Hey, y'all, join me in my nomination of @Julie Broad for the IBPA Jack D. Rittenhouse Award. 👉 https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HJ99NS7 The Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) is now accepting nominations for The Rittenhouse Award, an annual honor historically given by PubWest in memory of Jack D. Rittenhouse, the West’s legendary bookman. Nominations will be open from December 1st through January 31st. The award committee will review the candidates in February and select a proposed winner to be shared with and approved by IBPA’s Board of Directors. I submitted my nomination the other day, and today is YOUR chance to submit yours. The is only open to fellow IBPA members, so if you're not already a member of the IBPA... you may want to consider joining. Share how you feel Julie has "made a significant and lifelong contribution to a pioneering and independent spirit of books and book publishing." I can think of a dozen ways, but that's what I put in my nomination. Yours should be in your own words, not mine. If you have any questions about the form, the IBPA, or the nomination, comment here or DM me. It's a short form, will only take you a minute or two to complete, and will help honor Julie's lifetime commitment to us fellow authors. 👉 https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HJ99NS7

It could be big or small: - Something you’re stuck on - A decision you’re avoiding - A task that feels heavier than it should - Or just a question you keep circling Share it in the comments. You don’t need a perfect explanation—just be real. Chances are, someone else here is dealing with the same thing, and this is a safe place to talk it through, plus some of our admins might be able to help you get through that pesky problem you're having. 🤓

My apologies to those who have sent messages and I have not responded. I try. But I have 81 and I can't tell where I was, and which ones I haven't seen. Sorry. I am trying to catch up.

Okay, @Julie Broad , your recent video on Eleven Labs got me thinking about doing my audiobook. :) Since I have a professional podcast setup and am a former radio guy myself, I decided to record it. I'm using Descript for the recording and editing and it's going pretty smoothly. Since my book uses a lot (like a LOT a LOT) or footnotes, I went through my book and pulled the more important ones up as in-line asides where I'm pausing and voicing "footnote." I rewrote some of the straight research reference ones so I could read them aloud. For figures, I'm mentioning the figure number and providing a good "alt-text" like description of the diagram. One part of my book has DOZENS of diagrams because I'm using examples of my card deck, like the one attached. I'm still reading each card. But I'm wondering if it might be a neat idea to create a hidden page on my website that contains all of the figures so people could flip through them or pull them up as a reference. It would also make for a great call to action to direct traffic to my site. Has anyone done this? Did you just set up like a media gallery with all of the images? How do you "protect" or provide access to audiobook listeners? Am I overthinking this?

Many powerful stories struggle not because they lack quality, but because they lack early reader feedback. That’s where I come in. I work with an active community of 3,000+ engaged readers who enjoy discovering new and indie authors. These readers voluntarily read and leave honest, thoughtful, and policy-compliant reviews on Amazon based on their real reading experience. ✨ Especially helpful for: New releases Revised editions needing updated feedback Authors building credibility and visibility No hype. No fake reviews. Just real readers, real opinions. If you’d like to learn how this works or see if it’s a good fit for your book, feel free to comment “INFO” or send me a DM. Happy to share details.