Henry Baum | Self-Publishing Review

About Henry Baum

Author of three self-published novels and one traditionally published (Soft Skull Press, Canongate, and Hachette Littératures). Recipient of Best Fiction at the DIY Book Festival, the Gold IPPY Award for Visionary Fiction, and the Hollywood Book Festival Grand Prize. He lives with his wife Cate Baum in Spain. He's the founder of SPR.

Ransom Stephens on The God Patent and the Future of Publishing

Ransom Stephens has written one of the best assessments of the future of publishing that you’re likely to read (found via Pod People). Called Booking the Future, it needs to be read – more than once. Here we talk about the ideas put forth in the article and the success of his digitally-published novel, The God Patent, which basically proves the thesis of his essay: the future of publishing is going to look very different than it does today. It will have many elements of self-publishing writ large. As he says, “Though the role of publishing has […]

Henry Baum2014-06-18T14:09:18+02:00July 28th, 2009|Categories: Interviews, Lead Story|

Vanity Publishing in the Age of Celebrity

One thing that puzzles me about the criticism that any type of self-publishing is a kind of vanity publishing is the fact that vanity is actually rewarded in so many corners of our culture. Here’s a small taste of the insanity that passes for mainstream American culture:

Perhaps I am shooting fish in a barrel by pointing out the vapidity that is the heart of celebrity culture, but that you see there? That’s vanity. A writer trying to get the word out by publishing his book that (maybe) will be read by 100 people is not vanity. It’s hope. It’s […]

Henry Baum2011-10-08T18:58:17+02:00July 21st, 2009|Categories: Features|

The Scourge of Good Amazon Reviews

One of the growing criticisms (and concerns) about self-publishing is the ease with which people can post good reviews – especially on a place like Amazon. Anyone can open up an account on Amazon and give a book 5 stars, no matter how bad that book might be. This has the potential to further tarnish the reputation of self-publishers because the more people buy a book based on positive reviews that turns out to be terrible, the more people will be suspicious about self-published books.

This criticism has come up twice now on the site, recently in this comment:[…]

Henry Baum2011-10-08T18:58:44+02:00July 17th, 2009|Categories: Features|

A Kindle Success Story: How to Promote a Kindle Ebook

This week brings news of Boyd Morrison who got a book deal based on his Kindle book sales. This book deal did not happen in a vacuum: Morrison had a literary agent already in place – i.e. publishers didn’t just suddenly notice his level of sales and offer him a book deal. The story is that the book was sent out by his literary agent and it wasn’t picked up. After Morrison’s book, The Ark, started become a Kindle phenomenon, his agent thought about trying to sell the book again, and on the strength of his Kindle sales […]

Henry Baum2011-10-08T18:59:46+02:00July 14th, 2009|Categories: Lead Story, Resources|

Writing As A Hobby

What may be missing from the self-publishing debate is the fact that there are a lot of self-publishers who just aren’t that interested in a career in writing – whether it’s via a New York contract or selling books independently. Consider this an addendum to the Two Wings of Self-Publishing post – add a third wing: people who publish for the hell of it. If they get a few reviews, that’s great, but if they don’t it’s not a problem.

These writers might not care as much about the book cover or having a book properly edited. Personally, I don’t […]

Henry Baum2019-07-25T12:41:09+02:00July 13th, 2009|Categories: Features|

Incomprehensible Demoralization by Jared Combs

I’m a great fan of addiction memoirs. I’ve read criticism of addiction memoirs beginning with the refrain, “Oh, great another…” But while it’s true that addicts’ stories overlap, and even the life of one addict is repeating the same behavior over and over again, these narratives are often compelling. The main reason is honesty. One of the things missing from much fiction and narrative memoirs is someone willing to make themselves look bad – to reveal a darker side of their personality. By design, addiction memoirs are written by authors who are more than willing to reveal their faults. There […]

Henry Baum2011-10-08T19:00:21+02:00July 12th, 2009|Categories: Book Reviews|

The Book Buying Industry is a Mess

On Kash’s Book Corner there’s an eye-opening post about how book buyers and publishing reps interrelate – and it’s such a nightmarish scenario that it makes me almost proud of the fact that it’s harder for self-publishers to get into bookstores (even if that is where most books are sold). The fact is that book buyers – even in small independent stores – have as narrow a criteria as editors and agents.

What’s especially troubling about the post is that it has a number of positive comments, saying things like “This is fascinating.” It is an interesting window into the […]

Henry Baum2011-10-08T20:26:54+02:00July 5th, 2009|Categories: Features|

The Espresso Book Machine in Vermont

The new paradigm has come to Vermont – and no, SPR is not tired of the term new paradigm. For publishing it is very apt. The news from Vermont:

The publishing world is closely following the experiment at Northshire, the first independent bookstore in the United States to install the clattering book machine. If Northshire can make money printing books downloaded from massive online catalogs, it will show how small brick-and-mortar bookshops might be able to match the overwhelming variety of products offered by a giant online retailer like Amazon.com.

And no book ever has to go out

[…]

Henry Baum2011-10-08T20:40:14+02:00July 2nd, 2009|Categories: News|