Do you like making your own schedule and choosing your own projects? Are you someone who doesn’t mind being home all day and is probably also a night owl? Chances are you’ve thought about being a freelancer, perhaps for design, editing, or marketing. The publishing world, like many other industries, is increasingly relying on outsourcing […]
Ooligan Blog
Branding for Authors: Is It Authentic?
By Sadie Verville @sadieverville
Authors are, in a sense, a business unto themselves. In a digital age when personal presence is what sells the book on social media, it is critical for authors to have a consistently branded page or account for users to follow and engage with. But this consistency, this need to post only certain tweets or pictures, might be considered the epitome of the “social media as a false reality” argument. Does having a consistent brand make someone inauthentic online?
Too Many Cooks? Management at Ooligan Press
By Hazel Wright
Ooligan has several department managers who most closely correlate to positions you would find in a standard press, including a digital department lead, a design lead, a social media lead, a marketing lead, a copy chief, a managing editor, two acquisitions leads, and two publisher’s assistants. For anyone keeping track, that’s ten department managers. There are independent presses all over the country that operate with an entire staff of fewer than ten people, let alone ten managers. But the truth is, Ooligan doesn’t operate with ten managers: it operates with seventeen.
Instagram Introduced Alt Text
By Brittney Finato @finatography
We live in a world that was created for those who are seeing. Think about it, how many times a day do you pass a sign or an advertisement? Probably more times than you can count. The internet is a place that can break those barriers and it’s slowly becoming more and more accessible. But, of course, we all have a role to play here. Taking the time to add this text to your image can give your followers a fuller experience of your work. And who doesn’t want that?
Metadata Madness
By Stephanie Anderson @stephlitdesign
It’s no small wonder that the words “metadata management” can be overwhelming to anyone unfamiliar with what exactly that job entails; this is especially true in the publishing world, where all we want to do is help people tell their stories and get those stories into the hands of readers who will love them as much as we do. We love bookshops, and shelves upon shelves of beautiful covers and clever titles, and perusing Powell’s and reading their “Staff Picks” at our leisure. But we also have to be realistic: a growing majority of today’s readers just don’t have time to browse indie bookshops on a regular basis for their next epic tale, memoir, or anthology. Today’s audience does much of their browsing (gasp) ONLINE.
Big Logos, Big Business: Breaking Down Logo Design in Publishing’s Big Five
By Melinda Jasmine Crouchley
Book publishing is a centuries-old tradition, so the logos and brands have been slightly updated over time to reflect current marketing and branding trends. But are publishers doing enough to keep their symbols fresh, relatable, and contextual for modern readers?