Podcast: SelfPublishingReview.com Henry Baum on Exciting Developments in Self-Publishing

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I read a lot of blogs to feed my hungry Twitter followers useful links every day. One of the blogs I always read is SelfPublishingReview.com , a great magazine-style site featuring articles, reviews and information on all things self-publishing. This podcast is an interview with the creator and editor of the site Henry Baum.

Henry Baum is the author of several novels, including “North of Sunset”, listed as the #1 self-published novel in Entertainment Weekly and winner of the Hollywood Book Festival Grand Prize. Henry is currently writing “The American Book of the Dead” and is also a song-writer. He is the Editor of SelfPublishingReview.com, a fantastic blog for authors interested in alternative publishing options.

In this podcast, you will learn:

• About Henry's publishing journey from traditionally published first novel, through rejection to successfully self-publishing his third novel
• His novels based on Hollywood and the movie business after growing up in the industry, and the latest one is apocalyptic fiction also based in Los Angeles
• SelfPublishingReview.com was started in Dec 2008 to share what Henry learned through the self-publishing process, and also as a serious review source for self-published books. It's also a community for writers to get resources and information on self-publishing.
• You can submit your self-published books to be reviewed, although there is a backlog as thousands of self-published books are published daily!
• There are also reviews of self-publishing companies on the site which is definitely worth checking out before you choose a service
• Henry recommends going straight to Lightning Source for self-publishing, although he started out with Lulu.com

• It's still a good idea to go to publishers/agents as they have more resources and can get you into bookstores more easily, but if you are are not patient enough to wait, or the rejections get to you, or you want to skip publishers altogether, then self-publishing is a great option
• Self-publishing is unfairly maligned when it has great implications for people to express their creativity and get their books out there. People can publish themselves and reach an audience, and not worry about the gatekeepers sculpting their future.
• In the last year, the ‘stigma' has been changing and the opportunities are exploding for authors on the internet. The industry is starting to recognise the implications of self-publishing and how they can benefit from it.

• Smashwords.com has gone from a little self-publishing ebook site to going onto the Sony store and Barnes &Noble as well as the iPhone through Stanza
• Thomas Nelson, a large Christian publisher has just announced Westbow Press, an imprint for self-published authors. In a way, it legitimizes self-publishing as a way into traditional publishing. There is a potential problem with taking referrals from agents/editors which could be abused.
• Perhaps the first of many publishers who go this way, taking advantage of authors' willingness to work for their book's success. If you can get good sales for your book, then it can help your publishing career.

• Self-publishing as a testing ground for authors in the industry, perhaps even a prerequisite in the future, post from April Hamilton, Indie Author
• SelfPublishingReview.com is more a site about helping authors and improving the community of self-publishers and changing the attitude towards self-publishing

• Finding an editor and the importance of editing for self-published books. It is a great criticism of self-published books but it is easy to fix by getting a professional. Self-publishing is not about skipping the editorial process. It's always good to have an independent view of your book.
• On publishing ebooks and how this industry is changing. Here's Justin Timberlake advertising the Sony Reader that we mention.
• How the international sale of ebooks is changing and some of the current issues
• Mark Coker from Smashwords has said mainstream ebooks are 3 years away – what do you think?
• Thoughts on the Vook from Simon & Schuster – the first stage in a new medium of ebooks
• Henry is currently writing a song per chapter for his next novel and will use promotion through music – TheAmericanBookofTheDead.com

You can find Henry on Twitter @selfpubreview , and also at SelfPublishingReview.com and BackWordBooks.com