Earlier this month I travelled to Austin, Texas, to attend the Independent Book Publishers Association Publishing University conference. It’s great for up-and-coming indie publishers, not only because of the educational sessions and workshops, but also because it’s a chance to see what other indie publishers are doing. The event is capped by an ceremony for the Ben Franklin Awards, a national publishing competition for some of the best indie books released in the previous year.
This is the fourth time I’ve attended PubU, but it’s only the first time a book I have personally authored has won a Ben Franklin. Lean Media received a silver award in the professional/technical category. It was a great honor for me, but I also wanted to thank some of you, my audience and beta readers, who provided feedback during the development phase on everything from cover design to the use of examples.
Peer feedback from fellow indie publishers Mark Wesley, Elizabeth Turnbull, and Keith Garton was also appreciated, with some of their experiences making it into the book (see The Book Industry’s “Gut Instinct” Problem).
Lastly, many thanks to my editor Zach Gajewski, the wonderful team at TLC Book Design including Tammy Dever and Monica Thomas, compositor Rick Soldin, copy editor Monica Hamilton, designer Malgorzata Godziuk, and others who helped make Lean Media a reality. They not only worked with me on the crucial editorial and production stages, they also went along with the Lean Media framework’s focus on feedback and streamlined decision-making.