Note from Jane: The Hot Sheet rarely runs profiles these days, but the leadership of trade and nonprofit organizations, such as the IBPA, deserve recognition for good stewardship. I’ve seen up close what can happen to nonprofits during times of trouble, and some don’t fully recover. When things go well, it’s often because someone was working tirelessly behind the scenes to make it look effortless.
Last week, the Independent Book Publishers Association announced that its current CEO of nine years, Angela Bole, will depart later this year to become CEO of Firebrand, a technology company that serves the publishing industry. In a press release, IBPA board chair Karla Olson of Patagonia Books said that Bole has “transformed the organization into the leading association for advocating for and supporting the growing community of independent publishers.”
Established in 1983, IBPA is one of a handful of publishing industry organizations focused on serving US-based independent publishers. Prior to the pandemic, IBPA had roughly 3,000 members, but it saw 15 percent growth from 2020 to 2021 and so far has 10 percent growth this fiscal year. (Full disclosure: Hot Sheet is an IBPA member.) We took the opportunity to speak with Bole about continuing challenges for the organization as well as what’s changed with IBPA and the independent publishing community over the last decade.
In 2016, under Bole’s leadership, the IBPA created new membership types, which include future publisher (people who have not yet published), author-publisher (self-published authors and those working with hybrid companies), and publisher partner (persons or organizations that supply services or products in the field). As of today, about 53 percent of the membership are independent publishers, and 30 percent are author-publishers who publish their own works exclusively.
IBPA accepts any type of independent publisher, including paid-for and hybrid publishing companies. That has been one way that the IBPA membership has evolved over time, Bole tells us. When she started out, the organization had about 35 percent author-publisher members, and she worked with the board to cultivate more established independent publishers, which brought in hybrid companies in addition to traditional ones. “All these business models fit under the IBPA tent,” Bole says. “I really wouldn’t want to work in any other kind of environment; it’s inclusive, not barring the gates to any particular business model.”
A recent UK report raised questions about the ethics of hybrid publishers; the IBPA was ahead of the curve in attempting to define professional standards for hybrids. In 2018, it released hybrid publisher criteria—the only trade association to do so. However, Bole emphasizes, hybrid publishing is not a new business model in the industry; it just wasn’t as transparent nine years ago.
IBPA member Ian Lamont, who runs i30 Media (a publisher of how-to guides and research material), joined the organization in January 2014 and has also served as a board member. Lamont says of Bole, “[She] refocused IBPA’s strategy and grew membership amidst stormy industry seas”; he also said that the organization’s membership has evolved as the industry has evolved. In particular, over the last eight years, he says there’s been “a lot of outreach and programming to encourage participation by younger publishers as well as people who are underrepresented in publishing.” Recently, the IBPA established a DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) committee and has been working to establish publishing-specific DEI training that members can use in their organizations.
Bole says one of the biggest challenges facing independent publishers is a crowded market. It’s difficult for independent publishers just to be seen. “There’s a ton of noise. Everybody has written or is selling a book.” Every day, publisher-members contact IBPA, asking how they can secure a book distributor (outside of wholesale or POD channels), not realizing this won’t fix the problem. “They think if they can get in [with a distributor] … there’s a switch that flips and a distributor is going to sell all their books.” But that’s not how it works. Distributors can help streamline processes, perhaps, or allow a small publisher to focus their talents elsewhere. But, Bole says, “It’s not the solution to selling.”
Bole has worked for trade associations her entire career, starting with the Book Industry Study Group and the International Digital Publishing Forum. She encourages publishers and authors alike to join such groups and participate in conversations about the industry—to speak up about what’s important. Since Bole is leaving the IBPA for her first job at a for-profit business, she says she’s going to miss that day-to-day focus on helping and supporting people across the publishing industry. However, she admits that it can be challenging to move large groups of people with diverse viewpoints toward a single objective. “That is a big ship to move. It takes a lot of time and a lot of patience and a good deal of effort that is hopefully unseen,” she says. “You’re trying to bring [member] conversation to some sort of conclusion. We’re not all just here for fun. We’re trying to get something done.”
Her advice for her successor, whomever they may be: “Everyone has opinions, and in this job, it’s important to ingest all those opinions and be a servant-leader,” she says. “Be as much help as you can possibly be.”
Bottom line: In her time at IBPA, Bole says she’s most proud of building the community of independent publishers and making it as strong as possible. “It is a community of businesses and people that can feel pretty isolated,” she says. The IBPA exists to “give them common purpose and best practices” for being a professional in the industry.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
