While the increase in print book sales is encouraging, it doesn’t necessarily correlate to less time spent on our phones. However, I’m encouraged by the fact that online platforms, while still inescapable, are being used less as a complete replacement for analog media and human connection and more as a way to discover new stories and build real-life communities around those stories.
The age of smartphones and social media has seemingly made anonymity a thing of the past. So where does that leave authors who truly want to remain unidentified? Is it even possible to be successful as an anonymous author today?
Independent bookstores have survived and thrived by embracing community, curation, and creative convening. Learn how these three strategies can elevate your marketing in the post-digital era, offering a personal touch in a world of mass production.
Design feedback can be tricky for the inexperienced. Even if you’ve been giving design feedback for years, it can be hard to express the feelings you have about a piece without discouraging your colleagues—or to put into words intuitive or feeling-based critique.
At Ooligan Press, we take branding seriously. We want everything we post to feel connected to the book, from the fonts we use to the colors that match the cover art. Having a consistent visual identity is key for helping readers easily recognize the book when they see it.
“In most of our lives, for most of our days—especially here in the rainy, gray Pacific Northwest—we are surrounded by neutral shades. These are important. They make up most of our color landscape. So why shouldn’t they make up more of our compositions as designers?”
Blogs were put on hold for about a year while the website was being updated. Since all of the managers in Ooligan Press are part of the book publishing master’s program at Portland State University, the life expectancy in any given position of the press is also about a year. That is to say, I had never even written a blog post for Ooligan Press when I was put in charge of managing them. But that’s ok. As someone smart once said, “Confusion is a Learning State.” I learned how to manage blogs, and I can teach you as well.
It’s important to be well-rounded in the industry, so—through trial and error—I have gained knowledge that has helped me become a designer when I have never been one before! Through my few short months of being at Ooligan Press, I have learned some tips and tricks that have helped me become a better designer.
This fateful upheaval of the current social media landscape means big opportunities to innovate the book marketing mix. Publishers need to be proactive in forming strategies to reap the unique splendors of a new host of social media platforms, and one channel is especially promising: Geneva.
At Ooligan Press, we have a set of best practices for supporting our authors and their books with social media channels. As part of the “Inside Ooligan” series, here’s a look at what the Ooligan Press Social Media Manager does for our books in production.