who has some books with traditional publishers (in my case, University of Georgia Press, Milkweed Editions, Unbridled Books, Random-House Mondadori, etc) but others going out under one's own imprint (mine being Dancing Chiva). 

In particular, like many authors, these past few years I've been busy bringing out the electronic editions of some of my older works, published back in the days of yore when publishers didn't care about digital rights (what did they know, ha.  And yes, Miraculous Air in Kindle is selling like gorditas.) And more recently (for various reasons detailed in this talk for the American Literary Translator's Association), my own Dancing Chiva brought out both the Kindle and paperback editions of Metaphysical Odyssey into the Mexican Revolution: Francisco I. Madero and His Secret Book, Spiritist Manual.

Bright, charming and talented in multitudinous ways,
 my assistants do not do website updates.
Here they are asking, "You want us to do whut?

That said, I'd love to place my next books with a publisher who can do more for them than

I can with my own itsy-bitsy pug-assisted operation, and that may happen with the next novel and the work-in-progress on Far West Texas... we shall see. But the thing is, for the rest of my life, a long one I hope, many of my many books' editions may remain in my purview. So, I figure, I'd better grok this game.

I've learned a lot-- 2014 was my year of scrambling up the POD learning curve-- but undoubtedly I have more to learn, and since things are changing faster than a rocket to Mars, I guess it's just going to be (...sigh...) an ongoing process. But hey, I get to visit Planet Austin! Can't complain about that. 

Dear reader, if you are going to Publishing University, zap me an email or tweet @cmmayo1 or @dancingchiva. It would be grand to meet you in person there.

> Your COMMENTS are always welcome.

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