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.

Self-Published Author Nominated for the Frank O'Connor Short Story Award

Christopher Meeks most recent short story collection, Months and Seasons, is up for the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award. It’s a prize from Ireland, the most lucrative short story award around, which Jumpra Lahiri won last year for Unaccustomed Earth. American nominees include:

Eleanor Bluestein, Tea and Other Ayama Na Tales, BkMk Press (University of
Missouri-Kansas City)

Bonnie Jo Cambell, American Salvage,Wayne State University Press

Dennis Cooper, Ugly Man: Stories, Harper Perennial

David Eagleman, Sum, Pantheon Books (Random House)

Mary Gaitskill, Don’t Cry, Pantheon Books (Random […]

Henry Baum2011-10-08T20:36:19+02:00May 14th, 2009|Categories: News|

Star Trek and Self-Publishing

Yes, there is a connection. As I’ve been writing about recently, the impulse to criticize self-publishing seems seriously misguided. At its core, self-publishing is a way for everyone – everyone – to be able to freely express themselves. That the output is mostly bad (which you can’t determine unless you read thousands of books) is mostly a non-issue. It may be unfortunate that self-published books get diluted by work that’s not very well-conceived, but self-publishing is a system where every single person has a voice, no one’s disenfranchised. That is something to be celebrated – not repeatedly attacked.

“Star Trek” […]

Henry Baum2011-10-08T19:11:06+02:00May 11th, 2009|Categories: Features|

Programming Note: SPR's Editor to be on Publishing Insiders

I’m going to be on The Publishing Insiders on Blog Talk Radio tomorrow afternoon:

This week we welcome Henry Baum, author of the novels The Golden Calf and North of Sunset, listed as the #1 self-published novel in Entertainment Weekly and winner of the Hollywood Book Festival Grand Prize. His new novel, The American Book of the Dead will soon be released. He’s published both traditionally and via self-publishing and runs the website Self-Publishing Review.

Packed with insider scoop on everything publishing, host Penny C. Sansevieri discusses tips and strategies on topics ranging from marketing to promotion and

[…]

Henry Baum2011-10-08T19:11:23+02:00May 11th, 2009|Categories: News|

Self-Published Writer Sells 50,000 Copies to NYC Schools

Here’s an inspirational story. Via Teleread comes the story of Jason A. Spencer-Edwards who sold his young adult novel, Jiggy, to the New York City school system.

Mr. Spencer-Edwards, a self-published author who lives in Laurelton, Queens, does not show up in the canon of young-adult literature. But with a combination of viral marketing and community service — he convinced the city’s Department of Education to approve his books for reading lists, then barnstormed schools around the city, dropping off sample books and offering to speak to classes — he has built enough of a market to quit

[…]

Henry Baum2011-10-08T19:11:53+02:00May 10th, 2009|Categories: News|

What is Literary Value?

The post about the ways that people criticize self-publishing brings up the idea that a traditionally published book has a stamp of approval and so traditionally published books are more reliable. This is true. Some amount of vetting does count for something, but in an age when it’s more difficult to get published, it is not the only measure of a book’s worth.

What’s also problematic is that writers may take this one step further and consider that their writing is indeed better because it has been accepted by an editor. I don’t want to limit the idea that getting […]

Henry Baum2011-10-08T20:27:13+02:00May 9th, 2009|Categories: Features|

Why Do People Hate Self-Publishing So Much?

Part of the reason I’m so attracted to self-publishing is that it’s so reviled. It’s for misfits. It truly is the publishing version of punk rock – something that anybody could do and something that people snubbed their noses at. Something that inspired conservative outrage. Really, when you boil it down, self-publishing is a very positive development: the ability for writers who were not able to get a book deal in a highly competitive industry to be able to find readers. It’s totally democratic and a great example of free expression. Why you’d want to crap over something that has […]

Henry Baum2011-10-08T20:27:26+02:00May 9th, 2009|Categories: Features|

The Last Stigmas of Self-Publishing

The last stigma that may need to fade about self-publishing is not that self-published books are bad, but that self-publishing services are all scam outfits, draining unsuspecting writers of their money. My guess is that many more self-publishers know that the investment in self-publishing is going to be lost money. It’s like buying a couch – you’re never going to make back the money from buying that couch, but it’s a nice and useful object to have in your house.

Publishing a book is a good deal more personal than that, but I would imagine that a lot of self-publishers […]

Henry Baum2011-10-08T20:27:42+02:00May 8th, 2009|Categories: Features|

Celluloid Cowboy by Scott C. Rogers

There is a lot of new fiction that’s heavily influenced by Charles Bukowski. The U.K. group of writers The Brutalists fits this mold. In the U.S., the Long Beach, CA press Burning Shore puts out Bukowski-inspired work by Tony O’Neill (also a member of the Brutalists), Dan Fante (son of Bukowski mentor John Fante), and Rob Woodard. Mark SaFranko, author of Hating Olivia, is another writer to send into this mix.

And now add another writer: Scott Rogers, author of Celluloid Cowboy. So much so that his small press is called Black Coffee Press, which has echoes of […]

Henry Baum2011-10-08T20:27:58+02:00May 7th, 2009|Categories: Book Reviews|